We use AWS Lambda for various tasks, such as triggering reports, queueing calls for displays on our dashboard, and integrating with environmental variables for different outputs.
Managed Services Engineer - AWS / UC & WAN at Digital Island
Convenient configurations, easy changes, a no need to alter the main code
Pros and Cons
- "It makes configurations more convenient as changes can be made through the environmental variables without altering the main code."
- "It currently requires manual user maintenance to upgrade and evaluate, and an automated provision for this would be beneficial."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
AWS Lambda saves a lot of time in our project deployments by allowing us to create users, establish user policies, handle voice mail set-ups, and develop dashboards with live views of agent status and queue additions, thus enhancing overall efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
What is most valuable?
One of the really handy features is keeping the environment variables in the Lambda for our outputs. It makes configurations more convenient as changes can be made through the environmental variables without altering the main code.
What needs improvement?
One area of improvement is Lambda's runtime version management. It currently requires manual user maintenance to upgrade and evaluate, and an automated provision for this would be beneficial.
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AWS Lambda
December 2024
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For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using AWS Lambda for more than two years, starting from the deployment of Amazon Connect.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
AWS Lambda is quite stable. However, any changes in versions may require small code adjustments, which we must manage.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
AWS Lambda offers a high level of scalability. It can handle multiple calls automatically when busy and reduce to one when free. I rate it a nine for scalability.
How are customer service and support?
AWS offers excellent technical support. They have been very helpful, especially when one of our Lambdas was not functioning due to a minor code discrepancy that required a simple fix.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The setup for AWS Lambda is quite easy. The challenge lies mostly in ensuring our code is error-free for successful execution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
AWS Lambda is very cost-effective. It allows for one hundred thousand requests for free per month, and subsequent requests incur a very low cost per trigger.
What other advice do I have?
Ensure that you have foundational knowledge of cloud formations or other AWS services for an optimal experience with AWS Lambda.
I'll rate the solution ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
Last updated: Oct 21, 2024
Flag as inappropriateConsultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Being serverless, it optimises resources and also provides the parallelism of computation
Pros and Cons
- "It enables the launch of thousands of instances simultaneously,"
- "Lambda can only be used in one account; there's no possibility to utilize it in another account."
What is our primary use case?
Lambda is basically a serverless computation service. We are partners with AWS and I'm a consultant.
How has it helped my organization?
Because Lambda is serverless, it has optimized our resources. There's no need to worry about capacity.
What is most valuable?
Lambda is very handy because it gives us the parallelism of computation. If you want to launch thousands of instances simultaneously, it can be done on one site. The solution has a 15-minute computation limit but you can create a chain with the same code so that the output automatically switches to another functionality after 15 minutes.
What needs improvement?
The only issue is that if you have Lambda in one AWS account and want to utilize it in another account, it can't be done. It's a limitation of the solution. S3 bucket provides that option with its resource access management. If you have a Python library and want to package it, you have to create the package of those libraries. It requires changing the conflict file and the patent library to create the package because the configuration is a little difficult for beginners. They should simplify package creation and configuration. Writing test cases is a little difficult because of the memory and short duration. Your computation has to be finished within that time limit.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We haven't had any performance issues because Lambda automatically gauges the kind of computation required.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is excellent and there is no capacity limit.
How was the initial setup?
Provided the person deploying the solution knows the format of the input, the setup is relatively simple for experienced users. Deployment doesn't take long because of the integrated machine services. Our implementation was carried out in-house. It doesn't require any maintenance once it has run for a month.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Licensing costs are reasonable even though you have to pay for the computation and for the volume of data. Once the work is done, the storage is freed up so you only get charged for the instance.
What other advice do I have?
If an organization wants to go serverless, Lambda offers a truly serverless service. Even though there are some areas that could be improved, I rate this solution 10 out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
Buyer's Guide
AWS Lambda
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about AWS Lambda. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.
DevOps Engineer at ZoomOps Technology
Enables the building of serverless applications and provides automatic scaling
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of AWS Lambda are a serverless and event-driven architecture."
- "AWS Lambda should support additional languages."
What is our primary use case?
