Node Application 10538557176, submitted 2019-02-19 2:31:36

Respondent Id 10538557176
Application Date 2019-02-19 2:31:36
Application Language English
Applicant City Karlsruhe
Applicant State/Province Baden-Württemberg
Applicant Country Germany
What languages do you speak? German, English
What is your occupation? IT
How many years experience in your field? 4-7
What is the highest degree or level of school you have completed? Some college
Please describe your experience in the Crypto/Blockchain space, if any? I joined the crypto space approximately 2014. Next to studying computer science, I dedicate most of my time to different crypto topics like trading, investments and the technology behind it in general. I have developed a private trading system which I am actively using. I am also commited to different crypto communities, especially Idex, Remme and Pundi X. Since starting in 2014, I have been constantly learning in depth about the technology behind bitcoin/ethereum and decentralized consensus. I am also running some open source and community projects. At the moment that is mainly https://auraview.net for the AURA staking system.
Are you an individual or a group? Individual
Node City Los Angeles
Node State California
Node Country United States
For which networks Have you ever operated a node? Bitcoin (BTC, BCH, etc), Ethereum (ETH, ETC, etc), Idex AURA, Remme Masternode (starting March 2019), Pundi X FX (starting mid 2019)
What kind of improvements would you like to see in Elixxir nodes vs. previous the previous nodes you have supported? Launching the mainnet only if the system is stable enough to go live and has sufficient tools and reporting features.
What are potential setbacks preventing you from operating an Elixxir node? Although I have a strong machine which fills all requirements, I cannot provide a GPU in my system.
What is a reasonable maximum connection speed on which you could operate a BetaNet node in your geographic region? (Where 0 = 10 Megabits/second, and 100 = 10 Gigabits/second) 66
What is a reasonable uptime estimate you can provide for your BetaNet node? (As a percentage) 99
Please estimate the cost of electricity in the geographic area where your BetaNet node will be running. . My machine is cloud hosted, I do not know the cost of electricity.
On a monthly basis, how much time can you publicly commit to dedicating toward governance if you were selected as a BetaNet node operator? (Where 0 = 1 hour/month, and 100 = 20 hours/month) 100
If you were selected to run a BetaNet node, would it run on your own hardware or be deployed to cloud-based servers? Cloud-Based Servers
In what type of environment would this server be located?
Do you have past experience deploying hardware servers in a datacenter?
Do you already own sufficient hardware to meet the published Elixxir BetaNet node specifications?
Yes (Please list specs)
Do you have hardware you would like to use but does not meet the stated BetaNet node specs? If so, please provide specs on that hardware below:
Do you have past experience deploying servers to cloud-based services? Yes (please specify)
Yes (please specify) I am currently running multiple cloud based servers and have deployed many cloud based servers in the past.
Why do you want to be a node? I see great potential in Elixxir to become a new major player in the crypto space. Thus I would like to be part in the early days of this new technology.
How did you originally hear about Elixxir? Telegram
Which current Elixxir communities are you a member of? Telegram, Discord, Medium
Are you an active member of those communities? Yes
What specifically, interests you about the Elixxir platform? The implementation of end-to-end anonymity by using a mix network and the approach of cascading the work on new blocks.
Outside of Elixxir communities, are you an active participant in other node or developer community groups? If so, which ones? I am active in the REMME and Idex communities. For Idex AURA staking I am running a side project [url removed] which provides additional information on the status of staking and other utilities like a monitoring script.
Have you ever attended a blockchain conference? If so, which one(s)? Unfortunately not yet.
As part of growing the Elixxir community, are you willing to create content as part of operating an Elixxir BetaNet node? Examples would be node setup & on-boarding review vlog post, bi-weekly twitter update, medium review of on-going node operational process, etc. Yes (how much content on a monthly basis?)
If yes, how much content on a monthly basis? I could provide some utilities if necessary
What is the difference between decentralized networks and distributed networks, and where on the decentralization spectrum do you sit? In distributed networks, the work to be done is spread across multiple participants on a network. It can however be centralized, thus being ran and controlled by a single entitiy (a company for example) and hierarchical structures are in place. In a decentralized network, there is no central point of control or management. All participants on the network have equal rights and power. To reach consensus between peers, a consesus algorithm is used to determine how work has to be done and which results are correct.
As best as you can given currently available information, please describe the value proposition of the Elixxir platform and how it differs from other current blockchain solutions. Elixxir values full anonymity and performance of the network. Full anonymity: Current systems like Bitcoin or Ethereum are not anonymous. Although there are no personal identities involved directly, transactions and actions can be easily tracked. Elixxir aims to solve this issue by implementing a mix network which guarantees Sender–Receiver anonymity. Performance: Elixxir plans to reach breakthrough performance by grouping nodes together to a team and then cascading the work of different teams. The creation of a new block is split in two phases: In the first phase the most computationally intensive work is done. In the second phase, a new block is produced by using the results of the first phase. High performance is reached by cascading the teams so the corresponding ends of phase two get as close as possible. This has the effect that adding more nodes to the network allows for "tighter" cascading, thus increasing the overall throughput of the network.
Privacy by Default is a goal of the Elixxir Platform. In your opinion, why is Privacy by Default critical for the future of the internet? The rise of ubiquitous surveillance is obvious. CCTV cameras monitoring every corner of a city, web services tracking your every move and the process of abolishment of cash money. In my opinion, privacy is an intrinsic right of every human being. But maintaining privacy in the ever more developing digital world is not easy at all. Elixxir would give us the possibility to make our communications and payments truly anonymous. I think privacy by default is not just important for the future of the internet, it is important for our daily lives in general. Raising awareness of the current issue is a good first step. Providing an elegant and effective solution to it is the next step - which Elixxir is developing.
Tags Individual, United States, English
6 Likes

