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With the ongoing transition toward cloud-based application development, the debate between Serverless technology and Containerization is becoming polarized. Has Serverless computing emerged as the best alternative to Containerization, or can both be integrated deploying applications? The reality is that both these technologies have their pros and cons, and DevOps teams have to make the best use of both in different situations. In considering containers, the technology has come a long way thanks to
Its growing ecosystem of tools that help create a package (including code, runtime, system tools, system libraries, and settings) to run the applications. Containers are ideal for scenarios where applications have to switch their computing environments (like moving from one development stage to another without any performance issues).
On the other hand, Serverless technology utilizes computing power strictly based on application requirements, which is discarded after use. The Serverless computing approach replaces the Virtual Machine (VM) part of the development and is not entirely Serverless (notwithstanding the name). Instead, cloud service providers such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud manage this technology framework by activating the service only when required.
Let us explore a few key considerations in the Serverless versus Containers debate.
Key considerations when choosing serverless or containerization
Here is a look at how Serverless technology and Containerization technology performs over the following considerations:
- Longevity
For serverless technology, running functions have a shorter lifespan due to being need-based. These functions only survive for the period when they are being executed and die once the execution is over. It may seem like a limitation, but this is also quite flexible and speedy as it enables developers to push applications into further stages of development quite fast.
On the other hand, containers are consistently running and do not die even after the execution is over. It results in better caching for application developers but makes the process slightly slow as developers cannot push the app quickly into the development stages.
- Persistency
Since serverless computing functions are stateless and short in duration, they can be quickly put together and converted or scaled into the desired state. It enables developers to write robust programming functions and create powerful programs. However, serverless functions are cache-less so cannot be reused later.
Containers excel in this aspect as developers can leverage the benefits of caching. The data is stored in the temporary memory even when the container is terminated. Since caching stores the images to utilize for future development. It also enables developers to use faster caching in new container production.
- Latency
Serverless applications require higher invocation time as being stateless and cache-less. For instance, using serverless functions, code can run for up to 15 minutes after execution or go with a cold start after this time duration. It results in severe latency issues with concurrent users. In this case, developers can use specific code to keep the functions in a “warm” state. However, this solution is temporary and can work only with a few programming functions.
On the contrary, latency issues don’t occur with containers as they are always available to be used. Developers can send an HTTPS request and get a response with virtually zero latency. This functionality is entirely due to “on-the-go” codes and caching that enables them to locate and reuse containers and start building faster programs.
- Scalability
In scalability, serverless technology excels due to its stateless, cache-less, and on-demand availability. It makes even small frameworks highly scalable as the computing power is available whenever developers need it. It is similar to an electricity supply, which is available 24 hours a day and can be used when the switch is on.
For the container framework, application developers need to determine the number of containers in advance to ensure that the application scales according to computing requirements.
- Portability and Migration
When it comes to application portability and migration, serverless computing is highly reusable, while developers facing migration and portability issues can isolate and transfer the codes using thin packages. Still, the overall migration landscape is a hazy and tedious affair with serverless computing.
On the other hand, container-based microservices architecture is highly portable as moving code from a developer’s computer to a data center or cloud is instant. Containers have a ready to deploy architecture that can be easily migrated.
Can development teams opt for integrating Serverless with Containerization technology? Let’s explore this in the next section.
Can serverless be integrated with container technology?
Since serverless technology and containers have unique benefits, they can compensate for each other’s weaknesses. In short, with an integrated approach, application developers can leverage the strengths of both technologies and develop apps swiftly.
For instance, a container-based architecture can be used to build large and complex applications, while its backend functions like data transfers and backups can be handled using serverless functions. It can improve application performance and reduce development costs.
Similarly, a DevOps team working on a monolithic architecture will find it hard to run their applications on a serverless runtime environment because monolithic apps are usually quite large and cannot leverage serverless computing capabilities.A containerized system can be effective here for handling complex codes while developers can use the serverless architecture for smaller ancillary tasks because it is simple and readily available.
Conclusion
In recent years, serverless computing is being preferred by many application developers, as it is useful for small applications and programs. Despite being innovative, serverless technology is still being tested for a range of development operations, and its full capabilities are yet to be explored in the real world.
On the other hand, containers are a complete package with functions that can be saved, migrated, and even reused whenever needed. It is the reason why developers prefer containers in the majority of development processes while testing serverless in less complex processes. Meanwhile, application development companies can benefit by combining serverless and container technology.
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This article originally appeared here.
