Node Application 10542522845, submitted 2019-02-20 8:10:31

Respondent Id 10542522845
Application Date 2019-02-20 8:10:31
Application Language English
Applicant City Maroussi
Applicant State/Province Attiki
Applicant Country Greece
What languages do you speak? English, Greek
What is your occupation? Software Development
How many years experience in your field? 8-15
What is the highest degree or level of school you have completed? Master’s degree (for example: MA, MS, MEng, MEd, MSW, MBA)
Please describe your experience in the Crypto/Blockchain space, if any? My first contact with crypto and blockchain was in 2010 when i heard about Bitcoin. I experimented superficially with it and forgot about it after a month or so. A few years later, in 2016, had to research Ethereum, and blockchain in general, for a potential European research project. Having a more mature mind at that time i understood the importance and potential of blockchain and was captivated by it. I read a lot about consensus algorithms and spent a significant time exploring various crypto/blockchain projects. Ever since that day i am constantly monitoring the space for new developments and exciting new projects. While i haven't contributed (code wise) significantly to any project, i do operate nodes for the following blockchain projects: - Bitcoin - Ripple validator - Interledger Protocol - Burstcoin - Sia
Are you an individual or a group? Individual
Node City Agia Paraskevi
Node State Attiki
Node Country Greece
For which networks Have you ever operated a node? Bitcoin (BTC, BCH, etc), Ethereum (ETH, ETC, etc), Ripple, Sia, Burst
What kind of improvements would you like to see in Elixxir nodes vs. previous the previous nodes you have supported? Fast sync speeds, and maybe a web app dashboard with monitoring and configuration capabilities.
What are potential setbacks preventing you from operating an Elixxir node? Work load
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) 50
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. . Node will be located in the data center of a research center which has a special deal with the electricity provider, so i don't really know. Definitely a lot less than consumer rates which are around 0.10 euros /kWh
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) 85
If you were selected to run a BetaNet node, would it run on your own hardware or be deployed to cloud-based servers? Both
In what type of environment would this server be located? University / Academic Institution
Do you have past experience deploying hardware servers in a datacenter? Yes (please describe)
Do you already own sufficient hardware to meet the published Elixxir BetaNet node specifications? Yes (Please list specs)
Yes (Please list specs) CPU: AMD Threadripper 2950x, RAM: 64GB, Hard Disks: 1TB SSD and 4 TB HDD, GPU: 2x RTX 2080, 1Gbit Ethernet
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 have deployed Linux based VMs to Amazon EC2 and Google Compute Engine for various distributed data analytics projects using Hadoop, Spark, Kafka, Elasticsearch, Docker and Kubernetes.
Why do you want to be a node? I am really interested in the Elixxir project as it brings novel ideas in the crypto space and values privacy. As a software developer myself i can help with identifying bugs and issues with the protocol and the node software.
How did you originally hear about Elixxir? Coindesk
Which current Elixxir communities are you a member of? Discord
Are you an active member of those communities? No
What specifically, interests you about the Elixxir platform? I really like the privacy features, how transactions are not stored on the blockchain and only the receiver/sender can see their own transaction history. I also find the consensus algorithm interesting and very resilient, specifically how a random team of nodes is formed to forge a block and only 1 honest team node is required to complete a block.
Outside of Elixxir communities, are you an active participant in other node or developer community groups? If so, which ones? Burstcoin, Ripple
Have you ever attended a blockchain conference? If so, which one(s)?
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. No
If yes, how much content on a monthly basis?
What is the difference between decentralized networks and distributed networks, and where on the decentralization spectrum do you sit? The difference between distributed and decentralized is about the existence of an authority either in the form of a node who acts a trusted authority/leader or in the form of an organization who controls of the majority of the network. Distributed networks are usually controlled by an authority while decentralized networks have no authority. Personally, i prefer decentralized networks as centralization usually leads to corruption and loss of sovereignty.
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. Sovereignty and anonymity/privacy are priceless. Compared to Bitcoin, Ethereum and other solutions, Elixxir not only brings privacy by default but most importantly its consensus cannot be controlled by a single entity which is what is happening in other PoW/PoS coins where a handful of pools/entities control the majority hashpower and can take the networks hostage when they want to (e.g. mine empty blocks and delay transactions)
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? Privacy is critical because it can strengthen net neutrality and help the internet remain decentralized. It can prevent data collecting entities from using targeted campaigns against you or sell your data to others.
Tags Individual, Greece, English
2 Likes

yeah, a good candidate, i hope we can work all together for good team Elixxir node

Agree with Eddy def fit

1 Like