What the heck does "serverless" mean?

Jeremy Falcon

There's always a server; otherwise, there would be no way to deliver the site to a user outside of shipping them a USB drive, etc. However, the payload delivered does all of its processing on the client once it's delivered. It doesn't have its own backend server in the traditional sense where it's making API calls to its own backend. External API calls are cool though, but the idea is all of the processing needed is done on the client and nothing else.

Jeremy Falcon

raddevus

Richard Deeming wrote:

So basically, it's marketing BS.

What in the IT world isn't? :rolleyes:

raddevus

It's funny that you mention "what is serverless" because I started reading the book below a few days ago. Read the 1st 3 chapters and i'm still not exactly sure. :laugh: You need to read this entire book, Serverless as a Game Changer: How to Get the Most Out of the Cloud[^] then you still won't know what it is. :rolleyes:

raddevus

Here's what it actually means -- it means having someone else manage your servers where your stuff runs... From the book, Serverless as a Game Changer: How to Get the Most Out of the Cloud[^]

Quote:

Serverless Means Not Our Uptime One of the simplest definitions of Serverless, and the principal way I think about fully Serverless applications, is that the responsibility for keeping applications running is not the responsibility of the organization that developed the applications.

Yes, that's marketing -- not really technology!

raddevus

You nailed it! That's exactly what it means and that's exactly why it's so confusing to people who actually understand technology. See my answer at: The Lounge[^]

Maximilien

of course. But in the good old days, we had to manage our own hardware/servers (or hire an external company to host the hardware ) If we needed extra power, we just bought extra hardware/servers. I think that was the case for CodeProject at one point; they had off-siteserver racks. I can't find the page with the description of the rat cage.

CI/CD = Continuous Impediment/Continuous Despair

dandy72

theoldfool wrote:

Just means "someone else's server"

That's always been my own informal definition as well, purely based on my own guesses.

FreedMalloc

That's exactly what I tell my non-techy friends and family when they ask what "the cloud" means. I tell them to substitute the phrase "somebody else's computer" for "the cloud" and they'll know all they need to know. And "serverless" is just "somebody else's server". Not that there's anything wrong with that! :laugh:

Greg Utas

The "centralized versus distributed" debate is an ongoing source of techno-marketing hype. Mainframes gave way to workstations gave way to servers gave way to desktops gave way to the cloud.

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Jeremy Falcon

That's not the point. The point is there is still a server, but the code doesn't execute on the server. The topic was what is serverless, not how to manage a server.

Jeremy Falcon

Jeremy Falcon

Real talk. There's a time and place for both concepts IMO. Anytime peeps talk about a blanket one way for all things, is usually when it's fluff.

Jeremy Falcon

Jeremy Falcon

Technically you can use lambda functions and be "serverless". But there's no server in the traditional sense at all. I didn't read the link mind you, but if they're suggesting it's just a server on the cloud executing code then that's not accurate.

Jeremy Falcon

Rick York

Then what it really means is there is no dedicated server.

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Mike Hankey

Smorgasbord?

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Lost User

It means: someone else's server.

"Before entering on an understanding, I have meditated for a long time, and have foreseen what might happen. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly, secretly, what I have to say or to do in a circumstance unexpected by other people; it is reflection, it is meditation." - Napoleon I

honey the codewitch

So now if I break into your place, hang out on your couch and channel surf, i am "homeless" :laugh: What will marketing think of next?

Check out my IoT graphics library here: https://honeythecodewitch.com/gfx And my IoT UI/User Experience library here: https://honeythecodewitch.com/uix

jschell

It doesn't run in the browser. Distributed model Client - API Server - Other services (database, etc) Hardware model for the above Client PC - Business PC - Services PC Serverless Client PC - Containerized App - Services PC --------------------------------- For the standard model if your business gets busy you must increase the number of Business PC instances using some method (manual or dynamic modeled by you). Note that you can do dynamic sizing at least in AWS. For serverless (ones I have seen) the midlevel is expanded automatically on demand without any need for you to determine that (basically - naturally there are management tools.) --------------------------------- There is more overhead with starting up a new Cloud PC than with a serverless container. Myself I would not trust it cost less except for immediate surge handling. Dynamic sizing as long as there is no immediate demand would probably cost less but one must then manage the dynamic modeling which is not very easy. --------------------------------- Serveless has the problem that it is stateless. So for example if you want to cache database results you would then need yet another Services PC to do that. Additionally surges might grow so big that it overwhelms the Services level. But that can happen with the Business level also without serverless. It cannot be used for everything that you might normally put into the Business level. There are limits (at least in AWS). Again some of that might be reflected in real business needs to do it that way but could also just be poor design (but refactoring is often not an option.)

jeron1

Lately, more often than not, when I see the buzzwords 'game changer', I immediately tune out.

"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment "Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst "I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle

raddevus

jeron1 wrote:

when I see the buzzwords 'game changer', I immediately tune out.

Me too! Everything's a panacea these days...until you use it and discover it's just another layer of problems that may even take up more of your time. :rolleyes:

TNCaver

I'm not sure anyone knows. Its meaning probably depends on who you ask. lol For me it means something like Azure Function apps, which are microservices/functions that execute on a server somewhere in Azure. You don't have to worry about the server, its setup or maintenance. They aren't full apps, just single-purpose functions that can receive or pass data or objects to other functions if needed. Your only concern is the code.

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