CTChris Thompson
Server & Infrastructure · El Dorado County, CA

Chris Thompson

Server and Infrastructure Analyst

Information Technology Analyst II – Server Design and Administration at the County of El Dorado since January 2023, with 25 years in IT and ISP work and the last eight in system and network administration.

On the County's IT Infrastructure Team, I help run two VMware clusters that host about two hundred virtual servers, help manage just under twenty-five physical servers, and help administer the Active Directory and Microsoft 365 accounts County staff use.

At Cal.net I ran a hybrid Active Directory domain for four regional offices, helped migrate 10+ physical servers onto virtual servers across two data centers, and redesigned the company's Veeam backup policies.

To build my skills, I produced skills.christhompson.us, a free certification study site for peers and coworkers. I also built, secured and monitor the three Linux web servers and one Windows Server that run my sites and projects.

Career logServer labEmail me

Career log 2001 – present

  1. Jan 2023 – Present

    IT Analyst II – Server Design and Administration · County of El Dorado

    Information Technologies, IT Infrastructure Team, Placerville, CA. I work as part of the County's IT Infrastructure Team. With the team, I:

    • Run two VMware ESXi 8 server clusters on Dell VxRail hardware that host about two hundred virtual servers, including the production and SQL database servers behind County Fiscal systems and department applications.
    • Plan and apply Broadcom software and Dell firmware updates across both clusters.
    • Manage just under twenty-five physical servers at the main County offices and remote sites, using Dell OpenManage Enterprise.
    • Schedule server patching with the County Security Team.
    • Administer Active Directory and the Microsoft 365 / Azure portal: access, onboarding and offboarding, distribution lists, calendars, and mailboxes.
    • Help maintain the County's Group Policy objects.
    • Approve new certificate requests in Active Directory Certificate Services (ADCS).
    • Use PowerShell to simplify day-to-day tasks from the command line.
    • Run the vendor servers and platforms behind Tyler Technologies Munis ERP and Cascade WinCAMS, and work with both vendors to resolve problems.
    • Help the Server Support team maintain IIS web servers day to day.
    • Wrote the day-to-day troubleshooting guide for the IIS servers and applications.
    • Back up and restore County data and VMs as part of the Server Support Team, and work with County staff to restore files and folders to their original locations using Rubrik.
    • Monitor server performance, logs and health with the IT Supervisor, using VMware Aria Operations and Aria Operations for Logs.
    • Support the IT Supervisor on VMware NSX work. NSX is the County's virtual network and security platform.
  2. Mar 2021 – Jan 2023

    IT Administrator · Cal.net Inc.

    Architecture Division.

    • Took over most system administration from the Engineering Architect Manager.
    • Ran hybrid Azure AD and on-premises Active Directory for four regional offices across California.
    • Traced slow backups to a storage caching problem, rebalanced the server cluster to fix it, then redesigned the Veeam backups for the virtual servers and Microsoft 365.
    • Managed 130+ computers, laptops, and servers across four offices and two data centers and moved them all to a new remote management tool, NinjaRMM.
    • Coordinated the integration of Winters Broadband after the acquisition, working across the Operations, Fiscal and Engineering departments of both companies.
    • Planned and delivered VoIP platform upgrades: server purchases, process changes, and vendor-managed software upgrades.
    • Built the IT department budget with the Chief Technical Officer.
    • Maintained and repaired five Synology network storage units.
  3. Mar 2018 – Feb 2021

    Network Engineer · Cal.net Inc.

    • Helped design and deploy a multi-site Azure AD / Active Directory domain.
    • Helped move 10+ physical servers onto VMware virtual servers in a cluster spanning two data centers: NTT Sacramento and Corporate HQ in Shingle Springs.
    • Replaced the company shared drive with Synology network storage and a Windows file server and helped move the company from Slack to Teams and Exchange.
    • Configured and troubleshot Cisco and MikroTik routers and switches for the Network Architect.
    • Set up the switches, network segments, and IP addresses for new wireless links.
    • Bought, built, deployed, and repaired 86+ desktops, laptops, and tablets across four offices.
  4. Jan 2010 – Mar 2018

    Technical Support · Sierra Advantage / Cal.net Inc.

    • Managed escalated billing and support cases for the Technical Support manager, and supported wireless internet customers on internet, phone, and email service.
    • Worked with Engineering to monitor and maintain the wireless network.
  5. Sep 2001 – Dec 2009

    Customer Success Specialist · Websoft Developers / California Networking

    • Sold and supported business and home internet service (DSL, T1 and dial-up), Dish Network service, and server hosting.
    • Taught resident computer training courses at University Retirement at Davis.

Personal server lab Off hours · Sep 2026 – present

Server hardening

Three Linux web servers · I built and run them from a setup script that is safe to rerun. Each server accepts key-based sign-ins only (no passwords), blocks all traffic except web and remote access, bans an address for an hour after 5 failed sign-ins, and installs security updates daily.

Websites

HTTPS everywhere · I serve each site over HTTPS with certificates that renew on their own, browser security settings that block common attacks, and access logs for each site.

Automated updates

GitHub Actions · each change I make to a site triggers an automated run that publishes it.

Migration and containers

Shared hosting to my own server · I moved a website and switched its DNS. The same server runs a Next.js web app in Docker.

Free study site for coworkers

skills.christhompson.us · I mapped out, researched and produced a free, self-paced learning site for peers and coworkers preparing for Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco and Linux certifications, with study sprints, a study calendar, resource lists and a downloadable study kit.

An automated job checks the site's sources every 6 hours. When they change, it runs tests, rebuilds, publishes, and confirms twelve production files match the new build.

Identity

Microsoft Entra ID · I run a personal tenant with Azure, Microsoft 365 and three domains. I manage the policies for my personal and lab devices through the tenant to add security at home.

PowerShell and procedures

Scripts Cookbook · I use PowerShell for day-to-day lab tasks and built a PowerShell, Python and Bash script Cookbook that documents the scripts. I then wrote Standard Operating Procedures for day-to-day work in the lab and on projects using all these tools.

Skills

Windows Server & identity

Windows Server 2016 – 2025, IIS, Active Directory, Group Policy, ADCS, hybrid Azure AD / Entra ID, Microsoft 365, Exchange, Teams

Virtualization

VMware ESXi 6.5 – 8, vSphere, Dell VxRail, VMware NSX

Hardware & monitoring

Dell OpenManage Enterprise, Aria Operations, Aria Operations for Logs, NinjaRMM

Backup & storage

Rubrik, Veeam (vSphere and Microsoft 365), Synology NAS, Windows Server file servers

Security & automation

PowerShell, server patching with a security team, Linux server security, HTTPS certificates, Docker, GitHub Actions automation

Networking

Cisco and MikroTik routers and switches, network segments (VLANs), troubleshooting

Line of business

Tyler Munis ERP, Cascade WinCAMS, VoIP platforms, vendor coordination

Certifications

Earned3

  • CompTIA A+July 2001
    Lifetime
  • CompTIA Network+March 2001
    Lifetime
  • FCC Amateur Radio, TechnicianCallsign K3CJT
    Licensed

In progress4

  • Microsoft AZ-802Windows Server Hybrid Administrator
    Studying
  • Microsoft AZ-104Azure Administrator
    Studying
  • CompTIA Security+ · Cloud+
    Studying

Education

Education

A.S. Computer Networking Management

American River College · 2016 – 2022

Cisco Networking Academy coursework, including Linux Systems Operation and Cisco Network Management.