Portfolio
JR Buckley
Systems Administrator Hybrid Infrastructure Microsoft 365 Security Manufacturing IT
I modernize business-critical infrastructure in a four-facility manufacturing environment, moving aging, deeply integrated systems onto supported and secure platforms without stopping production. My work spans Microsoft 365, hybrid identity, Windows Server, Zero Trust access, endpoint security, and the specialized equipment on which a plant floor depends.
- ~200employees supported
- 4manufacturing facilities
- ~175mailboxes migrated to Exchange Online with zero data loss
- ~200endpoints under application control
- ~30users moved to Zero Trust remote access
About
Technology, seen from the plant floor
Technology has held my interest for as long as I can remember, and my formal IT education began in 2005 with coursework in Active Directory, networking, Linux, and Novell NetWare. My road then turned in an unexpected direction: five years of Catholic seminary formation, two of them in Rome, where my theology courses were taught entirely in Italian.
When I returned, I went to work on a manufacturing floor, first as a production operator setting up and running punch presses, then as a shipping clerk preparing orders and loading trucks against customer deadlines. In 2020 I completed a one-year Information Technology Professional program and moved into systems administration with the same manufacturer.
That sequence shapes how I work. I have run the machines, scanned the materials, and waited on the label printer, so I know technology from the side of the people and processes that depend on it. A server is rarely just a server. It is production entry, a shipping deadline, or a customer order, and I plan every change accordingly.
- Environment
- Multi-site manufacturer, four facilities in three cities
- Scope
- Identity, Microsoft 365, servers, endpoints, mobility, printing, telecommunications, and security
- Systems administrator since
- 2020
- Based in
- Marietta, Ohio
Selected Projects
Modernization without the downtime
Each card opens to a short case study, summarized at a level suitable for a public site.
Exchange Online migration Sole owner. About 175 mailboxes and 20 resource mailboxes moved from a decades-old hybrid environment with no lost mail.
Challenge
Move every mailbox off an on-premises Exchange environment that had accumulated more than two decades of mail, archives, and integrations, without disrupting the operational processes that depended on email.
Approach
- Planned and executed a phased migration, beginning with lower-risk user groups and progressing to complex users and business-critical shared mailboxes.
- Rehydrated archived mail from a legacy archiving system with its folder structure preserved, building desktop automation for mailboxes with hundreds of folders.
- Built a dedicated SMTP relay so that legacy industrial controllers (PLCs) and database-generated notifications could continue sending reliably.
- Partnered with developers to move a custom mail-processing application from basic authentication to OAuth, validated through repeated test cutovers.
- Moved mobile users to Outlook, replaced shared public-folder calendars with Microsoft 365 group calendars, and retired the on-premises server after validation.
Outcome
No lost mail, no lost archive data, and no general service interruption.
Technologies
Business-critical Intranet migration Windows Server 2008 to 2022 for the application every employee uses, production included.
Challenge
The company’s central operational application, used for production entry, scheduling, orders, purchasing, time entry, and more, ran on Windows Server 2008 with a mix of ASP.NET and Classic ASP. Because of the risk involved, the migration had been deferred for years.
Approach
- Rebuilt the IIS environment on Windows Server 2022, reproducing application pools, authentication, bindings, virtual directories, permissions, and legacy dependencies.
- Kept the new server current through differential file synchronization while developers continued to change production.
- Used hosts-file redirection so that pilot users could test the new server without any change to production DNS.
- Expanded to department-level validation using real daily workflows, and worked with developers on compatibility fixes.
Outcome
Completed an after-hours DNS cutover with no meaningful disruption to users. The application now runs on a supported platform.
Technologies
Reporting platform modernization The SSRS platform moved to SQL Server 2019 and Windows Server 2022 with its legacy links intact.
Challenge
A heavily used reporting platform ran on Windows Server 2012 and SQL Server 2016, and its legacy server name was embedded throughout internal applications and automated emails.
Approach
- Evaluated edition requirements and built the replacement platform on supported versions.
- Restored the report server databases and encryption keys, then validated data sources, authentication, and permissions with the reporting specialist.
- Preserved the legacy server name through DNS aliasing, avoiding a large redevelopment effort.
- When pilot testing surfaced a compatibility issue, rolled users back, corrected the configuration, and revalidated before completing the cutover.
Outcome
Completed the cutover with no loss of reports or data, and with existing links still working. My responsibility was the platform and infrastructure; a dedicated reporting specialist handles report development.
Technologies
Zero Trust remote access Co-led the private-access workstream that replaced traditional VPN and hosted desktops.
Challenge
About 30 remote, hybrid, and traveling employees relied on a traditional VPN client and hosted desktop sessions to reach internal applications.
Approach
- Co-led the private application access workstream within a broader security service edge rollout, and owned the migration of remote users.
- Defined application-level access for internal web applications, file shares, printing, and specialized workflows.
- Piloted the change, then rolled it back rather than accept a degraded experience when a legacy application performed poorly.
