Serverless Technologies: What is Serverless Computing?

In this article, you will learn:

• What does serverless mean
• What does serverless computing mean
• Key benefits of using serverless computing
• The power of serverless technologies

What is Serverless?

Serverless in general is a model where the provider dynamically manages the allocation and provisioning of servers behind the actual service. But don't forget that the actual servers are still there, just hidden behind. It can be a service for computing, databases, data storage or some kind of application integration. In many cases this is also provided via IaaS, PaaS or SaaS. This means developers can run what they need without having to manage infrastructure. Instead, they can focus on the actuall application while the provider takes care of scaling, patching, and maintaining the servers. Serverless architectures typically charge based on the actual amount of resources consumed by an application, rather than pre-purchased units of capacity, which can lead to cost savings. This model allows for automatic scaling and high availability, making it an attractive option for modern application development.

What is serverless computing?

Serverless computing is a specific model that automatically manages server allocation for applications to run with. Developers upload their code to the cloud environment where it is automatically launched, scaled and optimized without the need for explicit server management.

Serverless architecture on AWS

AWS has prepared a long list of services that are serverless by nature. I think many everyday customers of AWS don't realize that some of these services are "serverless".

Key benefits of using serverless computing

Efficiency and scalability

Serverless applications are automatically scaled according to demand at any time and without the need for manual intervention. This leaves you with peace of mind and means you don't have to spend your free time wondering if your application has leaked memory or hit your bare-metal limits. Serverless applications also require much less time to set up and manage than other self-scaling solutions exist.

Low costs

You only pay for the resources you use and when you use them. Yes, on paper, serverless solutions are more expensive. However, there are no costs for idle servers and you can calculate how much you can save on DevOps. The entry price for infrastructure also starts very low, unlike legacy solutions.where the initial costs are usually much higher. Additionally, if you have a well-set business model, your bills rise slowly with your earnings. The pricing model is mostly pay-as-you-go, which you may be familiar with from mobile operators. Today, you can even pre-pay for some services and thus save on additional costs. This model is ideal for cases where you cannot predict the load your application will face.

Speed up development

One of the other advantages that serverless technology brings is the acceleration of the development cycle. Without having to deal with server and infrastructure management, you only need to learn basic serverless principles and that’s it. Instead of dealing with additional server infrastructure, you set up and connect other services from the ecosystem, or create them yourself. But be careful, if you make it too complicated, you will end up where you were before.

What is a serverless architecture, and what power does it bring?

In this series of articles, I would like to share my experience with developing applications that take advantage of the power and flexibility of serverless architectures and technologies. I’ve selected a set of common features inherent to a wide array of online applications into the following diagram. This diagram will serve as our foundation, where I'll walk you through one application component in each part to reveal the process of building serverless applications.

We will divide this diagram into several application components that we will work with:

• User authentication and proper security of user private data and identity.
• API interface used for communication between the frontend application and your backend services. In this case, there is one API for communicating with the front-end and another for receiving events from third-party services.
• Data storage and distribution so your data can travel quickly and securely all over the world.
• Serverless computing, the engine of every piece of the application.
• Fast and scalable database for application data in a serverless environment.
• Processing background tasks such as sending emails or running cron jobs.

And as a bonus, I cannot forget to mention the management and deployment of the entire serverless environment by using irreplaceable IaC tools such as CDK, Serverless Framework and Terraform. Those of you who have been in this sector for many years know what an invaluable tool it is in the field of DevOps.

Thank you, Serverless!

Today you have learned erverless definition and why embrace serverless cloud computing, thereby unlocking significant efficiencies and innovation potential. Serverless services, architectures and technologies open up new possibilities for application development, allowing developers to focus on innovation while the cloud automates the hassles of infrastructure management. With our upcoming series of articles, we will guide you through the basics of the world of serverless technologies in AWS so that you can start using them to their full potential.