Abdul Azeez
Minnesota,Minnesota
Summary
Accomplished VMware Cloud Foundation Architect with 14+ years in designing and managing private and hybrid cloud environments. Expertise in VCF 9. X and VCF 5.X Design and deployment, NSX-T networking, micro-segmentation, and Zero Trust security models. Proficient in VMware Aria Suite for monitoring and automation, alongside hands-on experience with vDefend SSP, AVI, and Azure with VMware solutions infrastructure management. Delivered solutions that enhance operational efficiency and security posture.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Senior VMware Consultant
Target
Minnesota, MN
03.2023 - Current
- Led end-to-end VCF 9.0 deployment, coordinating Cloud Builder bring-up, workbook validation, and alignment of prerequisites (DNS, NTP, networking) for successful production rollout.
- Worked on both greenfield and brownfield deployments, bringing existing environments into VCF while minimising disruption to running workloads.
- Designed SDDC architecture (management and workload domains) based on real-time business needs, ensuring scalability, high availability, and future growth.
- Designed and deployed VMware Cloud Foundation 9.x environments using Cloud Builder and Deployment Parameter Workbook, establishing scalable Management and Workload Domains aligned with enterprise architecture standards.
- Led end-to-end VCF 9 deployment lifecycle, including bring-up, validation, and integration of vSphere, vSAN, and NSX-T components across multi-cluster environments.
- Architected fleet-based multi-instance VCF environments, enabling centralised lifecycle management, global policy enforcement, and multi-region scalability.
- Planned and executed VMware Cloud Foundation 5.x to 9.x upgrade activities, including pre-upgrade assessments, compatibility validation, lifecycle planning, and phased upgrade execution across Management and Workload Domains.
- VMware NSX-T components while ensuring minimal downtime and operational continuity.
- Validated infrastructure readiness for VCF9 upgrades, including hardware compatibility, firmware compliance, certificate verification, backup validation, and bundle pre-check remediation activities.
- Deployed and managed Nutanix Cloud Platform clusters across production and disaster recovery environments to support scalable and highly available enterprise workloads.
- Administered Nutanix Prism Central and Prism Element for cluster monitoring, lifecycle management, capacity planning, and infrastructure performance optimisation.
- Performed cluster expansion, node upgrades, firmware updates, and health checks to ensure infrastructure stability, compliance, and operational efficiency.
- Implemented data protection and disaster recovery solutions with Nutanix replication, snapshots, backup integration, and failover/failback procedures to ensure operational resilience.
- Integrated Nutanix infrastructure with VMware, backup solutions, and enterprise networking components to support hybrid cloud and multi-platform operations.
- Collaborated with infrastructure, cloud, and application teams to plan and execute workload migrations, infrastructure modernisation, and performance tuning initiatives.
- Supported post-upgrade testing and operational validation for Aria Suite integrations, NSX networking services, vSAN health, workload domain functionality, and micro-segmentation policies after migration to VCF9.
- Collaborated with cloud, networking, and infrastructure teams to develop upgrade runbooks, rollback procedures, risk mitigation plans, and architecture documentation for enterprise VCF modernisation initiatives.
- Configured and optimised SDDC Manager workflows for bundle management, automated patching, upgrade orchestration, and drift remediation across VCF instances.
- Designed separation strategies for the Management Domain and Workload Domain, enhancing isolation, security hardening, and resource allocation for production workloads.
- Implemented NSX-T networking within VCF 9, including Tier-0/Tier-1 gateways, overlay segments, edge clusters, and BGP-based north-south routing.
- Integrated VMware Aria Operations for real-time monitoring, capacity planning, performance analytics, and predictive alerting across VCF environments.
- Developed custom dashboards and alerts in Aria Operations to track cluster health, vSAN performance, NSX networking metrics, and workload utilisation trends.
- Deployed and configured VMware Aria Automation to enable self-service provisioning of VMs and Kubernetes workloads using blueprints and catalogue services.
- Configured and managed Network Load Balancer (NLB) and Application Load Balancer (ALB) solutions to distribute application traffic efficiently across enterprise production environments and ensure high availability.
- Implemented Layer-4 and Layer-7 load balancing policies, including health monitors, persistence profiles, SSL offloading, traffic steering, and application optimisation for critical business applications.
- Designed and deployed load balancing architectures integrating VMware NSX ALB (AVI) and cloud-native ALB services across hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructures.
