Vladimir COTFAS's Curriculum Vitae

Vladimir COTFAS

Embedded Linux Sw Developer

SegfaultsAreCool.info

647-478-7457

E-mail:

Professional Summary

Contractor (W2) with Corning, Inc [Corning, NY], Affirmed Networks [Mass], Magic Leap [FL], VT iDirect [VA], Smith & Nephew [Mass]
Contractor with Smart Energy Instruments [Oakville, ON], Certicom/RIM [Mississauga, ON], Mānta Test Systems [Mississauga, ON], IDT [Kanata, ON], ComQi [Burlington, ON], Kalray [Fr]
Contractor (1099) with Motorola On Demand Systems, Home & Networks Mobility Division [Mass]
Senior Embedded Software Developer at Chantry Networks/Siemens [Mississauga, ON]
Contractor with Chantry Networks/Siemens, eBox.com Inc, University of Toronto (CHASS Department), Admiral Secure Products, Belcarra MC

Education

Attended Microchip MASTERS in 2005 and 2007
Took Montavista Course Device Drivers EMB530 in 2007
Graduated from the Faculty of Mathematics, Department of Applied Mathematics (in English), Bucharest University, România, GPA: 9.54 (95.4%) (B.Sc. in Math/Statistics)
Graduated from the Computer Science High-School in Brasov, România

Programming Languages

C, C++ [Stroustrup 2nd ed.] with some STL
Perl, Javā (Swing, SWT) , PĤP [since 2001]
Assêmbler: Intel x86 (TASM, GNU as) [since 1991], ARMv5/Xscale, PowerPC, m68k, Microchip 16F
Pascāl (Standard, TURBO, Object Oriented)
xBase Languages: dBASE, FoxPro
LISP
SQL/ÐB2 for ÄS/400, T-SQL
Base de Génie Logiciel/400 (a French CASE for ÄS/400)

Operating Systems

Linux [since 1993], FreeBSD, RTAI, FreeRTOS , SunOS/Solaris, EP/IX, SCO, HP-UX, AT&T SVR4/i386
UNIX-like: QÑX, Minix
IBM OS/2 Warp 4.0 and OS/400 for ÄS/400
CP/M, RSX-11, Novell, BeOS R4.0
Bare metal/superloop

Professional Experience and Achievements

Contract - Software Engineer // Smith & Nephew in Andover, MA [100% remote due to Covid] Oct 2020 - May 2022
Sr Staff Software Engineer IV // Smith & Nephew in Andover, MA Jun 2022 2020 - Now

Project: BSP for (unreleased) AI product (an FDA Class II device)
- Xilinx RTL block design for Microbaze and peripherials: SPI, QSPI, UART.
- Xilinx Microbaze code development. Ported u8glib to Microblaze.
- Video over PCIe in/out using Xilinx XDMA IP. Wrote 2x Linux User Mode Drivers to control Xilinx VDMA IP over PCIe.
- Video extraction from OpenGL apps via glReadPixels()
- Video export to apps via V4L2 Loopback.
Project: BSP support for INTELLIO 4K (an FDA Class II device):
- Xilinx Microbaze code development and bug hunting re FPGA/RTL firmware.
- Enabled crypto signing/verification of firmware upgrades.
- Backported Samba 4.14.8 to a TI arm BSP from 2012 for SMBv3 compliance.
- Added CUPS 1.7 to same TI BSP and support for Sony UP-DR80MD colour medical printer.
- Automated Microblaze builds from CLI.
Project: Bugfixed and enhanched INTELLIO 4K product (Class II), prepared documentation for FDA 510(k) submission.
Project BSP support for Laird SOM60 (custom hw), included in INTELLIO product:
- Extended Laird's weblcm-pyton RESTful system configurator.
- Wrote a C library to drive weblcm-pythôn.
- Enabled RNDIS via NetworkManager for Android Reverse Tethering.
- Automated board flashing via C code driving weblcm-pytôn.
Project: BSP support for LENS4K (an FDA Class II device):
- Enabled RNDIS via udevd for Android Reverse Tethering.
- Enabled crypto signing/verification of firmware upgrades.
- Troubleshooted & fixed a malloc/free deadlock.
- Memory usage profiling & Linux OOM Kⅈller tuning for a restricted memory environment.
Operating Systems: Linux on arm, C on bare metal (Superloop)
Programming Languages: C, C++, Perl, Pythôn
Misc technologies: Buildroot, Vitis (Xilinx SDK), Microblaze, Vivado, Matlab
Source Control: git, git-lfs

Contract - Software Engineer // AES Security, Inc in Peabody, MA (USA) [5% on site due to Covid] Mar 2020 - Jun 2020

Project BSP upgrade for at91sam9x5ek:
- Upgraded at91bootstrap to 3.9.1, ONFI PMECC autodetect.
- Upgraded u-Boot to 2019.04, integrated the local customisations, ONFI PMECC autodetect.
- Upgraded kernel to 5.4.35, integrated custom CMX-867 SPI modem driver.
- Automated board flashing via SAM-BA with TCL scripts.
Operating Systems: Linux on arm
Programming Languages: C, C++, u-Boot scripting
Source Control: SVN, git

