John McFarlane's Portfolio
Below you'll find a few examples of my work over the years. I
find that I am the happiest with my work when quality is the
driver. This allows me to focus on things like standards,
documentation, and security-minded development. I also enjoy
automation and open communication among team members.
2. Thinkronize - Product redesign and rewrite


Played a key role in the redesign and rewrite of the
NetTrekker product. The updated software incorporates
decoupling of interface and business logic, as well as
improvements in speed and reliability.
3. Thinkronize - Tools to aid in productivity


Implemented various tools to aid in optimal developer
productivity.
4. Apple and Apple Scripts


All Purpose Python Library/Engine which aims to make common
tasks a bit easier. Apple is released under the GPL license.
5. Photagious - Infrastructure
Helped design and build the current infrastructure of
www.photagious.com,
including a remote installation of Gentoo Linux in the New
Orleans co-location facility. Continue to consult as their
needs grow. Implemented
Apple and
Apple Scripts to aid in
automation of system backups and maintenance.
7. Rockfloat - Creation, continuing infrastructure





Rockfloat was created as a port from thinkflat (
Sold to
Infosys, NASDAQ:
INFY). The porting involved a few enhancements such as:
addition of tagging support to the discussion board, enhanced
pocketchange reports, printable pages, support for the Apple
project page(s). Public services continue to be provided
(
email, source control, and mentoring) for various
individuals and groups. Recently hardened servers using PaX,
GRSecurity, and the GCC Stack Smashing Protector.
8. Thinkflat - Site Redesign


Converted the entire site from PHP to Python. Currently site
features a discussion board, contact directory, financial
manager, rss feed aggregator, general tools and howto
documents.
9. CCHMC - Version Control System



Configured a version control system to maintain and protect
both code and documentation.
10. CCHMC - Custom Documentation

Designed system documentation that's easy to read, maintain,
and deploy. Initially the documentation was published using
xsltproc, but it then proved easier to simply let the browser
do the xml/xsl rendering.
11. CCHMC - Interface Monitors

Developed software to monitor interfaces developed by GE
Medical Systems. The monitors run 24x7 and notify support
staff via informative alpha pages in the event of a problem.
They are written in python and run as windows services.
12. Clippard Instrument Laboratory, Inc. - Ecommerce

Built an ecommerce website allowing customers to view and
order Clippard products. The Ecommerce engine featured live
UPS shipping rates, automatic lead generation to Clippard
distributors, and full featured shopping cart. The engine was
secure using Secure Socket Layer technology.
13. Clippard Instument Laboratory, Inc. - Configurators


Built product configurator
("Build Your Own") engine(s)
helping customers to pick from over 10k different products
from an intuitive, easy to use interface. The
"Build Your
Own" interface also helps users spec out parts in the
event that they are unfamiliar with how Clippard products
could help them.
15. Clippard Instrument Laboratory, Inc. - Backups

Built server with high availability to perform automated
backups and monitor network traffic. Currently the backup
engine is automatically backing up 15 gigs of data from 4
different Windows servers every day. The backup images are
quickly available to Windows or Linux clients using Windows
explorer or ssh respectively. This server also plays an
important role in the Password Management System by
facilitating the communication between the intranet's COM+
objects and the email server's poppassd interface.
16. Clippard Instrument Laboratory, Inc. - Email Server

Built custom email server capable of removing viruses and spam
while having high availability and superb performance. Since
the inception of this server, Clippard has had a 99.9%
reduction in viruses on their private LAN. The server also
effectively flags over 150 thousand spam emails per week
(reaching 98% accuracy for some users.)
17. Clippard Instrument Laboratory, Inc. - Firewall
Built custom firewall protecting the Clippard network from
external attacks and lessening its risk from internal attacks.
The firewall also incorporates a vpn server to allow public
access to the private network. The firewall also acts as a
software router between two Clippard plant locations connected
by a T1 circuit that sits behind the firewall.
18. Clippard Instrument Laboratory, Inc. - DNS/DHCP/WINS/LDAP Server(s)
Built custom "networking" servers to handle dns, wins, ldap
and dhcp requests. Previously every node on the network was
assigned a static, fully public ip address. By using dynamic
dns and the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol against the
newly created firewall, Clippard was able to utilize a fast,
scalable, and secure network for the first time. A Windows
Domain was created, and all desktop computers configured to
authenticate against it. This update gave everyone in the
company immediate access to the fileserver (after it was
properly rebuilt and configured to use LDAP.) During this
migration the company's payroll software was moved to a secure
server using hardware raid 5 with high performance SCSI disks
to ensure the safekeeping of financial data.
20. American Watch-Clockmakers Institute - Website



Developed website featuring web based interface, allowing AWI
staff to maintain site text, pdf, and image content.
21. Cincinnati Museum Center - Website



Developed highly graphical website using excellent graphics created
by Katie Baker. Site was created while working for Sharkbytes.com.
22. Portmanpeople.com - Website

Developed website featuring resolution specific content.
Graphics designed by Jennifer Wesolowski.
Site was created while working for Sharkbytes.com.
23. Sharkbytes.com - Website
Developed company website while working for Sharkbytes.com.
Graphics were created by Jennifer Wesolowski and Katie Baker;
Layout designed by Ryan Walker.