Apache OpenWhisk vs AWS Lambda vs Serverless

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Apache OpenWhisk

60
149
+ 1
7
AWS Lambda

23.9K
18.6K
+ 1
432
Serverless

1.3K
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26

AWS Lambda vs Apache OpenWhisk vs Serverless: What are the differences?

  1. Execution Environment: AWS Lambda provides a managed environment where users can upload their code without worrying about infrastructure management, whereas Apache OpenWhisk allows users to bring their own execution environment, giving more control over dependencies and configurations. Serverless, on the other hand, is a framework that supports multiple cloud providers, including AWS Lambda and Apache OpenWhisk, allowing users to switch easily between different providers.
  2. Programming Language Support: AWS Lambda supports a limited number of programming languages such as Node.js, Python, Java, and C#, while Apache OpenWhisk has broader support for languages like Node.js, Python, Java, Swift, and PHP. Serverless, being a framework, can support multiple languages as it abstracts the underlying provider-specific details, making it easier for developers to work with different languages across different providers.
  3. Request Handling: AWS Lambda supports synchronous and asynchronous invocations where events trigger the execution of functions, while Apache OpenWhisk uses triggers and rules to manage event-driven executions. Serverless abstracts the underlying event handling mechanism, allowing developers to focus on writing functions without worrying about event configurations.
  4. Scalability: AWS Lambda automatically scales the invocation of functions based on demand without any configuration needed from the user, whereas Apache OpenWhisk provides more control over scalability through the configuration of limits and concurrency. Serverless abstracts the scalability requirements, making it easier for developers to deploy scalable applications without manual intervention.
  5. Pricing Model: AWS Lambda offers a pay-per-use pricing model where users only pay for the compute time consumed, while Apache OpenWhisk follows a similar pricing model but with more flexibility in resource allocation. Serverless integrates with the pricing models of different cloud providers, allowing users to take advantage of cost-efficient strategies across multiple providers.

In Summary, the key differences between AWS Lambda, Apache OpenWhisk, and Serverless lie in their execution environment, programming language support, request handling methods, scalability options, and pricing models.

Advice on Apache OpenWhisk, AWS Lambda, and Serverless

Need advice on what platform, systems and tools to use.

Evaluating whether to start a new digital business for which we will need to build a website that handles all traffic. Website only right now. May add smartphone apps later. No desktop app will ever be added. Website to serve various countries and languages. B2B and B2C type customers. Need to handle heavy traffic, be low cost, and scale well.

We are open to either build it on AWS or on Microsoft Azure.

Apologies if I'm leaving out some info. My first post. :) Thanks in advance!

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Replies (2)
Anis Zehani

I recommend this : -Spring reactive for back end : the fact it's reactive (async) it consumes half of the resources that a sync platform needs (so less CPU -> less money). -Angular : Web Front end ; it's gives you the possibility to use PWA which is a cheap replacement for a mobile app (but more less popular). -Docker images. -Kubernetes to orchestrate all the containers. -I Use Jenkins / blueocean, ansible for my CI/CD (with Github of course) -AWS of course : u can run a K8S cluster there, make it multi AZ (availability zones) to be highly available, use a load balancer and an auto scaler and ur good to go. -You can store data by taking any managed DB or u can deploy ur own (cheap but risky).

You pay less money, but u need some technical 2 - 3 guys to make that done.

Good luck

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My advice will be Front end: React Backend: Language: Java, Kotlin. Database: SQL: Postgres, MySQL, Aurora NOSQL: Mongo db. Caching: Redis. Public : Spring Webflux for async public facing operation. Admin api: Spring boot, Hibrernate, Rest API. Build Container image. Kuberenetes: AWS EKS, AWS ECS, Google GKE. Use Jenkins for CI/CD pipeline. Buddy works is good for AWS. Static content: Host on AWS S3 bucket, Use Cloudfront or Cloudflare as CDN.

Serverless Solution: Api gateway Lambda, Serveless Aurora (SQL). AWS S3 bucket.

