airhacks.fm podcast with adam bien

From Cloud Networking to Powertools for AWS Lambda (Java)

Oct 22, 2025
In this engaging chat, Philipp Page, a software engineer and Java tech lead for AWS Lambda Powertools, shares his fascinating journey from gaming to cloud networking. He discusses hosting Minecraft servers at 13, learning about SQL injection, and the nuances of transitioning from PHP to Java. Philipp dives into his work at AWS, enhancing serverless frameworks with observability tools, and the intricacies of implementing efficient caching. His insights on over-abstraction and custom frameworks provide a relatable backdrop for developers navigating their own tech journeys.
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ANECDOTE

Early Server Admin Beginnings

  • Philipp Page started running Minecraft servers at age 13 by renting VPS because his home internet was too slow.
  • He learned SSH, bash scripting and server administration from tutorials and support calls while troubleshooting firewall mistakes.
ANECDOTE

From Game Status To Database Lessons

  • Philipp built a PHP cron job that polled his Minecraft server and cached the results in MySQL to speed up his website.
  • This led him to learn about transactions, SQL injection and prepared statements while securing and optimizing the backend.
INSIGHT

Java's Structure Pays Off

  • Philipp found Java's type safety and object-oriented structure comforting and productive despite initial verbosity.
  • He valued invest-now-save-later abstraction but warned it only pays off when used correctly.
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