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Dr. Michael J. Bisconti

Database Administrator, Developer, & System Architect

 

THIS DOCUMENT IS ONLY VALID FOR THE YEARS COVERED (1972 – 2002)

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 1972 – 2002 CONTINUED

 

5/02 – 5/02        EXS, Inc.     Chicago, Illinois

                        //www.excelaladdin.com

            MS SQL Server DBA & System Architect

                        Consultant (Independent Contract)

 

Installed and configured proxy server and integrated their SQL Server servers.  Installed and configured SMTP Email Server, SMTP Email Client, and Inbox Email Extractor.  Configured the SMTP Email Client to generate Email Merge Documents.  Integrated these components with their SQL Server databases.

 

3/02 – 4/02         A. M. Castle & Co.     Franklin Park, IL  60131

                        MS SQL Server DBA/Oracle DBA/System Architect & DBA/System Architect

                        Instructor

                        Consultant (Consulting Firm 1099 Contract)

 

Instructed members of the Business Intelligence Team in SQL Server 7.0/2000 Database Administration and Data Warehouse Development on NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 and in Oracle 8/8i Database Administration on NT 4.0, Windows 2000 and UNIX (HP-UX).  Instructed the Network Group in backup/recovery procedures for SQL Server 7.0/2000 on NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 and for Oracle 8/8i on NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 and UNIX (HP-UX).

 

1/02 – 2/02         EXS, Inc.     Chicago, Illinois

                        //www.excelaladdin.com

                        MS SQL Server DBA & System Architect

                        Consultant (Independent Contract)

 

Called in to handle emergency disaster recovery and to redesign their backup/recovery system.

 

10/01 – 12/01    Daimler Chrysler Corporation     Belvidere, IL

                        Oracle DBA/MS SQL Server DBA

                        Consultant (Consulting Firm W2 Contract)

 

· Oracle DBA.  · MS SQL Server DBA.  · Replaced their old backup/recovery system with one that is more efficient and user-friendly.  · Installed and configured ArcServe on their Oracle 8.0.6 NT 4.0 Server using RAID 0 and RAID 5.  · Performance tuned Oracle databases and MS SQL Server databases.  · Replaced embedded SQL with stored procedures to improve performance.  · AS400 exposure.

 

7/01 – 9/01        Arlington Industries     Libertyville, IL

                        Oracle DBA/Architect Technical Advisor

                        Consultant (Consulting Firm)

 

· Oracle DBA/Architect.  · Oracle 8i running on Windows 2000. · Provided recommendations relative to their planned Progress/Oracle Database Expansion with particular emphasis on the Progress/Oracle Dataserver and the Progress-to-Oracle Database Conversion Utility.

 

6/01 – 7/01        U.S. Office Products/The Systems House     Des Plaines, IL

                        MS SQL Server DBA and NT 4.0/Windows 2000 System Architect

                        Consultant (Consulting Firm W2 Contract)

 

Developed custom Performance Tracking Architecture for the 75 servers making up the NT 4.0/Windows 2000 component of this installation.  The architecture was based upon an analysis of the types of servers.  The critical types of servers were Ecommerce Web Servers using IIS, and SQL Server servers.  Quality Assurance was also addressed as well as a score of other issues.  The Systems House is a model for computer installations throughout the world, incorporating Unidata, RS 6000 and NT 4.0/Windows 2000 servers, all supported by world-class, failsafe UPS systems.

 

12/00 – 5/01       EXS, Inc.     Chicago, Illinois

                        //www.excelaladdin.com

                        MS SQL Server DBA & System Architect

                        Consultant (Independent Contract)

 

Utilized Microsoft’s Web Solution Platform (formerly known as Windows DNA) to address projected performance needs.  Considered 2-tier, 2 ½-tier and n-tier (3-tier and complex 3-tier) architectures.  Developed the framework for conversion from a 2-tier to a 3-tier architecture.  The main component was NT’s Transactional Component Services, particularly Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) and the Distributed Transaction Coordinator (DTC).  Internet Information Server (IIS) and Exchange Server were incorporated into the architectural plan as well as replication and Microsoft Cluster Server (MSCS).  Transactional connectivity to Oracle and DB2 databases, integration with Microsoft Message Queue Server (MSMQ), transactional mainframe connectivity via Microsoft SNA Server and the COM Transaction Integrator were addressed as well as COM/DCOM and IDE requirements.  Finally, database pointers were used to reference audio and graphics files.

