Vendor-Neutral Open Source Architecture, Zero-Downtime Workload Migrations & Custom Hands-On Enablement
Rising proprietary licensing costs (VMware Broadcom subscription hikes, legacy Unix support renewals, and commercial database audits) are driving enterprises across Malaysia, Singapore, and APAC to modernize onto open-source infrastructure. Moving mission-critical banking, telecom, and government systems requires an architect who has executed real datacenter cutovers.
Over 24+ years, Steven Nagendran (RHCA, RHCI, VCI, Oracle/Sun Certified Systems Administrator, CCNA) has architected and migrated production workloads across heterogeneous environments—from Physical-to-Virtual (P2V) banking core migrations at Faisal Islamic Bank and multi-site datacenter overhauls at Dal Group, to Linux-based train telemetry for 1,200+ rail vehicles at MRT Corp Malaysia and zero-loss database migrations at New Straits Times.
Steven's Open Source specialization covers four end-to-end engineering and instructional domains: (1) Hypervisor & Cloud-Native Migration (VMware vSphere to KubeVirt / OpenShift Virtualization, upstream Kubernetes clusters, SUSE Rancher, and OpenStack), (2) OS Modernization (End-of-Life CentOS 7/8 and legacy Solaris/AIX/HP-UX to RHEL, Rocky Linux 9, AlmaLinux 9, SLES 15, or Ubuntu LTS), (3) High-Availability Open Source Databases (PostgreSQL with Patroni/etcd/PgBouncer, MariaDB Galera Cluster with MaxScale, MySQL InnoDB Cluster), and (4) Infrastructure as Code & GitOps (Terraform, OpenTofu, Ansible, ArgoCD, Tekton, Istio, Envoy, Keycloak).
Enterprise Hypervisor & Cloud-Native Migration
De-risking transitions from proprietary virtualization to cloud-native Kubernetes, KubeVirt, SUSE Rancher, or OpenStack.
- VMware vSphere to OpenShift Virtualization (KubeVirt) or KVM/OpenStack workload audit, live cutover, and custom OpenStack telecom cloud training (delivered for Omantel)
- Upstream CNCF Kubernetes production architecture and training (LFS258 / LFD259 / LFS260 / LFS458 tracks) on bare-metal and hybrid cloud
- Multi-cluster management with SUSE Rancher 2.x (RAN201), RKE2 hardening, OPA Gatekeeper, and Velero disaster recovery
- Low-level container runtime engineering and troubleshooting across Docker, Podman, containerd (CNTRD-101), and CRI-O (CRIO-101)
Legacy Unix & End-of-Life CentOS OS Modernization
Seamless migration from End-of-Life CentOS 7/8 or proprietary Unix (Solaris, IBM AIX, HP-UX) to hardened Enterprise Linux.
- CentOS 7/8 to Rocky Linux 9, AlmaLinux 9, or RHEL 9 migration using ELevate in-place frameworks or rolling blue-green cutovers (EL-MIGRATE / EL9-ADMIN)
- Legacy Unix (Oracle Solaris 9/10/11 SPARC/x86, IBM AIX LPAR, HP-UX) application and shell script modernization onto Enterprise Linux
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 (SLE201 / SLE301) administration with YaST, AutoYaST, Btrfs Snapper rollbacks, and AppArmor
- Canonical Ubuntu Server LTS (UBU-ADM / UBU-CLOUD) deployment with Netplan, LXD system containers, cloud-init, and CIS hardening
Open Source High-Availability Database Engineering
Production-grade relational database architecture, query optimization, and automated zero-data-loss failover clustering.
- PostgreSQL Enterprise HA (PG-ADMIN / PG-HA / PG-PERF): physical streaming replication, Patroni + etcd consensus failover, PgBouncer pooling, and EXPLAIN ANALYZE tuning
- MariaDB Enterprise & Galera Multi-Master Clustering (MDB-101 / MDB-GALERA): synchronous replication, SST/IST state transfers, split-brain prevention, and MariaDB MaxScale proxy
- MySQL Enterprise High Availability (MYSQL-DBA / MYSQL-HA): InnoDB Cluster, Group Replication, MySQL Router, and buffer pool optimization
- Heterogeneous database migration and consolidation (proven on MRT Corp CMMS across Oracle, MSSQL, and MariaDB)
Cloud-Native GitOps, Service Mesh & IaC Automation
End-to-end automation and observability using CNCF graduated projects and open-source Infrastructure as Code.
