Data Center Operations & Support Specialist

Sirajuddin Ali Mir Mobile: 773-***-****

Data Center Operations Engineer / System Admin EMAIL: ***********@*****.***

SUMMARY

Experience in datacenter infrastructure management tools, monitoring systems, server hardware, networking

equipment, operation systems (Windows, Linux) and virtualization technologies.

Rack and stack operations on servers and network assets in a fast-paced data center environment.

Experience with the installation, testing and terminating of copper, fiber (multi & single mode) and coaxial cable.

Experience in providing exceptional 24x7 data center support for internal and external customers.

UNIX/Windows operating system navigation, general commands and system programs/processes knowledge.

Experience of the electrical and mechanical systems involved in critical data center operations such as:

generators, transformers, switchgear, UPS systems, ATS units, PDU units, pumps, air handling units, and CRAC

units

Experience working with vendors to oversee installations and hardware repairs.

Ability to troubleshoot complex data center issues and provide effective solutions

Monitor and maintain data center environments and operations, including server hardware, software, and

associated infrastructure.

Experienced working with BMC Remedy with Smart IT ticketing system.

Experienced working with other teams on troubleshooting call to resolve technical issue and work with vendor.

Experience in Decommission Hardware based on requirement.

Audit the inventory quarterly and annually.

Excellent Computer skills include Word, Excel, Visio, Remedy, HP Service Desk, Jira and several proprietary

databases. Quick to master and apply new applications.

Strong in troubleshooting, monitoring, training and 24/7 support in mission critical environments

SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

Data center operations management

Data center security implementation

Data center consolidation planning and execution

Proactive maintenance scheduling

Disaster recovery planning and implementation

Data center migration management

Capacity planning and resource allocation

Energy efficiency optimization

Centralized monitoring system implementation

Data center expansion planning and execution

Compliance with industry regulations

Server utilization optimization

Business continuity planning

Response time reduction strategies

Cost-saving initiatives

Project management

Strategic planning and execution

Team leadership and management

Problem-solving and critical thinking

Excellent communication skills

Knowledge of current technology trends and advancements

Vendor management and negotiation skills

Risk management and mitigation strategies

IT infrastructure management

Knowledge of data center cooling systems

Ability to work under pressure and manage crises.

TECHNICAL SKILLS:

Hardware SUN Enterprise- E5000/5500/6500, SUNFIRE 3800/4800/6800, E10K/15K Series

Servers, HP-9000, rx8640, rp7420, rp8420, N-Class, L-Class, D-Class, K-Class, IBM e-

Server Regatta P690, P570, RS6000, IBM/HP/DELL Blade Servers, SAN(EMC, Hitachi),

NAS (Netapp)

O / S Solaris 10/9/8, HP-UX (11.00, 11.11, 11.23, 11.31),IBM AIX (5.1, 5.3), Red Hat Linux

(RHEL 3/4/5/6/7), Windows NT /2003/vista

Naming Services DNS, NIS, and NIS+

Backup Management Veritas Netbackup 4.x/5.x/6.x, Ufsdump, ufsrestore, tar, dd, cpio

Script Languages Shell scripts, PERL

Web Technologies Apache 2.x/3.x, IPLANET 4.x/5.x, WEBLOGIC 8, Websphere 4.0/5.0/6.0

ThirdParty Software VERITAS Volume Manager, LVM, LDAP, SSH

Cluster Veritas Cluster Server (VCS), Sun Cluster, HP Service Guard, AIX HACMP

Protocols NetBIOS, NetBUI, SMTP, SNMP, ICMP, TCP/IP, FTP, TELNET, UDP & RIP, DNS, WINS,

DHCP.

Cloud Computing AWS, Azure

EDUCATION

Master’s in Business Administration (MBA), Osmania University, Hyderabad, India.

(Business and Information Systems.)

Professional Summary:

Mphasis, Elk Grove, IL Apr 2025 to

present.

Data Center Module Lead

Responsibilities:

Unbox, inventory, and install client hardware such as server, storage, and network devices into client racks.

Executed the installation, configuration, troubleshooting, and cabling of servers, racks, and network hardware.

Installed/configured servers, switches, routers, and firewalls; managed fiber optic and CAT6 cabling, including

patching and cable management

Installation of cabling and cable organization per client standards, to include labeling.

Managed, maintained, and optimized physical servers, network infrastructure, and storage systems for 99.9%

uptime

Troubleshooting and diagnostics of hardware.

Perform replacement of DIMMs, hard drives, power supplies and other components within server, storage, and

network devices.

Perform commissioning and decommissioning of hardware.

Trace cables Change directions quickly as priorities changes.

Troubleshooting of low voltage cabling to include both copper and fiber.

