Senior Solutions Architect · SHI

Designing secure, AI-ready
application delivery.

I am TJ Vreugdenhil. I help organizations turn complex networking and security into clear, resilient architecture, from the Kubernetes edge to multi-cloud delivery, and I write here about where it is all heading next.

CISSPF5-CSECCIE EI #49496PCNSEAWS x4Every F5 certification

Vision

Where AI takes cybersecurity and application delivery next.

Field notes

Advanced patterns in application delivery and security I keep coming back to.

Advanced CLI Field Guide

Outside-the-box troubleshooting for the F5 portfolio. The GUI configures; the CLI tells the truth.

Troubleshooting

F5 BIG-IP

tmsh, tmctl, and the tcpdump peer-flow trick

# See client-side AND server-side of one connection in a single capture (the :nnnp peer-flow suffix)
tcpdump -ni 0.0:nnnp host 203.0.113.10
# Live connection table filtered to one client
tmsh show sys connection cs-client-addr 203.0.113.10
# Raw TMM internal stat tables the GUI never surfaces
tmctl -w 200 tmm/flow_stats
# Fan one command out across every chassis blade at once
clsh 'tmsh show sys performance'

Full command guide →

Troubleshooting

F5 NGINX / Ingress

Plus API, nginx -T, and in-pod inspection

# Dump the FULL running config including every include
nginx -T | less
# Live upstream health and latency from the NGINX Plus API
curl -s http://127.0.0.1:8080/api/9/http/upstreams | jq
# Community ingress-nginx or F5 NGINX Ingress Controller?
kubectl get pods -n ingress-nginx -o jsonpath='{.items[*].metadata.labels.app\.kubernetes\.io/name}'
# Render the config from inside the ingress pod
kubectl exec deploy/nginx-ingress -n nginx-ingress -- nginx -T

Full command guide →

Troubleshooting

F5 Distributed Cloud

vesctl, kubectl on the Customer Edge, raw API

# Pull a load balancer object as YAML straight from the CLI
vesctl configuration get http_loadbalancer -n <namespace> <lb-name>
# Enumerate objects in a namespace
vesctl configuration list http_loadbalancer -n <namespace>
# A Customer Edge is a hardened Linux and K8s node, so kubectl works on it
kubectl get pods -A
# Customer Edge platform status and tunnels to the Regional Edges
vpm status

Full command guide →

Technologies I work with

F5 BIG-IP · Distributed CloudNGINX · Ingress ControllerPalo Alto PCNSECisco CCIE EICheck PointAWSCisco MerakiCloudflareAkamaiWizISC2 CISSP
16+
years in networking and security
36+
vendor certifications
100%
of F5 certifications held

About

I am a Senior Solutions Architect at SHI Advanced Solutions Group, focused on network and cybersecurity, with 16+ years helping organizations design and implement secure, scalable, and practical solutions. Over the years I have worked across many industries through roles at Fishnet Security, HP, INE, Sirius/CDW, and now SHI.

I hold expert certifications including F5-CSE (Security and Cloud) and CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure, along with 36+ certifications from vendors such as Wiz, Cloudflare, Palo Alto, NGINX, Check Point, AWS, Meraki, and ISC2, and I am one of a small group of engineers worldwide who hold every F5 certification. I am passionate about mentorship, continuous learning, and making complex technology clear.

This is a personal site and blog. Opinions here are my own and not those of my employer.