What the heck does "serverless" mean?

[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.

There are no solutions, only trade-offs.
   - Thomas Sowell

A day can really slip by when you're deliberately avoiding what you're supposed to do.
   - Calvin (Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes)

[TNCaver]

The first paragraph in the book Azure Serverless Succinctly[^] by CP's very own Sander Rossel gives a good definition:

Quote:

Serverless computing is a cloud service where the cloud provider dynamically allocates infrastructure to run your code.

There are no solutions, only trade-offs.
   - Thomas Sowell

A day can really slip by when you're deliberately avoiding what you're supposed to do.
   - Calvin (Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes)

[honey the codewitch]

That kind of makes sense to me except my little VPS does the same thing, and I don't understand the difference. Someone else explained it (I forget who now) as basically you're using someone else's server. That makes sense to me, although serverless != someone else's server, I at least understand it from a I guess a marketing? perspective even if it's a bit of a stretch.

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

[Rage]

honey the codewitch wrote:

It seems to be all the rage in web circles.

This is no way related to me. Brainless maybe, but I'll have my applications with a server, thank you. :)

Do not escape reality : improve reality !

[Lost User]

There are micro-services ... so there must also be micro-servers out there.

"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

[englebart]

It is a way to simplify your deployment. The trade-off is it might cost you more money or save you some money depending on the traffic. It should always help with uptime/server-overload. If you are supporting traffic that sees incredible spikes, then this could auto-scale to help support the load. (Think Black Friday/Cyber Monday for retailers) If you have moderate, steady traffic, then it might not be worth it.