MAJOR(7) Linux User's Manual MAJOR(7)

NAME

Major Hayden - a social nerd

SYNOPSIS

major [--admin systems|database] [--contributor] [--developer] [--educator]

[--leader] [--other]

SUMMARY

I’m a Linux Engineer with skills in database administration, system administration, application development and leadership. I enjoy connecting people with technology solutions that are easy to use, affordable, and sustainable over time. I'm familiar with, and a huge supporter of, the DevOps culture and how to make it work with a large team in a fast paced environment.

Information security has also been an interest of mine. As the Chief Security Architect for Rackspace, I led a team of senior Windows, Linux and networking engineers who were dedicated to increasing security within Rackspace and for our customers. We provided critical security advisement to the business as a whole and we fueled technical security projects that reduced risk, reduced product development cycle time, and increased customer confidence.

I was previously working on the OpenStack project and its integration with Citrix Xenserver and Nicira's networking stack. I also maintained our high-availability clusters, Debian packaging and various system tools and scripts. Our team created a highly automated continuous integration system with Jenkins that allowed us to test and deploy new code much more rapidly than before.

OPTIONS

--admin systems

Extensive experience with the configuration, hardening, and maintenance of various Linux distributions, including:

* Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Fedora, CentOS, Scientific Linux

* Debian, Ubuntu

* Gentoo



Comfortable working with open source Xen and Xen Server installations in large-scale environments. Able to customize and patch upstream pv-ops kernels for use with Xen and also familiar with the preparation and maintenance of base images for Xen guests. Very proficient with KVM and the libvirt tool stack.

Experienced in rapid deployment and configuration management technologies such as kickstarts, Red Hat Satellite Server, and Ansible.

Able to set up vital Linux infrastructure components including load balancers, DNS servers, web/application servers, and mail servers. Familiar with network-level security policies as well as server-level security layers like SELinux. Well-versed in RouterOS network device management with RouterOS software.

GIAC Certifications:

* GIAC Security Essentials (GSEC)

* GIAC Certified UNIX Security Administrator (GCUX)

GIAC Gold status



Red Hat Linux Certifications:

* Red Hat Certified Architect Level II

* Red Hat Certified Datacenter Specialist

* Red Hat Certified Engineer - RHEL 4

* Red Hat Certified Engineer - RHEL 5

* Red Hat Certified Engineer - RHEL 6



Red Hat Linux Certificates of Expertise:

* EX333 - Enterprise Security: Network Services

* EX401 - Deployment and Systems Management

* EX407 - Ansible Automation

* EX423 - Directory Services and Authentication

* EX436 - Storage Management

* EX442 - System Monitoring and Performance Tuning



--admin database

Skilled in MySQL database administration for standalone servers as well as replicated and clustered environments. Authored MySQLTuner in an effort to efficiently optimize database servers based on their specific workloads.

Currently a Certified MySQL Database Administrator.

--contributor

Served on the Fedora Project Board from 2012-2014.

Currently a package maintainer for the following Fedora Linux packages:

* apt-mirror

* drbd

* httpry

* mysqltuner



All projects can be found in GitHub. Most efforts are related to the following projects:

* mysql-json-bridge

* MySQLTuner-perl

* kickstarts



I've contributed code to various OpenStack projects during my daily work at Rackspace. In addition, I've written scripts and tools to make managing an OpenStack environment a little easier. Although some are Rackspace-specific and proprietary, I release a large amount of code on GitHub as open source.

A selection of projects I've contributed to over the years:

* ansible

* ansible-hardening

* dracut

* openstack-ansible



--developer

ansible-hardening

The ansible-hardening project is an Ansible role that applies hardening standards from the Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG) to systems running CentOS 7, Debian Jessie, Fedora 26, openSUSE Leap, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, SUSE Linux Enterprise 12, and Ubuntu 16.04

mysql-json-bridge

Allows for MySQL results to be delivered via JSON. Consumers need no access to the databases being queried.

mysqltuner

MySQLTuner is a script written in Perl that will assist you with your MySQL configuration and make recommendations for increased performance and stability. Development has gone a bit dormant but I do what I can to keep it updated.

supernova

The supernova wrapper for novaclient allows a user to store credentials for multiple OpenStack environments and use them with simple command line arguments. Credentials can be stored in system keychains for increased security.

Currently focused on Python for work with OpenStack components but able to work with Ruby, PHP, Perl, and shell scripting if needed.

--educator

Started multiple projects to share knowledge and assist other technical people:

* major.io - words of wisdom from a server administrator

* icanhazip - simple public IP detection

* MySQL Tuner - high-performance MySQL tuning script



Compiled and taught classes covering various systems administration topics including MySQL database administration, SSL certificates, and server security.

--leader

Comfortable leading groups of technical people in customer-facing environments. Also able to provide individualized mentoring on technical and career development topics.

Familiar with the agile development methodology and how to apply it to an operations environment. Experienced with sprint planning, release planning, and change management coordination.

--other

Published articles and presentations:

Stop Disabling SELinux, SC Magazine

Evade the Breach, Prepared for Accruent Insights 2014

Formerly certified as an Emergency Medical Technician in Texas.

HISTORY

* Rackspace

- Principal Architect, OpenStack - Cloud Architect, Cloud Servers

- Chief Security Architect, Director

- Linux Engineer, OpenStack / Next-Generation Cloud Servers

- Engineering Manager, Cloud Servers Operations

- Senior Systems Engineer

- Linux Systems Administrator

* SecureTrust Corporation

(now a wholly owned subsidiary of Trustwave Holdings, Inc.)

- VP of Operations

- Lead Developer

* American Medical Response

- Field Medic / EMT

SEE ALSO

* E-mail: major at mhtx dot net

* Phone: 210.370.7667 (yes, that's 210.370.POOP)

* Twitter: majorhayden

* LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/majorhayden/

* IRC: mhayden on irc.freenode.net

Major Hayden 2018-01-11 MAJOR(7)