Contract - Software Engineer // VT iDirect in Herndon, VA (USA) [100% on site] Jan 2019 - Apr 2019

Projects:
- User mode/C++ I2C driver for Atmel ATECC508A
- User mode/C++ driver for fpga GPIO pins
- Kernel driver for fpga flash/EEPROM
- Automated nightly provisioning/smoke testing of nightly builds via a custom Pythôn framework.
Operating Systems: Linux on mips-octeon
Programming Languages: C, C++
Source Control: git

Contract - Software Engineer // Kalray (France) [90% on site] Sep 2018 - Oct 2018

Project: Perf optimisations for bare metal NVMEoF target controller.
Operating Systems: Linux on kalray-mppa
Programming Languages: C
Source Control: git

Contract - Software Engineer // Mānta Test Systems (Canada) [90% on site] Oct 2009 - Jul 2010; Jul 2011; Nov 2011; Feb-Apr 2012
Oct 2012 - Jun 2013; Aug 2016 - Oct 2016; Dec 2016 - Jan 2017
Jun 2018 - Aug 2018

Projects:
- Kernel work (4.9.80 with RTAI-5.1 & RTNet-0.9.13)
  - Ported RTNet [abandoned 8 years ago by its maintainer] to RTAI and Linux 4.9.80 + drivers for pcnet32 and e1000e-pch.
  - Verified BSP suitability for the two Manta TMG 5100 flavours.
- Kernel work (2.6.29 with RTAI-3.7.2 & RTNet)
  - Linux BSP adaptation for 2 EBX boards (VersaLogic, Advantech).
  - Debugged own bug (using ACPI nmi_watchdog): «RTAI semaphore locked in Linux makes RTAI spin forever in rt_mutex_unlock/rt_sem_signal every 40 reboots».
  - Disabled SMI interrupt by hacking an ISA bridge PCI device.
  - Hacked Linux 16-bit code (arch/x86/boot) to do custom initialisation based on board type.
  - Linux BSP adaptation for PICO 880 & porting 2.6.32-RedHat Intel e1000e driver to 2.6.29 and RTNet.
  - Re-ported an FPGA device driver from RTAI to PREEMPT_RT;
  - Used floating point native FPU instructions in kernel;
  - Tracked down hard RT latency problems in the Linux scheduler [PREEMPT_RT] and minimal drivers using a logic analyser;
  - Fixed the problems in RTNET/rtnetproxy that made it run out of rtskbs;
  - Ported the Intel e100 driver from Linux 2.6.29 to RTNET;
- App work
  - Hacked OpenJDK 1.6 to add custom classes to class cache (classes.jsa) and characterised it on a slow x86 embedded target.
  - Profiled Mānta's Javā application under OpenJDK 1.6 to see how execution speed differed from GCJ-compiled code.
  - Ported a FPGA configuration tool from Pascāl/Win32 to C++/Andrōid-NDK/arm.
  - Reworked Mānta's GOOSE (IEC61850) application and extended it for new use cases.
  - Fixed bugs in GCJ C++ runtime.
  - Added udev to Arcom Linux and wrote udev scripts for keyboard, mouse and USB storage;
  - Ported the Triangle GOOSE (IEC61850) library from vanilla Linux to RTNET and adapted it to the Mānta RT application;
Operating Systems: Linux 4.9.80/2.6.31/PREEMPT_RT on x86, RTAI & RTNET on x86, Andrōid/x86, Andrōid/arm
Programming Languages: C, C++, x86 assêmbly language
Source Control: Subversion, ProjectLocker
Misc technologies: VMware Workstation integrated with GDB for kernel debugging, MSO-19 8-channel Logic Analyser, ADB

Contract - SW Përformānce & Reliābility Engineer // Magic Leap Jan 2018 - Jul 2018, Jun 2019 - Feb 2020

Projects (2018) (USA) [100% on site]
- Enhanced Andrōid bionic (libc) malloc_debug to filter mem leak backtraces of a certain size for perf reasons.
- Triāging incoming bugs. Përformānce/memory usage investigations.
- Designed/implemented a T-SQL db system for tracking KPIs with a Pythôn front-end.
Projects (2019) (Canada) [20% on site]
- Wrote test cases for LuminOS apps integrated in a customised Câtapult framework.
- Developed automated tools to flush out kernel log (dmesg) and logcat log spammers.
Operating Systems: Linux/x86_64, Linux/aarch64
Programming Languages: C, C++, Bash, Pythôn
Misc technologies: git, gerrit, malloc_debug, Andrōid NDK, MS-SQL, Câpult

Contract - Distro Maintainer for an Embedded Ubüntu // ComQi [fmr Enqii] (Canada) [100% on site] Mar 2017 - Nov 2017

