COLIN ANDREW BRETT

Experience

I do not drive but am willing to commute by public transport to an employer's site.

In addition to the following technical skill areas, I am able to work effectively as a team-member or independently. I can learn quickly and organise my own workload.

Operating Systems

Extensive experience of various UNIX-based systems, with six years Sun Solaris 2.5, 2.6, 7 and 8 administration. Over the last 10 years, I have also worked with Silicon Graphics Irix 6.5, HP-UX 10.20, DEC ULTRIX, IBM AIX and Cray UNICOS. I have some hobbyist-level experience of RedHat-based Linux distributions. This includes: shell programming; Sun NIS, NFS and automounter; DNS administration; installation of Solaris and IRIX onto desktop workstations; installation of software and OS patches; compilation, configuration and configuration of various software packages.

Limited experience with Windows NT 4.0; Windows 9x; DEC VAX/VMS and IBM VM/CMS on IBM mainframe.

Software

Installation, configuration and administration of Oracle 8.1.5, 8.1.6 and 8.1.7 (Oracle 8i) under Solaris and Linux. Installation of Oracle 9i on Solaris platforms. This includes: initial installation; creating databases; exporting and importing databases; upgrading Oracle; creating backup scripts for tablespaces; disaster recovery of Oracle databases.

Installation and configuration of several UNIX software packages eg: Legato Networker (Solstice Backup); Veritas NetBackup; Samba; HP JetAdmin and JetPrint; SGi compiler and Developer Workshop packages; MySQL; RetrievalWare; Apache Webserver; Netscape Iplanet Webserver; Perl; GNU Gnats problem tracking software; Best Practical Request Tracker help desk system.

Working knowledge of various UNIX and PC packages, eg: MS Office, Outlook, Netscape, Opera, Open Office and StarOffice.

Programming Languages

Bourne, Korn and C shell programming on UNIX systems. Some Oracle SQL and PL/SQL. Working knowledge Perl 5.8. Some experience with Pascal, Modula 2 BASIC and FORTRA.

Technical

Some Sun, SGi, HP, PC and Apple Macintosh hardware (eg hard-disk swaps and installing Ethernet cards, extra memory, modem cards, graphics cards and CPUs); Ethernet and AppleTalk networks; Installing software on Suns, SGs, Macs and PCs. Using SCSI buses and devices. Familiarity with RAID configuration (eg Solstice DiskSuite).

QUALIFICATIONS

Degree (1993)

Bsc (Hons) Computing, University of Northumbria, (3rd class)

A Levels (1986)

Biology (B), Chemistry (C), Physics (E)

O Levels (1984)

English Language (B), English Literature (C), Mathematics (C), Physics (B), Chemistry (C), Biology (C), Geography (B), Technology (C), Spanish (C)

Training Courses

October 2003 – Long Road College, Cambridge

Web Authoring with HTML – covered creating basic HTML pages with a text editor; formatting HTML with alignment, colours and rules; adding graphics; forms, tables, frames and anchors; incorporating JavaScript.

August 2003 – Learning Tree International

Introduction to Perl Programming: Hands On – covered basic Perl data types, data structures, control flow, regular expressions, and an introduction to object oriented programming.

December 2000 - Verhoef Training

Oracle Database Administration Part 1 - covered, among other areas, creating databases; stopping and starting Oracle instances; creating and managing users and roles.

November to December 2000 - Verhoef Training

Oracle 8/8i SQL (Parts 1 and 2) and PL/SQL (Parts 1 and 2) - covered, for example, SELECT statements, creating tables, inserting and deleting data. Also covered PL/SQL packages.

October 1998

Legato Networker Systems Administration Part 1 - covered, for example, installation and configuration of Legato, backup schedules and groups, backup and restore, some disaster recovery techniques.