- Infrastructure as Code with HashiCorp Terraform (TA-004 track) and OpenTofu (LFEL1009 track) with encrypted remote state
- GitOps & CI/CD delivery with ArgoCD, Helm charts, Tekton Pipelines, GitLab CI, and Quay enterprise registries
- Service Mesh & API Gateway architecture with Istio, Linkerd, Envoy Proxy, and Emissary-Ingress
- Centralized logging, metrics, and identity with Elastic Stack (ELK), Fluentd, Prometheus/Grafana, and Keycloak OIDC/SAML
Custom Open Source & Migration Sandboxes on Cognitoz BetaLab
For bespoke, custom-built open-source trainings and migration workshops (non-vendor courses), Steven engineered Cognitoz BetaLab (lab.cognitoz.com) to provision isolated multi-node sandboxes in seconds.
- Built by Steven specifically for Custom Trainings & PoCs: trainees bootstrap multi-node vanilla Kubernetes clusters, OpenStack private clouds (such as custom OpenStack training delivered for Omantel), HA PostgreSQL (Patroni/etcd) & MariaDB Galera clusters, and Linux migration topologies on Cognitoz BetaLab.
- Strict Vendor Compliance: Official vendor courses (e.g., SUSE, CNCF, Red Hat, VMware) are always delivered via Authorized Training Partners on official vendor labs, whereas Steven's custom-built open-source tracks run on Cognitoz BetaLab.
- Live database failover drills and CentOS/Unix-to-Linux modernization exercises modeled after Steven's 15+ production consulting projects.
Production Deployments & Migration Track Record
Steven brings real architectural lessons from these enterprise deployments directly into every consulting engagement and hands-on classroom.
MRT Rail Project 1 (CMMS) — Implementation and Delivery of Computerized Maintenance Management (CMMS)
The project involves Implementing Web Server, Database, and User Interface Modification. The technology involved, Oracle Database, Microsoft Database, Oracle Linux, Red Hat Linux, MariaDB, Windows 2012.
MRT Rail Project 1 (TMS) — Implementing TMS System (Train Management System)
The project involves Designing and Creating a TMS system for the train (MRT) logs to be sent to a Database in MRT Depot. Project developed fully in Linux and Linux-based systems.
Faisal Islamic Bank (FIB) — Physical to Virtual Migration
Full migration of Physical servers ranged from Windows and Red Hat Systems running Database and LOB Applications to VMware Virtual Infrastructure
Dal Group — VMware Migration ( Physical to Virtual and Full Infrastructure reshuffle )
Full migration of Physical servers ranged from Windows and Red Hat Systems running Database and LOB Applications to VMware Virtual Infrastructure. Full restructure of Production Systems and Network to meet Virtualization Datacenter.
Sudatel — Deployment and Configuration of Red Hat OpenShift on VMware Infrastructure
Planning, Setting Up infrasturcture, Virtual Machines, Load Balancer and DNS for Implementation of OpenShift for usage of TIBCO Business Works Software.
New Straits Times — SQL Database/Windows Migration Project
A full migration of News Database system and Windows 2000 to Windows 2008, involved as Project advisor, creating Infrastructure Architect for new systems for production in Balai Berita 1, Kuala Lumpur
ICA CTF — Indonesia Cyber Army CTF Competition
Implemented the full ICA Competition Systems. Organised and ran the event with over 200 participants from all over Indonesia
Cognitoz BetaLab — Implementation of BetaLab Hands-On Training Lab Platform
BetaLab is Cognitoz's hands-on training platform that gives every student an isolated, ready-to-use lab environment in seconds. The project covers the end-to-end design and build of the student portal, admin control plane and backend, with live labs running on Kubernetes and lab infrastructure provisioned through automation.
Courses & Curricula Taught by Steven (35 Tracks)
Official vendor courses are delivered through Authorized Training Partners on official vendor labs; custom-built tracks run on Cognitoz BetaLab.
Introduction to Kubernetes
Core Kubernetes concepts: Pods, Services, Deployments, ReplicaSets, Labels, basic networking, and container orchestration mechanics.
Kubernetes Fundamentals (CKA Track)
Comprehensive cluster administration matching CKA curriculum: kubeadm multi-node installation, etcd backup/restore, CNI networking, storage PV/PVCs, and control plane troubleshooting.
Kubernetes for Developers (CKAD Track)
Hands-on application development on Kubernetes: Multi-container pods (sidecars), ConfigMaps/Secrets, rolling updates, readiness/liveness probes, Jobs/CronJobs, and NetworkPolicies.
