James T. Perkins Consulting

I am available on an occasional basis to consult on small office/home office computer networking and administration:

• Operating Systems - Linux, MacOS X, BSD, SunOS and networking them with Windows
• Services - Web, Domain Names, Network Time Protocol, mail, X-windows
• Security - virtual private networking, secure shell, firewalls, network address translation, backup, virus/spam filtering strategies, intrusion avoidance and repair
• Network - planning, routing, bridging, WLAN, DHCP, DSL, ISDN, IDSL, performance tuning
• Hardware - PC-based server configuration/reconfiguration, troubleshooting and repair, embedded systems
• Instruction - useful tools, effective techniques, why things are the way they are

My strongest abilities are: a broad and deep familiarity with specific technologies, ability to cooperatively assess suitable solutions, quickly deploy and tune them, and teach the maintainer enough to take it from there.

Since 1992:

• Served as company UNIX administrator for Eugene site of PSC with a dozen UNIX computers and 500-computer Windows network. Helped build a case for a full-time internet connection and intranet. Selected a full-time company UNIX administrator to take over from me. My full-time duties included networked toolset management for 20 DOS/Windows-based embedded software engineers.
• Helped plan, configure, and manage Linux-based network services for a private software consulting firm employing a dozen professionals.
• Site leadership and administation at commonhouse.net, a colocation cooperative which hosts two dozen users, personal and business domains and websites.
• Coaching and web site set up for Bears on the Web.
• Network and systems infrastructure for a DSL-linked educational site Fritz the Brave!, including two Windows-based developers using CVS and a web development application, and an automated image gallery.
• Network and systems infrastructure for Saqra.
• Systems planning and main site administration for Portland State Aerospace Society, including site services and security, TWiki collaboration tool, and a Linux-based 802.11 embedded flight computer.
• Linux-based network setup and administration coaching for a small medical test equipemtn development lab, including WLAN, MacOS X and Windows clients, Samba filesharing, Apache webserver, DHCP, internal/external DNS, SMTP, backup strategy, secured wireless LAN, OpenVPN, and RCS.

In my regular employment I work on embedded operating systems internals, and in the past have worked on UNIX V7 and X-windows internals.

I'm reasonably priced, and I am based in the greater Portland, Oregon area.

Feel free to drop me an email at james@loowit.net