How Does A Serverless App Work?

Serverless application means writing code and building an application without the worries of ongoing server administration. In simple, serverless apps are made using serverless architecture or FaaS where you don’t have to worry about managing the server infrastructure instead you can focus on the application code since everything runs on cloud-hosted components and as a result, your IT operational cost will be reduced and you can deploy service faster.

If you think from the security perspective, then serverless apps are the best solution. Suppose you are using a messaging app or real-time chat application that has been built using AWS serverless architecture then you can be confident that your chat history is not saved by the server. In fact, the server will not keep any data or info related to your conversation. So you can understand the power of a serverless app with the above-mentioned example.

Serverless App Is SECURE!!!

So why should anyone go for a serverless app? Anything in special? Well, first of all, serverless apps means no servers. So there will be no software to install or maintain. Secondly, you don’t have to pay for ‘idle capacity’ which means you will pay only when your code runs. And who does not love to have an app with built-in high availability that can be scaled automatically!

How does a Serverless App work?

Now we will see how a serverless app works and we will also give you a glimpse of serverless architecture with one example so that you can understand how a serverless app works or at least know the difference from monolithic architecture.

Assume that you have a plan to build a native mobile app for iOs or Android where the back end is written in Java and user data is stored in a relational database. Don’t worry, there is nothing wrong with the concept! With this plan, you will successfully build a simple, lightweight mobile app where HTTP will make requests to multiple API endpoints or set of functions and the authentication will be handled by popular java code.

Then why should you think about the serverless app when the current architecture meets all your requirements? Let us explain.

Things To Think About!

When you plan on using Java, iOS or Android, you need programmers who are experts in those fields. Not only that, you need people who are well versed in configuring, deploying and operating Java servers & RDBMS. And, did we forget to mention about the host system, scalability, high availability and security?

Now coming to the serverless architecture part. The UI or user interface will be handled by native apps but AWS Cognito will come in the picture to handle user authentication and registration and the same BaaS can be used to retrieve user details by other backend apps. With the help of AWS Lambda, each function will run in parallel which in turn makes it easy to monitor and scale those functions efficiently. Thinking about the security? Well, this serverless architecture offers a function called AWS API Gateway, to route HTTP requests between backend and the mobile app in a scalable and secure way. Moreover, you can expect a continuous transfer of data between the backend FaaS functions and NoSQL BaaS database.

The Difference

We are not storing any session within our server-side application code and if you need to change the code at any point, you can do that quickly because the components are now separated! In the future, when you start getting high traffic to your app, you can sit back and relax because there is no need for any powerful servers or troubleshooting firewall configurations during a database failure!

Overall you are getting a highly secure, scalable app at a lower price because you are not paying a single penny when your app is not running and the labor cost is also reduced. Now it’s up to you, whether you want to stay attached to the existing app culture and spend a lot of money or build an easily accessible & scalable serverless app with minimal operational support!

If you are wondering whether a serverless architecture is the right option to adopt for your next app or not, feel free to leave a message or call us and we will set up a prompt meeting with our serverless app experts.