This document discusses serverless pitfalls, including code management challenges when using a mono-repo versus multi-repo approach, local testing difficulties, cold start performance issues, limited monitoring and logging with cloud providers, and vendor lock-in concerns. It also provides some solutions to these pitfalls like using unit tests, PR environments for integration testing, and sending logs and metrics to third party services. Overall, the document outlines several potential downsides to serverless architectures around code organization, testing, performance, observability, and flexibility.

1. Serverless Pitfalls
Kate Semizhon

2. Kate Semizhon
Engineering Manager
● Epam Systems / Sephora / Radius
Intelligence
Joining Square next week
Expecting a baby-boy 👶 in November
@anaris_s

3. What is Serverless
(FaaS)
is an execution model where the cloud provider is
responsible for executing a piece of code by
dynamically allocating the resources.

4. Road to Serverless

5. Server-side
Host
Application
Operation
Operation
Serverless
Operation
Operation
Serverless

6. Where it’s available
AWS Lambda
Microsoft Azure Functions
Google Cloud Functions

7. Use Case #1

8. Use Case #2

9. Benefits

10. Cost Savings
● Don’t need to keep
servers up when we are
not serving out any
requests
● Reduced labor cost

11. Time Savings
● On maintenance
● On applying the
appropriate security
updates to the server

12. Scaling
● Scales up and down
behind the scene

13. Pitfalls

14. How to setup a source control for
serverless:
● to share code
● do not inflate distribution artifact

15. Code Management
Multi-repoMono-repo vs

16. Mono-Repo
Code sharing between functions
No need to support multiple
repositories and deployment
processes

17. Mono-Repo
Code sharing between functions
No need to support multiple
repositories and deployment
processes
Cloud provider might
have a restriction on
size of the artifact

18. Mono-Repo
Disadvantages
Size of an artifact
Solution: artifact per lambda

19. Mono-repo
Mono-repo can grow
out of control to up to
hundreds of functions

20. Multi-repo
More difficult to share code
Complicates deployments

21. Local environment
- Local testing

22. Local environment
- Local testing
Solution
- Unit tests
- PR environments for
integration testing

23. Cold starts
- Cold vs warm
performance of
functions

24. Monitoring and
Logging
- AWS default logging - Cloud
Watch Logs
- Monitoring - Limited metrics at
AWS

25. Vendor Lock-In

26. Thank you!