AWS Serverless computing - Beginners guide
Tags: aws, cloud, cloudcomputing
Published: 2023-08-15 11:32:15

Dear Cloud Learners,

Today, I'd like to talk about AWS Serverless Computing. 

🚀 **Build and Run applications without thinking about servers** 😎

AWS Serverless is a cloud computing execution model where AWS runs your code in response to events and automatically manages the underlying compute resources for you. 

AWS offers technologies for running code, managing data, and integrating applications, all without managing servers. Serverless technologies feature automatic scaling, built-in high availability, and a pay-for-use billing model to increase agility and optimize costs. These technologies also eliminate infrastructure management tasks like capacity provisioning and patching, so you can focus on writing code that serves your customers. Serverless applications start with AWS Lambda, an event-driven compute service natively integrated with over 200 AWS services and software as a service (SaaS) applications.

**Key Features:**

- Move from idea to market, faster
- Lower your costs
- Adapt at scale
- Build better applications, easier


[Modern applications](https://aws.amazon.com/modern-apps/) are built serverless-first, a strategy that prioritizes the adoption of serverless services, so you can increase agility throughout your application stack. We’ve developed serverless services for all three layers of your stack: compute, integration, and data stores. Consider getting started with these services:

**Why should companies use Serverless?**

Companies should embrace Serverless for several reasons:

1. **No server management**: There's no need to provision or manage servers.
2. **Flexible scaling**: Your applications automatically scale up or down, from a few requests per day to thousands per second.
3. **Pay for value**: You only pay for the compute time you consume - there's no charge when your code isn't running.
4. **Automated high availability**: Serverless provides built-in availability and fault tolerance.

**How does Serverless differ from IaaS and PaaS?**

In IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), you manage servers, network, and storage, while the cloud provider handles virtualization, servers, hard drives, and networking. In PaaS (Platform as a Service), you only manage the applications and data. With Serverless, you only concentrate on your code, AWS takes care of the rest.

**Cost Savings with Serverless**

With Serverless, you pay only for what you use. You don't need to pay for idle server time, and you can scale on-demand with no upfront provisioning. This can result in substantial cost savings.

**Learning AWS Serverless**

To start learning AWS Serverless, you can refer to the [Official AWS Serverless Documentation ↗](https://aws.amazon.com/serverless/). You may also consider AWS training and certification programs, online courses like Coursera, Udemy, and LinkedIn Learning.

**Real-time Use Cases**

1. **Microservices architecture**: You can build your applications as a collection of loosely coupled services.
2. **Real-time file processing**: You can process files as soon as they are uploaded to Amazon S3.
3. **Data transformation**: You can easily transform data in real-time with AWS Lambda.

**Limitations**

While Serverless has many benefits, there are some limitations including cold start times, execution time limits, and difficulties in debugging and testing.

**In very simple terms,**

Imagine you want to play with a toy but it's locked in a box. Instead of you having to find the key and unlock it, imagine if the box could unlock itself and give you the toy when you want to play, and put it back when you're done. That's what Serverless does with your computer programs.

**Cost-Saving Best Practices**

1. **Efficient code**: The faster your code completes, the less you pay.
2. **Right-sizing**: Allocate only the memory your function needs.
3. **Concurrency**: Properly manage the number of concurrent requests.

Companies like Coca-Cola, Thomson Reuters, and Autodesk are using AWS Serverless.

**Integration with Other AWS Services**

AWS Serverless can be integrated with many AWS Services like S3, DynamoDB, API Gateway, and more.

**Top AWS Serverless projects for Hands-On**

1. [Build a Serverless Web Application](https://aws.amazon.com/getting-started/hands-on/build-serverless-web-app-lambda-apigateway-s3-dynamodb-cognito/)
2. [Real-Time File Processing](https://catalog.us-east-1.prod.workshops.aws/workshops/76d4b4eb-bff7-40c6-a925-7f101ad3bd43/en-US)
3. [Serverless Data Transformation Pipeline](https://catalog.us-east-1.prod.workshops.aws/workshops/026474c4-7b60-4ba8-983d-8c8eff1e4487/en-US/deploying-data-pipeline)
4. [Serverless Chat Application](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/apigateway/latest/developerguide/websocket-api-chat-app.html)

**Can Non-Programmers Learn AWS Serverless?**

Yes, while AWS Serverless involves coding, non-programmers can understand the concepts and benefits. However, to use it effectively, programming knowledge is necessary.

**Summary**

AWS Serverless Computing is a powerful, cost-effective tool that abstracts away server management, automatically scales, and charges only for what is used. While there are some limitations, the benefits far outweigh them. It's great for applications that need to be highly available and scale quickly. With resources like the AWS Documentation and online courses, anyone can start learning and implementing Serverless architectures today.

Complete details here 👉👉 https://aws.amazon.com/serverless/

Happy upskilling !!!

Connect with me on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/logeswarangv/) for more knowledge sharing.