https://github.com/soakes/soakes
GitHub profile README
https://github.com/soakes/soakes
ansible automation bgp cloud-engineering devops devsecops docker gitops go infrastructure kubernetes linux network-security operator-tooling platform-engineering python site-reliability sre terraform
Last synced: 17 days ago
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GitHub profile README
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/soakes/soakes
- Owner: soakes
- Created: 2026-05-23T21:43:10.000Z (28 days ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2026-05-24T00:19:44.000Z (28 days ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-05-24T00:22:42.867Z (28 days ago)
- Topics: ansible, automation, bgp, cloud-engineering, devops, devsecops, docker, gitops, go, infrastructure, kubernetes, linux, network-security, operator-tooling, platform-engineering, python, site-reliability, sre, terraform
- Homepage:
- Size: 23.4 KB
- Stars: 0
- Watchers: 0
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
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Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
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25+ years
production infrastructure
DevOps
automation-first delivery
Network security
BGP, RTBH, threat feeds
AI
ops, reporting, tooling
> I help turn complex infrastructure into platforms that are easier to operate, easier to recover, and easier for teams to trust.
## I Build Infrastructure That Keeps Its Promises
I'm Simon, a UK-based Senior Linux, DevOps, and Platform Engineer with 25+ years of experience building, fixing, automating, and improving production systems.
My work sits where infrastructure, automation, networking, storage, security, and pragmatic software engineering meet. I have spent my career keeping real platforms alive: ISP environments, build systems, Docker and Kubernetes estates, virtualisation platforms, storage, DNS, mail, routing, monitoring, backup, and the operational tooling around them.
These days I am especially interested in the layer between operations and software: the Go and Python tools, CI/CD workflows, Ansible roles, Terraform plans, AI-assisted workflows, and small internal services that turn repeated human effort into reliable platform behaviour.
I am also actively exploring AI-assisted operations: not hype for its own sake, but useful automation, summarisation, reporting, developer support, and internal tools that help engineers understand systems faster and make better decisions.
## What I Bring
| Area | Signal |
| --- | --- |
| **25+ years in production infrastructure** | Linux, networking, ISP operations, virtualisation, storage, mail, DNS, monitoring, support escalation, and mentoring |
| **DevOps and platform engineering** | Ansible, Terraform, Packer, GitHub Actions, GitLab, Jenkins, CI/CD, Docker, Compose, Kubernetes, and automation-first operations |
| **Systems programming for operators** | Go and Python CLIs that are small, inspectable, automation-friendly, and built around real operational workflows |
| **Network and service reliability** | BGP-aware routing, VPNs, HAProxy, Postfix, Dovecot, DNS, observability, backups, and high-availability service design |
| **Modern internal tooling** | Python Flask apps, PowerShell automation, API integrations, web scraping where needed, and AI-assisted reporting workflows |
| **AI adoption** | Applying AI where it improves operational clarity: summarisation, internal reporting, workflow assistance, and human-in-the-loop automation |
## How I Tend To Help
Stabilise
Understand the platform, find the real failure modes, and reduce operational noise.
Automate
Replace fragile manual steps with code, pipelines, checks, and repeatable workflows.
Modernise
Move systems forward without losing sight of reliability, recovery, and the people operating them.
## Selected Public Work
A few public examples of the kind of tooling I like to build: practical, operator-facing, and designed to solve specific production problems cleanly.
blackhole-threats 
Automates network threat response by turning threat feeds into BGP blackhole announcements in real time.
s3ctl 
CLI for provisioning S3 buckets, scoped IAM credentials, and batch operations across object-storage estates at scale.
s3mirror 
Production-ready S3 mirroring with parallel transfers, safe deletion, and automation-friendly config for disaster recovery and data migration.
telegram-message-exporter 
Recovers and exports Telegram messages offline on macOS, decrypting local databases to HTML, Markdown, and CSV.
quotai 
Lightweight CLI for tracking quota usage and reset windows, designed as a daily developer/operator utility.
Built For Operators
Small, inspectable tools that work in shells, CI jobs, cron, systemd timers, Ansible workflows, and real incident-response situations.
## Operating Principles
Calm Production
Designing infrastructure that is boring for users and clear for operators.
Useful Automation
Replacing manual runbooks with tested automation and readable code.
Operator Tooling
Building CLIs and services that fit cron, systemd, CI/CD, and Ansible.
Platform Clarity
Making storage, networking, routing, and services easier to reason about.
Developer Velocity
Improving build platforms so engineers can ship without fighting machinery.
Team Lift
Mentoring engineers, documenting well, and raising the operational quality bar.
## Engineering Style
```text
Automate the repeatable.
Document the surprising.
Design for recovery.
Keep production calm.
Make the next fix easier than the last one.
```
## Core Toolbox
```text
Linux Debian, Ubuntu, Red Hat-family systems, macOS, Windows Server
Automation Ansible, Terraform, Packer, GitHub Actions, GitLab, Jenkins
Runtime Docker, Docker Compose, Kubernetes, systemd, HAProxy
Code Go, Python, Bash, PowerShell, Flask, API integrations
Network DNS, BGP, OSPF, VPNs, VLANs, NAT, routing, firewalls
Services Postfix, Dovecot, Nginx, Apache, Bind, monitoring, backup
Platforms Proxmox, VMware, XenServer, Nutanix, KVM, NetApp, Pure, Nimble
```
## GitHub
This profile is a public slice of the work I care about: infrastructure tools, operational notes, experiments, and production-minded utilities from years spent close to the metal.
[GitHub profile](https://github.com/soakes) |
[Public repositories](https://github.com/soakes?tab=repositories)
---
Useful infrastructure. Clear automation. Calm production.