Serverless and microservices: A tale of two architectures

In software development, breaking complex problems down into smaller pieces can make finding a solution faster, and more efficient. 

Software architecture is integral to that process. When software architecture aligns well with a brand’s business and content goals, it makes computing problems much easier to solve, and helps to optimize customers’ online experiences. On the other hand, if there’s a mismatch, software architecture can compound computing challenges, making pages unresponsive or slow to load, creating technical issues and security problems, and limiting developers’ options to adapt to those challenges.   

In this post, we’re going to look at two stand-out approaches to software architecture that help brands and businesses manage their website and digital content challenges as efficiently as possible — and, in turn, create exactly the kind of experiences they want for their customers. 

The approaches in question? Serverless architecture and microservices architecture. 

What is serverless architecture?

Serverless architecture is a cloud computing model that abstracts computing processes from an organization’s physical, on-premises server infrastructure, and runs them instead on infrastructure managed by a cloud provider. When an app or framework needs server power, it sends a request to the provider, which invokes the function on demand.

The serverless approach enables developers to focus solely on writing code without managing servers or infrastructure. It also facilitates scalable, cost-effective software development by automating the provisioning and management of resources. 

By leveraging a serverless approach to websites, apps, and other digital channels, businesses can improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and quickly adapt to changing market demands.

It’s worth noting that, while “serverless” and “function as a service” (FaaS) go hand in hand, they're not the same thing. FaaS is a subset of serverless computing, and refers to the execution of a single snippet of code in the cloud — a single serverless function. The isolation of single functions to the cloud can be a cost benefit of a serverless approach because it means businesses only pay for the functions they use.

What is microservices architecture?

Microservices architecture refers to the creation of an IT framework from multiple different apps and services, which function in connection with each other. 

Each individual service — or microservice — within that framework performs some function for, or adds some feature to, the collective in order to contribute to the overall experience that customers get when they consume content on the website, mobile app, wearable, and so on. 

In this sense, microservices enable the breakdown of a large application into a modular ecosystem of smaller, independent services. Each modular microservice has its own highly focused and self-contained processes, often written in different programming languages, which interact with each other via a network of well-defined application programming interfaces (APIs). 

If you want to learn more about these two types of software architecture, and their role in modern software development, check out these resources:

• What is serverless architecture?

• Monolithic vs. microservices architecture

Serverless vs. microservices architectures

Both the serverless and microservices approach to software architecture offer powerful tools to build scalable, flexible, resilient applications for tackling the challenges of the dynamic modern development landscape. 

However, framing the relationship as “serverless vs. microservices” can be misleading because it’s entirely possible to take a serverless approach to a microservices-based tech stack. In fact, the inherent extensibility of serverless computing lends it to the modularity of microservices, which can be added or removed from a microservices framework as necessary.

The decision to choose a microservices or serverless approach will rest on a number of factors, including, for example, an application's size, the complexity of its computing processes, expected traffic patterns, and even the expertise of the software development team. 

Where businesses choose to combine serverless and microservices approaches, they should carefully consider how to optimize the integration of serverless functions within that broader ecosystem in order to strike a balance between ease of development and granular control. 

With that in mind, it’s important that developers and content teams understand the key differences and similarities between the two. 

Similarities between microservices and serverless architecture

Decoupling and independence

Both serverless and microservices architecture promote the idea of breaking down complex applications into smaller, independent units. In microservices architectures, each service is a decoupled, autonomous component, that is channel and code agnostic. Similarly, in a serverless environment, functions are abstracted from the brand’s computing infrastructure and performed in the cloud as individual units of execution.

This decoupling allows different teams within a single organization to work independently on different parts of their system — which ultimately leads to easier maintenance and scalability.

Scalability

Microservice and serverless architectures can scale independently based on demand. In the context of microservice architecture, you can scale individual services horizontally to handle more requests as user demand grows. In a serverless environment, the cloud provider automatically manages the scaling of functions, ensuring that resources are allocated dynamically, as needed.

Ease of deployment

Both the serverless and microservices architecture types can simplify software deployment processes. In microservice ecosystems, since each service is decoupled and independent, updates or changes to one can be made without affecting others, which minimizes the risk of disruption to the wider application. 

Deploying individual functions in serverless computing is also straightforward since infrastructure management is handled by the cloud provider. Serverless platforms often provide simple deployment mechanisms, allowing you to iterate and release new features quickly.

