Introduction

Welcome to the in-depth beginner’s introduction to AWS’s Serverless Framework. We will delve into the fascinating realm of serverless computing and how it may alter the creation and deployment of applications in this blog article. We’ll go into the Serverless Framework, go through its fundamental ideas, and show you how it works with AWS services. You’ll have a firm grasp on using the Serverless Framework to create scalable and economical serverless apps on AWS by the conclusion of this guide.

What is Serverless Framework?

An effective open-source framework called the Serverless Framework was created to make it easier to develop and deploy applications in a serverless environment. It simplifies the administration of complicated infrastructure, allowing developers to concentrate only on producing code. This framework offers a basic, declarative setup method using YAML files and supports a number of programming languages. The Serverless Framework enables developers to quickly create apps with a serverless architecture thanks to its vast plugin ecosystem and connectivity with cloud service providers like AWS.

Serverless on AWS:

AWS offers a full range of services designed specifically for serverless applications that integrate well with the Serverless Framework. AWS Lambda is one of these services; it enables code execution without the need to set up or maintain servers. RESTful API development is made possible by Amazon API Gateway, and a powerful workflow orchestration solution is provided by AWS Step Functions. Additionally, tools for building serverless architectures are provided by services like Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon S3, and AWS Cognito. We will examine the fundamental serverless services provided by AWS in this presentation, as well as their applications and advantages.

Serverless on AWS

AWS provides a full range of serverless services that sync up with the Serverless Framework without any issues. AWS Lambda is one of these services; it allows code to be executed without the need to deploy or manage servers. RESTful APIs may be created with Amazon API Gateway, and AWS Step Functions provides a robust workflow orchestration solution. Additionally, crucial building blocks for serverless architectures are provided by services like Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon S3, and AWS Cognito. We’ll examine the essential serverless services offered by AWS, emphasizing their applications and advantages.

AWS Lambda

AWS Lambda lets you run code without provisioning or managing servers. You pay only for the compute time you consume

Amazon API Gateway

Amazon API Gateway is a fully managed service that makes it easy for developers to create, publish, maintain, monitor, and secure APIs at any scale

Amazon DynamoDB

Amazon DynamoDB is a fast and flexible NoSQL database service for all applications that need consistent, single-digit millisecond latency at any scale.

A guide of out first Serverless Framework Project

Prerequisites

Before you dive in integration guide, it is essential that you must a basic understanding of both AWS and Kubernetes. You must ensure you have the following prerequisites :

• An AWS account with the necessary respective permissions for creating and managing resources.
• Installed and configured AWS CLI.

AWS CLI:

First you have to Install AWS CLI on your OS by following the instructions given below for your operating system.

Check out the official installation guide here.

Once it’s done, open the terminal or command prompt and run the command “aws configure”, then input your AWS Access Key ID and Secret Access Key when prompted.

People go with default output format (e.g., json) and default region (e.g., us-east-1) when prompted. Now we can interact with the resources in our account.

Serverless Framework:

On the other hand, we need to have the Serverless Framework in our development environment.

Check out the official installation guide here.

Project example:

To help you get started with the Serverless Framework on AWS, we’ll walk you through a detailed example. Imagine building a serverless application that utilizes AWS Lambda functions to process data, Amazon API Gateway to expose APIs, and Amazon DynamoDB to store and retrieve information.

Setting up AWS Resources: First, let’s set up the necessary AWS resources. We’ll create an S3 bucket, a DynamoDB table, and an IAM role with the required permissions. Here’s an example of the CloudFormation template to create the resources:

Resources:
  MyBucket:
    Type: AWS::S3::Bucket
    Properties:
      BucketName: my-serverless-bucket
  MyTable:
    Type: AWS::DynamoDB::Table
    Properties:
      TableName: my-serverless-table
      AttributeDefinitions:
        - AttributeName: id
          AttributeType: N
      KeySchema:
        - AttributeName: id
          KeyType: HASH
      ProvisionedThroughput:
        ReadCapacityUnits: 5
        WriteCapacityUnits: 5
  MyRole:
    Type: AWS::IAM::Role
    Properties:
      RoleName: my-serverless-role
      AssumeRolePolicyDocument:
        Version: "2012-10-17"
        Statement:
          - Effect: Allow
            Principal:
              Service: lambda.amazonaws.com
            Action: sts:AssumeRole
      Policies:
        - PolicyName: my-serverless-policy
          PolicyDocument:
            Version: "2012-10-17"
            Statement:
              - Effect: Allow
                Action:
                  - dynamodb:PutItem
                  - dynamodb:GetItem
                Resource: !GetAtt MyTable.Arn
;
				

Defining Serverless Functions: Next, we’ll define our serverless functions using the Serverless Framework’s configuration file. Here’s an example:

service: my-serverless-app
provider:
  name: aws
  runtime: nodejs16.x
functions:
  processData:
    handler: handler.processData
    events:
      - http:
          path: process
          method: post
resources:
  Resources:
    MyBucket:
      Type: AWS::S3::Bucket
      Properties:
        BucketName: my-serverless-bucket	

Deploying the Serverless Application: Now, let’s deploy our serverless application to AWS using the Serverless Framework’s CLI. Run the following command in your terminal:

sls deploy

Testing the Serverless Application: Once the deployment is successful, you can test your serverless application by invoking the API endpoint exposed by Amazon API Gateway. Here’s an example using cURL:

curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"data": "example"}' https://api.example.com/process				

Conclusion

AWS and the Serverless Framework’s strength, together with serverless computing, provide an unmatched development environment. By abstracting away infrastructure administration, the Serverless Framework frees developers to concentrate on providing value through their code. You may construct highly scalable, economical, and dependable apps using the many serverless services offered by AWS. You’ll be prepared to start your serverless adventure and realize the full potential of serverless computing on AWS if you follow our beginner’s guide.

We hope that this tutorial has given you the information and motivation you need to learn more about serverless architecture. The Serverless Framework on AWS is your entry point into this fascinating world of cloud-native programming, where serverless computing is revolutionizing how applications are developed and delivered. As you continue your serverless study, keep an eye out for increasingly complex subjects and in-depth tutorials.

Happy serverless coding!

References

https://www.serverless.com/framework/docs/providers/fn/guide/installation

https://www.serverless.com/

https://aws.amazon.com/serverless/