Projects:
- Maintained a stripped-down distro (based on Ubuntu 16) for an embedded media player product paying attention to the quirks in the Intel Xorg/OpenGL stack.
- Enhanced the Java crash handler to collect info about state of kernel, Xorg, Intel driver.
Operating Systems: Linux/x86_64
Programming Languages: Bash, Anaconda kickstart, Ubuntu preseed, Java 8
Misc technologies: Subversion, Valgrind, Intel Graphics stack for Linux

Contract - Software Engineer // Phybridge Inc (Canada) [100% on site] Apr 2012 - Jun 2012; Nov 2016 - Jan 2017; Aug 2017

Project: customisation of a Broadcom StrataXGS L2/L3 switch (reference design)
- Designed an upgrade mechanism for the Control Plane Linux OS; wrote the required build scrips and on-target upgrade framework (upgrades applied via a WWW interface).
- LLDP: customised lldpd to work with the Linux pseudo-interface mechanism and the BCM L2 table.
- Spanning Tree: customised mstpd to work with the BCM Content Aware Engine (fp qual) -- wrote the appropriate fp filters to except STP packets to the CP and route them thru the appropriate Linux pseudo-interface (knet).
- [Nov 2016] IGMP: Route IGMP to CPU but not mcast traffic using FP rules.
- [Dec 2016] Enabled per-VLAN in-band management interfaces.
- [Jan 2017] 802.1x authentication - adaptation of hostapd to BCM commands.
- [Aug 2017] IGMP: Snooping -- send v2/v3 Membership Reports as required by upstream devices.
Operating Systems: Linux on mips/eb
Programming Languages: C, BCM commands
Source Control: git, Subversion

Contract - Software Engineer // IDT [fmr Tundra] (Canada) [10% on site] Jul 2015 - Aug 2016

Projects:
- Tsi721 User-Mode PCIe Device Driver
  - Adapted/rewrote Tsi721 RapidIO kernel driver for DMA and MBOX to work in polled mode in user-mode Linux
  - Re-implemented some aspects of the Linux DMA engine framework for UM
- UM Layer 3 Network Driver over RapidIO MBOX: Used Tsi721 UM MBOX and kernel Tun/Tap to interface with Linux TCP/IP (v4) stack
- UM Layer 3 Network Driver over RapidIO RDMA: Combined Tsi721 UM MBOX + DMA driver and kernel Tun/Tap to interface with Linux TCP/IP (v4) stack [C++ source code: https://db.tt/2YpKzwuxWT]:
  - Zero copy of packets: use CMA/DMA memory for Tun read & write;
  - Peer to peer, autodiscovery protocol: used periodic RapidIO MBOX unicasts to advertise Inbound memory mapping+allocations to peer nodes -- akin LLDP;
  - Peer to peer, fault tolerant protocol: used periodic RapidIO MBOX unicasts to probe up/dead peer nodes;
  - Tun to RapidIO is using Tsi721's DMA engine;
  - Tsi721 has no signalling of inbound RapidIO DMA operations (but they are very fast);
  - RapidIO RX is done by hard polling known Inbound memory locations for changed data;
  - A helper thread collects L3 frames from Inbound memory and delivers them to Tun.
  One-way HTTP transfer (from ramfs): 1.53 GBytes/sec [MTU=17,000] (cf. RapidIO 1.6 GBytes/sec line rate).
  Standard flood ping(8) latency: 44 µS.
Operating Systems: Linux/x86_64, ppc64
Programming Languages: C, C++
Misc technologies: git, IDT Tsi721, Tun/Tap, Valgrind

Contract - Software Engineer // Affirmed Networks in Acton, MA (USA) [100% on site] Jan 2014 - Jul 2015

Projects:
- Subscriber Firewall
  - Wrote an RTSP firewall protocol helper (ALG) in C++
  - Wrote a SIP firewall protocol helper (ALG) in C++. This included a SIP parser/regenerator.
- Ported mpd5/l2tp from FreeBSD (including kernel Netgraph modules for l2tp and ppp) to Linux user-mode. Integrated mpd into Affirmed TOS and extended it for High Availability/Redundancy.
Operating Systems: Linux/x86
Programming Languages: C++, C
Misc technologies: git, Intel dpdk, vmware, Valgrind, Coverity

Contract - Software Engineer // Smart Energy Instruments (Canada) [100% on site] Jun 2012 - Sep 2012

Project: Early board bringup/uClinux BSP of a custom SH-2 processor (in FPGA -- Spartan 3/6)
- Wrote a "secure" bootloader with SHA-1 signature (ROM BL) and SHA-1 sig+RSA encryption (FAT BL).
- Extended the bootloader for FAT-12 support (via FatFs), wrote a low-level FAT driver for a M25P32 SPI flash chip, 2x16 LCD driver, SH1101A OLED driver [test image https://db.tt/ySCI8Zv9E9], wrote a command processor, implemented autoboot, stateful environment.
- Wrote Linux device drivers for: LCD (irq-based block transfers), GPIO keyboard, 1PPS, hw watchdog;
- Tracked/debugged board stability issues;
Project: PTPv2/IEEE 1588 Kernel driver+User-land Utilities
- Extended the EMAC ethernet driver for IEEE 1588 (PTP) hardware-accelerated time stamping. Optimised EMAC for slow CPU: 4xRX ping-pong buffers [pseudo-DMA chain]; wrote in-driver packet dissectors for PTPv1/2 over 802.3, UDPv4 and UDPv6 for aiding the FPGA RTL;
- Added HW acceleration to ptpd-2.2.2 (BSD license);
- Wrote a GPS NMEA sentence parser for SkyTraq GPS chip;
Operating Systems: bare metal on SH-2, uClinux 3.4.3 on SH-2
Programming Languages: C, vhdl

