Routing & Switching
MPLS, EVPN, VXLAN, (MP-)BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, TCP/IP, QoS, multicast, DCI and internet edge/peering design across ISP and DC environments.
Available for engagements Networks where
Networks where
downtime is not
an option.
I'm Halil — an independent network and security specialist. I design, secure, and troubleshoot the kind of infrastructure where a five-minute outage is a bad day at work.
Runs on a small LLM I host myself, prompt protected by Asimov Firewall. Honest answers, not marketing.
17+
years in production networks
24/7
mission-critical posture
Stack I work with daily
- Cisco
- Juniper
- Arista
- Fortinet
- Palo Alto
- pfSense
- OPNsense
- Ansible
- NetBox
- Terraform
Skills
Security & DDoS
Internet edge hardening, DDoS mitigation (on-prem and scrubbing), NGFW/IDS/IPS, segmentation, NAC patterns, and security controls integrated into network design rather than bolted on.
Automation & Observability
Python, Ansible, REST APIs, configuration templating, flow/telemetry platforms (pmacct, sFlow, ElasticSearch, time-series DBs), and NetBox/source-of-truth approaches.
Vendors & Platforms
Juniper (EX/SRX/MX/QFX/PTX), Cisco (ASR/6500/ASA/Nexus/ACI), Arista (70xx/72xx/73xx/75xx/78xx), and DDoS/security platforms (Radware, A10, Fortinet).
Acknowledged by
Open-source contributions
Standards work
What I do
Four ways I help.
Not a menu of buzzwords — these are the engagements I take on, scoped honestly.
Network Architecture
BGP, OSPF, EVPN, MPLS, segment routing, SD-WAN. ISP backbone to enterprise core.
- Design and review
- Greenfield buildout
- Vendor-agnostic
Security & Zero Trust
Segmentation, firewalls, identity-aware access, DDoS mitigation, incident response.
- Architecture review
- Zero-trust rollout
- Hardening and audit prep
Migrations & Modernization
MPLS to SD-WAN, datacenter consolidation, hybrid cloud, IPv6 dual-stack.
- Cutover planning
- Risk reduction
- Rollback playbooks
Network Automation
NetBox, Ansible, Terraform, Python. Source-of-truth that engineers actually use.
- Config-as-code
- CI for network changes
- Documentation that ages well
Selected work
See all cases → Recent projects.
photo
About
17 years of making networks boring.
Boring is the highest compliment in this work. It means the network disappears into the background and the people relying on it can focus on what they actually do.
I'm based in Amsterdam, with 17+ years across ISP, data center and enterprise networks. I'm usually brought in when things are complex, business-critical, and a little messy — multiple vendors, historical decisions, and conflicting requirements. I start by understanding how the network actually behaves today, then help teams move toward clearer designs, safer change patterns, and documentation people actually use.
I work directly — no account managers, no junior handoffs. If we work together, you get me. If a problem is outside my depth, I'll tell you and point you to someone who can solve it.
Got a network problem worth solving?
Tell me about it. Most engagements start with a 30-minute call.