About

Hi, I’m Brad Cooke.

I’m an IT systems administrator with a passion for Linux, automation, Infrastructure-as-Code, and continuous learning. I enjoy building practical systems that solve real problems while improving my understanding of the technologies behind them.

Much of my professional experience has focused on enterprise infrastructure, including IBM Power Systems, AIX, Linux, storage, backup, virtualization, and automation. Outside of work, I continue exploring those same interests through my home lab.

Abbey Root

Abbey Root is my long-term Linux lab and learning platform.

Rather than collecting virtual machines, the lab is built around purposeful projects that teach new skills and encourage automation wherever possible.

Current areas of focus include:

• Linux administration
• Proxmox virtualization
• Docker and containerized applications
• Ansible automation
• Git and GitHub workflows
• Infrastructure-as-Code
• AI-assisted development
• Website development with Astro

About This Site

BradCooke.com serves as both a technical portfolio and a project journal.

It documents what I’m building, what I’m learning, and how my projects evolve over time. My goal is to share practical solutions, lessons learned, and the reasoning behind design decisions rather than simply presenting finished results.

Philosophy

I believe the best way to learn is by building real systems.

That means experimenting, making mistakes, documenting what happened, automating repetitive work, and continuously improving both the process and the results.

Technology changes quickly, but curiosity, good documentation, and thoughtful automation continue to be valuable regardless of the tools involved.