I'm a server and infrastructure guy with a penchant for the big picture and a lifelong love of technology.

I'm not looking for new opportunities at this time.

Ask me about my homelab, and ignore the huge backlog of projects. I've redone my home networks for the end of my Meraki licenses, then switched back. I've worked in networking and storage although it's been a little while. I have never been a developer. I've never waited tables (even database tables) but respect those who do. I admit what I don't know and learn quickly. 

Today I'm an engineering product manager for UCS networking in the compute business at Cisco. 

From 2022-2023 I was product line manager for software management products at Supermicro. 

From 2018-2020 I focused on channel partner enablement, partner sales engineering, solutions engineering at Cisco. 

From 2014-2018 I played storyteller/matchmaker between big data ISVs, Cisco channel partners and internal sales teams, and occasionally a customer or 100. I've been doing big data since late 2003/early 2004 (really) and Hadoop since probably 2008 (CDH1). I presented at partner events and public conferences including Strata+Hadoop World (2x) and Cisco Live (4x, Distinguished Speaker). 

On the first day at Cisco (right after lunch), I pushed a half million dollar deal over the edge with my personal experience outweighing a competitor's positioning. From then on, I brought context and proportion to challenging situations, helping our customers succeed and our sales teams make money. I believe those two should not be mutually exclusive, and I consider it my mission to bring them together wherever I work. 

Before Cisco, I was a senior level Silicon Valley systems operations professional with nearly 20 years (different years, even) of production UNIX system administration in multiple varieties of UNIX (Solaris, Linux, BSD) as well as experience in other desktop and server platforms. I built a proven history of delivering enterprise class scalable server, network, and DR/BC environments within stringent budget and time restraints.

I blog at rsts11.com and rsts11travel.com. 

Specialties: Big data platforms, hardware, and education; system administration, hardware planning and management (even clouds need hardware), Hadoop, written English (documentation is our friend), UNIX-based email systems, coffee preparation & procurement, operations team building and sustaining. 

I'm not a developer or coder although I can read or tweak some code. I don't have an MBA or a PhD. 

I'm not looking for new opportunities at this time.

Robert Novak

I guess there's a new way to scream THIS IS SPAM. 

This company is "reaching out to you on LinkedIn on the basis of its legitimate interests"

My legitimate interest is to receive an advance payment of $100 before reviewing the often-poorly-targeted inquiry you're spamming me with. You can put the amount in manually on https://ko-fi.com/robnovak, and by sending me money through this link, you accept that I do not commit to anything in return. I usually thank people but I don't commit to even that.

🚝Robert Novak

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Six months ago I brought up a Proxmox VE cluster on my Lenovo P360 Ultra stack (see comments for my "banana for scale" equivalent). I did this on the dining room table, so I had to take it down, and it's been waiting for some shelf space. 

The first generation used a $36 ZTYUAV 2.5/10G switch (now $28, https://amzn.to/3LLBWBS) and the onboard 2.5gbe ports on the P360s. 

I upgraded the quad gigabit Ethernet cards to Lenovo 10GBase-T cards and got a small low power 10GBase-T switch from Woot (Zyxel XGS1250-12, currently $180 on Amazon, https://amzn.to/4aWf8tv). 

I'm planning to bring the 10G platform up, upgrade (or fresh install) to VE9, possibly add some more internal storage for Ceph, and do some testing and recording. 

Then it's time to install the ConnectX-4 cards (https://ebay.us/vNnoJR, under $40, with some $20ish 10GTek cables for a loop network) and see what it feels like on higher speeds. 

Hoping to get a video series next month and a blog post or two around the same time. Then maybe I'll find some enterprise grade gear to warm up. 

As an Amazon and eBay affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases, including those through links above, at no extra cost to my readers.

Nile

Drove strategic partnerships with leading resellers across the western US and Japan.

Led partner enablement, developed go-to-market practices, and empowered sales teams and engineers to deliver Nile’s innovative, cloud-native network-as-a-service solutions. My efforts have built a $30M+ pipeline, accelerating growth and expanding Nile’s reach in key markets.

Channel Director (US West & Japan)

California State University, Chico

Selected to collaborate with other industry leaders to offer innovative advice and dynamic perspectives in respective areas of focus, I've reviewed curriculum and provided feedback as well as strategic direction.

Students in the Engineering Leadership Program learn from real world case studies, enhancing their own professional experiences with industry-leading examples as well as mentorship from more experienced leaders.

Advisory Council Member

Cisco

Led a global team of business development managers responsible for advocating for a SaaS platform helping partners accelerate customer adoption of complex IT solutions.  By collecting insights, my team co-innovates with product engineering, management, and owners to delight users and solve convoluted channel partner issues.  Through the flexibility and speed of APIs, we’ve created an ecosystem of solution partners to drive additional growth and innovation to accelerate customer success while improving partner profitability.

Solutions result in greater profitability, simplicity of doing business, and acceleration to business goals.  Ecosystems increase innovation, open new markets, and create differentiation.

