AWS Lambda Simplified — What It Is, How It Works & When To Use It
What Is Serverless?
Serverless computing means you don’t manage servers, capacity, or scaling. The cloud provider (AWS) takes care of all the infrastructure behind the scenes so you can focus only on code.
What Is AWS Lambda?
AWS Lambda is a serverless compute service that lets you run code without provisioning servers. It supports multiple languages such as Python, Node.js, Java, Go, and more.
How AWS Lambda Works
- Create a Lambda function
- Add your application code
- Set a trigger (S3, DynamoDB, API Gateway, EventBridge, CloudWatch, etc.)
- AWS automatically runs and scales your function
Lambda Pricing
You pay only for:
- Total number of requests
- Execution time (measured in milliseconds)
There are no charges when the function is idle, which makes Lambda extremely cost-effective.
Common Use Cases of AWS Lambda
- Real-time file processing
- API backend (with API Gateway)
- Cron jobs & scheduled tasks
- IoT event processing
- Machine learning lightweight inference
Lambda vs EC2 (Simple Comparison)
| Feature | AWS Lambda | Amazon EC2 |
|---|---|---|
| Server Management | No servers (fully managed) | You manage everything |
| Scaling | Auto, instant | Manual or auto |
| Pricing | Pay only per request & execution | Pay per hour/second even if idle |
| Best For | Event-driven apps, microservices | Long-running apps |
Conclusion
AWS Lambda is perfect for automation, microservices, event-driven workloads, and modern cloud-native applications. It is a crucial topic for AWS Cloud Practitioner and Associate-level cloud learners.
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