Slashdot Mirror
Snort Creator Makes Good
Anonymous Coward writes: "Robin Miller, aka Roblimo, has written a great analysis of one of the first Open Source companies to be profitable before their IPO, Sourcefire! In this 'local boy makes good', we read about Team Fortress-playing programmer Marty Roesch, who writes Snort to beat his online gaming addiction. Now Snort is one of the most successful Intrusion Detection Systems out there and Marty's start-up is going gangbusters. Robin explains how Marty's company started in his basement (like Apple's garage), got profitable, then got venture capital in a time when everyone swears there is no venture. Marty even offers jobs at Sourcefire for the Slashdot crowd, 'Linux zealots, Open Source gurus, self-starters who are self motivating so I can just turn them loose...'"
Clicked on Careers and don't see anything for Linux zealots...
Technical Writer and Marketing Manager don't quite fit the bill.
Am I looking in the wrong place?
...and thought it was "Snort Creator Makes God".
I was like, whoa, cool...
Can it still detect intrusions when its being hit by an infinite number of open source monkeys?
It's good to see people who are making a difference in the open source world and not just criticize it!
------
Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
With a name like snort he is probably making a bunch of money off of people who think they're buying some cocaine.
I'm sure some of you would prefer the Windows version of Snort, put together by Silicon defense.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
Linux zealots, Open Source gurus, self-starters who are self motivating so I can just turn them loose...
...are actually off doing something interesting, rather than spending their time fucking about on Slashdot.
--saint
Not really surprised...you had to state that he's offering jobs, didn't you?
Venture capitalists are not in for the long run, they want to capitalize their investments in the mid term. Quite some companies went bankrupt or got in difficulties after external money and the demand for quick market grab came in and drove solid growth strategy out. Look at SuSE for an example from the Linux world.
Disclaimer: I'm owner and CEO of a (privately held, incorporated) company. We still make profits, even in this harsh market, because we didn't join the hype train, but brought solid add-on value to our customers. I wish Marty Roesch luck in choosing his business strategy...
Joachim
People don't write Manifestos any more -- what's going on in this world? [Frank Zappa]
What are they going to patent? Snort is open-source. That's not just a catchphrase, it's a legally solid concept. And they don't make money off the technology, they make it off the implementation of it, and the support of it. Things like service and support contracts and Snort appliances.
For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
This "take in more money than you spend" concept is a little hard to grasp at first, but the more you think about it, the more sense it makes, at least in a fuddy-duddy, "old economy" kind of way.
As much as I sincerely want to believe that this is attempting to be witty, it's far too close to the *cough*VALinux*cough* truth *cough*Amazon*cough* coming from an OSDN employee.
First go read the newsforge article.... Okay, the joke is:
Step one: develop open source software
Step two: mumble, mumble
Step three: profit!
Now, it seems that step two is revealed. It's actually a few steps. Now, for the first time ever:
Step two (a): Come up with (proprietary) tools that make the basic (GPL) Snort code easy to understand and use for non-technical managers.
Step two (b): Load Snort and the additional tools into a box, and sell the box as a complete solution, instead of just selling software.
It's been said before that there is no incentive to make OSS easy to use. Here (and elsewhere) is the proof. Make it hard to use. Release it. BUT, make the config tools easy to use, IF you pay for them.
I'm not slagging the guy, he's gotta eat. But it is another notch in the belt for those who are cynical about OSS and business.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
Hey, so far we have seen http and a bunch of other wild things patented, all I am saying is it seems when people "go corporate" they do exactly that and start beliving their own PR and listening to the lawyers and such. Hopefully that won't happen in this case, snort is solid opensource goods, but you never know.
that's what sendmail does as well isn't it? That program is god awful to use, but if you have their 'tools' then it is supposed to be much ,much more managable.
Slashdot effect burns down sourcefire.com. :-)
Someone set us up the bomb, so shine we are!
