Serverless Computing
Serverless computing lets you run code without managing servers. You write functions, upload them to a cloud provider (AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Functions), and the provider handles all infrastructure …
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Definition
Serverless computing lets you run code without managing servers. You write functions, upload them to a cloud provider (AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Functions), and the provider handles all infrastructure — scaling, patching, and availability. You pay only for actual execution time, making it extremely cost-effective for variable workloads.
Key Points
- No server management — cloud provider handles all infrastructure
- Pay-per-execution pricing — zero cost when no requests
- Auto-scales from zero to thousands of concurrent executions
- Best for: event-driven tasks, APIs with variable traffic, scheduled jobs
Related Terms
Frequently Asked Questions
Use serverless for: APIs with unpredictable traffic, event-driven processing (file uploads, webhooks), scheduled tasks (daily reports), and MVPs where you want zero infrastructure overhead. Use traditional servers for: always-on workloads with steady traffic, WebSocket connections, long-running processes, or when you need specific server configurations.
For low-to-moderate traffic: significantly cheaper. AWS Lambda's free tier includes 1M requests/month. A typical early-stage startup API might cost ₹500-2,000/month on Lambda vs ₹3,000-10,000/month for an always-on server. However, at high sustained volumes, traditional servers can be cheaper.
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