Contract - Software Engineer // Certicom/RIM (Canada) [100% on site] May 2011 - Feb 2012

Projects:
- Wrote an embedded SNMP agent with net-snmp using PostgreSQL as backend for tables/data points; wrote a MIB and C code generator.
- Provisioned a CentOS crypto appliance:
  1. customisation of the install proces via an anaconda kickstart script;
  2. autōmation of certificate generation/signing/installation into a SSL hardware accelerator;
- Studied the feasibily of transporting NTP via OpenVPN, OpenSSH/tun, a custom SSL/XML messaging+tun.
Operating Systems: CentOS 5.4 on x86, Cygwin
Programming Languages: C, Bash, awk, SQL
Debugging tools: gdb, Valgrind
Source Control: Subversion

Contract - BPSS // Moneris Inc. (Canada) [100% on site] Feb 2011 - May 2011

Projects:

Wrote a webapp (Javā/Perl/MySQL on RHEL5) for time (SLA) tracking.
Integrated MIR3 notifications (web services / SOAP) into process monitoring applications via a Perl/Wīn32 script.

Contract - Software Engineer // Corning, Inc (USA) [80% on site Dec 2008 - Nov 2009; 10% on site Nov 2009 - Dec 2010] Dec 2008 - Dec 2010

Projects:
- System Architecture / Embedded Programming: User-space control application for Radio-over-Fiber
  - (The IDAS system was composed of a Linux PPC SBC which runs the control application and communicates with many RF boards via I2C.)
  - Designed (top-down) the Linux control application of the RF system (used UML);
  - Implemented the build system: wrote Makefiles from scratch for the code (with x86 and ppc builds)
  - Wrote the C++ application framework (classes for Threads, Queues);
  - Wrote a C++ Thread class/pthread wrapper that implements functionality similar to the Javā Thread class, in addition it keeps track of CPU ticks (user, system) used per-thread and provides code checkpointing facilities;
  - Wrote the C++ code for a TCP/IP inter-application messaging bus based on TLVs;
  - Wrote the C++ code for I2C access [custom L2/L7 proto which I co-designed];
  - Wrote the C++ code for application storage -- all done thru SQLite;
  - Implemented/redesigned the RF auto-calibration algorithm (which spanned multiple RF boards);
  - Wrote the C++ code for a UDP/IP logger with SQL backend;
  - Debugged/traced GCC oddities on ppc32: mutexes must be memset to 0, no mutexes as auto vars (or part of C++ auto objects) on stack;
  - Documented all code with Doxygen tags and hooked it up into the autōmated build;
  - Wrote the framework for C++ CGI scripts (login/logout, permissions and session tracking);
  - Integrated all software/hardware to the point where auto-calibration functioned correctly.
  - Wrote Shell scripts that autōmate certain operations by talking to CGI C++ scripts;
  - Wrote a Cisco-like CLI based on libcli that ties into the product for configuration purposes.
  - Integrated the Linux build with TFŠ/MSBuild via a nmake project, plink and some glue batch files (CMD and Linux).
- Kernel work (2.6.24 & 2.6.30)
  - Device Driver: Changed the IBM Yosemite I2C driver to do varying-length I2C reads (using a custom L2 proto).
  - Board Bring-Up: Customised the 2.6.30 kernel for a Corning variant or PPC440EPx/Sequoia board: enabled NOR flash, hacked the dts supplied by the board vendor and the ST RTC driver to be compatible;
Operating Systems: Linux 2.6 (denx 4.2) on PPC 440EP/Yosemite, 440EX/Sequoia, Linux 2.6 on x86
Programming Languages: C, C++, PowerPC assêmbly language
Misc technologies: SQLite3, MS TFŠ, UML, Doxygen, Enterprise Architect, VMware Workstation

Contract - Software Engineer // Morotola/Broadbus in Boxboro, MA (USA) [100% on site] Jan 2008 - Jul 2008

