teams need to think about while still freeing them to develop whatever custom application functionality you need. As well as this without the administrative burden of servers, your other operational teams like security can get down to securing the product as a cloud provider usually carries out the routine work of provisioning, maintaining, and scaling the server infrastructure for you!
Saying this, Serverless just shouldn’t be thought of as the only solution. It needs to be applied selectively and within contexts where it makes sense. Serverless is a very promising solution for edge applications as it allows the performance of tasks on-site instead of from the data centre, as is usually the case, using only the required resources.
For example, some operations like verifying a signature, hashing data, or even performing a simple media transformation require faster response times and do not necessarily require a lot of computing power; they can therefore be run on Content Delivery Networks where some of the data is replicated.
Infrastructure as Code
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is a process that uses a high-level descriptive coding language to automate the provision of IT infrastructure. Infrastructure as Code is one way of improving the standard of infrastructure management and time to deployment. By using tools, languages, protocols, and processes, IaC safely helps create and configure infrastructure elements in a matter of seconds. With IaC, configuration files are created. These contain your infrastructure specifications, and this makes it easier to edit and distribute configurations. It also makes sure that you service the same environment every time.
This is further promoted with the power of Serverless technology with functions that are executed in stateless containers with compute resources for running a function are provisioned only when invoked. No data is persisted in RAM or written to the disk. Once the request has been fulfilled, the state of the app is reset and there is no memory of the transaction. Making a new request calls for the resources to be provisioned from scratch and the code is executed without any reference to the previous invocation.
Serverless technology is the future of cloud computing. In the past, developers had to use virtual machines and install server software in order to host their applications. However, with serverless technology, developers can deploy applications without having access to any infrastructure or managing servers. This article will explain how serverless differs from traditional architectures and why it can be a great fit for enterprise-level projects.
Serverless Definition
Serverless technology is a software development model, or way of building and deploying applications that does not require servers. The basic idea of serverless computing is that you don't have to manage your own servers or worry about scaling since all the required resources are provided by the service provider.
Serverless platforms like AWS Lambda (the most popular one) abstracts the infrastructure layer from developers since they only need to focus on writing code for their application and then deploy it using those platforms' APIs.
What is a serverless model?
Serverless is a model for building and running applications. Serverless applications do not require you to provision or manage any servers. All you need to run your code is an API Gateway, which provides access to all of the services needed by your functions as well as authentication and authorization. Serverless also abstracts away machine maintenance so that you can focus on writing code while Amazon Web Services handles machine management tasks such as function execution, load balancing, auto-scaling and more.
The fundamental architectural style of serverless applications is event-driven: every time something happens (an instagram photo gets posted), it triggers an event (e.g., “photo posted”). These events are then processed by stateless functions or microservices (which could be either managed or self-hosted). This can dramatically reduce maintenance costs since you don't need someone maintaining any servers 24/7; instead we take advantage of the elasticity provided by cloud providers like AWS Lambda which lets us run thousands of parallel instances depending on how many users we expect at any given time which means our resources are always being used optimally - there's no need for overprovisioning or underutilization which would otherwise result in wasted money spent on unused capacity
How does serverless differ from other cloud-based architectures?
Serverless differs from other cloud-based architectures in that it is event-driven. In contrast to the traditional client-server model, serverless applications can be built and deployed without needing to manage infrastructure or provision servers. This allows developers to focus on their code and the user experience rather than worrying about scaling, security patches, failovers, etc. It also means you pay only for what you use—you don't have to pay for idle servers or capacity you aren't using.
Serverless architecture will be the next big thing in cloud computing because it allows us all to build and deploy applications faster than ever before while also giving developers more freedom over how they write their code.
Architectural considerations for serverless
You should architect your serverless application in a way that makes sense for the type of application you're building, as well as the capabilities of the services.
For example, if you want to build an API Gateway-based application, then Lambda functions will be ephemeral and stateless, which means they can't store any data. This can be inconvenient since many modern applications require some form of state management (for example, session storage). In this case, you'll need a consistent data storage solution that works with API Gateway and Lambda.
Alternatively, if you're building a multi-tenant app where each tenant has their own dedicated resources (such as databases), then there's no need for additional services such as API Gateway or Lambda. You could just use DynamoDB directly without having to worry about other architectural considerations associated with using those services together with DynamoDB.
