How to Host Serverless Applications to Save Costs in Your Node.js Development
Establishing a serverless node API gateway can help your organization reduce costs on computing. There are several serverless options available for programmers today including managed cloud services such as Firebase, Google Cloud, and AWS.
These cloud providers allow the building of serverless applications with next-generation computing services and frameworks.
Today, our DEV IT engineers will show you how AWS Lambda, an API Gateway, and the Serverless framework can be utilized to build a REST API.
AWS Lambda is the third cloud computing service by Amazon, and it is different from both EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) and ECS (Elastic Container Service) as it executes the code upon the occurrence of a trigger event.
As of now, AWS Lambda has support for Java, Python, and Node.js development with more programming languages to be added in the future.
What is the Serverless Framework?
Before we dive into the process, it is essential to understand what the Serverless Framework is, and how it works.
Serverless exists as a multi-provider framework that allows you to build Serverless applications using other cloud service providers than AWS if you wish. In the case of AWS Lambda, it uses CloudFormation. This allows it to scaffold the project structure and deploy its functionalities in a smooth manner.
Why Use Serverless?
If you or your employer are still not convinced on using a cloud-based serverless application instead of a server-hosted one, here are a few reasons to change your mind:
- Lost cost and maintenance
- Easy to scale
Serverless applications are similar to the pay-per-click model used in online advertising.
Here, you pay per request and therefore save money on the server costs when it isn’t being used. Moreover, the server maintains itself, and therefore, all you need to worry about is your code.
Getting Started with the Serverless Framework
1. To install Serverless on your machine, run the below-mentioned npm command.
$ npm install serverless -g
2. Add the code mentioned below in your index.ts file
3. Rename the directory name from public to tmp.
4. Replace the word public with tmp in all included files.
What is an API Gateway?
The Amazon API Gateway is a fully managed service that allows developers to create, publish, maintain, monitor, and secure APIs at a large scale.
Create API URL with API Gateway
1. Go to the API Gateway console and Click Build in HTTP API.
2. Fill the name and click Review and Create
3. Hit the create button, and you will see an invoked
4. Check if your API is available by clicking the invoke URL
What is S3?
Buckets are containers where Amazon S3 stores information and objects. You can store multiple objects from your application here.
Upload .zip file on S3
1. Create a bucket in s3.
2. Create an object and upload a zip file of your node code.
3. Check the object URL.
Configuration of serverless lambda
1. Create a function in lambda.
2. Add a trigger in the lambda function. Select API Gateway in trigger configuration. Add API ID in the field.
3. Add S3 location in upload from a button.
4. Add S3 URL in popup.
Ending Note
Once you understand the above process, you’ll see that hosting a serverless application is much simpler than hosting a traditional application.
If you have any questions about the process or are interested in learning about another topic, feel free to comment down below and we’ll get right on it.