What do I do? I am a busy, busy, busy person and I do many, many, many things. Currently, I spend all of my time split between 4 things I truly enjoy: I am 3rd year graduate student at the Center for Networks and Distributed Systems at The Johns Hopkins University where I research lots of different stuff (all computer related) I work for a company called Gaver Techonolgies, Inc. (GTI) in Germantown, MD where I analyze network security and system design, I help run (and own a bit) my company OmniTI, Inc. in Laurel, MD where I do just about everything, and last, but certainly not least, I spend time with my wife, Lisa. Open source Yes, I am an open source advocate -- heart and soul. I believe in the working model and my business thrives on it. Here are some of the projects that I have worked on. What do I research? Currently, I am working on a project called Backhand, which is but a part of the CNDS Web Replication project. Currently, I am in the process of testing an implementation of the Backhand project called mod_backhand specifically targetted at the Apache Web Server. In a nutshell, mod_backhand provides even utilization (read: load-balancing) over a heterogeneous cluster of replicated web servers. It allows adding and removing web-servers from the cluster with no configuration modifications. Because it is "part" of Apache, it doesn't incur the overhead and unreliability of Front-End + Back-End systems that attempt to provide the same service. I presented mod_backhand at ApacheCon 2000 in Orlando, FL on March 9th, 2000. I also presented mod_backhand at ApacheCon 2000 in London, England on October 23th, 2000. Other areas of research (mostly finished or on the backburner) include fire modeling, analysis of intrusion detection methods, and the impacts of system security on network integrity. Please read the DISCLAIMER for this page.

Who do I work with? @ CNDS: Dr. Yair Amir (my advisor) Jonathan Stanton Alec Peterson (now @ Centergate) @ GTI: Mark Gaver