Editing Paul Vixie

{{short description|American internet pioneer}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Paul Vixie
| image       =File:Paul Vixie - 2014.jpg
| alt         =
| caption     = Paul Vixie in 2014
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1963|05|23}}
| birth_place = 
| death_date  = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date) -->
| death_place = 
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
| other_names = 
| alma_mater  = [[Keio University]]
| occupation  = Vice President, Security at Amazon Web Services (AWS) <ref name=Linkedin>{{cite web| url = http://www.linkedin.com/in/paulvixie| title = Paul Vixie's LinkedIn page}}</ref>
| known_for   = [[Internet Systems Consortium|ISC]], [[BIND]], [[Mail Abuse Prevention System|MAPS]], [[Vixie cron]]
}}
'''Paul Vixie''' is an American [[computer scientist]] whose technical contributions include [[Domain Name System]] (DNS) protocol design and procedure, mechanisms to achieve operational robustness of DNS implementations, and significant contributions to open source software principles and methodology.<ref name=Filkins2018.10.15>{{cite web |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/15/was-there-a-connection-between-a-russian-bank-and-the-trump-campaign |title=Was There a Connection Between a Russian Bank and the Trump Campaign? A team of computer scientists sifted through records of unusual Web traffic in search of answers |first=Dexter |last=Filkins |author-link=Dexter Filkins |website=NewYorker.com |date=8 October 2018 |access-date=12 October 2018 |archive-date=7 October 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20211007122120/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/15/was-there-a-connection-between-a-russian-bank-and-the-trump-campaign |url-status=live }}</ref>  He also created and launched the first successful commercial anti-spam service.<ref>Reid, Brian [https://www.isc.org/blogs/isc-founder-paul-vixie-inducted-into-the-2014-internet-hall-of-fame/ ISC founder Paul Vixie inducted into the 2014 Internet Hall of Fame] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430090046/https://www.isc.org/blogs/isc-founder-paul-vixie-inducted-into-the-2014-internet-hall-of-fame/ |date=2021-04-30 }}, ISC, April 9, 2014 (accessed March 25 2017)</ref> He authored the standard [[Unix|UNIX]] system programs ''SENDS'', ''proxynet'', ''rtty'' and [[Vixie cron]]. At one point he ran his own consulting business, Vixie Enterprises. In 2002, Vixie held the record for "most [[CERT Coordination Center|CERT]] advisories due to a single author".<ref name="Graff-Wyk"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Paul Vixie : Security vulnerabilities, CVEs |url=https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-65/Paul-Vixie.html?page=1&order=1&trc=10&sha=121aecbb7cd606446eb943dfac427a35f58a4d38 |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=www.cvedetails.com |language=en |archive-date=2024-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110133945/https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-65/Paul-Vixie.html?page=1&order=1&trc=10&sha=121aecbb7cd606446eb943dfac427a35f58a4d38 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Early life==
Paul A Vixie was born on 23 May 1963 and grew up in San Francisco, and his mother's maiden name is Killian.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Paul A Vixie, Born 05/23/1963 in California {{!}} CaliforniaBirthIndex.org |url=https://www.californiabirthindex.org/birth/paul_a_vixie_born_1963_8635069 |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=www.californiabirthindex.org |archive-date=2024-01-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101104116/https://www.californiabirthindex.org/birth/paul_a_vixie_born_1963_8635069 |url-status=live }}</ref>

"There were no computers at my [[George Washington High School (San Francisco)|school]]. I used to [[cut school]] and go to [[City College of San Francisco]], where they had a [[Honeywell 6000 series|Honeywell system]]" — Paul Vixie<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last= |first= |title=FREEWARE PIONEERS / Vixie's Bind Made Names for Web |url=https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/FREEWARE-PIONEERS-Vixie-s-Bind-Made-Names-for-3009235.php |access-date=2024-01-10 |work=SFGATE |language=en}}</ref>

