James Tervit
Systems architecture · network engineering · media · security · AI
JAMES TERVIT / CAREER & CAPABILITIES
From carrier networks to sovereign AI.
James Tervit brings four decades of practical systems work to the point where networking, security, media and AI meet. Beginning with Super 8 cinema, radio and Sinclair computers in the 1980s, his path runs through writing automation and joining incompatible enterprise systems to carrier infrastructure, internet video, mobile security and high-performance packet processing. Today, that experience feeds Chronara: locally owned AI, connected systems and a growing software library.
At the leading edge
Carrier-scale integration
Mercury’s Glasgow operator-services environment: a recalled 500-terminal Windows for Workgroups test estate and RS422-over-TCP/IP work.
Explore the story ↗1998–2001Making internet video continuous
BurstWare, multiformat encoding, satellite acquisition and headend testing across limited-bandwidth connections.
Explore the story ↗4 marketsA commercial music launch
James’s DMBG company and online-media vision, followed by the December 2004 Wanadoo paid-MP3 rollout in four European countries with OD2 as music partner.
Explore the story ↗Circa 2012Security moves onto the handset
Extending the Unisys Stealth concept to mobile phones, followed by geofencing and packet-path work.
Explore the story ↗ConnectX-5Performance from the packet up
Mellanox adapter tuning, VPP, DPDK and Click routing, feeding the Peering Exchange architecture.
Explore the story ↗Early 2024 →The Chronara chapter
Bringing the accumulated systems IP into a platform for sovereign AI, automation and private infrastructure.
Explore the story ↗Current projects
Products, public data and embedded systems
- Niwaban — the modern continuation of James’s mobile geofencing and app-visibility work, exploring location-aware experiences on managed Android phones and Wear OS watches.
- Meyas Fashion — a running fashion project, alongside photo organisation, identity references and review of generated likeness. The AI portfolio case study records the technical work.
- MiniMax H3 — a local video workflow for Sunday Builders Club Space summaries, with M3 queue control, GX10 rendering and review of generated clips.
- ModelMule — selecting and testing local AI models against the task and real hardware, with measured runtime choices, caveats and repeatable loading notes.
- Bruce — turning iPhone photographs and twelve detail references into an explorable 3D reconstruction of Bruce Castle, with photo comparison and VR support. Geometry remains approximate.
- UK public planning-data automation — automating collection across public sources, working toward UK-wide coverage. This is an ongoing coverage goal.
- ESP32 networking — adapting WebSocket interfaces for access through CGNAT via Diode, continuing the blockchain-authenticated networking thread. Explore the browser simulation.
- Weather station — documented in JamesT’s April 2024 Diode post: BME280 readings sent by an ESP32 or ESP8266 to PHP and MariaDB on a Raspberry Pi, with a Diode private-cloud gateway. Follow the simulated sensor-to-browser path.
The career, in detail
Career contributions and outcomes are James’s account. Original references and local exhibits are linked throughout. Research by others is credited separately.
Bell & Howell · CB & ham radio · ZX81 · ZX Spectrum · VITCOM
From Super 8 cinema and radio to personal computing
- His early cinema interest began with a Bell & Howell Super 8 projector received for Christmas, with Animal House and a German-dubbed Bruce Lee film, Todesgrüße aus Shanghai (Fist of Fury). This hands-on interest in picture, sound and the machinery behind them led into radio and personal computing.
- Explored CB and ham radio, developing an interest in signals, communication and reaching a world beyond the room. That curiosity led into the Sinclair ZX81 and then the ZX Spectrum.
- Began investigating code through Spectrum games and the Hunchback bug remembered from a magazine listing. The exact historical patch remains unverified; the site’s walkthrough is labelled as a simulation.
- Ran VITCOM from 1984 to 1994: three incoming phone lines, FidoNet node 2:259/60 and a CD-ROM software library. Early modem scripting established a lasting interest in automation.
Document exchange and infrastructure migration
Joining enterprise systems that spoke different languages
- Built a document-exchange gateway using NVS Light Speed to connect Apple Macintosh, Novell desktop LANs and Wang VS systems.
- Supported the move from Wang VS and IBM System/36 environments toward AS/400, working through 3274 front-end processors and Token Ring / RG58 network transitions. The purpose was practical: move large document volumes between systems and keep work flowing.
