Overview
With serverless, developers no longer manage servers. They just deploy code, and originally just functions. Serverless first meant Function as a Service (FaaS), pioneered by AWS Lambda. Today it covers anything that is remotely managed: databases, messaging, storage, as long as you do not provision servers.
There are still servers. You just do not see them and do not provision them.
Serverless Reference Architecture
- Users get static content from S3 buckets delivered as a website, or CloudFront + S3.
- Users log in with Cognito, where their identity is stored.
- Users invoke a REST API through API Gateway.
- API Gateway invokes Lambda functions.
- Lambda functions store and retrieve data in DynamoDB.
This section teaches Lambda, DynamoDB, API Gateway, Cognito and related services using this architecture as a reference.
Serverless reference architecture
Serverless Services in AWS
| Service | Why it counts as serverless |
|---|---|
| AWS Lambda | Run functions, no servers to manage |
| DynamoDB | Managed NoSQL database |
| Cognito | Managed user identities |
| API Gateway | Managed REST APIs |
| Amazon S3 | Managed storage |
| SNS & SQS | No servers managed, scale on their own |
| Kinesis Data Firehose | Scales with throughput, pay for what you use, no servers provisioned |
| Aurora Serverless | Aurora database scales on demand without managing servers |
| Step Functions | Serverless workflow orchestration |
| Fargate | Serverless way to run ECS Docker containers, no infrastructure provisioned |
The instructor stresses that the exam tests serverless knowledge heavily.
Questions & Answers
Q1: What does serverless mean?
Answer:
You do not manage or provision servers. Servers still exist, but AWS runs them. It started as FaaS with Lambda and now includes managed databases, messaging and storage.
Q2: Name AWS serverless services.
Answer:
Lambda, DynamoDB, Cognito, API Gateway, S3, SNS, SQS, Kinesis Data Firehose, Aurora Serverless, Step Functions, Fargate.
Check yourself
Quiz
Flashcards
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