Skills & Expertise
This list covers technologies I have worked with at varying levels, from deep expertise to practical use.
A role-specific selection of skills can be found in my CV.
Table of Contents
- Hardware & Vendors
- Operating Systems
- Virtualization & Cloud
- Storage & Databases
- Backup & File Transfer
- Network Services & Security
- Identity & Directory Services
- System Design & Deployment
- Monitoring, Reliability & Performance
- Web & Application Services
- Hosted Applications & Services
- Collaboration & Daily Operations
- AI & Productivity Tools
- Soft Skills
Hardware & Vendors
- Servers: Dell, HPE, Lenovo
- Storage: Synology, TrueNAS
- Network: Fortinet, Ubiquiti, HPE Aruba, Sophos, OPNsense
- Endpoints: HP, Dell, Lenovo, Apple
- Remote management: KVM, iDRAC, iLO, IMM
Operating Systems
- Linux: Ubuntu, Debian, Alpine
- Windows: 2008 – 2025 and clients
- Other: FreeBSD, macOS
- Command line: Bash, PowerShell
Virtualization & Cloud
- Hypervisors: VMware vSphere/ESXi, Hyper-V, KVM/QEMU (Proxmox)
- Clusters: VMware vCenter, Proxmox VE Cluster
- Containers: Docker, LXC
- Cloud platforms: Microsoft Cloud/Azure (VMs, VNets, VPN Gateway)
Storage & Databases
- ZFS: pools, datasets, encryption, mounting, quotas, replication
- Filesystems & storage: Btrfs, ext4, NTFS, RAID, iSCSI, NFS, SMB/CIFS
- Relational databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL/MariaDB, Microsoft SQL Server
- Database tools: SQL Server Management Studio, pgAdmin, phpMyAdmin
Backup & File Transfer
- Veeam: Backup & Replication
- Proxmox: PMX Backup Server (PBS)
- Synology: Hyper Backup, Active Backup for Business, Snapshot Replication, Cloud Sync
- File transfer protocols: rsync, SCP, (S)FTP(S), WebDAV/HTTPS, rclone
Network Services & Security
- Core protocols: IPv4, IPv6, ICMP, TCP/UDP, HTTP/S, SMTP, SNMP, DHCP, NTP
- DNS: authoritative/recursive, MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, DNSSEC
- VPN technologies: IPsec, WireGuard, OpenVPN
- Firewall & traffic: VLAN, rules, NAT, port forwarding
- Traffic shaping: FQ-CoDel
- Reverse proxy & load balancing: Nginx, HAProxy – TLS termination, HSTS
- Certificates & PKI: ACME (DNS-01), private CAs, Let’s Encrypt, lifecycle management
- Troubleshooting: Wireshark, tcpdump, nmap
- IDS/IPS & WAF: Suricata, Zenarmor, ModSecurity (OWASP CRS)
- Collaborative defense: CrowdSec
- Blocklists/threat intel: ET Open, abuse.ch, Spamhaus, DShield
Identity & Directory Services
- Directory services: Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)
- Policy management: Group Policy (GPO)
- Cloud identity: Microsoft Entra ID, Azure AD Connect/Cloud Sync
- Authentication protocols: LDAPS, NTLM, Kerberos, SSO
System Design & Deployment
- Virtualization clusters: Proxmox/VMware HA, quorum design, failover automation, live migration, shared storage
- Network design: VLAN segmentation, firewall zoning, VPN deployment, multi-site connectivity, redundant uplinks
- Installation & configuration: AD DS, CA, file & print services, RDS (Terminal Services), DHCP/DNS, IIS
- Backup strategies: 3-2-1 design, offsite/cloud backup
- Migrations: assess, plan and execute overnight/weekend cutovers (servers, storage, AD/Entra ID, client applications)
- Monitoring design: logging, alerting, escalation workflows
- Patch & lifecycle management: rolling updates, maintenance windows, test-before-prod workflows
- System optimization: analyzing existing environments, streamlining processes, improving performance and stability
- Documentation & handover: runbooks, architecture diagrams, knowledge transfer
Monitoring, Reliability & Performance
- Monitoring platforms: PRTG, Checkmk, Grafana, Uptime Kuma
- Log aggregation: Graylog, Grafana Alloy, Loki, syslog, auditd
- Network discovery & inventory: NeDi, NetBox
Web & Application Services
- Web servers: IIS, Apache, Nginx, OpenLiteSpeed
- Application runtimes: Node.js, REST APIs
- Web development: HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript
Hosted Applications & Services
- File sharing & collaboration: Nextcloud, Seafile, Syncthing
- Office & productivity suites: Collabora Online, OnlyOffice
- Document management: paperless-ngx
- Remote access: Apache Guacamole (gateway + VDI)
- Identity & security: Bitwarden, Vaultwarden
- Content management & e-commerce: WordPress, Joomla, WooCommerce
- Source code & DevOps: GitLab
- Business systems: Microsoft Dynamics 365 (CRM)
Collaboration & Daily Operations
- Microsoft 365: Teams, OneDrive, Office apps
- ITSM / ITIL tools: OTRS, Freshdesk
- Remote access & management: SSH, RDP, MobaXterm, TeamViewer, RustDesk
AI & Productivity Tools
- AI assistants: responsible use for brainstorming, documentation and research. Privacy-first; never on live systems.
- Design tools: Adobe Photoshop, diagrams.net
Soft Skills
- Problem solving: Analytical troubleshooting & root cause analysis
- Documentation: Clear documentation & knowledge transfer
- Prioritization: Managing tasks under pressure and deadlines
- Reliability: Taking ownership to ensure stable, available systems
- Adaptability: Fast learner, embracing new technologies