May 1998 - First Alternative

Solaris 2 Advanced Systems Administration - covered, for example, Solaris performance tuning, advanced format and newfs commands, the Internet basics, NFS automounter, advanced NIS, NIS+ and DNS administration, disk quotas, automatic Solaris installation (eg Jumpstart).

September 1997 - Silicon Graphics

IRIX 6.2 Systems Administration Part 1 - covered, for example, system set up (not installation), user accounts and groups, disk maintenance, introduction to NFS, logical volumes.

October 1996 - First Alternative

Solaris 2 Systems Administration Parts 1 and 2 - covered, for example, Solaris 2.5 installation, adding user accounts and groups, backup utilities, adding printers, disks and terminals, basic networking, NFS, NIS and NIS+.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Place ProQuest Ltd, The Quorum, Barnwell Road, CAMBRIDGE, CB5 8SW

Dates April 2000 to June 2006 (left due to company-wide redundancies)

Role UNIX Systems Administrator/Oracle Database Administrator in Sun Solaris environment. Includes backup and restore administration, user support, general systems administration. Compilation, configuration and installation of various software packages on Solaris systems, for example: Apache webserver, Tomcat, Perl, MySQL. Internal UNIX user training. Sole responsibility for Oracle databases running on internal systems. Some Sun hardware, for example: adding internal and external disks then using Solstice Disk Suite to configure mirrored and RAID-5 filesystems; memory upgrades; a motherboard replacement on an Ultra-5 workstation.

Place CADCentre Ltd, High Cross, Madingley Road, CAMBRIDGE, CB3 0HB

Dates May 1999 to April 2000.

Role UNIX Systems Administration on mixed SGi IRIX and HP-UX systems. Includes backup and restore administration, user support, fixing hardware problems, installing operating systems, documentation.

Place Geotech Systems Limited, 4, High Street, Bramley, Guildford, Surrey, GU5 0BH

Dates July 1998 to April 1999.

Role Varied UNIX Systems Administration tasks for client companies in the oil industry. Companies include Lasmo, Chevron and BHP. Legato Networker administration, software installation, operating system installation (Solaris 2.5 and IRIX 6.4), user support, systems documentation, generating management reports on application usage.

Place NERC, Institute of Hydrology, Wallingford, Oxon, OX10 8BB

Dates From April 1996 to July 1998.

Role User Support and Help Desk duties in mixed Unix and PC environment (eg SunOS, Solaris, IRIX, Windows 95, NT). Systems administration of Unix-based operating systems and Tektronix WinDD. Preparing user guides and software release notes. Installing Unix and PC software. Installing Solaris 2.5 Operating system. Carrying out memory upgrades on Sun Workstations. Some staff management and reporting procedures.

Place Solid State Logic Limited, Begbroke, OXFORD, OX5 IRU.

Dates From June 1994 to May 1995.

Role Computer Systems Administrator. Backup and restore of data on UNIX, VMS and Apple Macintosh systems; also user support on these platforms. Apple Mac and PC maintenance. Network maintenance - Ethernet and AppleTalk. Dealing with maintenance contractors and computer suppliers.

Place SERC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, DIDCOT, Oxon.

Dates From July 1991 to September 1992 (1 year industrial placement as part of degree course)

Role User support on UNIX-based systems (eg Cray X-MP and IBM RS/6000). Answering user queries by telephone and email. Reporting recurrent problems. Preparing user documentation. Investigating software.

EDUCATION From To

University of Northumbria at Newcastle Ellison Place. Sept 1989 June 1993

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE.

St. Benet Biscop RC High School, Ridge Terrace, Sept 1981 June 1986

BEDLINGTON, Northumberland.

HOBBIES AND INTERESTS

Historical, fantasy and science-fiction wargaming. Modelling and painting wargames figures and scenery. Reading, especially science-fiction and fantasy novels. Role-play gaming, both as a player and referee. Writing short stories. Solving crossword puzzles. Eating out. I also take a keen interest in current affairs at home and abroad, and in new developments in science and technology.