Here's the tool, here's all the manuals, etc. we'll sell you:
Training
Onsite/offsite support
Consulting
All good and fine, until you IPO and require a profit and your customer base dries up, due to downturns in their revenues or they just get all cheap on you and then expect you to be around upgrading the software and able to bail them out when something goes wrong.
Maybe sell insurance policies?
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Nah, they are still waiting on Blow.
Click here or here.
..I prefer Snood to Good any day!
Posting as directed.
Oh man, you HAD to mention that he was hiring. Instantly slashdotted.
I hope it still sounds great 12 months or so after the IPO.
BTW, skimmed the link in your sig. I don't have time to actually do the test, but after a paragraph or two, it was getting very painful to read. Mind expects one thing, eyes see another.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
ACT is a company that creates only free software. They've been around since the late 90's, and I understand they have been in the black for years, perhaps since inception. They are a privately held company, and as far as I know, have no plans to ever do an IPO. Perhaps that's why they don't get much press (although RMS likes to use them as examples in his speeches).
Who let the trolls out??
Tonight is 'Episode II: Attack of The Trolls' or somthing???
The guy with the large post did an impressive work anyway... I wish this post were used to show + explain the bug! And why not a patch in the same large post! That would beat bugtrak and their exploits code!!
As in James Ellroy? I gotta know.
Yes, as in James Ellroy. There's an edited version of an old interview with him in The Onion this week. Hunt through the archives for the original - it's a lot better.
--saint
CONGRATULATIONS MARTY!!
:>
I attended a SANS function that Marty lectured at once, for using Snort as an intrusion detection system. It's damn solid software. Very impressive, very configurable.
Congrats on getting paid to do what you love, Marty. The rest of us should be so lucky.
Sorry, I meant hyperlinking
I was under the impression that OS X was _A_ BSD but not actually a code fork of FreeBSD. Do they really share the same code in the base distribution? Or are they just cousins in the same family tree?
BTW, I do know that Hubbard(sp?) and other FreeBSD folk have become employed by Apple. How does that factor in?
-- I am not a fanatic, I am a true believer.
What I like best, is how Marty stands to profit so much, where others like Dragos who have commited so much time and code to the project, get nothing.
Yah, marty sure does rule. Even when he's standing behind you while you're bent over an IDS server.
working there that is... too bad I'm in boston and not moving to MD.
really working anywhere than my Office Space world right now would rule rule RULE!!!
There are some odd things afoot now, in the Villa Straylight.
Marty's still on the snort list from time to time, as are some of the other primary developers.
To all the whiners who are putting him done for what he's done:
Either you work for the government, slurping from the public trough;
or, you've inherited your livelyhood;
or, you're still in school, and Daddy's paying your way.
Stop whining, get off your butt, and see if you can make one half as much a contribution to the human race as Marty has.
t_t_b
I'm on PJ's "enemies" list! Are you?
If you're checking out snort for the first time, I highly recommend using Demarc PureSecure which is free as in beer (aka for personal use). It's by far the best front end for snort, and does host based checks as well.
:)
The screenshots are mouthwatering.
In the article he says that even after several sales of $300k he wanted to take in more sales before getting an office and hiring staff, he was able to make nice money and didnt believe in unnecessary expenses. Yet the next paragraph goes on to say he was able to secure $7.5 million in funding.
Why the funding and investors, that I am sure have their $.02 to add, if you work on bare essentials and are making good money?
I'd like to see Marty write a book detailing all his experiences in the growth of his software company. I've always believed in the cautious spending philosophy he embraces, and find most of his other business practices are very wise for a person without a business degree, but then again I never really expect much from a person with a business degree. I'd like to hear more about Marty's hiring practices, his selection criteria for a CEO, and anything else relevant to growing a software company around a successful piece of software.
He's dead, did you hear?
Liberty uber alles.
Yes..We have all seen how successful the .com/linux/open source businesses have been. I may "be rolling my joints with my resume" ... but you will be rolling them with stock shares that are worth zilch...zero...
(+1 Funny) only if I laugh out loud.