Kubernetes Administration Deep Dive
High-scale enterprise Kubernetes operations: production networking architectures, high availability control planes, storage class dynamics, and disaster recovery.
Kubernetes Security Essentials (CKS Track)
Hardening Kubernetes clusters: CIS benchmark compliance, API server security, Falco runtime monitoring, AppArmor/seccomp profiles, and vulnerability scanning with Trivy.
Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) Boot Camp
Intensive 100% practical lab drills on real multi-node clusters simulating official CKA exam challenges under strict time limits.
Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) Boot Camp
Timed hands-on exam preparation focusing on rapid YAML manipulation, multi-container patterns, custom probes, and PV claim bindings.
Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS) Boot Camp
Rigorous performance labs covering sandbox microservice security, Kube-bench auditing, gVisor container isolation, and runtime threat detection.
Docker Training — Getting Started, Images, Compose, Build Cloud, Scout and Administration
Mastering modern containerization: multi-stage Dockerfiles, Docker Compose multi-service stacks, volume persistence, bridge networking, Docker Scout CVE scanning, and registry security.
Production containerd Architecture & Runtime Engineering
Deep-dive architecture into containerd as the primary Kubernetes container runtime: CRI plugins, namespace isolation, cgroups v2, rootless execution, image unpackers, nerdctl CLI tooling, and debugging failing pods at the runtime layer.
CRI-O Container Runtime Engineering for Production Kubernetes
Enterprise CRI-O deployment and tuning: lightweight OCI compliant runtime for Kubernetes and OpenShift, pod sandbox lifecycles, runc/crun low-level engines, seccomp/AppArmor/SELinux profiles, and storage plugin configuration.
MySQL Database Administration & Architecture
Comprehensive administration of MySQL Server: server configuration, InnoDB storage engine architecture, user privileges, backup and restore strategies with mysqldump & MySQL Enterprise Backup, and replication setup.
MySQL Performance Tuning & High Availability with InnoDB Cluster
Advanced query optimization, index design, server parameter tuning, InnoDB buffer pool management, and zero-downtime high availability using MySQL InnoDB Cluster, Group Replication, and MySQL Router.
MariaDB Server Administration & Security
Installation, configuration, security hardening, user access controls, and maintenance of MariaDB Server, covering Aria and InnoDB/XtraDB storage engines, user authentication plugins, and mariabackup.
MariaDB High Availability & Multi-Master Clustering with Galera
Designing, provisioning, and operating synchronous multi-master MariaDB Galera Clusters: state transfers (SST/IST), split-brain protection, quorum management, MaxScale database proxy routing, and cross-datacenter clustering.
PostgreSQL Administration & Architecture
Foundational and intermediate PostgreSQL administration: server installation, memory parameters (shared_buffers, work_mem), vacuum and transaction ID wraparound management, security roles, and WAL archiving.
PostgreSQL High Availability, Streaming Replication & Patroni
Enterprise-grade high availability for PostgreSQL: synchronous and asynchronous physical streaming replication, replication slots, automated failover using Patroni with etcd, connection pooling with PgBouncer, and split-brain mitigation.
PostgreSQL Performance Tuning & Query Optimization
Comprehensive performance diagnostics: reading and optimizing EXPLAIN (ANALYZE, BUFFERS) query plans, advanced indexing (B-Tree, GIN, GiST, BRIN), partition strategies, pg_stat_statements analysis, and OS-level kernel tuning.
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 Administration
Core administration of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15: YaST (Yet another Setup Tool) configuration, wicked/NetworkManager networking, Zypper package management, Snapper Btrfs snapshot rollbacks, systemd service management, and user authentication.
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 Advanced Administration
Advanced system engineering for mission-critical SLES 15 environments: advanced storage with multipath and encryption, kernel compilation and tuning, AppArmor mandatory access control, AutoYaST automated unattended deployment, and system performance analysis.
SUSE Rancher 2.x Administration & Multi-Cluster Kubernetes
Centralized multi-cluster Kubernetes management using SUSE Rancher: provisioning RKE/RKE2 clusters, integrating external enterprise identity (Active Directory/Okta), enforcing multi-cluster RBAC and OPA Gatekeeper policies, and application catalog management via Helm.
Ubuntu Server Administration & Enterprise Deployment
Canonical Ubuntu Server administration in enterprise datacenters: systemd initialization, Netplan networking (bonding, VLANs, bridging), APT package management and security repositories, LVM storage, AppArmor security profiles, and automated server provisioning.
