What Is Serverless Computing?

In each iteration of new technology the way we develop and put out applications changes. At present, in cloud tech, we have serverless computing. As the name suggests we do not have to run servers in this model. What we see is a shift in the way we develop, deploy and execute applications.

In traditional models of computing, developers either have to manage their own servers, which is a time- and labor-intensive task, or they outsource that to a third party, which they pay for. What we see in that picture is a great deal of work going into the installation, scaling and patching of servers. But in serverless computing that is left to the developer to focus only on the code they are writing which in turn leaves the cloud provider to take care of the server side work which the developer doesn’t have to worry about.

Let us break down what serverless computing is, how it functions, what it has to offer and what it doesn’t, and also why it is the in thing for companies at present.

Understanding Serverless Computing

Serverless computing is a cloud model in which, behind the scenes, the cloud provider runs the infrastructure for your applications. What this means is that developers do not have to worry about the provisioning of servers, keeping OS’s up and going, or even scaling issues.

Serverless architecture breaks down code into short stateless functions that perform in response to certain events. These functions stand alone and are triggered when there is a need for them which in turn is very brief, to which they respond. This field is also known as Function as a Service (FaaS).

In the case of a user which visits an online store and clicks on “Buy Now” for a product that user action may trigger a serverless function which in turn triggers payment processing. Once the payment is complete, the function runs its course and ends, which in turn means there are no leftover resources consuming computation power.

Google’s Cloud Functions, Azure’s Functions, and AWS Lambda.

What is Serverless Computing?

In the serverless model, we achieve this by breaking down applications into separate small functions. Each function is responsible for a specific task which may be for instance processing a form submission, image resizing, or API request handling. Also these stand alone functions do not have a server which is constantly on. Instead they stay dormant until they are triggered.

When an event takes place a user uploads a file or a form is submitted the related function is run which the cloud provider has automated. The provider uses computing resources for what is basically the time it takes to run the function which is very short and then the resources are released.

A brief rundown of what occurs:

• Trigger/Event: Some actions like a web request, file upload, or database modification.
• Function Call: The right function is called out which then does its job and ends.
• Resource Management: Resource allocation and scaling is a feature provided by the cloud.
• Billing: As you go you only pay for the compute time which the function uses when it is running not for idle servers.

Infrastructure issues are hidden from the programmer which in turn makes application development easier, speeds up deployment and also reduces operating costs.

Key Benefits of Serverless Computing

One of the major reasons for the wide adoption of serverless computing across the globe is what it brings to the table for developers and companies. Here are some of the benefits which stand out:.

1. No management of servers.

Developers no longer have to worry about server set up and provisioning. From hardware to software we leave it to the cloud provider and all you do is code clean.

2. Auto scaling.

With traditional servers we do it in advance and set up load balancers and auto scaling groups for traffic peaks. In serverless computing the platform does the heavy lifting and scales automatically up or down based on demand. If your app is handling ten requests or ten thousand the platform scales to respond.

3. Price Effectiveness.

In legacy cloud solutions you mostly see that you are charged for the servers at all times. In the case of serverless systems what you pay for is a resource’s actual use while a function is running. This ‘pay as you go’ feature which is a hallmark of serverless models makes it a very economic option for start ups, small businesses, or for those with variable scale applications.

4. Speed up Development and Deployment.

As we speak developers don’t have to worry about the infrastructure which in turn allows them to put more time into feature development and creation of great user experiences. We see apps which are coded, tested and deployed in what seems like the instant and thus updates and patches are very easy and convenient.

5. Enhanced Resource Use.

In the world of serverless there are no dedicated servers for you to pre-configure. What the cloud provider does is to present resources as required and they are used which also includes the clean up once you are done. This in turn leads to better resource use with no waste.

Serverless Computing Applications

There is a wide range of uses for serverless computing. Some of the most common are:.

1. Web Apps and APIs.

A server is at your disposal for most web apps which we use for auth, file upload, or data processing. We also see serverless as the best platform to put out thin APIs which in turn serve dynamic content to front end apps.

2. Data Management.

When you upload files to cloud storage, serverless functions will run. They may resize images, turn around videos and check the data which we then store in different places.

3. Internet of Things (IoT).

As we see an increase in the number of reports from IoT devices, serverless functions are the best solution for handling short term spikes in communication and real time data processing.

4. Bots and Auto pilot.

This also applies in the case of chatbots and automated processes which is what serverless platforms excel at — they see to it that functions which may be replying to a user or running in the background have a home but without the need to have full scale up of servers all the time.

5. Planned Tasks.

Operation of posting reports daily, database backup, or purging of old records is to be performed as serverless functions which run only when needed.

Serverless Computing Problems

Although there are many pros to serverless computing at the same time it has issues which you should be aware of.

1. Getting Started Outfits of the Cold.

Upon the initial call of the serverless function which is some time after the last call there may be a short delay known as a “cold start. While the majority of providers do what they can to avoid this, cold starts may affect the performance of applications that require real-time response.

2. Short time frame.

In most cases of serverless platforms a function’s time is limited. Should your application require long running actions or complex tasks then serverless may not be the best solution.

3. Vendor Tie-In.

Building out apps which are very dependent on a particular provider’s serverless platform may in the future make it difficult to switch providers. Although we have seen some progress in standardization, vendor lock-in is still an issue.

4. Complexity in Large Scale Applications.

In large scale applications we see that hundreds or even dozens of small serverless functions are introduced which in turn bring about new debugging, organizational, and monitoring issues.

5. Security Problems.

Although it is true that the bulk of the security for the infrastructure will be left to the cloud provider what we see is that developers still have a role to play which is in the areas of encrypting APIs, sanitizing user data, and using good access controls.

The Future of Serverless Computing

With more and more application development moving to the cloud, serverless computing is becoming a common practice. What we see at present is that which is required for its success is better tooling, monitoring, and portability between different providers. Also we are seeing a trend towards hybrid models in which some of an application may be serverless and some traditional servers or containers. Serverless is growing in its adoption.

Also in that which we see the growth of Edge Computing apps which are run closer to the user we are seeing an extension of serverless capabilities out to nearly the end user which in turn is reducing latency and improving app performance worldwide.

Serverless is becoming more and more popular along with other cloud native technologies like microservices and containers which in turn is a platform for the development of next-gen apps.

Conclusion

A major change in how we do software development and deploy applications is brought in by serverless computing. We remove the infrastructure which allows developers to code solutions to business issues. Also we see that benefits like auto scale, cost efficiency, fast development, and no server maintenance are what is making the large majority of today’s applications very good candidates for serverless computing.

But not everything can be a serverless solution. We see that some apps with high performance requirements, which are very long running, or have very interdependent components do better with other solutions. That said for the great majority of companies and developers out there serverless is a great option for which to build scalable, affordable and innovative software.

As technology is advancing at an amazing rate it is very clear that serverless computing will be a force in the fut

ure of app development. It enables developers to code more efficiently, deploy faster, and run better which in turn takes care of the background work.