Welcome

Welcome to my WordPress site! I am running this site with Ubuntu Linux, NGINX, MariaDB, PHP, and Let’s Encrypt to SSL. All the software is free and the server is LESS THAN $5 / month. I don’t think you can run a blog faster and more securely for less money any other way.

My Interests

I mainly use my websites to test new technology and keep my skills current. My hobbies include running, swimming, hiking, biking, motorcycles, travel, photography, and of course ANYTHING to  do with new or emerging technology. Recently, I migrated my home lab from VMware to Proxmox. I am a huge fan of Open Source tech including Node Red, which is something I wish I would have found  earlier.

About Me

I am an Technology Leader that works for the U.S. Government overseas, currently assigned to Belgium. My assignments have taken me from Munich, Germany to Nairobi, Kenya with stops in China, Nicaragua, the UK, and even a bit of time in Haiti, Somalia and Afghanistan. My teams focus on proactively looking for new ways to use technology that allow us to better serve the American people, advance U.S. interests and build strong relationships with our friends and allies around the globe. We have been successful with cloud, mobile, big data, and virtualization solutions recently, but are exploring new technology and ways it can add value to our efforts. The latest projects are mainly security related, as our organization moves towards a mindset of Zero trust Architecture (ZTA).

Blog

New Tweet andywalsh

RT @StateDept_IRM: Congrats and a warm welcome to our new @StateDept_CIO Kelly Fletcher! Dr. Fletcher hails from: @DoD_CIO, @DHSgov, @NavyD…

New Tweet andywalsh

RT @CISAJen: 🔥Super excited for October’s #CyberMonth theme: See yourself in cyber! EVERYONE plays a role in cybersecurity, even those who…

Other Projects

Check out my current Projects:

  • Exploring all technology related to Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) and shift from perimeter based networks to a mindset of compromise and remediation.
  • Currently working on solutions with NodeRed https://nodered.org/ and IoT technologies to automate systems of systems
  • Migrating and comparing use cases for ProxMox https://www.proxmox.com/en/ versus VMware vCenter https://www.vmware.com/products/vcenter-server.html
  • Exploring all use cases for NGINX https://www.nginx.com/ as a proxy server and web server, but also open to Traefik https://traefik.io/
  • Learning Splunk https://www.splunk.com/ to better utilize logs in decision making
  • Building dashboards with visualizations using Grafana https://grafana.com/
  • Considering how to use ThinLinc https://www.cendio.com/ as an alternative to costly solutions for a web based thin client
  • Exploring use cases for Azure Virtual Desktop
  • Leaning how to use OpenHab https://www.openhab.org/ for IoT automation of a house
  • Building new servers / computers with the most bang for the buck in the smallest footprint