AWS Lambda vs Serverless: What are the differences?

AWS Lambda vs Serverless

AWS Lambda and Serverless are two cloud computing technologies that provide a serverless architecture for building and deploying applications. While both are commonly used for serverless application development, there are several key differences between them:

1. Execution Model: AWS Lambda is a compute service that allows developers to run code without provisioning or managing servers. It executes the code in response to events, such as changes to data in an Amazon S3 bucket or a table in an Amazon DynamoDB database. On the other hand, Serverless, also known as Serverless Framework or Serverless Framework for AWS, is a framework that simplifies the deployment of serverless applications. It is not a compute service like Lambda, but rather a tool for managing and deploying serverless applications on AWS Lambda.

2. Tooling and Ecosystem: AWS Lambda is a part of the larger Amazon Web Services ecosystem, which provides various services like storage, databases, messaging, etc. It has a comprehensive set of tools and services that work seamlessly with Lambda, making it easier to build and deploy applications using other AWS services. Serverless, on the other hand, is a framework that is designed to work specifically with AWS Lambda. It provides a set of tools and APIs to simplify the deployment and management of serverless applications, regardless of the specific AWS services being used.

3. Language Support: AWS Lambda supports multiple programming languages, including Node.js, Java, C#, PowerShell, and Python. It allows developers to write functions in their preferred language and provides the necessary runtime environment to execute them. Serverless, on the other hand, is language agnostic and supports any programming language that can be executed in a Lambda function.

4. Configuration and Management: AWS Lambda provides a web console and command-line interface (CLI) for configuring and managing Lambda functions. It allows developers to define various aspects of the Lambda function, such as the runtime, memory allocation, timeout, and triggers. Serverless, on the other hand, provides a declarative configuration file, usually written in YAML, for defining the infrastructure and resources required for a serverless application. It also provides a command-line interface (CLI) for deploying and managing serverless applications.

5. Event Sources and Triggers: AWS Lambda supports a wide range of event sources and triggers that can invoke a Lambda function, such as API Gateway, S3, DynamoDB, CloudWatch Events, etc. It allows developers to create event-driven architectures by specifying the events that should trigger the function. Serverless, on the other hand, provides a simplified way of defining and configuring event sources and triggers using its framework. It abstracts the underlying AWS services and provides a consistent interface for defining events and triggers.

6. Vendor Lock-in: AWS Lambda is a proprietary service provided by Amazon Web Services and is tightly integrated with its ecosystem of services. While it allows developers to build serverless applications that can run on other cloud platforms, it may require substantial modifications to make them compatible. Serverless, on the other hand, is an open-source framework and can be used with any cloud provider that supports AWS Lambda-like compute services. It provides a consistent deployment and management experience across different cloud platforms.

In summary, AWS Lambda is a compute service for running code in a serverless manner, while Serverless is a framework for managing and deploying serverless applications on AWS Lambda. AWS Lambda is part of the broader AWS ecosystem, supports multiple programming languages, and provides tools and services for configuring and managing Lambda functions. Serverless, on the other hand, is language agnostic, provides its own set of tools and APIs, and offers a simplified way of defining and managing serverless applications.