Talk about serverless
What is serverless?
Serverless is a term used to describe a cloud computing execution model in which the cloud provider is responsible for managing the servers and underlying infrastructure, and the user is only responsible for writing and uploading code. The code runs in stateless compute containers that are triggered by events, and the cloud provider automatically provisions and scales the resources required to run the code.
Function-as-a-Service (FaaS) is a specific type of serverless computing that allows developers to run their code without provisioning or managing servers. With FaaS, developers can create and deploy individual functions, which are small pieces of code that run in response to specific events. The cloud provider handles the scaling, availability, and management of the underlying infrastructure and the developer only pays for the compute resources that the function uses.
Serverless computing allows developers to focus on writing code and building features, while the cloud provider handles the underlying infrastructure. It also enables more efficient use of resources and can be more cost-effective than traditional hosting methods. However, it’s worth noting that serverless computing is not completely “serverless”, as the cloud provider is still responsible for managing the servers, it’s just abstracted away from the developer and the developer is not responsible for managing the servers.
In summary, Serverless computing is a cloud computing execution model in which the cloud provider is responsible for managing the servers and underlying infrastructure, and the user is only responsible for writing and uploading code. FaaS is a specific type of serverless computing that allows developers to run their code without provisioning or managing servers.
What are the benefits of serverless?
There are several benefits of using serverless computing:
Cost-effective: With serverless, you only pay for the compute resources that your application uses, which can result in cost savings compared to traditional hosting methods.
Flexible scaling: Serverless computing automatically scales the resources required to run your code, which means you don’t have to worry about provisioning and managing servers.
Reduced operational overhead: Since the cloud provider is responsible for managing the servers, you don’t have to worry about maintaining and updating the underlying infrastructure, which can reduce operational overhead.
Faster development: Serverless computing enables you to focus on writing code and building features, rather than managing servers. This can lead to faster development and deployment of your application.
Better security: Serverless computing can be more secure than traditional hosting methods as the cloud provider is responsible for managing the underlying infrastructure, which means that there are fewer attack surfaces for hackers to target.
Increased availability: With serverless computing, the cloud provider automatically provisions and scales the resources required to run the code, which can improve the availability and reliability of your application.
Does it always cheaper than a server?
Serverless computing can be cost-effective, but it depends on the specific requirements of the application and usage. It may not always be cheaper than traditional hosting. It’s important to evaluate the cost before making a decision.
In serverless computing, you pay for the compute resources that your application uses, and the pricing is typically based on the number of requests and the duration of execution. This means that if your application has a low number of requests and short execution times, it can be cheaper to run on a serverless platform.
However, if your application requires a lot of resources and runs for long periods of time, it may be more cost-effective to run on a traditional hosting platform. Additionally, if your application has a high number of requests and long execution times, the cost of running it on a serverless platform can add up quickly.
Best with JAMStack
Serverless is a good fit for JAMStack architecture. JAMStack uses JavaScript on front-end and APIs for back-end logic, serverless functions can handle the dynamic functionality of the site like form submissions, user authentication, and database operations. JAMStack’s static front-end can be served from a CDN, resulting in a fast and secure web application that can be easily scaled.
The most common serverless providers
AWS Lambda: One of the most popular serverless platforms, AWS Lambda allows developers to run their code without provisioning or managing servers. It offers automatic scaling, high availability, and integrates with other AWS services.
Azure Functions: Azure Functions is a serverless platform provided by Microsoft Azure. It offers automatic scaling, high availability, and integrates with other Azure services.
Google Cloud Functions: Google Cloud Functions is a serverless platform provided by Google Cloud. It offers automatic scaling, high availability, and integrates with other Google Cloud services.
AWS Fargate: AWS Fargate is a serverless container orchestration service provided by AWS. It allows you to run containers without managing the underlying EC2 instances.
Google Cloud Run: Google Cloud Run is a fully managed platform to run containers. It allows you to automatically scale your applications and pay only for the resources you use.
OpenFaaS: OpenFaaS is an open-source serverless framework for building and deploying functions. It can be deployed on any cloud or on-premises.
Cloudflare Workers: Cloudflare Workers is a serverless platform that allows you to run JavaScript code on Cloudflare’s global network of servers. It offers automatic scaling, high availability, and low latency.
Zeit Now: Zeit Now is a serverless platform that allows you to deploy your application with a single command. It offers automatic scaling, high availability, and integrates with other services.