Victor R. Blake

Network Strategy Architecture & Engineering

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About me and my experience 
B.S. Computer Engineering Technology, RIT
M.S. Syracuse University
AOL Outstanding Service Achievement Award
AOL Web Scaling Award

I got started building networks by accident. I was a gopher at a law firm when I was in high school and found myself helping them build networks. Years later as a computer engineering student, I was recruited to do some probabalistic failure analysis for a government contract. To my surprise is was both fun and paid well. Perhaps more importantly there were a myriad of opportunities compared to my first passion in control systems. It turns out the control systems interest is quite useful for lots of things in real time network systems including my experience with control systems/process, statistics, queueing theory, and sample data systems. So now I design and build networks. Equally important I enjoy working with other engineers and sharing my experience through teaching, writing, and public speaking.


Company history
Welcome. I've been using the 'web' since before it was the web -- starting wih SGML in the 1980's. Despite my experiences in software development, systems engineering, hardware and software engineering and even electrical engineering, I remain a network strategist, architect, and engineer at heart.
 
I truly feel that I am passionate about understanding networks services, applications, and developing scaleable and reliable network infrastructure. Perhaps more importantly I enjoy working in our industry and have developed long standing relationships with the companies, and more importantly the people that have brought the Internet home to millions, to work, and now with us everywhere we go as network services go globally wireless.
 
I have been fortunate to have experience in enterprise campus, building (premise), and data center design with firms including Spherion, Aerotek, and EDS Corporation having served both small and large customers. In my early years I wrote mail software that 'routed' software from once seperate email systems before the advent of the Internet Back in those days we wrote software manually to forward messages from seperate email systems. I've also writen printer drivers.So I have a great deal of respect for develpers, but I do not write much software these days.
 
Most of my professional experience has been in the service provider space. There I have done outside plant engineering, data center engineering / facilities, power systems design, and of course optical, Ethernet, IP, and wireless netwok and systems design and implentations.
 
I have very significant experience in large scale optical and IP/Internet design. I co-designed one of the largest Tier I global IP networks -- AOL Transit Data Network (ATDN) and also ran Aleron Broadband (later acquired by Cogent) Tier II backbone.
 
I've designed networks for some of the largest applications running on the Internet including AOL.COM, Netscape.com, Netscape Rado, CompuServe, ICQ, MapQuest, MovieFone, and AOL Instant Messenger. I have deep subject matter expertise in Global Server Load Balancing and Local Server Load Balancing, having built some of the largest complexes and also having worked for Foundry Networks for almost 5 years. There I specilized in intellectual property development, especially of Layer 4-7 applications. Connection Rate Limiting, Transparent Redirection, et. al. 
 
Most recently I've designed a CLEC transport and IP network (for ILEC interconnect over TDM and VoIP -- over IP obviously) including all of the networks for signaling, transport, and OAMP.
 
I've also desiged a mutiple small to large (~700km) DWDM transport netwok and converged IP/MPLS networks for full converged services for a large cable operator. In addition to the usual, the design includes end to end services optimized for MEF compliance for large scale local and regional Ethernet transport.
 
Quitely I've also worked with a team that now has the the largest EPON deployment in North America.
Customer and colleague testimonials

“Victor Blake is a technical visionary, having the ability to forecast industry needs that drive technical feature, system, and solution development. Victor also has a remarkable grasp on technical and business operations that aids him in packaging proposals that speak to executives helping move them to the best decision for the company. The strategic framework that he left behind at Bright House continues to guide day-to-day purchasing and architecture decisions over a year after his departure. If I found myself once again working with Victor Blake I'd be ecstatic.” December 16, 2008
Edwin Mallette, BrightHouse Networks
 
“Victor has an exceptional history of identifying market trends before they materialize. His exceptional blend of business acumen and technological expertise are rare and at the core of his ability to be so prescient.” August 13, 2008
Steve Daniels, ECI Telecom
 
“Victor is one of the smartest technology strategists I've ever met. He has an awesome ability to deal with the big picture and take you as deep into it as you can handle. Working with him has been a pleasure and I look forward to other chances to collaborate” May 17, 2006
Rich Groves, Principal Technology Engineer, Time Warner Cable
 
“Victor's intelligence and knowledge of networking technologies is at the very top of the industry. He has a zeal and passion to deliver the best technical solution possible to solve any business need. I would look forward to working with Victor again and would recommend him to any organization looking for a very high caliber network technologist.” May 10, 2006
Jay Moran, Chief Architect, AOL, LLC

“Truly one of the brightest people I have worked with in the industry. Victor has an incredible level of insight into the technology sector. He made enormous contributions to the explosive growth of AOL's network architecture, at the same time strategically shaping the technology direction for multiple vendors. Very impactful mentor.” August 31, 2005
Scott Brown, VP, Turner Broadcasting

“Victor's knowledge of the industry is second to none; from building a proper network lab environment, to designing optical networks connecting ISP POPs, to architecting scalable data centers--Victor confidently and expertly did it all.” February 24, 2005
Bruce Mackey, Lucent Technology

“If there is a smarter network architect and strategist in this world, I haven't met him.” July 2, 2004
Timothy Jasionowski, Nokia Siemens Networks

See Victor Blake on LinkedIn for more customer and colleague testimonials.