In 1980, when  [[George Washington High School (San Francisco)|George Washington High School]] in [[San Francisco]] told him he'd have to repeat 11th grade, he quit school and got a job as a programmer at a consulting firm.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |last= |first= |title=40 years on, the Internet transmits every aspect of our lives |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/40-years-on-the-Internet-transmits-every-aspect-9187484.php |access-date=2024-01-10 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en |archive-date=2024-01-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101104119/https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/40-years-on-the-Internet-transmits-every-aspect-9187484.php |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=The Future of the Internet and Privacy |url=https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/future-internet-privacy-a-8122 |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=www.bankinfosecurity.com |language=en |archive-date=2024-01-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101115438/https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/future-internet-privacy-a-8122 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Career==
Vixie worked on BIND<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://bind9.readthedocs.io/en/v9.16.20/history.html |title=A Brief History of the DNS and BIND — BIND 9 documentation |access-date=2024-01-01 |archive-date=2024-01-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101104117/https://bind9.readthedocs.io/en/v9.16.20/history.html |url-status=live }}</ref> as a software engineer at [[Digital Equipment Corporation]] (DEC) from 1988 to 1993.<ref name=Linkedin /> After he left DEC in 1994,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://seltzerbooks.com/internethistory.html |title=Internet History |access-date=2024-01-01 |archive-date=2024-01-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101104116/https://seltzerbooks.com/internethistory.html |url-status=live }}</ref> he founded [[Internet Systems Consortium|Internet Software Consortium]] (ISC) in 1996<ref name=Linkedin /> together with [[Rick Adams (Internet pioneer)|Rick Adams]] and [[Carl Malamud]] to support BIND and other software for the [[Internet]]. The activities of ISC were assumed by a new company, [[Internet Systems Consortium]] in 2004. Although ISC operates the F [[root name server]], Vixie at one point joined the [[Open Root Server Network]] (ORSN) project and operated their L root server.

In 1995 he cofounded the [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]] Internet Exchange ([[PAIX]]) and, after Metromedia Fiber Network (MFN) bought it in 1999, served as the chief technology officer to MFN / [[AboveNet]] and later as the president of PAIX.<ref name="bloomberg">[https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=606464&privcapId=12677974 Executive Profile: Paul Vixie] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613234228/https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=606464&privcapId=12677974 |date=2018-06-13 }}, Bloomberg (accessed 25 March 2017).</ref>

In 1998 he cofounded [[Mail Abuse Prevention System]] (MAPS), a [[California]] non-profit company with the goal of stopping [[Email spam|email abuse]].

Vixie is the author of several [[Request for Comments]] (RFC)s, including a Best Current Practice document on "Classless IN-ADDR.ARPA Delegation" (BCP 20),<ref name="bloomberg" /> and some [[Unix]] software. He stated in 2002 that he "now hold[s] the record for 'most [[CERT Coordination Center|CERT]] advisories due to a single author.'"<ref>{{cite web | last=Vixie | first=Paul | title=Re: Malformed SNMP Packet log/trace | work=North American Network Operations Group mailing list | date=2002-02-26 | url=http://www.cctec.com/maillists/nanog/historical/0202/msg00482.html | access-date=2007-03-07 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030320132053/http://www.cctec.com/maillists/nanog/historical/0202/msg00482.html | archive-date=2003-03-20 | quote=note that i hold the single-author record for total CERT advisories, proving that in my copious youth I knew how to sling code but not how to manage risk.}}</ref><ref name="Graff-Wyk">{{cite book |last=Graff |first=Mark G. |author2=Kenneth R. van Wyk |title=Secure Coding: Principles and Practices |url=https://archive.org/details/securecodingprin0000graf |url-access=registration |year=2003 |publisher=O'Reilly |isbn=978-0-596-00242-8 |pages="Advance Praise" section |quote=If this book had existed when I was learning C in the early 1980s, then I might not now hold the record for 'most CERT advisories due to a single author.' Anyone who wants a coding job at ISC in the future should be prepared to demonstrate that they have read and understand ''Secure Coding''. }}</ref>

In 2008, Vixie served as a judge for the [[Mozilla Foundation]]'s "Download Day", an attempt to set a [[Guinness World Records|Guinness World Record]] for most downloads in a single day for a new piece of software.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/faq |title=Paul Vixie listed as a judge on the Firefox 3 2008 Download Day |access-date=2008-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080530232419/http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/faq |archive-date=2008-05-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Vixie served on the board of trustees of the [[American Registry for Internet Numbers]] (ARIN) from 2005 to 2013, and served as chairman in 2009 and 2010.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.arin.net/about_us/bot_former.html| title = Former Members of the Board of Trustees| access-date = 2014-01-13| archive-date = 2021-04-17| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210417210755/https://www.arin.net/about_us/bot_former.html| url-status = live}}</ref> Vixie also serves on the Security and Stability Advisory Committee of [[ICANN]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.icann.org/en/committees/security/| title = SSAC Membership| access-date = 2011-08-25| archive-date = 2012-01-22| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120122064353/http://www.icann.org/en/committees/security/| url-status = live}}</ref>