Projects (User-space applications for Video on Demand Server):
- I changed the algorithm for writing to the content storage memory ("triple-write" in paged memory);
- I re-organised the Hardware Abstraction layer (HAL) for UPM1 [1st gen hardware]; I wrote the HAL for UPM2 [2nd gen hardware];
- I changed the apps that access the content storage memory to use the new API and debugged various C++ application and kernel/driver crashes;
- I ported the kernel code for a custom UDP socket from 2.4.21 to 2.6.21 (the patch allowed one to collect multiple incoming UDP frames in one system call);
- I migrated C++/C0RBA applictions from Linux 2.4/GLIBC 2.2.5/C0RBA 1.4.1 to Linux 2.6/GLIBC 2.5/C0RBA 1.5a_p4 and fixed crashes and weird race conditions in the process.
Operating Systems: Linux 2.4 and 2.6 on PPC 440GP, Freescale 8548
Programming Languages: C, C++, PowerPC assêmbly language
Source Control: Perforce/Linux

F/t - Senior Embedded Software Engineer - Data Plane // ChantryNetworks, a Siemens Company (Canada) Jun 2005 - Jan 2008

Projects:
- Embedded Programming
  - I implemented an in-kernel Code Profiler (Linux) for profiling the execution of Intel IXA framework Core Components;
  - I re-implemented the Redirector component for Teja/IXP1200 (a HTTP stream hijacker): I offloaded the TCP packet re-assembly to the Linux kernel via a TUN/TAP interface and a 'transparent proxy' firewall rule. I wrote a Perl/multithreaded high performance transparent HTTP proxy that implements the Captive Portal semantics; extended the Redirector to process HTTP/8080 requests in proxy mode and SSL/CONNECT mode;
  - Re-used the Redirector code for the IXP2800 platform by adding a Core Component [= a custom Linux kernel module] to the Intel IXA SDK. The component forwards raw packes to the Redirector by means of a UDP socket;
  - I implemented (using FUSE) a means of remoting the IXA SDK ARP table as a /proc/net/arp-like mechanism - this method juggles two Linux kernels yet it keeps most of the processing in user mode thus not burdening the kernels with lengthy run-to-completion processing;
  - Modified the IXA IXP2800 framework to run on Linux 2.6.10 with PREEMPT RT (C20);
  - Ported the C20 software to VMware and Xen by customising the vmxnet and 8139too drivers.
- Simulation techniques: ACTT, the Chantry Networks Access Point Simulator [also see the previous job]
  - I wrote WASSP PUMP as a Linux kernel module - it is an L3 tunnel driver for Chantry's AP tunneling protocol so voice stream simulations can be conducted in association with ACTT;
  - I embedded Perl/multithreaded in ACTT for easy scripting (also embedded Tcl). ACTT is Chantry's internal Access Controller test Tool (ACTT) - a WiFi Access Point simulator;
  - I wrote test scenarios (in ACTT's own language and Perl) that simulate crash/overloading situations as seen in the field. These scenarios are used by the QA Department for regression testing;
  - I embedded an XML-RPC server in ACTT making it an RPC endpoint for autōmation;
  - I wrote (in Perl) a Web GUI for ACTT for monitoring its progress - it talks to ACTT via XML-RPC;
  - I kept ACTT up to date with the changes in Chantry's hardware WiFi Access Point;
- Code Profiling, Low-Level Debugging, Troubleshooting Field Problems
  - C1xxx: I fixed crashes & severe bugs in the Teja/IXP1200 code: random memory corruptions, leaks of hardware packet descriptors, memory leaks, smashed mutexes, bogus divisions by zero - I wrote instrumentation code that addresses the bugs [GDB was not available on the platform, nor was Valgrind].
    Note: none of the code that I fixed was written by me - I was one level of escalation above Sustaining;
  - Wrote a wrapper library for POSIX mutexes in order to detect as early as possible a mutex corruption in a multithreaded environment;
  - Added instrumentation code to Teja/IXP1200 that helps to track the oldest bug in the company ("IXP Poll Lost");
  - Added instrumentation code to the IXA SDK/IXP2800 that tracks occurences of the IXP Poll Lost and wrote a checkpointing framework for Core Components;
  - I wrote tools that preserve debug info in enterprise builds for Teja/IXP1200 and IXA SDK/2800;
  - Wrote an autōmated crash analysis program that decoded raw stack dumps into C files/line numbers for Teja/IXP1200 [XScale] ("kaboom") (C1xxx);
  - Wrote an autōmated crash analysis program for IXA SDK/2800 [XScale] ("kaboom2k") (C2000);
  - C1xxx: Worked-around Linux Xscale FPU emulator bug (double-fault): moved SoftFloat from kernel mode to user mode and compiled Control Plane (Teja) code with -msoft-float; fixed endianess problem in libfloat;
  - Fixed a bug in ISC's dhcpd: was not responding properly on requests coming from tunnel devices;
- Misc Programming
  - Wrote a GÏS (2D) format converter from Ekahau to AirTight Planner; wrote a Javā/SWT Drag&Drop GUI for the converter and shipped it compiled as .EXE with gcj/Wīn32;
  - Wrote an adapter/sniffer for the SIAPP multicast protocol used for inter-AP communication for the SoloAP product;
- Leadership
  - Mentored junior engineers on safe programming practices;
  - Supervised junior/intermediate engineers on various projects (Ethereal dissector, OmniPeek decoder, ClearCase trigger);
  - I lead the effort of adding instrumentation code to the IXP2800 prior to the release (using GCC's -finstrument-functions);
- Harddisk Forensics
  - I lead a hard-drive forensics project and implemented measures against data loss;
  - Tracked Harddisk and Flash Disk (ATA) defects in the field and did root cause analysis for bad sectors; wrote autōmated Linux tools that diagnose HDD problems using S.M.A.R.T and brute-force reads;
  - Tracked Linux Ext3 file system bugs (e.g. vanished journal on a sane media);
  - Wrote a subsystem for Database Rotation & Autōmated Backup;
- Configurantion Management/Builds
  - Moved legacy C1xxx build machine into VMware by taking a snapshot of the physical Linux machine;
  - Set up build machines as VMware VMs for new platforms (C2000, C20, NGAP);
  - Designed a ClearCase trigger that intergrates with the BugZero bug tracking system for detailed tracking of check-ins per PR;
  - Autōmated builds under Klocwork for autōmated defect detection; integrated with ClearCase for tracking who introduced the defects;
  - Improved ClearCase server performance by investigating hardware subsystems and network problems;
  - Transitioned build process/scripts to BuildForge;
Operating Systems: Linux on ARM/IXP1200, ARM/IXP2800, ARM/IXP2805, NetWinder (ARM)
Programming Languages: C, Perl (threaded, XS, embedded), SNMP, Javā+SWT, gcj
Network Processor frameworks: Teja/IXP1200, Intel IXA SDK 4.1 for IXP2800 and IXP2805
Network Protocols: low-level implementation of UDP/IP and DHCP
Debugging tools: kgdb, custom memory profiling tools that I wrote
Misc technologies: XML-RPC, MySQL, FUSE (Linux Filesystem in User Space), BuildForge, VMware Server, VMware ESX, Xen, S.M.A.R.T, manual crash analysis by decoding stack dumps on Xscale, ActiveState PDK
Source Control: CVS, ClearCase/Linux