AWS Lambda is a serverless computing service provided by AWS. It is allowed to run the course without the provisioning or managing server and paying only for the compute time consumed during execution.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of AWS Lambda are a serverless and event-driven architecture. The solution provides automatic scaling and supports languages like Node.js, Python, and Java.
What needs improvement?
AWS Lambda should support additional languages.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using AWS Lambda for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
AWS Lambda is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
More than five people are using the solution in our organization.
How are customer service and support?
The solution’s technical support is good.
How was the initial setup?
The solution’s initial setup is easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
AWS Lambda is a cheap solution. The solution has a generic pricing before being triggered. After triggering, we need to pay the bill based on how much time the server runs.
What other advice do I have?
Our company decided to use AWS Lambda because it is integrated with AWS services. The solution enables the building of serverless applications and provides automatic scaling and event-driven execution. AWS Lambda can be triggered by various AWS services like AWS S3, DynamoDB, AWS API gateway, and AWS CloudWatch.
I would recommend the solution to other users. It is easy for someone to learn to use Lambda for the first time.
Overall, I rate the solution ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Software Engineer at Relevance Lab
Supports multiple languages and scales automatically based on the number of incoming requests
Pros and Cons
- "The tool scales automatically based on the number of incoming requests."
- "The support team does not know how to implement and build the solution."
What is our primary use case?
I have to send daily reports. We have many child accounts in AWS Organizations. We need reports on the cost of the accounts. I use AWS Lambda because we have to run the code without provisioning the servers. AWS Lambda is a serverless computing service.
What is most valuable?
The tool scales automatically based on the number of incoming requests. It supports multiple languages. We can use Python, Java, and Ruby. We can use the solution to stop and start the instances.
What needs improvement?
We must at least know the basics of languages like Python or Java to implement automatic processes and daily schedules. We must learn the Lambda function and the languages to use the tool.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for three months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the tool’s stability a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the scalability an eight out of ten. We have more than 100 users.
How are customer service and support?
The support team does not know how to implement and build the solution.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
We must know Python or Java to implement the product. It is not easy, but it is not difficult. We need some experience.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We only need to pay for the compute time our code consumes. The solution does not cost much.
What other advice do I have?
I will recommend the product to others. We can automate the processes and integrate the solution with other services. The product provides elasticity and automatic scaling features. Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
IT Specialist at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Easy integrations in a serverless format that has on-demand use and price models
Pros and Cons
- "The solution integrates well with API gateways and S3 events via its AWS ecosystem."
- "The solution should continue to streamline integrations with AWS services."
What is our primary use case?
My prior company used the solution to perform event-based actions and notifications, process data in an S3 bucket, and send messages in the SQS queue.
Our development team worked with 300 users across different departments to integrate the solution.
What is most valuable?
The serverless format is a benefit because on-demand computing can be performed without having to run machines.
The solution integrates well with API gateways and S3 events via its AWS ecosystem.
The solution works with various programming languages including .NET and Java.
What needs improvement?
The solution should continue to streamline integrations with AWS services.
At one point, there was an issue receiving support for a new version. Support was behind by two versions and this presented challenges, but they caught up over time.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable for users because it is serverless. You can provision IAM users and easily give them access.
We scaled a core from one million to ten millions runs with no issues.
How are customer service and support?
I never needed to contact support.
How was the initial setup?
The setup is very easy and onboarding happens quickly.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented the solution in-house.
Implementation includes determining which APS you need, writing code, and packaging it all for upload. There is no real deployment other than adding the package to your CI/CD pipeline and pushing it. We do not consider this work to be substantial.
The operational push takes a matter of minutes.
What was our ROI?
The ROI is definitely worthwhile because pricing is based on use.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is on-demand and based on runs or times that are billed out monthly.
For example, one million requests might cost 20 cents.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Our company wanted to compute in an ad-hoc manner. The solution allowed us to schedule cron jobs which made things easier.
The solution also integrates well with the AWS suite of products so can be used with an API gateway and S3 functions.
What other advice do I have?
The solution can be used for many scenarios encountered by IT developers. There is a general push to create serverless systems that have on-demand use and price models. For most use cases, there is a 50% chance the solution will be a good fit.
I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Data Scientist
Seamless serverless scaling transforms application building
Pros and Cons
- "The serverless computing feature eliminates the need to manage servers, provision, or scale."
