Title

AWS re:Invent 2023 - Coinbase: Building an ultra-low-latency crypto exchange on AWS (FSI309)

Summary

Joshua Smith, a senior solutions architect at AWS, introduces the session on building an ultra-low-latency crypto exchange with Coinbase.
The importance of low and predictable latency in trading exchanges is emphasized for fairness and efficiency in markets.
AWS services and capabilities for optimizing latency are discussed, including EC2 instances, Transit Gateway, VPC peering, and AWS Shield for DDoS protection.
Kevin Arthur from Coinbase details the Coinbase International Exchange's architecture, including client gateways, Raft clusters, and the messaging framework.
Yukon Sun from Coinbase discusses the cloud-native design principles applied to the Coinbase International Exchange, emphasizing the importance of separate development environments, real-time monitoring, operations as code, and security.
Future improvements for Coinbase's exchange on AWS are considered, including kernel bypass and enhanced network adapters.
The session concludes with reflections on the collaboration between Coinbase and AWS and the benefits of cloud-native design for developer productivity.

The session highlights the critical role of ultra-low latency in financial trading platforms, where milliseconds can significantly impact trading outcomes.
Coinbase's use of AWS services demonstrates the flexibility and scalability of cloud infrastructure in handling high-frequency trading workloads.
The cloud-native design approach adopted by Coinbase allows for efficient management of multiple environments, from development to production, and enables rapid scaling and deployment.
Real-time monitoring and operations as code are essential for maintaining system reliability and security, especially in a single Availability Zone (AZ) setup.
The discussion on future improvements suggests a continuous effort to optimize network performance and leverage AWS's evolving services for even lower latency and higher throughput.
The success of Coinbase's exchange on AWS underscores the importance of a strong partnership between a cloud service provider and its customer, as well as the strategic use of cloud-native principles in building and operating complex, high-stakes systems.