Contract - Software Developer - Sustaining // ChantryNetworks, a Siemens Company (Canada) Nov 2004 - Jun 2005

Projects:
- I extended ACTT to implement the draft-CAPWAP (CTP) open tunneling protocol for WiFi access points;
- I extended ACTT to fully simulate a WiFi Access Point [any number of them simultaneously thru virtualisation] by modelling each simulated mobile user (MU) into a Linux pseudo-Ethernet (TAP) interface thus making possible testing the AC with real-world applications (e.g ftp, Mozilla) → this was a cost and time saving for the company as purchasing 200 hardware APs and deploying them on a sigle floor of a building was unfeasible;
- I wrote an SNMP agent (embedded in ACTT) that performs tasks on behalf of each of the virtual APs simulated by ACTT: obtaining configuration info, statistics, alarms, etc;
- I wrote a Perl script to autōmate the authentication of MUs based on a web page (Captive Portal) thus allowing to simulate tens of simultaneous MUs trying to authenticate at the same time [script stacked on top of a TAP interface and ACTT] [also ported on Wīn32] → this was a huge improvement as previously they were able to do only up to four at the same time using laptops and manpower;
- I wrote a Perl script that autōmates the dis-association of MUs [also ported on Wīn32] → this proved to be a time saver for the QA guys as previously they had do this by hand;
- I extended the scripting language embedded in ACTT to acomodate the new functionality I added to ACTT;
- I repaired a host of complex/subtle bugs in ACTT and fixed all memory leaks;
- I wrote (in Perl) tools that autōmate the work of the testers/QA by driving the GUI of the Access Controller; the tools were ported to Wīn32 → this was a great help and time-saver for repetitive tasks that had to be done by hand and saved them money by not having Chantry spend increments of $6,000 a pop for a dedicated tool;
- I created a migration scenario for Chantry's flagship product from Linux distribution A (old, unsupported) to Linux distribution B (current, vendor-supported) (A differs from B) [actual names withheld due to confidentiality issues].
Operating Systems: Linux
Programming Languages: C, Posix threads, Perl (+PDK), SNMP
Debugging tools: gdb, Valgrind, ElectricFence
Source Control: CVS

SpamWall
My own proprietary project
A sophisticated system for squashing spam and virus-bearing e-mail.
This is a 3-tier distributed system integrating components written in C, Perl, Javā (servlets) and PĤP; it uses PostgreSQL SQL and ODBC/PostgreSQL as backends for data storage. It is available for Linux and MS-Wīndows.
It has a demo Client with a GUI written in Javā+SWT. Aug 2001 - present

Contract - Embedded Software Engineer [40% on site, 60% remote work] // eBox Inc. of Cambridge, ON
Embedded Linux and Javā Programming Jan 2003 - Feb 2004

