Ben Marx on the Launch and Architecture of SubSpace

Joining us on the show for this episode is Ben Marx, author of Adopting Elixir and Principal Control Plane Engineer at the recently launched SubSpace! We continue our Season 4 journey into system and application architecture with Ben and he unpacks what he can about the somewhat still under wraps work at the new company. Ben is all about plain-spoken and easy to understand conversations on these topics, preferring to avoid highfalutin and confusing terms with multiple interpretations. He really drills down on his understanding of the fundamentals of his work and we also get to hear about his previous position at Bleacher Report. He unpacks the lessons he took away from the company, and the changes he witnessed while there. Ben explains how Elixir fits into the work at SubSpace and what a perfect fit it is for their low-latency service. We also spend a bit of time talking about life as an introverted programmer, attending conferences and meeting people, and remote work and family life during the pandemic. For all this and then some, tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Ben's exciting new position at SubSpace, and how the company reduces latency.
• The increasing need for more reliable internet speeds during the pandemic.
• Use of Elixir for SubSpace and how well it fits the needs of the company.
• The engineering team at SubSpace and some of the basic system architecture.
• Meeting people, giving talks and life at conferences as an introvert.
  
• The meaning of architecture to Ben; more dynamic than static.
• Differentiating between architecture and design; the abstract and reality.
• The idea of domain-driven design what the concept means to Ben.
• Placement of the authentication and authorization systems.
• Ben's time working at Bleacher Report and the development of the company during his time there.
• Thoughts on Kafka and its baffling name!
• Ben's new role at SubSpace and major areas of learning for him so far.
• Adapting to a new role during the work from home era; life under quarantine.
• Project management and helpful processes for remote work in a new world.
• Ideas for another book from Ben, his belief in Elixir and getting in contact!

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

SmartLogic — https://smartlogic.io/
Ben Marx — https://bgmarx.com/
SubSpace — https://www.subspace.com/
Ben Marx on Twitter — https://twitter.com/bgmarx
Adopting Elixir — https://www.amazon.com/Adopting-Elixir-Production-Ben-Marx/dp/1680502522
Bleacher Report — https://bleacherreport.com/
Subspace article at the Wall Street Journal — https://www.wsj.com/articles/subspace-launches-publicly-offering-fast-internet-for-gaming-companies-11584961201
Subspace article at VentureBeat — https://venturebeat.com/2020/04/03/the-deanbeat-subspace-emerges-from-stealth-with-26-million-to-fix-internet-bottlenecks-for-games-and-entertainment/
Kafka — https://kafka.apache.org/coding-guide
Franz Kafka — https://www.biography.com/writer/franz-kafka
Max Brod — https://www.britannica.com/biography/Max-Brod
Sophie DeBenedetto — http://sophiedebenedetto.nyc/
Justus Eapen on Twitter — https://twitter.com/justuseapen
Eric Oestrich — https://oestrich.org/
Eric Oestrich on Twitter — https://twitter.com/ericoestrich
Eric Oestrich on GitHub — https://github.com/oestrich

Special Guest: Ben Marx.