- Performed troubleshooting and performance tuning for NLB and ALB environments involving traffic flow analysis, latency issues, backend pool failures, SSL certificate problems, and application availability incidents.
- Collaborated with network, security, and application teams to implement scalable load balancing solutions supporting microservices, web applications, and enterprise workloads with optimised traffic distribution and failover capabilities.
- Designed end-to-end Aria Automation workflows, including blueprint creation, image mapping, flavour profiles, cloud zones, and policy-based provisioning.
- Automated infrastructure provisioning using Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) tools such as Terraform and Ansible, integrated with Aria Automation APIs.
- Skills: VCF9.x, VCF5.Aria automation, Aria fleet management, NSXT, Defend, AVI, Aria Networks, SDDC, and Aria logs.
- Supported the creation of detailed, technical financial models to value potential acquisition targets.
- Maintained an overall safe work environment with employee training programs and enforcement of safety procedures.
- Developed effective improvement plans in alignment with goals and specifications.
- Created and managed project plans, timelines and budgets.
- Led cross-functional teams to drive process improvements and enhance client satisfaction.
- Facilitated workshops to identify client needs, aligning solutions with business objectives.
- Developed strategic frameworks for client engagement, resulting in increased project efficiency.
VMware NSX Consultant
Cognizant Technologies
Dallas Taxes, USA
05.2019 - 03.2023
- Designed and implemented VMware NSXT micro segmentation for centralised security policy management, IDS/IPS enablement, and DFW and GFW enforcement across VMware environments.
- Deployed form factors within NSX architecture, ensuring scalability and high availability for distributed security inspection.
- Architected micro segmentation strategies using NSX-T Distributed Firewall (DFW), enabling granular east-west traffic control based on application tiers and security groups.
- Leveraged application dependency mapping via vRealize Network Insight (vRNI) to design least-privilege DFW policies aligned with Zero Trust architecture.
- Configured and optimised L3–L7 firewall rules, including context-aware policies for application-level security enforcement.
- Implemented IDS/IPS policies within SSP, performing signature tuning, alert analysis, and threat mitigation across VCF workloads.
- Optimised L3–L7 firewall rules implementing context-aware policies to enhance application-level security enforcement.
- Configured and managed Tier-0/Tier-1 gateways, VRFs, and edge clusters, enabling scalable routing and multi-tenant isolation.
- Engineered north-south routing with BGP integration between NSX Edge nodes and physical network infrastructure.
- Took an active role in planning and deploying NSX-T environments, ensuring smooth integration with existing data centre networking.
- Executed SDDC Manager lifecycle workflows, including bundle downloads, prechecks, compliance validation, and automated upgrades.
- Executed SDDC Manager lifecycle workflows, ensuring successful bundle downloads, prechecks, compliance validation, and automated upgrades.
- Developed operational runbooks for incident response (P1/P2), addressing NSX failures, DFW misconfigurations, and connectivity issues to improve incident resolution.
- Optimised DFW rule sets for performance and scalability, minimising rule count while maintaining security posture.
- Built dashboards to monitor security posture, IDS/IPS alerts, firewall rule hits, and network traffic patterns.
- Designed and enforced Zero Trust architecture frameworks, ensuring identity-based access control and continuous verification of east-west traffic.
- Led Day-2 optimisation initiatives, including performance tuning of NSX Edge nodes, scaling DFW configurations, and improving network throughput and latency.
- Designed and supported vSphere environments, including ESXi clusters and vCenter setup, while ensuring HA and DRS policies were properly tuned for performance and availability.
- Skills: VMware vSphere, VMware NSXT, NSXV to NSXT migrations, HCX cloud migrations, Aria Operations, Aria automation, ESXI
- Facilitated workshops and training sessions, fostering team development and knowledge sharing.
- Directed project timelines and deliverables, ensuring alignment with client objectives and expectations.
- Analyzed client needs and tailored solutions, resulting in improved satisfaction and engagement.
- Mentored junior consultants, supporting professional growth and enhancing team capabilities.
- Collaborated with stakeholders to identify business opportunities, contributing to long-term strategic planning efforts.
Senior Consultant
Infosys
Minnesota, USA
06.2015 - 05.2019
- Worked on Azure VMware Solution (AVS) environments, supporting deployment, configuration, and day-to-day operations of vCenter and NSX in the cloud.