 

8/00 – 11/00       American Academy of Pediatrics     Elk Grove, Illinois

                        MS SQL Server Production DBA & IT Department DBA Instructor

                        Consultant (Consulting Firm W2 Contract)

 

Specialized in Performance Tuning & Optimization for MS SQL Server 6.5 and 7.0 running on NT 4.0 implemented on Compaq Proliant servers using RAID 1 and RAID 5 in a production environment.  Achieved a Production Server Performance Gain of 266%.  The principal areas addressed were application optimization, checkpoint, CPU bottlenecks, deadlocks, disk bottlenecks, disk i/o parallelism, disk space, fillfactor, index create memory, index optimization, lazy writer, locks, log manager, max async i/o, max server memory, memory bottlenecks, min server memory, open objects, pad_index, paging, query optimization, read-ahead manager, recovery interval, user connections, worker threads and some items from the section -SQL Server Performance- for the Merchant Account Corporation below.  Utilized OLAP Services (renamed -Analysis Services- in SQL Server 2000).  Provided over 1,000 pages of documentation including statistical server data/graph volumes, implementation reports and instructional materials.  Also, assisted in a version migration from 6.5 to 7.0 as well as a hardware migration from a 2-processor to a 4-processor server.

 

5/00 – 8/00         Aon Corporation     Chicago, Illinois

                        MS SQL Server DBA, Oracle DBA & IT Department DBA Instructor

                        Consultant (Consulting Firm W2 Contract)

 

Addressed maintenance and performance needs (see previous projects) for MS SQL Server 6.5 and 7.0 and Oracle 8i servers running on NT 4.0 and Oracle 8i servers running on UNIX (SVR4/4.2), implemented on Compaq Proliant and Dell servers, using RAID 1 and RAID 5.  Developed plans for server disaster recovery, installation, upgrading and migration.  Performed server installations, upgrades from SQL Server 6.5 to 7.0, audits and disaster recovery simulations.  Guided clustering and redundancy design implementation.  Taught classes and provided documentation in SQL Server architecture, storage management, setup, configuration, SQL Agent, SQL Mail and performance tuning and optimization.  Also, assisted as Sybase and DB2 UDB DBA developing schemas and creating stored procedures.  Finally, exposure to AS400.

 

1/00 – 4/00         Merchant Account Corporation     Chicago, Illinois

                        EXS, Inc.     Chicago, Illinois

                        //www.excelaladdin.com

                        MS SQL Server DBA and Developer, Web Developer

                        Consultant (Independent Contract)

 

Designed and implemented a complete ECommerce Solution for a network of websites, utilizing SQL Server Administration and Development skills and Web Programming skills.  Considerable time was devoted to improving SQL Server Performance.  MS SQL Server 7.0 running on NT 4.0.  Also performed SQL Server maintenance tasks. See the section -Alphabetical list of tasks and troubleshooting events- for the Chicago Board of Trade below.

 

SQL Server Performance

 

Monitored CPU, Memory, I/O Subsystem and Network.  The following enhancements were implemented:

 

CPU

 

Priority Boost – This option was set to 1 because we were using dedicated SQL Server computers.  Max Worker Threads – This was set to a number greater than the number of user connections to avoid thread pooling (which results in user connection wait time).  SMP Concurrency – This option was set to -1 (use all processors) since we were using a dedicated, mutiprocessor server.

 

Other CPU Strategies – Moved services and applications to different servers.  Started to run services and applications at different times.  Stopped using server as a workstation.  Took SQL Server off of domain controller.  Switched to intelligent controllers for bus mastering and I/O.  Upgraded single CPUs to a higher class and clock speed.  Upgraded to multiple CPUs.

 

Memory

 

· Free memory in excess of 4 Megabytes was assigned to SQL Server. This number never fell below 4 Megabytes; therefore, Windows NT never issued a request for applications to reduce their working sets.  · The size of the Windows NT Paging file was increased.  · Unnecessary applications and services were removed.

