Ryan Molkentin
Ryan Molkentin

Ryan Molkentin

Linux Support Engineer | Passionate about Open Source, Cloud Infrastructure, and all things Linux

I provide enterprise-grade Linux support, help global customers maintain essential systems, & diagnose/resolve complex infrastructure issues.

I'm genuinely grateful to be in the position that I'm in. I get to do what I love every day... solve complex and interesting problems, learn constantly, and help people keep their systems running when they need it most. No matter where I am in life I always find myself learning. Always pulled into whatever interests me for the day and learning as much as I can about whatever that thing happens to be.

Currently as an Associate Linux Support Engineer at Canonical I get to use that curiosity to solve problems for our very high impact global customers. I often take cases where the stakes are high and a quick resolution is important. Thankfully troubleshooting is my strong suit. Every new issue I encounter is sort of like a puzzle (I get to solve puzzles all day for work?! Not a bad gig) and the outcome of the puzzle is a happy customer and working infrastructure.

At the moment my current projects and learnings have been focused on Linux system administration, Openstack, MAAS (Metal as a Service), & Canonical Landscape.

Career

Present

Associate Linux Support Engineer

Canonical

Supporting Linux-based cloud infrastructure. Recent focus: Linux system administration, Openstack, Landscape, and MAAS.

Earlier

IT Help Desk Intern

Parker's Kitchen

First-level technical support, handling hardware, software, and maintenance issues.

  • Troubleshooted hardware, software, and maintenance issues for over 100 stores and corporate headquarters.
  • Troubleshooted LAN/WAN and network hardware issues.
  • Troubleshooted printers, scanners, tablets, and POS devices.
  • Provided technical support on over 1000 support requests.
  • Proficient in: ServiceNow, NinjaOne, Teamviewer, Cisco Meraki, Emerson, SCW & Vigil surveillance, Esper, Zenput, & MagicInfo.

Projects

Linux Server Setup & Administration

AWS Linux Server Setup

Deployed an Ubuntu web server on AWS (EC2), SSH, Apache2, HTML deployed via SCP, DNS, and SSL for a secure public site.

Home Web Server & Private Cloud

Deployed Ubuntu Apache2 on a ThinkCentre; port forwarding, DNS, firewall, Certbot SSL, subdomain, Nextcloud & MariaDB.

Skills

  • Linux command-line tools such as SSH, SCP, LS, CD, CP, NANO, SUDO, CHMOD, SYSTEMCTL, & TOP
  • AWS server creation and management
  • SSL certificate creation and management

Linux/Windows Dual Boot

Dual boot Linux Mint with Windows: partitioning, bootloaders, and UEFI configuration.

Skills

  • Microsoft and Linux system installation and administration

Freelance Web Development

Websites for local businesses: DNS, hosting, and basic security. Example: naautorepair.com.

Error Buddy

Created a CLI tool / snap for auditing local logs and SOS reports, optional structured analysis via a local Ollama model, and product-specific deep links into GitHub code search and Launchpad for Canonical stacks (MAAS, Juju, LXD, snapd, cloud-init, and others).

Skills

  • Ollama setup and local LLM model selection based on set hardware constraints
  • SOS reports: safe tar/zip extraction, bounded directory scans, scoring and deduplication of log snippets
  • Snap packaging: created and published error-buddy snap, plugs for home personal-files config and network

Certifications

Certified OpenStack Administrator (COA)

Attained the Certified OpenStack Administrator certification from the OpenInfra Foundation, validating hands-on skills operating and troubleshooting production OpenStack clouds.

Skills

  • OpenStack core services: identity, compute, networking, image, block storage, and orchestration
  • Day-to-day administration, configuration, and problem diagnosis in a live OpenStack environment

Using Linux Terminal - Canonical Academy

Passed the "Using Linux Terminal" certification exam from Canonical Academy's sys admin track.

Skills

  • Linux system administration
  • user, storage, firewall & filesystem management
  • Command line tools like cron, bash, systemd, & journalctl

Microsoft Azure Fundamentals

Passed the AZ-900 certification exam from Microsoft.

Skills

  • Azure cloud & resource management

Networking Basics - Cisco Networking Academy

Completed the Networking Basics course, gaining foundational knowledge in networking principles.

PC Pro - TestOut

Completed TestOut PC Pro course.

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