Focus of my Work

I have many fields of interest and over the years I have been working on my different things. Nevertheless, nearly all my projects have dealt with one or more key subjects which I am going to outline here.

Internet Technologies

Starting with my work at the computing center of the University of Karlsruhe when I was studying there and my involvement with the non-profit Internet service provider INKA since 1994, the Internet was at the center of most of my work.

A deep understanding of the underlying protocols and the applications which build upon them as well as the experience of many years allow me to find the right solutions for my customers and implement them in a short time frame. The basis is, of course, TCP/IP and the protocols for DNS, Web and email. Network and DNS configuration, email servers, static and dynamic database-backed web sites are often asked for. Besides those "mainstream" applications I also have experience with the many other protocols and applications that you meet on the Internet such as NNTP/Usenet News, FTP, SSL/TLS, RADIUS or more exotic ones such as UUCP.

Email

Email systems are an important part of my work. I have designed and set up several large email server systems including the first scalable email system for the then just starting Internet activities of T-Online and the system for the web hosting provider Schlund+Partner/ 1&1. In this context I also wrote the POPular POP3 server software which was used for many years at Schlund+Partner/1&1 for their several million mailboxes.

Unfortunately we can't ignore our daily dose of spam anymore. For the German Government Office for Security in Information Technology (Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik, BSI) I was editor and co-author of the study on antispam strategies which summarizes the technical, financial and legal basis for spam and antispam measures.

In talks and articles for computer magazines I pass on my knowledge and experience about email and spam. And if I still have some time left, I work on my AllThingsEmail.org info portal.

Systems Architecture, Administration, and Integration

Through the many consulting projects but also through my voluntary work I have seen a wide range of systems and acquired some experience in designing and building complex systems.

Because of my work as a software developer I know about the challenges in designing and writing secure and reliable software. Because of my background in system administration I know about the daily problems caused by bad software and insufficient planning. This combined knowledge is a solid foundation that enables me to develop solutions that work in real life. As an all-rounder I can contribute many things to your project, from the planning of the systems architecture, through the software development to the integration into existing systems.

Reliability and Scalability

Especially through the already mentioned work on large email systems I am well aware of the requirements of large systems running 24/7. If you have a system with millions of customers there is no day off anymore – not even a second off. Reliability and scalability can't be tacked on later, they have to be an integral part of the architecture. Fail-safe and distributed designs might be a bit harder to do in the beginning, but in the long run this work will pay off.

Conference Management

Through my paid work for the German Unix User Group, as well as through my voluntary work organizing many conferences and similar events I have accumulated some experience in planning and realizing such events. Events (co-)organized by me include the Linux-Kongress, Frühjahrsfachgespräch, and LinuxTag. From 2001 to 2004 I also organized the events of the sage@guug Karlsruhe which meets every two months for talks, presentations, and discussions.