Installation of data center infrastructure materials including racks and cabinets w/ grounding, cable tray and

ladder, cable management, copper and fiber networking cable, copper and fiber patch panels and any other

materials necessary for data center operations.

Perform installation and maintenance on Power Distribution Units within client enclosures. (leaves room for

eventual underfloor work).

Performed proactive and reactive maintenance on server racks, replaced components (RAM, processors,

drives), and managed UPS systems.

Work in a standard ticketing system, providing clear, timely, and appropriate customer communications.

Regularly communicate with employees, contractors, and clients via phone, email, or ticketing system.

Periodically join call bridges to troubleshoot and validate infrastructure related issues.

Adhere to Change Control Processes and Standards.

Support 3rd party vendor activities.

Process all tickets within SLA guidelines and follow procedural requirements.

Monitored data center resources and space capacity, optimizing rack layouts and port maps.

Provided Tier 2/3 troubleshooting for network connectivity, server hardware, and infrastructure faults, utilizing

ticketing systems.

Enforced strict data center security protocols and updated access controls to prevent unauthorized access.

Physical Power cycling of system (Servers, Network Devices, and Security Devices etc.) as required.

Maintained accurate inventory of IT assets, including physical audits and tracking equipment, to ensure secure

and organized data center operations.

Walgreens, Mount Prospect, IL Sep 2019 to Mar

2025.

Data Center Operations Engineer

Responsibilities:

Rack Server Installation, configuration, administration of HP, DELL, SUN, IBM and RHEL 5, 6, 7 and Solaris 9,

10 using Kickstart, Jumpstart, custom configuration like package management, volume management of servers.

Responsible for server implementation, support and decommissioning within a secure raised-for environment.

Physical Power cycling of system (Servers, Network Devices, and Security Devices etc.) as required.

Trace cables Change directions quickly as priorities changes.

EMC2, Cisco etc. Escorting them inside Datacenter for breakdown and maintenance work.

Coordinating with Electricians, HVAC, Generator and Building contractors Work closely with WAG L2 and Engg.

Monitoring of Data Center Environmental systems like UPS, Power, Generator etc. Coordinate with OEMs and

3 rd. Parties like IBM, HP, EMC2, Dell and Cisco.

Document work performed Participate in planning and status meetings for new installations/projects or any

required meetings.

Team Coordination in day-to-day operations, changes and deployments Planned and unplanned outage

assistance Follow the customer defined processes Reporting Enforcing Data Center policies and standards

shipping/ receiving maintenance.

Worked on resolving production issues and documenting Root Cause Analysis and updating the tickets using

BMC Remedy.

Leading team for supporting Unix/Linux related Escalations and H/W break fix cases.

Coordinated with the Storage, Network and Hardware teams on server provisions (HP ProLiant DL385/585

G5, G6 servers, and HP BL 465C G5 blade centers).

Experienced in Troubleshooting critical hardware and software issues and other day-to-day user trouble

tickets.

Coordinates in opening the RMA and follow up with vendors of replacement in warrantee and maintain End of life

devices.

Worked on network switch replacement with coordination of Network Team.

Coordinate and worked with storage team with storage switch replacement.

Worked on Firewall device replacement with coordination of Firewall Team.

Applied appropriate support packages/patches to maintain system integrity.

Monitored Linux server for CPU Utilization, Memory Utilization, and Disk Utilization for performance monitoring.

Troubleshooting and configuring NAS and NFS mount points.

Performed capacity analysis, monitored and controlled disk space usage on systems.

Monitored system activities and fine-tuned system parameters and configurations to optimize performance and

ensure security of systems.

Extensively used Active Directory Server Console for managing the entries.

Monitoring system resources, logs, disk usage, scheduling backups and restore.

Configuring SUDO and granting root permission to users for performing certain activities.

Extensively worked on hard disk mirroring and stripe with parity using RAID controllers.

Involved in Server sizing and identifying, recommending optimal server hardware based on user requirements.

Build LPAR system and Installed AIX 5.3, 6.1, 7-2 and 7.3 on LPAR using NIM Power 4, 5 and 6 systems and

Upgraded Maintenance level as well.

Worked on KVM and Xen hypervisors to create virtual machines and install Redhat Linux, Cent OS.

Installed and verified that all AIX/Linux patches or updates are applied to the servers.

troubleshooting cooling system malfunctions, maintaining optimal temperature ranges, knowledge of different

cooling technologies (CRAC units, chilled water systems, air-side economizers), understanding data center

layout and airflow management, proficiency with monitoring and control systems,

Tuq Systems, Glendale Heights, IL Aug 2016 to Aug

2019

Data Center Analyst

Responsibilities

Receiving, unpacking, and inventorying equipment from vendors.