Projects:
- I put together a Javā Machine: I took a single-board computer (Gene-4310) and I created a Linux flash image (size = 29M) that had everything necessary for the Sun Javā Virtual Machine 1.4: kernel, X11, shared libraries and the JRE files;
- I wrote an error-tolerant, self-healing boot loader for the Javā Machine;
- I wrote a map viewer that displayed a map stored in the ESRÏ Shapefile format (based on material provided by the GeoTools project);
- I created maps and sub-maps of the GTA using PostGÏS+PostgreSQL, I wrote Pl/PgSQL stored procedures for handling of GÏS data;
- I wrote a GPS-driven realtime GÏS map viewer (Javā)
Operating Systems: Linux
Database System: PostgreSQL 7.3 + PostGÏS extensions
Programming Languages: C, Javā 1.4 + JDBC, Perl, Perl+DBI

Contract - Anti-Spam Engineer // University of Toronto (CHASS Department)
Unsolicited (Commercial) E-mail prevention & control Jan 2003 - Apr 2003

Tasks:
- I re-organised their mail delivery architecture;
- I extracted useful information from the pre-existing spam collection and I organised it in databases (e.g. IP addresses, domain names, etc);
- I wrote a Sendmail 8.12 plug-in (for the Milter extension) that handled the incoming stream of e-mail at connection level making real-time decisions (reject/accept) based on the knowledge stored in the above databases;
- The plugin was controlled by preferences stored in a SQL database;
Operating Systems: Sun Solaris 8
Database System: MySQL
Programming Languagen: Perl (multithreaded), Perl::DBI, C

Contract - Embedded Software Engineer // Admiral Secure Products (Mississauga, ON)
NNOS device-driver programming May 2002 (1 month)

Projects - NNOS (8x8 Inc's real-time embedded OS) Kernel Programming:
- I re-wrote the subsystem that handles the GPIO-generated IRQ's.
- I wrote an IRQ-driven serial device driver (UART).
- I wrote a modem device driver for Multi-Tech Systems' MT5634SMI (memory-mapped).
Operating Systems: NNOS (target), Linux (development)
Programming Language: C (gcc)
CPU Architectures: mips (Netergy Microelectronics' Audacity_T2U)

Contract - Software Developer // Belcarra Messaging Corp. (Vancouver, BC) [100% remote work]
Maintenance of BMC's Cyrus mail package Jun-July 2001 (1.5 months)

Project - I created a suite of tools for mailbox index repair and regeneration for the Cyrus-IMAP server. I provided full technical support for the above tools for Belcarra's clients on Linux/i386 and Solaris/sun4u.

Embedded Software Engineer // Lineo Canada Inc (fmr. Fireplug Computers)
Embedded OS device-driver programming Jan 2001 - May 2001

Projects - Linux Kernel Programming:
- Wrote an HDLC device-driver for the Motorola 68360 (QICC) 32-bit microcontroller.
- Participated in a 68360-based board bringup (designed early memory tests).
- tested & supported two ARM-based handhelds the company's own version of Linux.
Operating Systems: uClinux [Linux for 32-bit microcontrollers], Embedix^TM,
Programming Languages: C, m68k assêmbly language
CPU Architectures: AMD-520, Motorola 68360 QICC, Intel ARM
Networking Technologies: DHCP, RARP, BOOTP, BIND9

Linux Engineer // VTech Electronics Canada LTD (Richmond, BC)

Jul 2000 - Jan 2001

Project - Linux Kernel Programming: Refined the port to vtech-mipsel-linux and improved the frame-buffer code.
Projects - User-land Programming:
- Contributed to the Microwindows Open Source Project by integrating it with the Helio architecture; Did various bugfixes, created two utilities.
- Implemented a cross-platform (Linux and Wīn32) flashing tool (application) with a FLTK GUI (dt-FLTK) for VTech's PDA (English and German versions) application. This has increased the exposure of the company's product to people running Wīndows and Linux.
- Set up an internal Samba Server (PDC). This has improved the work environment of the team of testers in my department by providing them with a reliable storage solution at no cost.
Operating Systems: Linux, FreeBSD, VT-OS (a PalmOS clone)
Programming Languages: C++, C, Perl, Shell
CPU Architectures: mips (Toshiba 8912), i386
Networking Technologies: firewall (FreeBSD), BIND8

Research Assistant // Centre of Mathematical Statistics of the Romanıan Academy
(part-time since university)

May 1998 - May 2000

Administered a Linux/Wīn95 network:
- Implemented and maintained an integrated (Samba) Linux/Wīn95 solution: network printing, file sharing, security.
- Created a firewall (Linux) with NAT, VPN (pptp).
- Implemented a PPP server (with traffic accounting).
- Maintained Internet servers: BIND8 - in a "sandbox", DHCP, Apache.
- Implemented a UNIX/DOS connectivity solution (DOS telnet client for UNIX) thus reusing old equipment and saving money by providing new access points to the UNIX server at no extra cost.
Operating Systems: Linux, Windows 95, cisco IOS
Programming Languages: C, Perl, HTML+JavāScript, Pascāl

Course Instructor // "Centrul Logistic Marina-Marco" SRL

Sep 1999 - Oct 1999, Dec 1999, Mar 2000 - Apr 2000

Courses taught included: Linux/UNIX System Administration and Advanced Course in Linux Hacking/Administration

