devops-serverless

Contents

• devops-serverless-vercel
• devops-serverless-cloudflare
• devops-serverless-azure-functions
• devops-serverless-aws-lambda
• devops-serverless-netlify

Roadmap info from roadmap website

Serverless

Serverless is a cloud-computing execution model where the cloud provider dynamically manages the infrastructure, allowing developers to focus solely on writing code. In this model, resources are automatically allocated and scaled based on demand, and billing is based on actual usage rather than pre-purchased capacity. Serverless architectures are often used for event-driven workloads and microservices, improving development efficiency and reducing operational overhead. Popular platforms for serverless computing include AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, and Google Cloud Functions.

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serverless platforms (Vercel, Cloudflare, Azure Functions, AWS Lambda, and Netlify)

1. Vercel

Pricing

• Free Plan:
  • Up to 1000 Serverless Function executions/day.
  • Limited to 12 concurrent executions.
• Pro Plan: $20/month.
  • 1 million executions per month included, $0.000008 per additional invocation.

Learning Curve

• Easy:
  • Vercel abstracts many complexities. Deployments are simple through Git integrations.
  • Focuses on front-end applications but can trigger back-end tasks via serverless functions.
  • Requires basic knowledge of Node.js or Go for writing serverless functions.

Use Case

• Best for web developers looking to trigger tasks related to web applications (e.g., sending data to an API after a form submission).
• Example: Trigger an HTTP call from a front-end form, or scheduled HTTP request for status checks of an app.

2. Cloudflare Workers

Pricing

• Free Plan:
  • Up to 100,000 requests per day.
• Paid Plan:
  • $5/month for up to 10 million requests.
  • Additional requests are priced at $0.50 per million.

Learning Curve

• Moderate:
  • Simple for JavaScript developers, as it uses the JavaScript runtime based on V8 (same as Chrome).
  • Integration is fast for basic use cases but can become more complex with larger applications (e.g., managing multiple scheduled tasks).
  • Excellent documentation, but less flexibility compared to AWS for larger tasks.

Use Case

• Edge computing use cases (executing tasks closer to the user).
• Ideal for lightweight scheduled tasks or API-triggered HTTP requests that need fast, low-latency responses.
• Example: Calling an API periodically to refresh cached content at the edge.

3. Azure Functions

Pricing

• Consumption Plan (serverless):
  • 1 million free executions per month.
  • $0.000016/GB-s for additional executions.
  • Pay only for the execution time and memory used.
• Premium Plan:
  • Allows for pre-warmed instances and more control over scaling, starting around $0.20/GB-hour.

Learning Curve

• Moderate:
  • Azure Functions integrates deeply with the Azure ecosystem, making it powerful but requiring a learning curve if you’re unfamiliar with Azure services.
  • Supports various languages (C#, JavaScript, Python), providing flexibility, but this also adds complexity.
  • Ideal for those already using Azure services.

Use Case

• Great for enterprise-grade tasks, such as integrating with other Azure services or building event-driven workflows.
• Example: Triggering an HTTP call after uploading a file to Azure Blob Storage or running a scheduled task for data processing.

4. AWS Lambda

Pricing

• Free Tier:
  • 1 million requests per month.
  • 400,000 GB-seconds of compute time per month.
• Standard Pricing:
  • $0.20 per 1 million requests.
  • $0.00001667 per GB-second (based on function duration and memory allocated).

Learning Curve

• Moderate to Advanced:
  • Requires a solid understanding of AWS services for more complex setups, such as invoking Lambda from API Gateway, S3 events, or CloudWatch.
  • Steeper learning curve if you need to integrate other AWS services like IAM, VPCs, or Fargate.
  • Excellent documentation, but AWS’s flexibility comes at the cost of more initial setup.

Use Case

• Ideal for building complex serverless workflows that integrate with other AWS services like API Gateway, CloudWatch, or S3.
• Example: Triggering Lambda via S3 event to call an external API or using CloudWatch Events for a scheduled job that pings an endpoint.

5. Netlify Functions

Pricing

• Free Plan:
  • Up to 125,000 serverless function requests/month.
  • Limited to 100 hours of execution time per month.
• Pro Plan: $19/month.
  • 1 million serverless requests/month included, $0.000018 per additional invocation.

Learning Curve

• Easy:
  • Netlify has a user-friendly interface, integrates well with Git, and makes deploying serverless functions simple.
  • Designed with developers in mind for easy deployments, especially for front-end developers.
  • Similar to Vercel but has a lower ceiling in terms of scaling large serverless applications.

Use Case

• Best for front-end web developers needing light back-end serverless functions (e.g., API calls or form submissions).
• Example: Triggering an HTTP call after a form submission or at scheduled intervals for site health checks.

Summary of Pricing and Use Cases

Key Takeaways

• Vercel & Netlify: Best suited for front-end developers looking for an easy way to deploy simple serverless functions and trigger HTTP endpoints. Learning curve is minimal, but limited in scaling for larger projects.
• Cloudflare Workers: Great for edge computing use cases where low latency is required. Pricing is competitive, and the learning curve is moderate if you’re familiar with JavaScript.
• Azure Functions & AWS Lambda: Offer more power and flexibility, making them suitable for enterprise-grade tasks. They are capable of complex, large-scale workflows but come with a steeper learning curve.