Serverless Computing: Pros, Cons, and Use Cases Serverless computing lets you run code in the cloud without managing servers. You still rely on servers, but the cloud provider handles provisioning, scaling, and routine maintenance. This model fits many modern apps that show variable demand or need rapid deployment.
Pros Automatic scaling: your functions grow with demand and shrink when traffic drops. Pay-per-use cost: you pay only for the time your code runs, not for idle servers. Reduced operational work: you skip server setup, patches, and maintenance. Faster experiments: teams can test ideas quickly without long infra setup. Cons Vendor lock-in: moving away from a platform can be hard and costly. Cold starts: some workloads see a delay when a function starts after a period of idle time. Limited control: you trade control of runtime, OS, and certain libraries for simplicity. Observability challenges: tracing across many small functions can require new tools and habits. Use cases Event-driven workflows: process messages from queues or streams, then trigger other services. APIs and microservices: build scalable backends that adapt to traffic without managing servers. Data processing: run asynchronous tasks like image or video processing, ETL, and analytics. Mobile backends: support login, sync, and notifications with concise functions. Prototyping and MVPs: test ideas quickly before committing to full infrastructure. Getting started and decisions Consider serverless when workloads are unpredictable, time to market matters, or you want to focus on code rather than infra. For steady, long-running tasks, or when you need tight control over runtime and latency, traditional containers or VMs may be a better fit. Plan for observability, set cost guards, and design functions to be stateless and idempotent.
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