Interests
Networking
In my computer lab in school, there was a Novell netware based network of about 20 nodes and a server. But at that time I could not appreciate the way in which my data got transferred from one node to the other and I could seamlessly log-in at any node and work with the same data. But when I joined my B. Tech. degree course I got fascinated by the way I could chat on the college LAN (using MS Netmeeting). I believe that it was this point that my interest started in this field.
Then in the second semester my batch got computers in the hostel. And with about 30 systems we also had to setup our LAN. I took a lot of interest in it and in the process, learned a lot. From here my journey into this world really got a start. And with Linux installed on my system, I got to know about lots of different protocols.
Then in the third semester, I was introduced to computer networks in a formal manner (through the book Computer Networks, by Patterson and Davie). There was a little code on socket programming in the first chapter which attracted me. I decided to type and run this code. After running it successfully, the idea of building a chat server came to my mind. I tried a little but the plans were not feasible. In the meanwhile, I studied the book Unix Network Programming by Stevens which taught me a lot about socket programming.
Then in the fourth semester I took a project to study Linux Firewalls which really strengthened my knowledge. Besides that there was a course on Client-Server applications. In the fifth semester I undertook a project named Intrusion Detection Systems and now in the sixth semester I am taking a project on AD-HOC wireless networking. (You can find some information on my projects on this site itself.)
Networking is fascinating and I believe that it will continue to fascinate me for long-long time. One day I hope to do something good in it. Wish me good luck for that!