Operating Systems: Linux, DOS, Windows NT 4.0
Programming Languages: Perl, C
Networking Technologies: DHCP, VPN (pptp), Samba, SSH

Senior FreeBSD (UNIX) Programmer
NetĀpp International SRL
(a subsidiary of JP Infotech Holding, Boca Raton, Florida, USA)

Apr 1999 - Oct 1999

Projects - FreeBSD kernel programming:
- Researched the market for competing products and participated in the design of the firm's router solution
- Re-wrote a ROM-able bootloader (for FreeBSD) compliant with the PXE specification
- Did bug hunting, bugfixes and custom improvements of the FreeBSD kernel
Implemented (under FreeBSD) a firewall with Network Address Translation for the internal use of the company
Mentored Junior programmers
Operating Systems: FreeBSD, Windows NT 4.0, Linux
Programming Languages: Assêmbly language-x86, C, Perl

UNIX Programmer & Systems Administrator // Canad Systems SRL (a fmr. Romanıan ISP)

Dec 1998 - Apr 1999

Project - Linux Kernel Programming: modified the 2.2.x kernel to allow every system daemon (service) to run only with user privileges (e.g. sendmail, BIND (named), lpd). Modified sendmail to comply with this.
Projects - User-land Programming:
- Developed an application (Linux version 2.0.xx + ipfwadm + Perl) for accounting on leased-lines.
- Co-developped a UNIX/microcontroller solution - a software that talked to a microcontroller in order to perform specific tasks
- Created Intelligent WEB pages using Apache/SSI: an HTML request was displayed in surfer's language (guess based on the browser's language and the reverse resolution of surfer's IP address)
- Created a complete Internet/dialup package for DOS (PPP, e-mail reading/writing, WWW browsing). This increased the number of clients with people low on budget or owners of old 286 computers.
Operating Systems: Linux, FreeBSD, DOS, Windows 95
Programming Languages: C, Perl, awk, HTML+JavāScript, Shell
Database System: mSQL

ÄS/400 Programmer (BGL/400) // Kepler S.A.R.L (société Franco-Roumaine)
(Maintenance évolutive d'un progiciel) Jul 1998 - Sep 1998

Project: Updated & maintained a legacy mainframe application as part of a team of 11 programmers
Operating Systems: OS/400, Windows 95, Linux
Programming Languages: BGL/400, SQL, COBOL
Database System: IBM DB/2

Freelance (România)

UNIX Consultant:
- Secured (against Internet attacks) machines running (R)Linux, SunOS/Solaris^TM, HP-UX^TM
- Recovered/fixed crashed machines running Solaris 2.5
2000: Implemented a strong Internet firewall (Linux 2.2.x + ipchains) combined with a DHCP server (for the intranet) at Procter & Gamble. The firewall was designed to accomodate the Novell Extranet VPN
1999-2000: Modified/updated a FoxPro 2.6 database to comply with Y2K and changing legislation.
1997-1998: UNIX SysAdmin/Webmaster at the Department of Mechanics (http://mecanica.math.unibuc.ro) of the Faculty of Mathematics, Bucharest University.
- Implemented features of the C2 security class in Linux
- Installed/maintained SunOS/Solaris (SunOS 4.1.1, Solaris 2.x) servers (sun3/sun4/i386 architectures); Did troubleshooting of hardware-related problems (Sun3/60, Sun3/110)
- Created CGI scripts for querying system status, on-line databases, user management (made with Perl).
- Implemented a relational database with web interface using the Bourne shell and awk (no SQL backend)
1995: Maintained Novell 3.11 network for a government agency

Other Skills

sendmail (Internet Mail Agent) configuration
BIND (4, 8, 9) (Internet DNS) configuration (including chroot()'ed environments)
Samba (Windows-style file sharing) (including domain logons & PDC)
CVS (Concurrent Versions System)

Fields of Interest

UNIX kernel security semantics
Linux device-driver programming & embedded devices
Networking: VPN's, VoIP, IPSec, IPv6

Languages: English: fluently spoken and written, French: average, Romanıan: native speaker.

Personal Interests

Sailing, Swimming, Snorkelling, Scuba-Diving (PADI-certified)
Keeping an aquarium (for 35 years) and growing corals
Electronics, IoT, MQTT on: Linux/Raspberry Pi, ESP32, ESP8266, ATmega328P, ATmega2560, MSP430

Keywords:
	programmer, sysadmin, developer, C, C++, Perl, Javā
	linux, uclinux, freebsd, unix, solaris
	kernel, device driver, embedded, real time
	i386, ia32, mips, pic, z80
	NNOS, GPIO, Audacity
	microwindows, fltk, handheld, samba, cifs, nfs
	SPAM, UCE

*Contract - Software Engineer* // Smith & Nephew in Andover, MA [100% remote due to Covid]	Oct 2020 - May 2022
*Sr Staff Software Engineer IV* // Smith & Nephew in Andover, MA	Jun 2022 2020 - Now