IBM i modernization
System tooling, LDAP, LAGG, Knex/DB2, and MCP servers that give operators a practical path forward on IBM i without pretending the platform is something else.
Brian
Kimball
SYSTEMS ENGINEER / DEVELOPERBUILDING FROM THE METAL UP
Field notes on modernizing IBM i, operating infrastructure, and building software that survives contact with production. This is the personal website of Brian Kimball, a systems engineer and developer based in Delaware.
What I build
I work across the boundary between software and infrastructure: racking servers, designing networks, then shipping the application that has to run there. The notes on this site cover IBM i modernization, high-availability architecture, full-stack products, and agent tooling used in daily engineering work.
Infrastructure architecture
Networks, compute, storage, and redundant physical and logical layers — datacenter installs, pfSense, and systems designed so maintenance is not an outage.
Application development
Full-stack products with low operational complexity: Astro, React, Node.js, Hono, Fastify, and Cloudflare — software that still works when a dependency fails.
Engineering tools and AI
Custom agent workflows, MCP tools, and internal platforms that make technical teams more capable without hiding the process behind a black box.
Latest field notes
View all posts →My Custom Pi Configuration for a Multi-Agent Coding Workflow
The Pi configuration I use for daily development: specialized coding agents, persistent RPC workers, iterative review loops, and a custom orchestration UI.
Building Compass: A Life Assistant That Still Works When the AI Does Not
I wanted a more customizable workout tracker, a budget my wife and I could share, and AI help on both. So I built Compass on TanStack Start and Cloudflare, and made sure it still works when the AI does not.
Welcome to the Atomic Drafting Room
Why I tore down the Renaissance Technical design and rebuilt the site in Raygun Gothic — atomic starbursts, chrome typography, and a turquoise-coral-gold palette that finally feels like me.
Bringing AI to IBM i: An MCP Server with 31 System Tools
A BYOK MCP server that exposes 31 facade tools for IBM i observability, job management, and security. Built to train new users and accelerate expert workflows.
Surveyor: A Field-Tested Network Discovery Tool for MSPs
From Raspberry Pi prototype to Wails desktop app: how Surveyor replaces manual nmap commands with stealth scanning and RFC 1918 auto-discovery.
Renaissance Technical: Designing with AI
How I used OpenCode and Gemini to build a "Renaissance Technical" design system that pits rigid grids against organic circles—and why AI is the brush, not the painter.
Designing Fully Redundant Infrastructure: Physical and Logical Layers Explained
How redundant compute, SAN mirroring, load balancers with CARP, and synchronous database clustering eliminate both hardware failures and maintenance windows.
A Production-Ready Knex Dialect for IBM i DB2
Streaming queries, emulated RETURNING, multi-row inserts, and a custom migration runner. This is the Knex dialect I wish existed when I started building on IBM i.
TanStack Hono: A Lightweight SSR Monolith Without the Meta-Framework Weight
Single-process SSR + CSR with type-safe RPC, Vite, React, and Hono. The goal is low operational complexity without giving up dynamic UI.