Mercury Communications · Atrium Court, Glasgow
Carrier infrastructure and RS422 over TCP/IP
- Worked in the centralisation of switching for UK directory enquiries and operator emergency services. James recalls testing a 500-terminal Windows for Workgroups environment, including Doom as part of that period’s experimentation.
- The RS422-over-TCP/IP exposure became a route into US project work and subsequently being headhunted by Hutchison Whampoa as 3G emerged.
BurstWare · SGI demonstrations · internet media
Burst: managing delivery ahead of playback
- Worked with faster-than-real-time video delivery, presented Burst technology at SGI in Reading in 2000, demonstrating his vision of the future of online media, and got MPEG-4 video running on Linux. Alongside the video work, streamed music through SHOUTcast and Icecast as jimthedj65.
- Recalls serving U2’s PopMart ‘Mofo’ performance to California audiences and installing a cable headend with Tandberg TV playheads: satellite acquisition, multiformat encoding and compatibility testing across Real, Apple, Microsoft and MPEG players.
- The engineering challenge was continuity on scarce bandwidth: receive enough video ahead, manage the reserve, then refill before playback catches up. James recalls audiences of one million broadband and one million cable-TV viewers; these figures remain his personal account.
Hutchison Drei · DMBG · Wanadoo / OD2 · Qatar Telecom
From 3G to paid music and Triple Play
- Joined Hutchison’s Drei in Vienna in July 2001 after being headhunted. Moved into the commercial intersection of telecoms and online media at Wanadoo in London.
- DMBG (Digital Media Bank Global) was James’s company and vision for online media. In his account, Peter Gabriel picked up that vision from him. James later led Wanadoo’s December 2004 paid-MP3 launch in four European markets with OD2 as music partner. James recalls approximately $1 million a week at launch; this is a recalled business result, not an independently audited figure.
- Then moved to Qatar Telecom to lead Triple Play and next-generation network work, connecting service delivery, media platforms and the underlying infrastructure.
Unisys Stealth · London Financial Forum · geofencing
Mobile Stealth and location-aware security
- Extended the Stealth concept onto mobile phones and demonstrated the approach to the London Financial Forum. His account dates this work to circa 2012; Unisys’s public Stealth for Mobile announcement is dated 8 October 2013.
- James recalls that his engagement did not reach delivery. He describes the next step as geofencing: bringing location into the security problem, before pursuing deeper control of the packet path.
ConnectX-5 · Dyadic Network Architecture · Peering Exchange
Mellanox tuning, VPP and DPDK
- Tuned Mellanox ConnectX-5 adapters with VPP and DPDK before Mellanox became part of NVIDIA. The acquisition completed on 27 April 2020; exact dates for James’s individual tuning projects are still to be added.
- At EWI Tech, developed the Dyadic Network Architecture around hardware and software as a pair. Reworked an overbuilt data-centre design through DPDK, Click routing, adapter and kernel work, developing the Peering Exchange direction.
- Focused on packet-processing efficiency and the relationship between architecture, space, weight and power. No unmeasured throughput figure is claimed here.
Python · Matplotlib · IVRE · research influence
Network forensics: collect, search, map and replay
- James places the wider body of visualisation, networking and research experiments across 2015–2019. ETS2 face tracking was in 2015; the four-screen demonstration followed in 2016. These are his confirmed work dates; later recording filenames are retained in the archive.
- Used IVRE, Nmap and complementary collection tools to organise large volumes of network observations, search for exposed services and information, and present the relationships through Python, Matplotlib and graph views. James describes this as a path into forensics and internet-scale address-space mapping.
- Followed Dr. Ahmad Atamli’s research into trusted memory acquisition and BlueField security. In a public NVIDIA forum reply on 17 November 2021, jamestervit recorded out-of-band and wireline-fingerprinting experiments, mentioned the Morpheus programme and expressed interest in BlueField V3.
- The dated comment anchors this research interest in James’s public record. Atamli, Petracca, Crowcroft and the later research teams retain credit for their published methods.
- The supplied local film collection now documents PXC forensic graph playback, ETL metrics, routing and related visual experiments. Broad connected-IPv4 coverage is a tool capability; the recordings do not establish a complete scan of the internet.
