About Matt

I am a software engineer with a specific focus on distributed systems, automation, and internet and web protocols. I enjoy the challenge of working with large systems that require efficient, resilient design - both at scale, and close to the metal.
I currently work as a Sr. Software Engineer on Cloudflare’s Traffic Engineering team, developing software systems that improve the performance and reliability of customers’ traffic. My primary area of focus is on Cloudflare’s internal platform for managing egress connectivity.
When I find the time, I like to write about some of the topics working on or learning about on my blog (oswalt.dev) or on Twitter as @Mierdin.
Interests Link to heading
I work on all kinds of things these days, but here’s a brief summary:
- Systems Software Development (primarily Go and Rust).
- Distributed Systems
- Linux networking, eBPF/XDP
- Internet and web protocols (TCPIP/IPv6, HTTP)
- Infrastructure Automation (especially Cloud and Networking)
My other interests include:
- Fitness (primarily cycling and weight training - some running)
- Music (Drums, Piano, and electronic)
- Gaming (DOOM, Starcraft are among my favorites)
- Graphics Programming (e.g. Vulkan)
I read/listen to mostly nonfiction books, and I try to update my bookshelf page with my thoughts when I have the chance.
Publications Link to heading
My longest running publication is of course this personal technical blog, which I started at the very beginning of my career in 2010. It’s probably the best place to gain an understanding of my technical knowledge, interests, and how these have changed and grown over the course of my career. My most valued skill is my ability to learn new things quickly, which is made possible in large part due to the time I’ve spent sharing the knowledge I’ve gained by speaking at conferences, and writing technical articles on this blog.
I also co-authored the book “Network Programmability and Automation”, published in 2018 by O’Reilly.
Open Source Link to heading
I’ve contributed to a variety of open source projects, and my GitHub profile will offer some good insight into many of the things I’ve worked on. Some highlights:
- I created and maintained the NRE Labs website, infrastructure and underlying open source projects.
- I worked as a core developer on the StackStorm event-driven automation project for a few years, and still contribute when I find the time.
- I started a project called ToDD which performs distributed network testing. It’s suffering from a bit of neglect at the moment, and I’m hoping to have some time soon to get back into it and restructure things.
Presentations Link to heading
A brief summary of some of my speaking engagements, with special emphasis on instances where public recordings are available:
- Introduction to NRE Labs at Open Source Summit EU 2019
- Introduction to NRE at INOG::10
- NRE Labs at Network Field Day 20
- Network Automation and Verification at NFD17
- Three Traits of NRE (Juniper Video)
- NRE at Open Networking Summit
- Open Source Summit NA 2019
- PyOhio 2015: “Network Automation with Ansible and Python”
Not recorded, but also:
- Interop 2019:
- Introduction to NRE
- Deep-dive into NRE Labs at the Automated Network Operations Summit
- Interop 2016 which included three separate talks:
- “Test-Driven Network Automation”
- “The Network Revolution is a Lie”
- “DevOps-Centric Networking at eBay" (I was working for eBay at the time)
- Interop 2015: “Practical Network Automation Workshop with Ansible and Python”