Making sure you don't have to worry too much about the underlying physical machine that your code runs on has been a major goal of IT innovation over the past 20 years. Examples include virtual machines, cloud computing, and containers. With serverless computing, which is becoming more and more common, you don't need to know anything about the hardware or operating system your code runs on because a service provider will take care of it all for you.
What Is serverless?
With the serverless application delivery model, you may run applications without having to plan, set up, manage, or maintain server infrastructure by having cloud providers seamlessly monitor user requests and computing events to dynamically assign and scale compute resources.
Hostless (apps are not housed on a server), stateless (interactions and data are not saved), elastic (resources can be scaled up and down without restrictions), distributed (many services are linked for seamless operation), and event-driven applications are all made possible by serverless technology (resources are allocated only when triggered by an event). Serverless usage is expanding at the same time that cloud adoption is. Serverless computing in many ways realizes the full potential of cloud computing, allowing for real-time resource allocation, scaling up or down, and resource-based billing. It makes sure that when there are no user requests and the program is effectively dormant, resources are scaled down to zero automatically.
As developers rely on prepackaged functions like those provided by Google Cloud Functions and Microsoft Azure Functions to run applications, serverless is also known as function as a service (FaaS) or compute as a service (CaaS).
Serverless Architecture
A method of developing software called serverless architecture enables developers to create and run services without having to control the underlying infrastructure. Developers can write and distribute code, and a cloud provider will set up servers to run their databases, storage systems, and applications at any scale. This article will discuss serverless architecture, including how it functions, the advantages and disadvantages of using it, as well as some tools that can make the transition easier.
Applications of Serverless
It promotes effective resource management, facilitates high bandwidth scaling, and provides dynamic data updates. These are the top four uses for serverless technology:
- Smart Technology and IoT
As IoT comprises brief interactions in which real-time data transmission is crucial, serverless computing is perfect for IoT. Additionally, serverless can easily handle the unpredictable volumes of data that IoT setups handle. Finally, all IoT features are event-based and are either initiated by the environment or by the user of an IoT device. You can connect the IoT hub or gateway to other components of your connected landscape, such as mobile devices, payment gateways, etc., thanks to a a serverless architecture. For a single IoT touchpoint, such as smart factory equipment, you will also be able to accommodate multiple users.
- Application Scenarios using Events
Serverless is a great fit for applications that heavily rely on user interactions and user-triggered events. A serverless paradigm, for instance, might considerably benefit an e-commerce website by retrieving product data, delivery information, payment information, etc., according to actual user volumes and requirements. Additionally, e-commerce traffic varies according to the seasons and days of the week. With a serverless architecture, you can rapidly scale to meet an increase in demand and boost your profitability without having those resources sit idly around the clock. Similar to this, serverless can benefit those who offer on-demand educational content, host webinars, etc.
- Automated System Management
There are numerous internal uses for serverless computing as well. By switching to serverless, system administrators who are in charge of allocating and administering infrastructure services can drastically cut down on manual work. For instance, the Cloud Managed Services offering from Deloitte leverages serverless computing to offer its customers scalable and consistently efficient infrastructure support. Systems administrators can concentrate on aspects of product delivery that add more value, like new features, security, or cost-cutting techniques. Large businesses can use the same application to coordinate the provisioning of cloud resources across various sites and business divisions.
- Adaptive CDN Performance
Enterprises are able to provide high-volume material to numerous places thanks to content delivery networks (CDNs). It takes a lot of resources to run CDN processes, and user expectations can change drastically during busy and slow times. The CDN is essential to a number of crucial procedures, including online gaming platforms, OTT platforms, online education providers, social media platforms, enterprise-grade learning management systems, and others. The serverless architecture enhances CDN performance, especially for needs related to live broadcasting. Resources are distributed based on factors such as the number of new users, the number of connected microphones, the number of visual streams, and others. Based on concurrent user volume and real-time data streams, a serverless system can automatically optimise delivery environments.
Examples of Serverless
Some of the best examples include:
1. Real-time data updates by Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM)
One of the oldest and biggest professional sports leagues in the United States is Major League Baseball. The business runs a service called Statcast that offers users precise and current sports metrics. You may perform sophisticated searches on the Statcast website using information like pitch velocity, pitch type, season type, and specific player names. It may provide accurate data and help users make decisions about baseball games by employing serverless computing.
2. Autodesk develops and deploys applications quickly
Powerful software from Autodesk is available for the mission-critical and bandwidth-intensive engineering, architecture, and construction sectors. It released a brand-new product called Tailor that allowed businesses to quickly create customised Autodesk accounts with all the required configurations. With just two FTES in charge of the solution, Autodesk was able to launch Tailor in just two weeks by utilising a serverless architecture.
3. Netflix's scalable on-demand media distribution
Netflix, one of the biggest over-the-top (OTT) media providers in the world, has long supported serverless computing. Since 2017 and before, it has used serverless to create a platform that can handle thousands of updates each day. Only the adapter code, which determines how the platform will react to user requests and computing conditions, is left up to Netflix's developers. At the core of Netflix's proprietary Dynamic Scripting Platform is serverless architecture, which handles the actual platform adjustments, provisioning, and end-user delivery.
4. Slack offers responsive and flexible chatbots.
Chatbots and other single-purpose applications do well with serverless architecture. Every day, bots may encounter several requests of varied complexity. Due to the erratic nature of chatbot user needs, assigning a static server to them could result in underutilised bandwidth or capacity constraints. Slack uses a serverless, cloud-based architecture based on AWS Lambda for this reason.
