Master's degree
Metalworking Technologies, with a research engineer qualification, from the National Technical University of Ukraine (Kyiv Polytechnic Institute).
ABOUT ME
Felix Bistriker
I'm an engineer with a background in mechanical engineering, research and electronic security systems. BiXCore is my personal networking and security lab, where I get to explore infrastructure in more depth and learn by building it myself.
From engineering projects to networking
My professional work has focused on electronic security systems: fire detection, intrusion alarms, video surveillance and access control. Over more than ten years, I've worked on installation, commissioning, maintenance, troubleshooting and project coordination. I have also managed technical teams and helped bring complex systems into operation.
Many of those systems rely on IP networks, servers and reliable communication. That sparked a growing interest in what happens behind the devices: switching, routing, authentication, certificates and the infrastructure that keeps everything connected.
BiXCore gives me a place to go further with those technologies. I can build a complete setup, deliberately test a failure, check logs and packets, and document both the fix and the things I still need to understand.
Education and engineering background
Computer Systems and Networks
Alongside my master's program, I also studied part-time at the Faculty of Informatics and Computer Engineering (FIOT) at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, specializing in Computer Systems and Networks.
Bachelor's degree
Mechanical Engineering from the National Technical University of Ukraine (Kyiv Polytechnic Institute).
Doctoral studies
I undertook PhD studies in high-voltage engineering and laser welding in 2016–2017. This was a period of doctoral study and research, not a completed PhD degree.
Research experience
Earlier work as a research engineer involved engineering methods and equipment for demanding, safety-critical applications.
Professional training
My technical training includes the Hikvision Certified Security Associate qualification and Axis Communications Academy Fundamentals, alongside courses on fiber-optic networks, access-control systems, video surveillance and fire-detection technology.
What I work with in BiXCore
Networks and security
OPNsense, IPv4/IPv6, VLANs, managed switching, Wi-Fi, WireGuard, Suricata, Zenarmor and FreeRADIUS with EAP-TLS.
Identity and certificates
Windows Server, Active Directory, AD CS, NDES/SCEP, LDAPS, Group Policy and certificate-based client enrollment.
Linux and virtualization
Debian, Kubuntu, Proxmox VE, ZFS, Docker, system services, and virtual firewall testing with Windows and Linux clients.
Monitoring and troubleshooting
Prometheus, Grafana, logs, packet captures, protocol testing and writing recovery procedures based on the behavior I actually observe.
A note on language
I speak Ukrainian and Russian natively and use German professionally. I'm still improving my English, but I wanted to write about BiXCore in a language that more people in the networking community can read.
Where I want to take the lab
I'd like to make BiXCore a useful record of how my networking skills develop. I want to explore more commercial firewall platforms, build an isolated Wi-Fi and NAC test environment, go further with IPv6 and recovery testing, and measure how traffic inspection tools such as Zenarmor perform under load.