After 25 years, our DNS expert Joachim Strohbach is retiring. Already three years ago, Matthias Amrhein took over his position as Head of Technical Operations. Now the experienced IT expert Jens Finkhäuser brings in additional new competence to the team as Product Owner (PO) for the Domain Name Service (DNS).
From the Start Until Today
Joachim Strohbach was part of DENIC nearly from the very start of the Cooperative. Back then, .de domains had hardly reached the figure of 400,000. But domain growth was dramatic at that time. Within the first six months of Joachim’s employment with DENIC, .de passed the one-million mark.
Initially, he was hired as a technical employee for domain administration and hostmaster services. Later, he built up the Operations Department, which at that time included member support and the operation of our services. The uninterrupted growth of .de domains under management brought along ever more comprehensive tasks for DENIC, and the company underwent another restructuring. Joachim became Head of IT Services, which now combined system integration and operations, and he was also Product Owner for Infrastructure. "It was an exciting period", he says.
Three years ago Joachim stepped down as Head of IT Services and handed over the management of the department to Matthias Amrhein. He then took over the role as Product Owner DNS, which he now passes on to Jens Finkhäuser.
What the DNS Team Does
The DNS Team is responsible for the entire name server infrastructure, both for DENIC and for all Anycast customers. This includes the architecture as well as development and operation. Thus, the range of responsibilities to be handed over is quite demanding and complex.
Jens Finkhäuser had about six weeks together with the former PO to get familiar with all his new tasks. "That’s not very much ", he says. "But I feel well prepared and, what is most important, I can rely on my team. " Joachim has made sure of that. Over the past few months, he has involved the team in all considerations and processes wherever possible.
The New PO
Jens has been in the IT industry for 20 years and brings in experience from different fields, from web designer to networker. He is a man of practice with a focus on development. With this field of interest, he has been actively involved already in the past in the IETF, an organisation that deals with the technical development of the Internet. Developing good standards and best practices is of major concern to him. He is looking forward to sharing his experience in research and development with DENIC.
However, his team's top priority is the smooth operation of .de. and the name servers. "Other things will have to be put on hold from time to time when urgent requirements suddenly arise. That will remain a challenge." The DNS Team is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the .de registry as well as for the DNS Anycast for the DENIC subsidiary.
Jens has a lot of ideas in mind how to ensure also in the future that DENIC provides reliable and secure services and how to strengthen and enhance its position in the domain community. Let's see what we can report on the DNS Team in a few years' time. For now, we wish the new PO DNS a good start!