Ubuntu Cloud Infrastructure, LXD Containers & Enterprise Hardening
Deploying and scaling Ubuntu in private and public clouds: LXD system container management, native KVM virtualization, cloud-init provisioning automation, Canonical Landscape system management, and CIS benchmark server hardening.
Enterprise Workload Migration: CentOS to Rocky Linux & AlmaLinux 9
Practical enterprise blueprint for decommissioning End-of-Life CentOS 7 & 8 workloads: automated assessment, in-place migration tools (ELevate framework), repository cutovers, kernel binary compatibility verification, and rolling production workload cutover to Rocky Linux 9 and AlmaLinux 9.
Enterprise Linux Systems Administration with Rocky Linux & AlmaLinux 9
Comprehensive administration of 1:1 RHEL binary-compatible Enterprise Linux systems (Rocky Linux & AlmaLinux 9): DNF/RPM software management, systemd service control, Stratis & VDO storage, Cockpit web console management, firewalld, SELinux enforcement, and automated kickstart installation.
Certified OpenStack Administrator Exam Preparation
Hands-on OpenStack private cloud administration: Keystone identity, Nova compute, Neutron software-defined networking, Cinder block storage, and Glance images — proven in custom OpenStack training delivered for Omantel (Oman Telecommunications Company).
Essentials of OpenStack Administration
End-to-end multi-node OpenStack deployment, service monitoring, multi-tenant isolation, and automated infrastructure orchestration.
Custom OpenStack Private Cloud Architecture & Telecom Administration
Bespoke, custom-built OpenStack private cloud administration and architecture bootcamp (proven in custom OpenStack training delivered for Omantel) covering multi-node Keystone, Nova KVM compute, Neutron SDN/OVN, Cinder/Ceph storage, Glance, and Heat orchestration.
Introduction to Linux
Essential Linux skills across major distributions: file systems, package installation, process inspection, text parsing with sed/awk, and shell scripting.
Shell Scripting Using Bash
Professional Bash scripting: positional arguments, exit codes, robust error trapping, regex pattern matching, command-line flags, and system automation scripts.
Python for Enterprise Systems & Automation
Writing clean, production-grade Python: data structures, REST API clients (requests/httpx), file I/O, regex, subprocess automation, and virtual environments.
HashiCorp Terraform Associate (TA-004)
Infrastructure as Code across multi-cloud: HCL language syntax, remote state locking with S3/DynamoDB or Azure Blob, module composition, and drift remediation.
Getting Started with OpenTofu
Deploying and managing open-source Infrastructure as Code with OpenTofu: state encryption, migration from legacy Terraform, and registry configurations.
Introduction to AI/ML Toolkits with Kubeflow
Orchestrating end-to-end machine learning on Kubernetes: Kubeflow Pipelines (KFP), Katib hyperparameter tuning, and containerized model training workflows.
PyTorch Essentials: An Applications-First Approach
Deep learning fundamentals using PyTorch: tensor computations, autograd automatic differentiation, convolutional networks, and Hugging Face transformer fine-tuning.
Active Certifications & Accreditations
Frequently Asked Questions — Open Source Consulting & Migration
Can Steven both consult on an Open Source migration and train an internal engineering team?
Yes. Steven's engagement approach combines architectural consulting and implementation (audit, PoC, production cutover, and Day-2 runbooks) with customized hands-on knowledge transfer so internal SRE, Linux, and DBA teams can operate the new open-source stack with complete autonomy.
When is Cognitoz BetaLab used versus official vendor labs?
Cognitoz BetaLab (https://lab.cognitoz.com/), built by Steven, is used exclusively for Steven's Custom-Built / Bespoke Non-Vendor Trainings (such as custom PostgreSQL Patroni HA, MariaDB Galera, Ubuntu, Rocky/AlmaLinux migration, containerd/CRI-O, and custom Kubernetes workshops). Official vendor-authorized courses are delivered strictly on official vendor lab environments through Authorized Training Partners.
Does Steven deliver production PostgreSQL, MariaDB Galera, and MySQL InnoDB Cluster training and HA consulting?
Yes. Steven delivers dedicated custom hands-on tracks (on Cognitoz BetaLab) and architecture consulting for PostgreSQL Administration, Streaming Replication & Patroni HA (PG-ADMIN, PG-HA, PG-PERF), MariaDB Server & Galera Multi-Master Clustering (MDB-101, MDB-GALERA), and MySQL InnoDB Cluster High Availability (MYSQL-DBA, MYSQL-HA).