He received a Ph.D. in computer science from [[Keio University]] in 2011.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://plus.google.com/106684394261860468438/about| title = Google+ Profile| access-date = 2011-08-25| archive-date = 2016-03-11| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160311004704/https://plus.google.com/106684394261860468438/about| url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.internethalloffame.org/inductee/paul-vixie/ |title=Paul Vixie - Internet Hall of Fame |access-date=2024-01-01 |archive-date=2024-01-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101104115/https://www.internethalloffame.org/inductee/paul-vixie/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2013, after nearly 20 years at ISC, he founded a new company,  Farsight Security, Inc. spinning off the Security Business Unit from ISC.<ref name="farsight">{{cite web | url=http://www.isc.org/blogs/isc-spins-off-its-security-business-unit/ | title=ISC Spins Off Its Security Business Unit | date=2 July 2013 | publisher=Internet Systems Consortium | access-date=2013-07-11 | archive-date=2013-07-09 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709014026/http://www.isc.org/blogs/isc-spins-off-its-security-business-unit/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2014, Vixie was inducted into the [[Internet Hall of Fame]] as an Innovator.<ref name="ihof">{{cite web | url=http://internethalloffame.org/blog/2014/04/08/internet-hall-fame-announces-2014-inductees | title=Internet Hall of Fame Announces 2014 Inductees | date=8 April 2014 | publisher=ISOC | access-date=2014-04-08 | archive-date=2014-04-08 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408214115/http://internethalloffame.org/blog/2014/04/08/internet-hall-fame-announces-2014-inductees | url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2021, Vixie's company FarSight Security was acquired by DomainTools.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dz4LQ5XcoI |title=DNS Encryption Webinar: Paul Vixie (Farsight Security) and Peter Lowe (DNSFilter) on DNS-over-HTTPS |date=2021-11-18 |last=DNSFilter |access-date=2024-08-07 |via=YouTube}}</ref> Since 2022, he has been working at AWS.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Defining the Role of Distinguished Engineers {{!}} AWS Executive Insights |url=https://aws.amazon.com/executive-insights/content/defining-the-role-of-distinguished-engineers/ |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=Amazon Web Services, Inc. |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Realizations==
*[[BIND]]
*Vixie [[cron]]
*[[DHCP]]<ref name="dhcp">{{cite web | url=https://www.isc.org/downloads/dhcp/ | title=ISC DHCP | publisher=Internet Software Consortium | access-date=2017-01-05 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140117001051/http://www.isc.org/downloads/dhcp/ | archive-date=2014-01-17 | url-status=dead }}</ref>
*[[sendmail]]

== Works ==
* Paul Vixie. ''[https://www.oreilly.com/openbook/opensources/book/vixie.html Software Engineering]'' an essay in: ''[[Open Sources]]: Voices from the Open Source Revolution''  {{isbn|1-56592-582-3}}
*{{cite book|last1=Vixie|first1=Paul|last2=Avolio|first2=Frederick M.|title=Sendmail: Theory and Practice|year=1995|publisher=Digital Press|location=Maynard, Mass|isbn=978-1-55558-127-5}}

==Patents==
*{{cite patent
| inventor-last = Lindbo 
| inventor-first = Sverker 
| inventor-last2 = Löthberg 
| inventor-first2 = Peter 
| inventor-last3 = Vixie
| inventor-first3 = Paul 
| issue-date = 1996-10-14
| country-code = US
| title = Procedure and apparatus for information transmission on the Internet
| patent-number = 6581090 }}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
*[http://www.circleid.com/members/620/ Paul Vixie's CircleID Page]

{{Internet Hall of Fame}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vixie, Paul}}
[[Category:1963 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Writers from San Francisco]]
[[Category:American computer scientists]]
[[Category:Free software programmers]]
[[Category:American technology writers]]
[[Category:Computer science writers]]
[[Category:Digital Equipment Corporation people]]
[[Category:Unix people]]
[[Category:American technology chief executives]]
[[Category:American chief technology officers]]
[[Category:Open source advocates]]