I’m a networking and infrastructure consultant in Berlin who’s been active in the world of IT and IP networking since 1999. I’ve worked on really big networks and really small ones too, in Germany, the UK, Australia and Samoa. I completed my CCIE (R&S #28800) in 2011, and I’m proud to be listed on the CCIE Hall of Fame.

I specialise in designing, building and enhancing IP networks and the systems that surround them. Networks that I build have visibility, resiliency, and upgradability built into their foundations. I acknowledge that both technology and business needs can change rapidly and without much warning, and my designs take this reality into account.

I offer consulting and support services. Below you can find an outline of some of the things I can offer. I hope you find something that fits your needs. If so, or if you have any questions or if you’d like a copy of my full CV, please get in touch.

My Guiding Beliefs

I believe that expert knowledge should be shared, and I believe in inclusivity. I believe in speaking as plainly as possible, asking questions, and listening to the answers. I believe in helping the field of technology and especially networking to become much more diverse, and I am a vocal supporter of all minority groups in tech.

I also love technology for its ability to enable people to do things, and I especially love networking.

Please get in touch for a copy of my full CV!

Certifications

• 2013 | JNCIP-SP Juniper Networks Certified Internet Professional, Service Provider
• 2011 | CCIE Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert, CCIE R&S #28800 (recertified 02.2013)
• 2010 | BNCE, BNCP Brocade Certified Network Engineer, Professional
• 2003 | CCDA, CCNA, BSCI/CIT Various entry-level Cisco qualifications
• 1996 | SACE South Australian Certificate of Education

Previous employers and customers

• CandleScience (US)
• Transmediale (Berlin)
• Berlin Philharmonie (Berlin)
• Digital Freedom Fund (Berlin)
• FlokiNet (Bucharest)
• LaceWing Tech GbR (Berlin)
• The unbelievable Machine Company GmbH (Berlin)
• Dimension Data Germany (Germany)
• Computer Services Ltd (Samoa)
• Red Bee Media (London)
• Calyx Group (UK)
• Queensland Department of Housing (Brisbane)
• Computer Sciences Corporation (Brisbane)
• ETSA Utilities (Adelaide)
• Guardian Media Group (London)
• Easynet (London)
• Internode (Adelaide)

Technical

My technical focus is on the design, engineering, maintenance and monitoring of complex networks. Since I have worked with a variety of organisations and organisation types, my network experience is broad.

• Layer 1-2 protocols such as UDLD, BFD, STP, MRP, VLANs and VTP
• Layer 3+ protocols such as IPv4, IPv6, RIP, EIGRP, OSPF, (MP-)BGP, ISIS, HSRP, VRRP, GLBP
• WAN technologies including ADSL, Frame Relay, Dial and ISDN
• VPN and overlay technologies such as MPLS (Seamless MPLS, MP-BGP, L2/3VPN, EVPN), VRFs, VXLAN, IPSec, L2TP, GRE, IPinIP etc
• Traffic optimisation like MPLS-TE, QoS, Multicast (PIM, IGMP)
• AAA protocols such as RADIUS, TACACS+, 802.1x
• Firewalls including the Cisco PIX/ASA, Juniper Netscreen, Fortigate and custom “hand-rolled” UNIX firewalls using IP Tables, UFW, IPF and IPFW
• Arista hardware including 7280R, 7050X, 7060X and 7150S
• Juniper hardware including EX and MX series
• Cisco hardware including 800-series SOHO routers to 12000 GSRs, ASRs and CRS-1
• Router services such as SFlow, NetFlow, RMON, CDP and FDP, etc
• Network operating systems including Arista’s EOS, Cisco’s IOS, IOS-XE and IOS-XR, JunOS and Ironware
• Brocade network hardware from the MLX, FESX, SX and RX ranges
• Network monitoring and analysis using various off-the-shelf and hand-rolled software, such as Wireshark (Ethereal), Inmon, ntop, tcpdump, Netscout, SNMPc, flow-tools, etc
• General monitoring and analysis using Traffic Sentinel, Nagios, mon, Munin, Cacti, etc
• Scripting using python, perl, php and sh (sed, grep, cut, wc, /bin/…)
• Operating system administration including FreeBSD, various Linux flavours, Solaris, Windows, OS X
• Structured documentation using Visio, xfig, Pages, MS Office, MediaWiki, vim, etc
• Server software including BIND, dhcpd, apache, lighttpd, mediawiki, postgresql, mysql, and many others
• Service Provider technologies including MPLS-VPN, MPLS-TE, MP-BGP, Seamless MPLS
• Creating clear network diagrams with the goal to convey meaning and understanding, and to provide useful tools for troubleshooting and planning

Recommendations

You can read some recommendations that other people have very kindly left for me on LinkedIn:

I’m working with Nick on a daily basis for the last years. He is very skilled and knows his stuff. It is a pleasure to work with him.

His design skills for complicated network problems are excellent. He can think outside the box and is not afraid to push the boundaries to improve the solutions.

He is also very empathetic and senses how other people see/feel about different things.

– Karsten Elfenbein, colleague at The unbelievable Machine Company GmbH, Germany

Nick is one of the best Network Engineers I have ever worked with.

His ability to determine the root cause of extremely complex network problems is one I have valued most highly. He constantly seeks to improve and obtain the best from any infrastructure that he manages.

It would be a pleasure to work with him again in the future and I wish him the very best.

– Cherie Watts, colleague at Red Bee Media, UK

Nick is an experienced and highly qualified network engineer who did an excellent job at CSL during his brief tenure. He was responsible for the elaborate planning and implementing of the new SMILE system for CSL’s internet services. On top of that, he was able to share his knowledge and expertise with a team of local engineers and make substantive improvements to CSL’s internet infrastructure and internal network. Nick is a matured professional whom you can count on to finish a difficult task. His practical approach and management expertise was very much appreciated by the senior management team at CSL. I wish Nick all the best in his future endeavors and I believe he will never settle for anything less than his best.

– Lilomaiava Filifilia Iosefa, colleague at CSL, Samoa

Nick is very skilled & a pleasure to work with. His expertise & attitude are outstanding. He is extremely reliable and hard working. His passion for anything Unix/Linux brings outstanding benefits in resolving or refining any activity, whether it be design or operational.

– Gary Edwards, colleague at The Guardian, UK

Nick is a pleasure to work with; he is helpful, insightful and innovative. He is also a solid troubleshooter and good with investigations.

– Robert Sutherland-Smith, colleague at Red Bee Media, UK

Nick is a professional with an eye for detail. His expertise and work ethics has earned him respect amongst his peers . It is my pleasure to recommend him and wish him well with his future endeavours.

– Maryann Lameko, colleague at CSL, Samoa

I worked with Nick for 2 years, and found him to be a first rate engineer. His depth and breadth of technical knowledge was excellent which meant he could drill deep into complex networking issues which required a thorough understanding of the topic.

As well as this work ethic, and attention to detail were beyond reproach. This meant that Nick was always the person I turned to when I had the more “interesting”, or taxing problems to solve.

On top of that, (and of almost equal importance), I always found him a pleasure to deal with.

– Ian Salt, colleague at Red Bee Media, UK

Nick is a very skilled network engineer and his expertise is topped by an excellent attitude. He routinely exceeds expectations, is hard working and extremely reliable. Nick has a passion for Unix and Linux and he has a deep understanding of these technologies.

– Lyderic Landry, colleague at Red Bee Media, UK