Differences between microservices and serverless architectures

Server management

In a serverless environment, developers focus on writing code rather than server management, with the cloud service provider handling infrastructure tasks, like provisioning, scaling, scheduling, and patching. For example, cloud providers can automatically scale resources up or down based on seasonal and market drivers, such as Black Friday sales. 

In microservice ecosystems, developers are responsible for managing their own digital infrastructure, and so must handle availability and scaling requirements for each microservice individually.

Granularity and scope

Serverless computing is typically centered around the granularity of individual functions. Each function corresponds with a specific task, and can be deployed independently.

In contrast, microservice functionality is greater in scope since it forms part of a wider ecosystem of services. Each component in that ecosystem represents an independently deployable service, but that service may be simultaneously involved in wider business functions. For example, a single microservice may be integrated to translate a product page into a foreign language, but the page itself is deployed to facilitate customer payments for that product, with other integrated services handling those transactional needs.

Resource utilization

In serverless computing, the service provider automatically scales required resources based on demand from users, which can lead to more overhead in terms of response time and cost, especially for long-running tasks or high-frequency requests. This means that the serverless approach is best suited to the execution of short-lived, events-based functions rather than long-running processes. If your application requires continuous, long-running tasks or background processes, serverless might not be the best fit.

Microservices provide more control over resource utilization depending on your application's architectural needs. With that said, microservice ecosystems also require careful monitoring and management to ensure optimal resource allocation.

Development

As a developer working in a serverless environment, you can focus on writing small, modular functions that perform specific tasks, and which combine to power complex applications. That approach typically simplifies software development workflows, although it's worth bearing in mind that some developers may need to learn new tools and frameworks specific to the chosen serverless platform.

Microservice ecosystems can be more complex to develop and maintain, especially when dealing with inter-service communication, versioning, and service discovery. With that in mind, microservice architecture often demands a robust DevOps culture for successful implementation.

Using microservices and serverless architectures together

Serverless computing allows you to focus on writing code without managing infrastructure, while microservices enable you to distribute the functionality of your application across an ecosystem of smaller, manageable components.

Applied in combination, the two approaches can represent a powerful asset, with serverless functionality reducing the operational burden of managing microservices infrastructure, and enabling rapid development and deployment cycles. 

Let’s explore some of the key advantages and challenges of a combined strategy. 

The possibilities of combined usage

• Scalability: Combined architecture enables independent scaling at both the microservices and function levels, providing more precise control over resource allocation.

• Cost efficiency: The pay-per-invocation pricing model of serverless computing complements the finely tuned resource allocation of microservices architectures, ultimately optimizing costs and ensuring value for money.

• Rapid development: A greater developer focus on writing code, rather than on infrastructure management, can expedite development cycles and foster innovation.

• Isolation and flexibility: Serverless functions act as isolated units, aligning with the modular nature of microservices and allowing for technology flexibility.

• Event-driven agility: The event-driven nature of serverless functions works in synchrony with the API-enabled communication of microservices, enabling real-time interactions and dynamic responses.

The challenges of combined usage

Even though serverless architectures shift infrastructure management to the cloud, developers are still responsible for monitoring, logging, and managing the overall health and performance of their serverless applications. 

Developers also typically need to design their serverless functionalities to be triggered by events so as to facilitate efficient, real-time communication with the individual components of a microservice ecosystem. It's also important to note that using serverless and microservices architecture in combination may introduce orchestration and security issues to the wider tech framework. 

Careful design, planning, and understanding of the specific needs of an application are essential to leveraging the benefits of a serverless-microservices combination.

The bottom line

The fusion of software architectures represents a new paradigm in application development, with modularity and independence of microservices harmonizing with the serverless abstraction of complex infrastructure.

By encapsulating specific serverless functionalities within a microservices framework, organizations can achieve optimal resource utilization, improved cost-efficiency, and rapid development cycles. The marriage of microservice granularity with serverless events-driven scalability unlocks further value-adding possibilities, enabling organizations to iterate, innovate, and meet evolving user demand.

A strong understanding of event orchestration, communication, and security remains essential for optimizing this combined approach. Ultimately, the union of microservices and serverless architectures could be a powerful transformative force, propelling the software industry toward an era of efficiency, flexibility, and accelerated development. 

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