Ijaz Ahsan

Project Overview - In 2015, the United Kingdom government decided to consolidate its entire infrastructure into Crown Hosting Data Centres rather than continue outsource to those environments. The intent was to reduce the central government expenditure on hosting by more than
£1.6bn.
• Working as a Network Architect on the Design, development, implementation of new datacenters called CHS (Crown Hosting Services)
• Design, build and implement Nexus 9K/7k on access, aggregation and data centers interconnect layers of new datacenters.
• Work on Checkpoint firewall solutions.
• Participate in solution architecture & design activities on ASA/Firepower firewalls in multi context mode.
• Design F5 LTM, ASM and GTM solutions for different applications that includes SSL offload, Irules, VIP’s Pools and SNAT.
• Architect the F5 High availability clusters with 2250 blades using 5 VCMP guests per blade
• Successful migration of different government applications from in-house to the AWS Cloud.
• Successful migration of different government applications from in-house to the AZURE Cloud.
• Design, build and implement hybrid solutions for different government applications.
• As part of the Professional Services Architect team, I am responsible for building the strategic design HLD/LLD for Cisco ACI platform across the 5 DC sites and 210 remote Office sites with around 65000 users.
• Ensure the designs produced are fit for purpose and are capable of being put through Design Approval Board (DAB).
• High Level Design including external connectivity and connectivity to existing infrastructure
• Work closely with enterprise architects, other functional area architects, senior stake holders, 3rd party managed service providers, engineering, and security specialists to ensure adequate security solutions and controls are in place throughout all IT systems and platforms to mitigate identified risks sufficiently, and to meet business objectives and regulatory requirements.
• Worked with PMs and TDAs very closely to review different phases of 4 new datacentre built and design to meet final strategy introducing WAN aggregation layer & DC switch Fabric
• HLD and LLD signoff for the Design, configuration and exit strategy from the existing DC to the newly built DC for Network solutions using Cisco Nexus 5K, Cisco ASA Firewalls, Cisco UCS using FCoE, F5 LTM and VMware.

Provided technical expertise to project teams working on the development, implementation, maintenance and improvement of Information Services solutions and designs.
•Assist with the deployment of HSBC Trend Micro Solutions all over the world.
•Work with team across other areas to ensure bank standards are being followed
•Design and implementations on Checkpoint Firewalls and Cisco Routing / Switching.
•Design, build and implement F5 LTM and GTM solutions.
•Work with supplier project teams to ensure effective interoperability of services and technologies and assures alignment of solution designs with standards, policies and procedures, as well as regulatory requirements.
•Design and implement secure email, secure internet browsing for HSBC international sites.
•HLD and LLD signoff for the Design and configuration for international sites in EMEA
•Liaising with various vendors including Trendmicro, F5, Cisco in regard to resolution of technical issues and implementation of new sandbox solution
•Responsible to work with the Security Architects team to develop reference architectures, aligned to an over-arching security strategy and governance framework currently in development.
•Discuss and understand HSBC requirements to design custom IT Security solution with optimized performance to meet their requirement and thereafter implement it to prove the performance and features, this required a high degree of imagination; close stakeholder management as well as the ability to ‘sell' this idea into IT Exec and Board Levels.
•HLD and LLD for SANDBOX requirement and implementation of secure emails and web using Trendmicro.

Department for work & Pensions on behalf of IBM
•Network Security Architect

•Worked on Cross Domain Security Bridge that allows customer transactions / data to pass between components deployed in both the Assured official and Elevated official Domains.
•Design and Implementation of Fortigate Firewalls, FortiManager and Analyzer between environments of different security levels.
•Design and Implements Deep Packet Inspections solutions for DWP cross Domain Security Bridge.
•Antivirus and IPS solutions deployments.
•Protect the Elevated Security Network.
•Firewalls deployments on virtualization environments that is based on VMWARE.
•Deployments and support of new on board projects that are using DWP cross Domain security Bridge.
•SSL termination and inspection at cross Domain security Bridge for CDB projects.
•New projects design, approval, testing and implementation.

• Worked as a Network Consultant for Redcentric (leading UK IT managed services provider) that offers a range of IT and Cloud services designed to support organizations in their journey from traditional infrastructure to the Cloud and hybrid combinations in between.
• MPLS VPN configuration and design for different cloud based solutions.
• Cisco ASR’s and Nexus solutions.
• Cisco ASA, Checkpoint and Fortinet implementations for different customers.
• F5 solutions, Worked on Load Balance migration project, involved to migrate live services from legacy load balancer to F5 LTM.
• Configure and support for new VIP’s.
• Pool, Health Monitor, Profiles, create multiple domain partitions in LTM.
• Designing, implementing, securing and maintaining networks

SC Cleared)

•Worked as a senior network Engineer on a government projects. Where my responsibilities were to design (HLD and LLD ) and support from end to end connectivity that include Routed and Routing Protocols, Switching, Cisco ASA, Checkpoint and Juniper Firewalls, JUNOS solutions, Checkpoint IPS, Cisco IPS, IPSEC VPN's, F5 LTM Solutions, Cisco ACE, Cisco GSS, Cisco Routers and Nexus Switches.
•Also responsible for the support of a highly complex, secure & fully redundant enterprise class network working to ITIL best practices and under strict SLA management. Due to the nature of the project, I am unable to provide further details of my involvement.

UK MBNL (T-Mobile, Orange & H3G) LTE 3G and 4G IP/Ethernet Network

•High and Low Level Design for different sites around the UK.
•Provide technical support as a 3rd line engineer includes design, implementation, Testing, network operations, trouble-shooting and support.
•Integration and testing of CX600 core routers all over the UK for MBNL project.
•LTE (3G & 4G) network operations, implementation and support including Ethernet (VLAN's) ISIS, OSPF, BGP, MPBGP and MPLSVPN support for different telecom services.
•Network operations and support including HQOS for IUB and IUPS services.
•3rd line network operations and support on Cisco ASA and CheckPoint Firewalls solutions.
•Consult and plan in the replacement of 6500 with the Nexus, 7k, 5k project
•Maintenance and support of Linux based U2000 NMS platform.
•Update and create the operational documentation to keep it fully up to date and valuable.
•Participation in QA, SLA activities including testing, Upgrades procedures and plans.

• Worked as a 3rd Line Network Support/Design engineer for BT21CN Network and Talk Talk Technologies UK. Designing and Managing the company network around DSLAM, MSAN, and IP Network.
• SMC Project support within SLA for 21CN access network.
• Network Fault handling including Broadband Faults and Hardware faults.
• Configuration issues, software bugs etc. Software Upgrades plans, New version and patch testing in the LAB, Version and patch Upgrades, Capacity Upgrades etc.
• Working with RND in Basingstoke on complex network issue and main interface for GTAC and RND in china.
• Coordination with customer over technical matters, including conference call, regular visit to customer premises, daily, weekly and monthly reports.