Ben Kernan
Cloud & Infrastructure Specialist | Security-Driven IT Professional
Cloud & Infrastructure Specialist | Security-Driven IT Professional
Architecting secure, scalable collaboration environments. Led the architectural design and emergency deployment of Microsoft Teams Calling to replace legacy PBX systems.
Proficient in Exchange Online Protection (EOP) for email security and PowerShell automation for user lifecycle management and infrastructure hooks.
Expert management of Palo Alto Networks (Panorama/GlobalProtect) and Aruba (wired/wireless/ClearPass), specializing in seamless hardware migrations and User-ID based policies.
Deep integration of Zero Trust principles, refactoring VPNs to utilize Microsoft Entra ID and MFA for secure remote access.
Managing the heavy iron that powers the institution. Experienced with VMWare vSphere production stacks (up to 7.0), including 10GbE network upgrades.
Configuration and optimization of NetApp and Dell storage solutions via Fiber Channel and iSCSI, maintained via PRTG monitoring.
Eliminating repetitive tasks through code. Utilizing Ansible to manage configuration drift, automate patching across Windows/Linux fleets, and backup network devices.
Seamless administration of mixed environments (RHEL, Ubuntu, Windows Server), unifying authentication via LDAP, SSSD, and PAM.
Designing distributed backup solutions using Veeam and scripted rsync workflows for file-level and VM-level resilience.
Designed and scripted a Microsoft Teams Calling rollout for the enterprise in under 3 weeks following a critical failure of legacy hardware.
Selected to resolve a critical Oracle server lockout outside standard scope. Regained administrative access to facilitate a time-sensitive database migration without impacting regular role duties.