- "AWS Lambda has a limitation where the execution time is capped at 15 minutes per task. Increasing this time would allow for handling heavier tasks more efficiently."
What is our primary use case?
I primarily use AWS Lambda for building serverless applications. I integrate it with services such as S3 and DynamoDB.
What is most valuable?
The capability of AWS Lambda to automatically scale thousands of requests simultaneously without requiring manual intervention is invaluable.
Additionally, its integration with other AWS services such as Amazon S3 and DynamoDB has been very beneficial. The pay-as-you-go pricing model ensures that I only pay for the resources used, providing cost-effectiveness.
The serverless computing feature eliminates the need to manage servers, provision, or scale.
What needs improvement?
AWS Lambda has a limitation where the execution time is capped at 15 minutes per task. Increasing this time would allow for handling heavier tasks more efficiently.
While the documentation is satisfactory, beginners might encounter some challenges, so any improvements could be helpful.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with AWS Lambda for about six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
AWS Lambda is quite stable, with a high level of availability and the ability to distribute functions across multiple availability zones. I'd rate it at nine out of ten in terms of stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
AWS Lambda can automatically scale to handle increasing requests. For example, I used it in a personal project to integrate with a Simple Notification Service, which ensured I received real-time notifications during peak times without manual scaling.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I did not use a different solution before AWS Lambda.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was moderately challenging, especially for beginners. Although the documentation is adequate, new users might find it not entirely straightforward and may face some challenges. It took me around five to ten minutes to deploy Lambda for the first time.
What about the implementation team?
I deployed AWS Lambda by myself while learning about it and sought help from friends when necessary.
What was our ROI?
Lambda provides a cost-saving advantage because of its serverless design and automatic scaling without manual infrastructure needs. Its pay-as-you-go model means I only pay for what I use, which is financially beneficial for handling applications with fluctuating traffic levels.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
AWS Lambda is cost-effective and flexible, particularly suitable for small applications. I am using the service within a free tier account, which influences the pricing experience.
What other advice do I have?
I rate AWS Lambda overall at ten out of ten. New users should thoroughly read the documentation and start with small projects to understand the platform. It's important to be aware of AWS Lambda's limitations, take advantage of monitoring and debugging tools, and stay updated with new releases. Joining a community for learning and sharing is also recommended.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Last updated: Nov 23, 2024
Flag as inappropriateCloud and Big Data Engineer | Developer at Huawei Cloud Middle East
Offers serverless computing with easy integration and good support
Pros and Cons
- "The initial setup of AWS Lambda is very straightforward and quick."
- "If you're running a new application with a significant load, you need to be prepared for potential bottlenecks."
What is our primary use case?
Lambda is essentially a serverless computing service offered by AWS. It allows you to run your code or applications without needing to manage servers. You can deploy your IT code or applications, and it seamlessly integrates with other AWS services, like S3 for data storage. You don't need to purchase or manage any servers. So, Lambda offers a way to run applications without the complexity of infrastructure.
What is most valuable?
The best feature of AWS Lambda is its scalability and security. It's a highly scalable service, making it suitable for a range of applications.
AWS Lambda, like other services offered by AWS, SAP, or Azure, is already quite advanced. However, when considering improvements, it's more about how you write and optimize your applications.
What needs improvement?
There's always room for enhancement in terms of resource allocation and management for high-demand applications.
Performance issues can arise depending on how you allocate resources within Lambda. For example, if you're running a new application with a significant load, you need to be prepared for potential bottlenecks.
It's essential to control network interactions and optimize for the type of application you're running. Lambda is excellent for small and lightweight applications, but for more resource-intensive tasks, you might need to look at other AWS services or a more distributed storage environment.
AWS Lambda could greatly benefit from enhancements in handling large-scale applications to support heavy workloads. This is actually feasible, but there is a need for further development in this area.
Additionally, improvements in resource control optimization are crucial. For instance, enabling users to run data-intensive applications using a limited number of resources without compromising performance would be a valuable addition.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used it for three years.
How are customer service and support?
I have interacted with the AWS support team. They have a large customer base, which sometimes leads to delays, but overall, their support is excellent.