Global Leader, Partner Experience Insights & Innovation Global Team

Driving channel partner enablement for customer digital transformation success

Partner Experience Insights Manager (Customer Experience)

- Accelerating Cisco’s largest product portfolio through channel and ecosystem partners across the Americas
- Led sales engineering specialists and architects in the channel partner organization for the Western US to grow a $4B business

Senior Systems Engineering Manager, Sales

- Led field systems engineering in the channel organization for the Western US

Systems Engineering Manager, Sales

- Enterprise Networking Architecture CSE: Led efforts to increase Cisco’s routing, switching, and mobility sales through Americas partners. Centralized partner enablement, liaised with Business Entities, and empowered 10 CSEs to focus on technologies at the core of the company's business.

 - Cisco Live 2013 Speaker: Presented in breakout session (BRKSEC-2027) on Next Generation Firewall Services in IOS and ASA.

 - Borderless Networks Architect: Led 20 SEs to create and operate a scalable, future-proof demonstration environment for Borderless Networks solutions to US partners. Initial roadshow efforts included 20 major cities (1000+ partner engineers) and established a sustainable, flexible, collaborative internal development lab.

 - Security Virtual Expert Team: Leveraged Web 2.0 to scale Cisco security practice development and solution expertise to channel partner principals in North America. Created and administered the Security Assessment Program, resulting in partner practices that helped Cisco achieve 50:1 ROI. Co-created incentive programs that resulted in 135:1 ROI. Auditor for Cisco’s Master Security Specialization.

 - Channel Technical Advisory Team Lead: Led a team of 20 very talented security-focused Channel SEs in North America to bring cutting edge product design and solution application to the global channel partner community while advising internal product development to improve sales, implementation, operation, and optimization components of security solution lifecycles.

Consulting Systems Engineer, Channel Sales

Business and technical advisor to channel partners and field sales in the West.  Leveraged relationships and experience from Enterprise and Service Provider customers to guide partners in selling and working successfully with West Area Sales Operations.

Systems Engineer, Channel Sales

- Established technical advisor position with major global enterprise accounts with headquarters in Silicon Valley.  Solutions enabled customers to realize substantial operational expenditure savings, many of which even became profitable through our efforts.

 - Empowered other Silicon Valley Enterprise team members with security knowledge and sales acumen for pipeline growth and sales cycle acceleration through technology expertise and leadership.

Systems Engineer, Enterprise Sales

Sold to a global tier-1 service provider with leading network design in MPLS.  Introduced new technology to the network (e.g., 12400 GSR, 10000 ESR, 7600 OSR, etc.); established monthly Technology Forum for customer; displaced Unisphere at the network edge ($30 million) and Juniper in the network core ($28 million); became trusted advisor to both customer network engineering and product management teams.

Systems Engineer, Service Provider Sales

Great Exchange Covenant Church

Great Exchange (GrX) Covenant Church is going through an amazing transformation.  God is at work using congregation members to share the good news not just in Silicon Valley, but also East Bay, San Francisco, China, Cambodia, Thailand, and Kenya.  Partners of GrX have entrusted the Leadership Team (LT) with the analysis and recommendations of how and why to move in particular directions, including, but not limited to, purchase of the first building, staffing levels and compensation, mission scope and direction, etc.  The journey has been amazing!

Leadership Team / Secretary

Portal Software (acquired by Oracle)

Led an international team of six Portal, Datacraft, and Cap Gemini consultants on project for the Philippines' 2nd largest ISP. Displaced incumbent IP billing platform and migrated functionality to Portal Infranet platform.

Technical Consultant

Ernst & Young

- Designed and deployed 3-tier web, application, and database server architecture for a global mining company, implementing their first public web site for B2B eCommerce. Implemented Microsoft SQL Server cluster and Cisco LocalDirector to load balance Microsoft Site Server web/application servers for education and asset management.

 - Managed team of 6 to deploy Lotus Notes nationwide for a foreign auto manufacturer's US offices. SME for Citrix Metaframe. Met with client managers and contacts and collaborated with supervising team at headquarters. Developed an internal whitepaper on Lotus Notes deployment.

 - Provided technical integration testing support for call center team at the firm’s largest west healthcare client. Collaborated with vendors (Genesys, Periphonics, Nortel, etc.) to determine integration requirements among PBX, IVR, CTI, and mainframe and created testing scripts. In addition, designed a MetaFrame solution for call center and other healthcare applications.

Consultant, Center for Technology Excellence (CTE)

Accomplished channel and alliances leader with deep experience across the entire solution lifecycle—from ideation and partner onboarding to joint solution development, launch, and optimization. I excel at building and leading high-performing teams, co-creating services with partners to accelerate customer adoption and reduce churn, and enabling partners to develop annually recurring revenue offerings.

My hands-on, collaborative approach has delivered measurable business impact, expanded partner ecosystems, and driven sustained revenue growth. I thrive on empowering teams and partners to innovate, execute, and deliver exceptional value.

Let’s connect if you’re looking to build high-impact partnerships or transform your channel strategy!

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