Hi everybody,
this is my application.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask!

4 Likes

To elaborate on this point: The machine I can provide is a cloud hosted server with a SSD, Gigabit symmetric connection and 2x12 Core Intel Xeon E5-2697v2 CPUs. Although it misses a GPU, the CPUs should be strong enough to support an Elixxir node, according to a private discord chat with one of the discord server admins.

5 Likes

Sounds like he knows what he or she
is talking about

1 Like

Thank you! And it’s He :slightly_smiling_face:

1 Like

Detailed application - that convinces me!

Would you use your technical knowledge and specific experience to support other ELIXXIR project participants and community members?

2 Likes

Hi @XX7, please excuse my late reply, there was a problem with answering more than three times on your own post.

About your question:
I’d love to help people set up and run their nodes via Discord or Telegram. From what I have seen there are many interested applicants without much technical knowledge - I am not sure if that is an exclusion criteria for Elixxir, but if we will have some unexperienced people in the testnet I will be happy to help!

3 Likes

thanks for help to the comunity Elixxir !!

3 Likes

Hi the sysnthanks for being open to this. I would consider myself as one of your students. Anything I can start to study to improve my knowledge your recommendation would be appreciated.

2 Likes

@Trail21 It’s hard to say what you can study now since there is not much information available about Elixxir (in terms of software) right now.
If you are a complete beginner it is always good to start out with basic Linux command-line skills and learn how to manage a machine without a graphical user interface - if that is what you will be running your node on.

1 Like

Thanks getting started

I like the complete answers to the questions. Well researched! Good background!

2 Likes

Busy learning Linux and have the basics down. Thanks what’s next for me please.

1 Like

Hi @Trail21, great that you started learning!
I think now you best wait until the actual software is released and continue when more details are available.

1 Like

Thesys you are being very helpful to the noobs and engaging with the community. Technical skills left aside, I think communication is one of the greatest assets, especially for a new community. You have my vote man!

1 Like

Hi folks, thanks for adding to the conversation. As far as technical knowledge, we don’t expect node runners to have prior coding expertise. It would be good to have some experience using the command line, but we can provide training for those skills as we move forward. Hope that helps!

5 Likes