They categorize issues effectively and provide prompt support for critical issues. Even for less critical issues from the customer's perspective, their response is adequate. They are usually quick to respond, especially when the issue is critical, and they provide effective support.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of AWS Lambda is very straightforward and quick.
What other advice do I have?
If you have a data application with a huge number of users that requires frequent user interaction, AWS Lambda may not be the best fit. However, it's suitable for applications with less frequent user interaction, like those accessed periodically, maybe every few minutes or hours.
For lightweight applications, AWS Lambda is a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Solution & Integration Architect - AWS Cloud & Modernization at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Serverless compute platform used to build microservices that can be set up in multiple ways based on experience
Pros and Cons
- "Lambda is the preferred compute option because of on-demand cost. We don't have to provision any hardware beforehand. We don't have to provision the capacity required for the services because it is serverless."
- "The first time Lambda is started up, it takes some time to spin up an instance for serving the consumer requests. AWS has been trying to solve this in a variety of ways but have not yet managed to do so."
What is our primary use case?
We are building microservices in Lambda and exposing them via an API Gateway for the end consumer. These microservices talk to DynamoDB, or third-party APIs but can also be event-driven. These microservices carry out specific business functionalities.
We have plans to increase usage in the future. We have been modernizing our usage of SOA technology and rewriting those SOA services on the cloud using AWS Lambda. We are transitioning to a serverless environment using Lambda.
How has it helped my organization?
Lambda is the preferred compute option because of on-demand cost. We don't have to provision any hardware beforehand. We don't have to provision the capacity required for the services because it is serverless.
AWS takes care of things behind the scenes and we pay only for usage. We don't have to incur uptime or the upfront cost to procure a EC2 instance or create any ECS service.
What is most valuable?
You can trigger Lambda in various ways including API Gateway events or a S3 object event. You can create a file in SP and it can trigger a Lambda function. You can process the file based on the event and complete asynchronous programming. It supports both synchronous as well as asynchronous programming. It is integrated with variety of AWS services like the S3, SQS or SNS.
You can use Lambda for a variety of use cases. You just have to write a Lambda which can be in various languages including Python, Node.js or Java. There is no limit on what you can do with Lambda because it is integrated with a variety of AWS services.
What needs improvement?
The first time Lambda is started up, it takes some time to spin up an instance for serving the consumer requests. AWS has been trying to solve this in a variety of ways but have not yet managed to do so.
Lambda can only run for a maximum for 15 minutes. If you have a job which requires running for more than 15 minutes, you cannot use Lambda for that use case.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate Lambda an eight out of ten for stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is a scalable solution. I would rate it an eight or nine. You can have 999 Lambda instances running at a particular second at one time. That is the default. It you need to scale above this, you can request for AWS to increase your capacity.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate the technical support an eight out of ten. We do contact the AWS support team if we are stuck or something is not working. They provide their input and we set up a call with them to explain our issues and reach a resolution.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. They have variety of ways to set it up via the console, ETK or CFT. You can easily configure Lambda via variety of ways based on your experience. Usually, newcomers will use console which is a UI and makes your task easier. Experienced people will go with CLIs, SDPF or CFTs to create Lambda resources.
We are not just deploying Lambda. We have a variety of AWS services which we combine into one script and we do it via an AWS code pipeline.
I would rate the setup a nine out of ten.
What about the implementation team?
Deployment was done in-house by our own team. The patching of underlying hardware and other maintenance is done by AWS.
What was our ROI?
We have experienced a ROI using this solution. I would rate it an eight out of ten.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Lambda is an affordable solution. They offer free requests every month and charge per the compute time. If you are working in a big organization, usually AWS offer a savings plan where you get approximately 70% discount on pricing.
If one is very affordable and ten is expensive, I would rate this solution a two out of ten. Costing is per account. Production will involve a higher cost.
What other advice do I have?
If you are planning to implement the solution using scripting language like Node.js or Python, it's better to rather use traditional programming language like Java, or .NET, because Lambda runs faster and more efficiently. We implement it using these scripting languages as the first choice.
It is important to understand your use case properly and if Lambda is a good fit. Solutions such as Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift or normal EC2 instances may be a better fit for your business.
I would rate this solution a nine out of ten. It integrates well with variety of AWS services which makes the event-based programming easy. Lambda is well suited to a variety of use cases or applications.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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