- Designed secure connectivity between on-prem data centres and AVS with cloud and network teams using ExpressRoute, enhancing data flow and security.
- Played a key role in extending on-prem VMware workloads into AVS, ensuring seamless integration without impacting existing services.
- Built and configured NSX-T components within AVS, including Tier-0/Tier-1 gateways, segments, and edge clusters.
- Designed and implemented micro-segmentation policies using NSX Distributed Firewall, based on application communication patterns.
- Collaborated with application owners to analyse traffic flows using vRNI, helping define accurate and secure firewall rules.
- Used vRealize Network Insight (vRNI) for visibility into network traffic, dependency mapping, and troubleshooting complex communication issues.
- Supported HCX deployment and configuration, including site pairing and service mesh setup between on-prem and AVS environments.
- Executed workload migrations using HCX, strategically selecting migration methods (Bulk, vMotion, RAV) to align with application criticality and minimize downtime.
- Worked on HCX Network Extension, enabling Layer-2 stretch to avoid IP changes during migration and simplify application cutover.
- Coordinated planning of migration waves, aligning application dependencies with business timelines to ensure seamless transitions.
- Skills: VMware vSphere, VRNI, Azure, Azure with VMware solutions, NSXT, NSXV, Cloud migrations, Geneva, ESXI, Upgrades, Deployments
Associate Consultant
HP (Bpost)
Dallas
04.2012 - 06.2015
- Engaged in P1/P2 incident calls, collaborating with cross-functional teams to restore services and minimize downtime quickly.
- Configured and supported network security solutions, including firewall policies, VPN configurations, and secure access controls.
- Worked on IPsec VPN and hybrid connectivity setups, ensuring secure communication between cloud and on-prem environments.
- Used tools like Wireshark, vRNI, and cloud monitoring tools to troubleshoot packet-level issues and optimize traffic flow.
- Continuously monitored and improved network performance and security posture, ensuring compliance with enterprise standards.
- Worked as a Network and VMware Engineer supporting day-to-day operations of vSphere environments, including ESXi hosts, vCenter management, and cluster health monitoring.
- Managed VMware infrastructure by maintaining ESXi clusters, HA/DRS configurations, and ensuring high availability across critical workloads.
- Supported NSX environments, handling logical switching, Tier-1 routing, and firewall policy updates based on operational needs.
- Assisted in configuring NSX components such as logical switches, gateways, and distributed firewall rules for secure application communication.
- Monitored network health with SolarWinds and other NMS tools, tracking bandwidth utilization and device performance trends for proactive management.
- Participated in security operations, including firewall rule reviews, log monitoring, and ensuring adherence to enterprise security standards.
- Configured and maintained network security policies, including ACLs and VPN access, to ensure compliance with security standards.
- Managed incident resolution for P2/P3 issues across network and VMware environments, achieving timely resolution within SLA.
- Supported vCenter operations, including VM provisioning, snapshot management, and resource allocation for applications.
- Managed core services like DNS, DHCP, and Active Directory, ensuring proper IP management and name resolution.
- Collaborated with application and infrastructure teams to support deployments and ensure network readiness for new services.
- Analyzed client requirements, ensuring alignment with business objectives and technical specifications.
- Facilitated workshops to gather stakeholder feedback, improving product functionality and user experience.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to deliver comprehensive solutions tailored to client needs.
Education
MBA - MBA
Madras Unversity
IndiaSkills
- VCF 9 X, VCF 5 X Deployment and upgrades
- VMware NSXT and NSXV
- VMware vSphere
- Aria Operations, Logs and Networks
- VDefend and AVI
- HCX migration
- Azure VMware solutions
- Network Routing and Switching
- Palo Alto firewalls
- Team leadership & development
- Client relationships
- Aria for Networks
- Problem-solving
- Customer relationship management
- Project implementation
- Subject matter expert
- Client requirements assessment
Certification
- VCP-VCF Administrator
- Network Virtualization (VCP-NV)
- Data Centre Virtualization 2024 (VCP-DCV 2024)
- CCNP Routing and Switching.
Timeline
Senior VMware Consultant
Target
03.2023 - Current
VMware NSX Consultant
Cognizant Technologies
05.2019 - 03.2023
Senior Consultant
Infosys
06.2015 - 05.2019
Associate Consultant
HP (Bpost)
04.2012 - 06.2015
MBA - MBA
Madras Unversity