- In 2020, during Covid and while recovering from a major loss, continued experimenting with mobile TensorFlow object detection. The preserved file carries a later April 2021 filename; the work belongs to the 2020 chapter.
Diode · blockchain authentication · DXC demonstrations
Encrypted routes and the Peering Exchange
- Adapted Diode-based routing so a server behind CGNAT could serve media over encrypted connections to people on 3G and 4G. Worked on recognising ordinary domain-based servers within a blockchain-authenticated network.
- Presented user-space and blockchain-routing approaches through the DXC engagement, including a bank demonstration with NVIDIA sales present. James recalls delivery and commercial setbacks that ultimately led him to redirect the work.
- The network experiments, routing software and accumulated intellectual property became part of the foundation for Chronara. Blockchain authentication and transport encryption are distinct parts of that architecture.
Chronara · Sherdr · Chronara Nodes · EXABOX
Chronara: owning the platform and the intelligence
- Started Chronara in early 2024 after the DXC engagement failed to progress as he had hoped. Brought the earlier networking, security, automation and systems IP together into a new platform direction.
- Developing locally owned AI and private infrastructure through the Chronara software library, Nodes and EXABOX, while publishing technical work and teaching through Chronara’s AI course.
- Current equipment includes two ASUS GX10s, a Mac M3 Ultra with 96GB, a Mac M1 Max with 32GB and an RTX 6000 WS Pro. The continuing focus is control over the hardware, data and software that run the work.
- Applying local AI to his wife’s photo collection for Meyas Fashion: organising source assets, curating identity references and developing a repeatable review process for generated likeness. Explore the technical case study in the Next chapter.
BEYOND THE ENGINEERING / 1996 ONWARDS
The sporting years.
Passed his motorcycle test first time in 1996. James recalls racing Kawasaki Ninja and Ducati 916 SPS and 996 SPS machines. His black ZX-7R P2 was lightened and fitted with a Yoshimura exhaust by a mechanic associated with Iain McPherson in Uddingston. He wore Carl Fogarty replica leathers.
Explore the motorcycle chapter →Early 2014 · personal recollection
Ten days of free fall near Madrid.
James recalls jumping on all ten days of an intensive AFF course with Mike and the Skydive Madrid instructors, near Aranjuez. He reached Level 5, where 360-degree turns proved challenging and prevented further progression. He also recalls programming his steel-and-sapphire Suunto Ambit to measure parachute trajectory — a watch he still owns.
Aranjuez, AFF & wearable experiments →What James brings to the work
Architecture & delivery
System integration, technical programme delivery, migrations, demonstrations, cross-market launches and translating an experimental design into an operating service.
Networks & packet processing
TCP/IP, RS422 integration, Linux networking, Mellanox ConnectX-5, VPP, DPDK, Click, CGNAT, peering and encrypted transport.
Security & observation
Mobile security, geofencing, network isolation, IVRE, network-asset mapping and study of trusted memory acquisition and DPU-based introspection.
Media & streaming
BurstWare, headend acquisition, multiformat encoding, MPEG-4, SHOUTcast, Icecast, buffer management, playback compatibility and audio technology.
Data & AI
Python, Matplotlib visualisation, live data presentation, locally owned AI infrastructure, automation and the Chronara software library.
Enterprise foundations
Novell ELS I / II and NetWare, Apple Macintosh integration, Wang VS, IBM System/36 and AS/400, front-end processors and Token Ring.
Credentials, evidence & further reading
Professional certifications
Certified Novell Engineer (CNE)
Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP)
As supplied in James’s career record; award dates are not yet recorded.
Explore the record
Atamli, BlueField & the security research →Stealth for Mobile · dated sources →Burst · asset provenance →Preserved forum contributions →James’s published writing →Music & technology · the lifelong thread →1996 onwards · first-time bike licence pass & racing memories →Home cinema · LaserDisc and PlayStation →Meyas Fashion · AI portfolio engineering →The complete record collection · 680 entries →Chronology updated October 2026. Unspecified project dates remain approximate. Company references describe engagements; they do not imply endorsement.
Connect
For a conversation about technology, projects or working together.