· Unnecessary network protocols were removed.  · The amount of physical memory was increased by 2 GB.

 

I/O Subsystem

 

· Used the Max Async I/O and Max Lazywrite I/O options. Monitored Physical Disk: Avg. disk Queue Length counter. The value was consistently less than Max Async I/O.  The values for Max Async I/O and Max Lazywrite I/O were increased by 25%.  · Used the free buffers option. This was increased by 25% since the SQL Server: I/O – Single-page Writes counter was high.  · Implemented RAID 5.  · Switched to high-performance controllers.  · Removed unnecessary file-server roles from the server.  · Used hardware-based RAID.  · Used higher-performing hard disks.  · Switched to wider-bus motherboards and controllers.  · Placed tempdb on the fastest possible device.  · After optimizing the data cache, set tempdb to 200 Megabytes to meet demands made on system and since the cache hit ratio was consistently low and no other means could be taken to improve it such as rewriting queries or altering data structures. After increasing the physical memory, the amount of RAM available to the SQL Server was far above what it actually needed to operate effectively as indicated by a consistently high cache hit ratio and low physical I/O.

 

Network

 

· Stopped using the encryption feature of the multi-protocol net library since over-the-wire encryption was not needed.  · Used the packet size option to reduce the packet size.  Obtained faster response times.  · Made certain that Windows NT was set to Maximize throughput for Network applications.  · Recommended that 16-bit network cards (800 kps) be replaced with 32-bit cards (1200 kps).  · Suggested that network traffic to the server might be reduced through routing changes.  · Recommended that switched hubs be used to reduce overall bandwidth usage.  · Recommended installation of multiple network cards on the server, and that each card be configured to send to a different part of the network.

 

Other Strategies

 

User Connections – Monitored the number of connected users during normal usage sessions to determine this number.

Procedure cache – Decreased the percentage of free RAM to reserve for procedure headers and execution trees to 20% since RAM was considerable.

Open Databases – Set the maximum number of databases that can be open simultaneously to 50.

Open Objects – Set the maximum number of database objects that can be open simultaneously to 1000.

Locks – Set the number of available locks to 10,000 since SQL Server displayed messages that the number of available locks was exceeded and based on number of connected users.

Logwrite sleep – Increased to 200 since RAM was considerable.

 

Websites

 

The websites submit online transactions to SQL Server.  The submission pages submit customer information to SQL Server using the http -POST- function.  Some custom, HTML tags were created, including a tag for credit card transactions.

 

5/99-12/99         Chicago Board of Trade     Chicago, Illinois

                        MS SQL Server DBA

                        Consultant (Consulting Firm W2 Contract)

 

· MS SQL Server 6.5 and 7.0 running on NT 4.0.

· Peripheral work as Oracle and DB2 UDB DBA developing schemas, creating stored procedures, triggers, indexes, etc.

· Alphabetical list of tasks and troubleshooting events:  Architecture and Planning, Assist Application Developers in Applying RDBMS Technology, Backup Device Creation, Capacity Planning for Database Servers, Corrupt Application Database, Corrupt Master Database, Corrupt Table, Data Destruction or Loss, Database Backups, Database Changes, Database Creation, Database Data Only Transfer, Database Deletion (Drop), Database Disaster Recovery Planning Including Testing Scenarios and Documentation, Data Integrity, Database Maintenance Schedule, Database Object Missing (No Data), Database Object Updates, Database Recovery, Database Restore, Deadlocks (or Blocking), Development Database Planning, Data Transformation Services, Data Warehousing, Geographical Load Balancing, Logical and Physical

   Database Design, Nightly Batch Process, NT Server, Out of Disk Space, Event, Performance Monitor Alert Setup, Problem Tracking/Resolution Event Report, Production Database Planning, QA and Architecture Review, QA-ing a Server, Replication (Publishing, Subscribing, Distributing), Security Requirements, Service Pack/Maintenance Updates, SQL Server Alert and Task Creation, SQL Server Performance Issues, Task Scheduler Not Working, Test Database Planning, Transaction Log Dump with INIT, Transaction Log Dumping at 50% Full, Transaction Log Fails to Dump, Transaction Log Filled Due to Open Tran, Unkillable Process, Understanding of 24 x 7 Database Support, User Connections Exceed Threshold

· This project required the signing of a confidentiality agreement.  However, participation in the project is

   authenticated by several hundred pages of records and affidavits in the public domain.

