Welcome!
This is my little home on the interwebs.
Looking for my Europe blog?
This is my static page. If you are looking for information about my plans to backpack Europe, please visit this link.
First and foremost.
I am a huge virtualization guy! I can honestly say that I found my niche inside the wide open world that is Information Technology. I setup my first virtual machine in 2002 and fell in love with the idea instantly. For those who are here and have no idea what it means, it is essentially running multiple computers on top of one massive super computer with the end user having no idea that this is going on.
New projects, goals and endeavors.
| * Head to VMworld 2009 in San Francisco. |
| * Backpack Europe! <--done. It ROCKED! |
Professional work.
I currently work as an Infrastructure Specialist for Apparatus, Inc in Indianapolis, IN. Apparatus is an internet services firm, focusing on enterprise managed hosting and consulting. Clients range from local start-ups to global fortune 500 firms.
Previously, I worked as a Systems Administrator at Sallie Mae in Fishers, Indiana. At Sallie Mae I worked on a variety of projects. In 2006, I was the technical project leader to deploy full hard disk encryption with pre-os authentication to over 3,000 laptops company wide. I later worked with their corporate VMware, Citrix and Novell environments.
After five o'clock, I teach for the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology @ IUPUI.
While obtaining my bachelors degree, I performed various IT consulting services for small to medium sized businesses in the central Indiana area. I did everything from web server installations to firewall configuring and implementation. This allowed me to eat more than just Ramen noodles while going to school full time!
Academic work.
I graduated in May 2005 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer and Information Technology from Purdue University, Indianapolis. I recently obtained the VMware Certified Professional (VCP) credential and hold several other Microsoft and CompTIA certifications. Ideally, I would like to achieve a graduate level degree but am still deciding on either an MBA or MSIA (Master of Science in Information Assurance).
Volunteer work.
I enjoy volunteering to help small non-profit organizations build or service their IT infrastructure however I can. I have volunteered my time and services to help several organizations throughout central Indiana including the Central Indiana Boy's and Girl's Clubs and the Saint Christopher Center.
© 2008 Ryan Birk | Indianapolis, IN