Responsible for rack mounting servers and other computing equipment.

Responsible for the deployment of new infrastructure, such as routers, switches, NAS storage arrays, Firewalls,

etc.

Ensure that the Data Center current infrastructure is maintained, ensuring successful deployment of any new

infrastructure elements and on-going administration of all Data Center equipment and support systems.

Follow Logistics protocol; project planning, and general work procedures.

Remove decommissioned equipment and prepare for recycle.

Install Power Distribution Units (PDU) in racks.

Managed server on VMware, provided test environments on virtual machines.

Provide IT support to internal staff members.

Provided application support to large user groups.

Installed hardware, installed Linux OS, and configured required network.

Managed, performed hardware, BIOS and application upgrade.

Configured and Manage Apache web server.

Manage software and hardware RAID systems,

Configure and maintain FTP, DNS, NFS and DHCP servers.

Manage user accounts and authentication process by NIS service.

Manage System Firewall utilizing IP Chains, IP Tables. Implemented SSH, SSL.

Managed user disk usage by setting up quotas.

Administer System logs, Security logs.

Walgreens, Deerfield, IL Apr 2014 to July

2016

System Analyst

Responsibilities:

Serve as a point of contact representing supported technologies such as Oracle Weblogic tuxedo, IBM

Websphere profiles and services offered to other teams such as E-commerce, Retail/POS and Pharmacy QA

teams.

Rebuilding, configuring and supporting of hardware servers including both IMS and non-IMS virtual servers.

Support Release conversions of pharmacy software products.

Monitor and proactively troubleshoot issues related to store server performance, availability, and capacity.

Diagnose, identify the root cause, and resolve problems within both Pharmacy and Retail-POS systems.

Shutting down and restarting of the Central Tuxedo Application Servers, WebSphere application Servers hosted

on AIX servers and Web logic servers hosted on local Linux machines.

Participated in the Enterprise architecture validation before every release conversion of Software Product.

Set up and configuring of Linux servers and windows workstations for clients.

Configuring servers and setting up File systems, managing Disks space, space cleanup as required, clean

setting up and troubleshooting networks issues like NFS/DNS/DHCP.

Coordinate and communicate changes within the environment to all Enterprise stake holders.

Coordinated with multiple teams to implement Change requests in OS as well as application-level changes.

Coordinated and supported in the Blocker calls by arranging bridge calls and participating in the Web-ex

sessions.

Administration for multiple HP hardware, this involves creating domains, adding/deleting system components.

Installing, configured SUSE Linux servers, created polices, scheduling jobs.

Configured log line output size, debug level and database support for Oracle Tuxedo application server.

Identify complex problems with software packages or installations by reviewing Server logs, application logs,

Windows logs, and tools such as Process Monitor.

Troubleshoot software compatibility issues on both Server side and Client Side.

Working with users to understand detail service delivery requirements and system functionality and support their

requirement accordingly.

Worked closely with DBAs, client teams and management ensuring that systems are managed per established

service level agreements.

Monitor and troubleshoot network connectivity

Coordinate with Packaging team to Deploy software packages for product development on Linux servers.

Manage User accounts via Active Directory on windows.

Managing Remedy Queue to assign tickets according to level of expertise required and resolving the cases to

resolution for cases who’s ownership is taken.

Cisco Systems, San Jose, CA Nov 2012 to Mar

2014

System Administration

Responsibilities:

Setup UCS box in built room load different OS according to requirement (configure stand alone or Rack

depending on requirement)

Configuring servers and setting up File systems, managing Disks space, space cleanup as required, clean

setting up and troubleshooting networks issues like NFS/DNS/DHCP

Set up and configuring of Linux and HPUX (90% Linux /10% HPUX) servers/workstations for clients

Trouble shooting system - OS level and Hardware level.

Working with users to understand detail service delivery requirements and system functionality and support their

requirement accordingly.

Refresh/copy databases using Unix commands & scripts (ART- tool using DD commands on backend) every

quarter on stage and development servers from respective DR of that Data Base.

Re-firing Backups, modifying backup config file (i.e implementing various changes advised by DBA) and solving

various backup related issues on DBBS (Data base backup systems)

Create User id and adding them to respective groups to get access to the security servers depending on

validation of justification from client.

Timely Patching (Linux(CEL)/HP) servers to keep them aligned with service level agreement and remove bugs

due to earlier patch bundle.

Performed symcli upgrades on all the server to enhance control on EMC SAN devices using symcli commands

Support Firmware upgrade and various other change request (adding CPU to virtual) for UCS box and virtual’s

Testing and coming up with new method to scan storage in Linux to avoid incidents which caused unplanned

reboots on host.

Engaging and working with different vendors to determine problem resolution and root cause of hardware

problems.

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