Alexis Kestler
Serverless computing has revolutionized the way developers build and run applications. By going serverless, you don‘t have to worry about managing servers or runtimes. The cloud provider takes care of that for you.
This allows developers to focus on just writing code. Serverless platforms run the code and provide automatic scaling, high availability, and fault tolerance. You only pay for the compute resources consumed by your code.
Let‘s explore the top serverless computing platforms to deploy your apps.
What is Serverless Computing?
Before jumping into the platforms, let‘s understand what serverless computing is.
In serverless architecture, your application is broken down into smaller pieces of backend logic called functions. For example, you may have functions to handle user authentication, payment processing, file uploads etc.
These functions are hosted and executed in a fully managed environment. They can be triggered by events like HTTP requests, database changes, queue messages, file uploads etc.
The key benefit is that you don‘t have to provision or manage any servers. The cloud provider handles this for you automatically. It also scales the functions seamlessly based on load.
So in summary, serverless computing provides the following advantages:
- No server management
- Flexible scaling
- High availability
- Pay per use pricing
- Faster development
- Focus on writing code
This is also referred to as "Functions as a Service" or FaaS. Now let‘s look at some of the popular FaaS platforms.
AWS Lambda
AWS Lambda was one of the first production-ready serverless platforms launched in 2014. It supports Node.js, Python, Java, Go and .NET Core runtimes.
With Lambda, you just upload your code and the service runs the code on your behalf using AWS infrastructure. Lambda handles provisioning servers, monitoring functions, scaling capacity, applying security patches and more.
Your code can be triggered by over 200 AWS services and events. For example, you can run a Lambda function every time a new object is uploaded to S3 or when a user signs in through Cognito. Lambda can also be invoked directly through HTTPS requests.
Some key benefits of AWS Lambda:
- Integrates natively with other AWS services
- Supports multiple languages through runtimes
- Scales automatically from zero
- Subsecond startup time
- Pay per request pricing
- Free tier includes 1M free requests per month
AWS Lambda is used by companies like Netflix, Slack, and Capital One to run key business functions without managing servers.
Cloudflare Workers
Cloudflare Workers provides a serverless platform to run application code at Cloudflare‘s global edge network. This spans 200+ cities in over 100 countries.
Cloudflare Workers currently supports JavaScript and Rust programming languages. Your code is executed in isolated containers called workers that are provisioned across Cloudflare‘s edge locations.
This enables running code closer to users for ultra-low latency. Other benefits include:
- Global scale and performance
- Integrates with Cloudflare services like load balancing, web application firewall etc.
- Fixed monthly pricing based on number of requests
- Generous free tier
Some applications of Cloudflare Workers include web apps, APIs, data streaming, video processing and IoT.
Azure Functions
Azure Functions is Microsoft‘s serverless computing service. It supports JavaScript, C#, F#, Python, PowerShell, TypeScript and more.
You can code Azure Functions using Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code or the Azure portal. The functions can be triggered through HTTP requests, timers, Azure services or external sources.
Key features offered by Azure Functions:
- Choice of languages and IDEs
- Pay only for the time your code runs
- Auto-scales seamlessly
- Integrates natively with Azure services
- Generous free grant of 1 million requests per month
Companies like Coca Cola, UPS and Rockwell Automation use Azure Functions for workforce automation, IoT, image processing and more.
Google Cloud Functions
Google Cloud provides multiple serverless computing services including Cloud Functions and App Engine.
Google Cloud Functions lets you execute JavaScript and Python code in response to events triggered by Google services like Pub/Sub, Storage or HTTP requests.
It automatically scales your code and charges only when the function runs. There is no charge when the function is idle.
Other Google Cloud services like App Engine and Cloud Run also provide serverless environments for popular languages like Java, Go, Ruby, PHP, NET and more.
Benefits of using Google Cloud for serverless applications:
- Wide range of programming languages
- Integrated nicely with other Google Cloud services
- Generous always free usage tier
- Auto scaling built-in
- No server management
Google Cloud serverless services are used by companies like Snapchat, Best Buy and PayPal to run key applications.