 

1/99-4/99           General Electric Company     Naperville, Illinois Oracle DBA, MS SQL Server DBA

                        Consultant (Consulting Firm W2 Contract)

 

· Oracle DBA, Oracle Developer, MS SQL Server DBA, MS SQL Server Developer.  · Oracle 8 running on NT 4.0 and UNIX (SVR4.2).  · Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 and 7.0 running on NT 4.0.  · Administered, developed and consolidated Oracle databases.  · Administered and migrated Microsoft SQL Server databases to Oracle.  · Migrated Access databases to Microsoft SQL Server.  · Handled database design, tuning, backup, recovery, export, import, application tuning.  · Developed and administered the Oracle database back end of a web site which was integrated with a series of ongoing, national, television commercials.  · This project required the signing of a confidentiality agreement.  However, participation in the project is authenticated by several hundred pages of records and affidavits in the public domain.  Also, exposure to AS400.

 

11/98-12/98       MCI WorldCom, Inc.     Chicago, Illinois

                        Technical Assessment Expert in Oracle and MS SQL Server

                        Consultant (Consulting Firm W2 Contract)

 

· Oracle DBA, MS SQL Server DBA.  · Oracle 7 running on NT 4.0 and UNIX (AIX 4.3.2).  · Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 and 7.0 running on NT 4.0.  · Prepared a Technical Assessment of the Paradox/Oracle Database Conversion of the Teleconferencing System of MCI WorldCom.

 

5/98-10/98         Amoco Corporation     Chicago, Illinois Oracle DBA, MS SQL Server DBA

                        Consultant (Consulting Firm W2 Contract) · Developed the Customer Subsystem for Amoco’s Terminal Automation System.  · Oracle DBA, MS SQL

Server DBA, Visual C++ Developer.  · Oracle 7 running on NT 4.0, UNIX (AIX 4.1.5) and UNIX (SVR4).  · Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 running on NT 4.0.  · Administered and migrated MS SQL Server databases.  · DB2.

 

9/97-4/98           Kraft Foods     Northfield, Illinois MS SQL Server DBA

                        Consultant (Consulting Firm W2 Contract)

· MS SQL Server DBA, MS SQL Server Developer.  · Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 running on NT 4.0.

· Developed SQL procedures for a variety of reports.  · Developed the Reports segment of Kraft’s KAPS System.  · Developed reports in Crystal Reports 6.0.

1/97-8/97           Rockford Electronics     Rockford, Illinois MS SQL Server DBA, Oracle DBA

                        Consultant (W2 Contract)

· Developed systems for clients of a Rockford-based, computer-hardware, electronics company:

1.  Rockford Manufacturer:  Planned Maintenance System, Oracle DBA, Oracle 7 running on NT 4.0.

2.  Rockford Realtor:  Sales Tracking System, Oracle DBA, Oracle 7 running on NT 4.0, Visual Basic Developer.

3.  Rockford Retail Outlet:  Purchase Order System, Oracle DBA, Oracle 7 running on NT 4.0, MS SQL Server DBA, Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 running on NT 4.0, Administered and migrated MS SQL Server databases, Visual C++ Developer.

 

10/95-1/97         U.S. Robotics (3Com Corporation)     Morton Grove, Illinois Senior Systems Analyst

· Oracle DBA and MS SQL Server DBA.  · Oracle 7 running on NT 4.0 and UNIX (SVR4).  · Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 running on NT 4.0.  · Developed Technical Database in Oracle, and its Visual Basic front end.  · Developed Radio Frequency Data Collection (RFDC) Program in Visual C++ and integrated its    functionality with the Technical Database.  · Migrated MS SQL Server databases to Oracle.  · Developed Bar Code Maker Database in MS SQL Server, Dispatch Database, Material Requirements Planning Database and Purchase Order System Database in Oracle, and their Visual Basic front ends.  · Was a significant factor in obtaining ISO Certification for U.S. Robotics through the development of a Planned Maintenance System Database recognized as -Best of Industry- by the ISO Committee.

