The Root User

Linux • Cloud • Security • Automation

I’m Charles Ivan Windon, though I’ve always gone by Ivan. I’ve worked in information technology since 1998, building and supporting systems across Linux, networking, cloud infrastructure, automation, and security.

Today, my work is focused primarily on Linux engineering, cloud infrastructure, automation, and security, with experience across Azure, IBM, and Oracle Cloud/GovCloud environments. Much of my career has involved solving the kinds of infrastructure problems that don’t always have a clean answer in the documentation, which is also one of the reasons I created this site.

What You’ll Find Here

The Root User is where I document solutions, experiments, troubleshooting notes, and lessons learned from working with real-world infrastructure. Topics you’ll commonly find here include:

  • Linux: RHEL, Fedora, Ubuntu, systemd, troubleshooting, administration, and performance
  • Cloud: Azure, AWS, Oracle Cloud/GovCloud, architecture, and operations
  • Security: system hardening, network security, vulnerability management, certificates, TLS/PKI, and secure configuration
  • Automation & DevOps: Python, Bash, Ansible, Git, CI/CD, and infrastructure automation
  • Networking: Cisco, Juniper, Ubiquiti, F5, DNS, routing, firewalls, and troubleshooting
  • Containers & Platforms: Docker, Kubernetes/OpenShift, and Red Hat infrastructure

I earned an Associate degree in Information Sciences and Technology from Pennsylvania State University – World Campus, graduating with distinction in 2015, along with a certificate in Security and Risk Analysis.

My career continues to evolve toward information security, cloud architecture, and secure infrastructure engineering, particularly in enterprise and government environments.

Most of the content here comes from a simple idea: if I had to spend time figuring something out, there’s a good chance someone else will eventually run into the same problem. When that happens, I want the solution to be here.

If you’re a Linux administrator, cloud engineer, security professional, student, or simply someone who enjoys figuring out how systems actually work, I hope you find something useful.

Sincerely,
Ivan Windon
Senior Linux Engineer | Cloud Infrastructure | Security | Automation
[email protected]