IBM Cloud Functions
IBM Cloud Functions offers a Function-as-a-Service (FaaS) platform to execute application logic in response to events.
It is powered by the open source Apache OpenWhisk runtime. This enables writing functions in Node.js, Swift, Python, Java, PHP and Ruby.
Functions can be invoked in response to triggers from external sources like cloud services, HTTP calls or scheduled events. Benefits include:
- Supports diverse runtime languages
- Generous free tier of 100,000 GB/s executions per month
- Integrates with Watson, event streams, databases and more
- Dashboard for monitoring function performance
- Powered by Apache OpenWhisk (open source)
IBM Cloud Functions work for use cases like data processing, DevOps automation, IoT etc.
Alibaba Function Compute
Alibaba Function Compute provides a robust FaaS environment to run application code within Alibaba Cloud.
It supports Node.js, Python and PHP runtimes. The code can be executed in response to triggers from services like OSS, MQ and API Gateway.
Benefits of Alibaba Function Compute:
- Generous one-year free tier
- Auto-scaling based on traffic
- Pay per execution pricing
- Scheduling capabilities
- Monitoring through CloudMonitor
- Works well for batch processing, ETL, IoT etc.
Alibaba Function Compute helps businesses harness Alibaba Cloud services while reducing server management overhead.
StackPath Serverless Scripting
StackPath Serverless Scripting enables running application logic at the edge on StackPath‘s global network. This unlocks greater scale and performance for your code.
It leverages JavaScript and Node.js for writing functions that execute across over 50 locations worldwide. This puts your code closer to end users to reduce latency.
Use cases include:
- Dynamic content delivery
- User authentication
- Bot protection
- Image optimization
- A/B testing
- Rate limiting
StackPath Serverless Scripting integrates easily with their CDN, WAF, monitoring and other services.
Deno Deploy
Deno Deploy provides an easy way to deploy JavaScript serverless functions globally. It is built by the creators of Deno to simplify running JavaScript code on the edge.
Some highlights of Deno Deploy:
- Deploy JavaScript functions easily
- Services hosted across 5 continents
- Generous free tier
- HTTP and Cron triggers supported
- CORS enabled by default
- Instant cache invalidation
- TypeScript support
Deno Deploy takes away the complexities of serverless deployment so developers can focus on writing code. It‘s great for web apps, APIs, chatbots, dynamic content and more.
DigitalOcean App Platform
The DigitalOcean App Platform simplifies deploying and scaling apps without managing servers. Developers can deploy code directly from GitHub and scale dynamically based on traffic.
Supported languages include Go, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP, Elixir, Java etc. Benefits offered:
- Quick deployment from Git repositories
- Built-in monitoring and logging
- Automatic scaling
- Managed databases
- Private networking between functions
- Load balancing
The App Platform pairs nicely with DigitalOcean‘s cloud infrastructure and services. It‘s great for web apps, B2B SaaS products, ecommerce stores, APIs and mobile backends.
Vercel
Vercel provides a high performance serverless platform optimized for Next.js based web applications.
It enables developers to develop, preview and ship projects quickly without managing servers. Benefits include:
- Optimized for Next.js
- Instant deployments and rollbacks
- Automated builds
- Global edge network
- Integrated analytics
- Easy collaboration
Vercel is designed to help front-end developers move faster. It‘s an excellent fit for React and Next.js applications.
Conclusion
Serverless computing has revolutionized application development and deployment. It enables running code without provisioning infrastructure.
As we saw, there are several excellent FaaS platforms like AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloudflare Workers etc. Each offers unique benefits and integrations.
When evaluating options, look for generous free tiers, auto-scaling capabilities, monitoring tools, ease of use and ecosystem. This will ensure a smooth experience while going serverless.
What serverless platform do you use? Let me know in the comments if you have any other favorites!