· Functioned as Project Manager for a Programming Group consisting of 20 programmers and technicians.  · Utilized database pointers to reference audio and graphics files.

 

8/87-10/95         MicroPlus Consultants     Chicago, Illinois

                        Systems Development Consultant · Created a Customer Database at Rand McNally for their Public Relations Department in Dbase IV. · Created a Product Database at Kraft Foods in Access, Excel and Visual Basic for their National Sales Department.  · Created a Membership Database in Paradox and Quattro Pro at the National Safety Council for their C&A Department.  · Developed an Automated Proposal Generation System in Access and Visual Basic for the National Safety Council.  · Developed a Quarterly Accountability MultiSpreadsheet Database in Access for invoice tracking at Océ.  · Served as acting Network Administrator at Peoples Choice Cable TV.  Programmed new workstations and performed hardware installation and configuration. Handled the LAN end of a LAN-to-WAN conversion.  · Handled daily responsibilities for batch processing of tax data under OS/VS1 and IDMS on an IBM 4341 mainframe, for Computax.  · Handled accounting responsibilities on a WANG minicomputer.

1/72 – 8/87         Graphics Systems, Inc.     Chicago, Illinois IT Department Manager / Systems Development Manager Served as department manager, project manager, team leader and lead programmer. Reorganized the IT Department to meet the new, competitive requirements of the microcomputer age.  Involved in matters relating to business development, practice management, project management, proposal development and operations management.  Hired new information technology professionals, assigned work and supervised and evaluated staff.  Ensured that the staff was appropriately trained and challenged and that career paths were provided.  Negotiated with consulting vendors, software vendors and hardware vendors.

 

EDUCATION · Postdoctoral Studies, Northwestern University · Postdoctoral Studies, Wright College · Ph.D. in Applied Computer Science, MicroTech Institute

· M.S. in Computer Science, MicroTech Institute

· Graduate Studies, Providence Christian Seminary

· B.E., Midwestern College

 

PUBLISHED WORKS

 

RDBMS Essentials for Microsoft SQL Server  © 1998, 2000

Microsoft SQL Server – Performance Tuning and Optimization  © 1999, 2000

RDBMS Essentials for Oracle  © 1997, 2000

Oracle – Performance Tuning and Optimization  © 1997, 2000

 

RDBMS CERTIFICATIONS

 

DBA Certifications                        · MTI Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 DBA

                                                     · MTI Microsoft SQL Server 7 DBA

                                                     · MTI Microsoft SQL Server 2000 DBA

                                                     · MTI Microsoft SQL Server 2003 DBA

                                                     · MTI Oracle 8i DBA

                                                     · MTI Oracle 9i DBA

                                                     · CBT Oracle 7

                                                     · CBT Oracle 8i

 

Operating System Certfications    · CBT Windows NT 4.0

                                                     · CBT UNIX

                                                     · CBT Windows 2000

 

Other RDBMS Certifications         · CBT Client-Server

                                                     · CBT Networking

                                                     · CBT SQL

                                                     · CBT T-SQL

                                                     · CBT SQLPlus

                                                     · CBT PL-SQL

 

OTHER CERTIFICATIONS

 

CBT Certifications in C, C++, Object-Oriented Programming, Operating System Assessment, Visual Basic 4.0, Visual Basic 5.0, Visual C++ & MFC Applications Development, Web Development

 

MAJOR HONORS AND AWARDS

 

· Ph.D., Summa Cum Laude

· ISO Best Of Industry

 

ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION

 

· 1-page Resume

· 2-page Resume

· 4-page Resume

· 1-skill Experience Files

· References

· Academic Credentials

 

SQL SERVER SKILLS MATRIX

 

 

ORACLE SKILLS MATRIX

 

 

SYBASE/INFORMIX SKILLS MATRIX

 

 

RDBMS/EAS HISTORY (MAJOR PROJECTS ONLY)

 

 

GENERAL TECHNOLOGIES MATRIX

 

Expert in Database Technologies and Enterprise Applications Software Technologies.  Where essential, length of experience is provided in parentheses.