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Decisions about Apache OpenWhisk, AWS Lambda, and Serverless

When adding a new feature to Checkly rearchitecting some older piece, I tend to pick Heroku for rolling it out. But not always, because sometimes I pick AWS Lambda . The short story:

  • Developer Experience trumps everything.
  • AWS Lambda is cheap. Up to a limit though. This impact not only your wallet.
  • If you need geographic spread, AWS is lonely at the top.
The setup

Recently, I was doing a brainstorm at a startup here in Berlin on the future of their infrastructure. They were ready to move on from their initial, almost 100% Ec2 + Chef based setup. Everything was on the table. But we crossed out a lot quite quickly:

  • Pure, uncut, self hosted Kubernetes — way too much complexity
  • Managed Kubernetes in various flavors — still too much complexity
  • Zeit — Maybe, but no Docker support
  • Elastic Beanstalk — Maybe, bit old but does the job
  • Heroku
  • Lambda

It became clear a mix of PaaS and FaaS was the way to go. What a surprise! That is exactly what I use for Checkly! But when do you pick which model?

I chopped that question up into the following categories:

  • Developer Experience / DX 🤓
  • Ops Experience / OX 🐂 (?)
  • Cost 💵
  • Lock in 🔐

Read the full post linked below for all details

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Manage your open source components, licenses, and vulnerabilities
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Pros of Apache OpenWhisk
Pros of AWS Lambda
Pros of Serverless
  • 4
    You are not tied to a provider. IBM available however
  • 3
    Still exploring... its just intresting
  • 129
    No infrastructure
  • 83
    Cheap
  • 70
    Quick
  • 59
    Stateless
  • 47
    No deploy, no server, great sleep
  • 12
    AWS Lambda went down taking many sites with it
  • 6
    Event Driven Governance
  • 6
    Extensive API
  • 6
    Auto scale and cost effective
  • 6
    Easy to deploy
  • 5
    VPC Support
  • 3
    Integrated with various AWS services
  • 14
    API integration
  • 7
    Supports cloud functions for Google, Azure, and IBM
  • 3
    Lower cost
  • 1
    Auto scale
  • 1
    Openwhisk

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Cons of Apache OpenWhisk
Cons of AWS Lambda
Cons of Serverless
    Be the first to leave a con
    • 7
      Cant execute ruby or go
    • 3
      Compute time limited
    • 1
      Can't execute PHP w/o significant effort
      Be the first to leave a con

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      - No public GitHub repository available -
      - No public GitHub repository available -

      What is Apache OpenWhisk?

      OpenWhisk is an open source serverless platform. It is enterprise grade and accessible to all developers thanks to its superior programming model and tooling. It powers IBM Cloud Functions, Adobe I/O Runtime, Naver, Nimbella among others.

      What is AWS Lambda?

      AWS Lambda is a compute service that runs your code in response to events and automatically manages the underlying compute resources for you. You can use AWS Lambda to extend other AWS services with custom logic, or create your own back-end services that operate at AWS scale, performance, and security.

      What is Serverless?

      Build applications comprised of microservices that run in response to events, auto-scale for you, and only charge you when they run. This lowers the total cost of maintaining your apps, enabling you to build more logic, faster. The Framework uses new event-driven compute services, like AWS Lambda, Google CloudFunctions, and more.

      Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

      What companies use Apache OpenWhisk?
      What companies use AWS Lambda?
      What companies use Serverless?

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      What tools integrate with Apache OpenWhisk?
      What tools integrate with AWS Lambda?
      What tools integrate with Serverless?

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      What are some alternatives to Apache OpenWhisk, AWS Lambda, and Serverless?
      Kubeless
      Kubeless is a Kubernetes native serverless Framework. Kubeless supports both HTTP and event based functions triggers. It has a serverless plugin, a graphical user interface and multiple runtimes, including Python and Node.js.
      NGINX
      nginx [engine x] is an HTTP and reverse proxy server, as well as a mail proxy server, written by Igor Sysoev. According to Netcraft nginx served or proxied 30.46% of the top million busiest sites in Jan 2018.
      Apache HTTP Server
      The Apache HTTP Server is a powerful and flexible HTTP/1.1 compliant web server. Originally designed as a replacement for the NCSA HTTP Server, it has grown to be the most popular web server on the Internet.
      Amazon EC2
      It is a web service that provides resizable compute capacity in the cloud. It is designed to make web-scale computing easier for developers.
      Firebase
      Firebase is a cloud service designed to power real-time, collaborative applications. Simply add the Firebase library to your application to gain access to a shared data structure; any changes you make to that data are automatically synchronized with the Firebase cloud and with other clients within milliseconds.
      See all alternatives