Why go serverless?
Serverless has many benefits and is a great choice for a diverse set of use cases.
Save money on the cloud. Serverless computing is an easier way to pay for only what you need. You don't have to spend time managing servers or worrying about capacity planning, because the cost of running your application is based on usage rather than provisioned capacity.
Use resources more efficiently with serverless technologies like Amazon Lambda, Azure Functions, App Engine, OpenWhisk and more. These services automatically scale up or down as needed to meet traffic demands without incurring large expenses during off hours or periods when there’s little activity in your app (like weekends). This can save money over time by lowering your monthly fees compared with traditional hosting models that may require keeping machines parked most of the week (or month).
Automate common operational tasks using event-driven architectures such as those found with AWS Lambda functions or Azure Logic Apps that trigger actions based on events such as webhooks from other applications like Salesforce CRM integration; email notifications sent by Mailgun; etc.)
Serverless advantages and benefits
Serverless advantages and benefits
There are many advantages to using serverless technology. Some of the most important benefits include:
Cost savings - Serverless functions are billed only for the time they run, so you don’t have to pay for idle instances. If a function runs less frequently than anticipated, you will likely save money on your bill.
Scalability - Your application can scale as needed without managing servers or adding more infrastructure, which reduces costs even further. For example, if there is an increase in traffic after a company promotion it can be scaled quickly without adding any new hardware or hiring additional staff members.
Reduced downtime - With traditional cloud hosting providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), downtime would occur if there was an issue with their infrastructure such as losing power or experiencing network issues! This is not an issue with serverless because it doesn’t use dedicated servers; instead each function runs independently from other functions within the same region so there is no risk of downtime due too someone else having problems elsewhere on AWS's network."
Advantages of the AWS Lambda + API Gateway stack
The AWS Lambda + API Gateway stack has many advantages over other serverless platforms:
Cost savings. It's cheaper to run functions on AWS Lambda than it is to run them on a traditional server. This particularly benefits startups that need to scale up their products quickly and don't have the funds to make large capital investments in servers and infrastructure.
Scalability. With AWS Lambda, you can easily scale up or down your application based on demand—something that would be difficult or impossible with a traditional web server setup (where scaling requires adding more hardware).
Speed of development. With no need for servers or infrastructure, there's also less time required for development; you can build your app faster without having to worry about configuring anything first!
No need for managing servers/infrastructure - A lot of time spent building apps is spent setting up and managing the underlying systems that power them instead of actually creating something valuable for users! Serverless technology enables developers who want freedom from this burden so they can focus solely on their code instead - which means faster development cycles overall!
Challenges of the serverless model
While serverless technology is promising, it’s not all rainbows and butterflies. The model has its challenges that developers need to be aware of before adopting it.
Cost: Serverless comes with trade-offs in pricing. You pay for each request rather than paying for the entire duration of a service being used. This can result in unpredictable expenditure if you have multiple services running on a single function or if you aren’t careful with your usage patterns.
Security: The traditional concept of firewalls has been removed from serverless computing because there isn't a machine with an IP address that can be blocked from accessing resources. Instead, you must use other methods like identity management systems such as Amazon Cognito if your app uses user authentication credentials (which most apps do).
Performance: Serverless computing is more expensive than traditional deployments because it requires more frequent provisioning and scaling up/down due to many factors including network performance issues between client applications and cloud providers as well as resource contention within each provider's datacenter footprint area where applications may reside at any given time (i.e., AWS availability zones vs regions). Because these factors are out of our control we cannot guarantee consistent performance across multiple environments so this must be factored into budget calculations when designing new projects using serverless technologies."
Wrap up!
Serverless is a game changer. It’s an architecture that’s designed to be better, faster and more cost-effective than traditional models. With the rise of cloud computing and the evolution of new deployment options like serverless, businesses can finally take advantage of all the technology has to offer without having to worry about maintaining servers or paying for servers they don’t need.
However, Serverless computing is still a relatively new technology. Its future depends on the ability of service providers to resolve some of the drawbacks listed above — most importantly, cold starts. Providers need to cut the time it takes to execute a function after it’s been in the idle state for a while. Solving this issue will decrease latency and ensure a seamless user experience. We know from the past years that code only/IaC is the future.
I am starting to write a small proof of concept application to show the speed of this which can be found here. Check it out and have a play yourself!