- Working from packet captures and browser traces that a colleague and I collected, identified the name-resolution fault behind page loads of thirty seconds or more, and corrected it.
Outcome
Application-level access replaced the VPN and hosted desktops as the standard means of remote work. Users no longer sign in to a separate VPN, and the rollout finished without reported user complaints.
Technologies
Application control Rebuilt and tuned allowlisting enforcement across about 200 endpoints, production terminals included.
Challenge
Application allowlisting protects only when its rules closely reflect what ought to run, and office computers, servers, and shared production terminals each have very different needs.
Approach
- Completed the vendor’s administrator and advanced administrator courses and engaged vendor specialists for an environment review.
- Rebuilt rules with narrow scope, using real block events to identify legitimate software requirements.
- Evaluated additional built-in protections in report-only mode before enforcing them, and declined those that would have produced excessive false positives.
- Created a production-floor policy that maintains strong enforcement without confusing operators with unnecessary notifications.
Outcome
Meaningful enforcement across approximately 200 endpoints, achieved without a major outage. I remain the primary administrator for rules, approvals, upgrades, and escalations.
Technologies
Automated patching and endpoint baselines Replaced unreliable manual patching with RMM automation, monitoring, and dynamic compliance groups.
Challenge
Earlier patching tools had proven unreliable, and much of the work had reverted to manual effort and periodic catch-up.
Approach
- Configured automated patch policies for workstations, then extended them more cautiously to servers.
- Added deployment monitoring, exception tracking, pending-reboot detection, and maintenance windows.
- Built dynamic groups that flag endpoints missing required security agents or still running retired software.
- Converted a recurring repair that an administrator once ran by hand into a scheduled task deployed through Group Policy.
Outcome
Patching moved from periodic catch-up to a sustainable steady state, with continuous visibility into configuration drift.
Technologies
Maintenance mobility Tablets, digital work orders, and inspections for about 25 maintenance technicians and managers.
Challenge
Maintenance work was recorded after the fact, and preventive-maintenance checklists lived in separate Word and Excel files that managers reviewed by hand.
Approach
- Deployed and supported Android tablets for approximately 25 maintenance technicians and managers.
- Helped convert paper and spreadsheet checklists into digital inspection templates within the maintenance management system.
- Supported barcode-based parts consumption that ties inventory to work orders and supports reorder thresholds.
Outcome
Technicians now record labor, parts, notes, photos, and meter readings at the machine, with documentation at hand. Managers and planners spend less time correcting records and relaying instructions.
Technologies
Skills
Where I work every day
Identity & Microsoft 365
- Active Directory
- Microsoft Entra ID
- Group Policy
- Exchange Online
- Microsoft 365
- SAML / OAuth SSO
- Conditional Access
- MFA
- Certificate services
- Licensing
Windows & Applications
- Windows Server
- IIS
- ASP.NET / Classic ASP hosting
- SQL Server
- SSRS platform
- DNS
- PowerShell
- Power Automate
Security & Zero Trust
- Zero Trust network access
- Security service edge
- Application allowlisting
- Endpoint protection
- Patch management
- Security baseline assessments
Endpoint & Mobile Management
- ConnectWise RMM
- PDQ Deploy
- Microsoft Intune
- Ivanti EPMM
- Apple Business Manager
- Windows 11 modernization
Virtualization & Recovery
- VMware vSphere
- vCenter
- Veeam
- Image-based backup
- Bare-metal recovery
- Rollback planning
Networking & Communications
- Firewalls
- Wireless networking
- RADIUS
- Packet analysis
- Cloud telephony
- Mass notification
Manufacturing Systems
- Production terminals
- Label and barcode printing
- Industrial scanners
- PLC notifications
- Maintenance management
- Laboratory systems
- Plant-floor dashboards
Approach
How I work
Most of my projects involve systems that cannot simply be switched off for a weekend. The method matters as much as the technology.
-
01
Discover dependencies
Before changing anything, I map what quietly depends on it: applications, devices, scheduled jobs, hardcoded names, and the people who will notice first.
-
02
Test realistically
Lab tests catch the obvious. Representative users doing their actual daily work catch the rest.
-
03
Roll out in phases
Lower-risk groups go first, so that lessons are learned before the most critical users and systems move.
-
04
Define rollback points
Snapshots, verified backups, retained legacy systems, and documented settings, with a clear point at which to revert rather than troubleshoot indefinitely in production.
-
05
Minimize disruption
After-hours cutovers, transparent changes wherever possible, and direct support for the people affected.
-
06
Communicate plainly
Leaders hear the business impact and the risk. Users hear what changes for them and when. Neither hears jargon.
Education & Training
Education and technical training
-
2024
VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage [V8]
Course completion, VMware
-
2021
VMware Carbon Black App Control Administrator and Advanced Administrator
Course completions, VMware
-
2020
Information Technology Professional Certificate
Washington County Career Center, Adult Technical Training
-
2012
Bachelor of Arts
West Virginia University
Contact
Get in touch
Email or LinkedIn is the best way to reach me.