Community username: dgersic
Badges: View David's Community badges
Hometown: DeKalb, Illinois, USA (Near Rockford)

Software skills: eDirectory, IDM

David graduated from Northern Illinois University in 1990, and was hired as part of what was then the computer lab operations support group within Academic Computing Services. At that time, there was no campus network, and the student computer labs consisted of NetWare 2.12 and 2.15 servers, ARCnet, and IBM PC and XT, Apple ][, and early Mac computers. Since then, upgrades and changes through NetWare 3.11, 4.10, 5.x, and now 6.x have kept things interesting.

Early on, David wrote NetWare Bindery management utilities, using data from the mainframe to create and manage accounts for students across the 20 lab file servers. In 1996, he designed and helped build a university-wide NDS tree, and re-wrote all of those utilities to work with this new directory service. Back then, we didn't yet know enough to give this a fancy name like "Identity Management," it was just a necessary service.

In 2000, David started working with DirXML, in an attempt to tie in the new PeopleSoft HR system to this NDS stuff. That has since blossomed into a full Identity Management environment, connecting multiple eDirectory trees, an Active Directory domain, 2 PeopleSoft systems, GroupWise and NetMail email systems, and several other smaller systems too numerous to name.

Currently working for NIU's Information Services as a Directory Services Engineer, David primarily hangs out in the eDirectory and Identity Manager forums. When not working, you will find him playing or restoring pinball machines, working or performing with the NIU Huskie Marching Band Alumni Council, performing with the DeKalb City Band, doing something with his family, or working around the house.