In cloud computing, we face different services designed for specific purposes. AWS (Amazon Web Services) is a formidable force in this landscape. Choosing exemplary service is a notable task, as missteps can lead to higher bills. Once you navigate the complexities, two services, AWS Elastic Beanstalk and AWS Lambda, often become vital concerns. The question arises: What distinguishes these services, and how do they integrate into the broader AWS ecosystem?
In this discussion, we delve into AWS Elastic Beanstalk and AWS Lambda, unraveling their distinct features, use cases, and practical applications. Additionally, we explore multiple-choice questions relevant to the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CCP) exam. By the end of our exploration, you will not only understand the differences between these services but even gain insights into creating them using the AWS console and discern how pricing varies.
This article was published as a part of the Data Science Blogathon.
AWS Elastic Beanstalk is a fully managed service with the main role of simplifying the deployment and management of applications in the realm of the cloud. Users can directly use this service to manage their web applications. This may lead to confusion, as EC2 instances are also used for deploying applications. Let’s address the pricing and your requirements below. Additionally, we’ll highlight some characteristics to remember about Beanstalk:
Step 1: Log in to the AWS Console. check the login or sign-up procedure.
Step 2: Search in the search box for Elastic Beanstalk and open the UI of the Beanstalk service. and click the Create environment.
Step 3: After completing Step 2, provide the application name and check the environment; this name is automatically generated, so there’s no need to worry about it.
Step 4: Select the platform; since we are deploying a sample Python page, choose the desired language. Check compatibility, including the version. For the application code, if you want to use your code, choose the “Upload your code” option; otherwise, select the sample page provided by AWS.
Step 5: Configure Service Access
Step 6: Set up networking, database, and tags (optional). In this section, if you want to add a VPC, you can click “Edit,” but keep in mind that VPC setup can be complex. Since this is an optional step, you can leave it as is and move on to the next step.
Step 7: In this step, configure instance traffic and scaling. Select the EC2 group for traffic; for example, deploy using HTTP (you can choose the EC2 groups). For scaling, load the load balancer.
Step 8: In this step, configure updates, monitoring, and logging (optional). Optionally, add your email for notifications. This step is not mandatory.
Step 9: After completing all the steps, go to the home page and click on the left-side option “Go to environment” or “Domain name.” Once you click on the domain name, you should see the deployed Python page.
AWS Lambda is a serverless computing service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). Lambda follows a Function-as-a-Service (FaaS) model, allowing developers to write code directly and test the results without managing servers. It proves beneficial in large-scale code development scenarios, especially when making small changes to code, making it a desired service for such tasks. Here are some key characteristics of AWS Lambda:
Step 1: Log in to the AWS Console. check the login or sign-up procedure.
Step 2: Search in the search box for AWS Lambda and open the UI of the Lambda service.
Step 3:
Step 4: After creating the function, explore trigger options (events that can invoke the function) and view the function name layer in the AWS Lambda dashboard.
Step 5: Scroll down slightly to view the coding environment setup. Click the “Test” option highlighted in a yellow rectangle. This option provides the testing capability for your code, making Lambda a powerful tool for development and debugging.
Step 6: After clicking the test, give it a name, and check the result in JSON format. You can reuse or share test configurations for convenience.
Step 7: Click the “Deploy” option and check the output of the test case. You can see the response in the body section, and also check the status, such as “succeed.” Additionally, I’ve highlighted two options: “Function logs” and “Request Id.“
Feature | AWS Elastic Beanstalk | AWS Lambda |
---|---|---|
Service Type | Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) | Function-as-a-Service (FaaS) |
Use Case | Deploying and managing applications | Running individual-functions in a serverless environment |
Deployment | Deploy entire applications with dependencies | Deploy independent functions (code) |
Scaling | Automatic capacity-provisioning, load balancing, and auto-scaling | Auto-scales based on the number of loads (requests or events) |
Server Management | More control over server configurations | Fully managed service; no need to manage servers |
Billing | Based on resources provisioned (e.g., EC2 instances) | Pay-per-execution model, billed for compute time used |
Architecture | Suited for traditional web-applications | Ideal for event-driven, stateless functions and microservices |
Flexibility | More control over infrastructure configuration | Focuses on individual functions with less control over infrastructure |
Aspect | AWS Lambda | AWS Elastic Beanstalk |
---|---|---|
Pricing Model | Pay-per-request and duration-based pricing | Pay-as-you-go, based on underlying AWS resources |
Granularity | Granular, based on function execution and memory | Variable, influenced by EC2 instances, bandwidth |
Additional Costs | Ephemeral storage, Provisioned Concurrency (if used) | Variable, depends on EC2 instances, resources |
Upfront Commitments | No minimum fees, pay-as-you-go model | No minimum fees, pay-as-you-go model |
Use Case Focus | Event-driven, serverless computing | Web application deployment and management |
Suitability | Ideal for microservices, event-driven architectures | Suitable for web applications with varying loads |
A. Docker
B. Kubernetes
C. Lambda
D. Lightsail
A. Docker, B. Kubernetes
Docker and Kubernetes are container technologies and other lamnda is serveless cloud computing service and lightseail cloud service for devlopers.
A. Python cannot be used for Lambda.
B. It is the primary language for API calls to administrate Lambda remotely.
C. It is used as the underlying code driving the service.
D. It can be set as the runtime environment for a function.
D. It can be set as the runtime environment for a function.
In this blog we created a lambda using Python we can choose the Python runtime environment.
A. 15 minutes
B. 5 minutes
C. 1 minute
D. 1 hour
A. 15 minutes
The maximum timeout for an AWS Lambda function is 15 minutes.
A. Elastic Block Store
B. Elastic Compute Cloud
C. Elastic Beanstalk
D. Lightsail
C. Elastic Beanstalk
D. Lightsail
Elastic Beanstalk and Lightsail are services specifically designed to simplify the deployment of web applications. Elastic Block Store (EBS) and Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) are more foundational AWS services.
A. Lightsail
B. Elastic Beanstalk
C. Elastic Compute Cloud
D. Relational Database Service
A. Lightsail
Lightsail bills at a flat rate, providing a simple and predictable pricing model, unlike services such as Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) that charge based on usage.
A. Ubuntu
B. Gitlab
C. WordPress
D. LAMP
A. Ubuntu
C. WordPress
Lightsail blueprints include predefined application stacks for commonly used scenarios. Ubuntu and WordPress are examples of stacks available in Lightsail blueprints.
A. Elastic Block Store
B. Lightsail
C. Elastic Beanstalk
D. Relational Database Service
B. Lightsail
C. Elastic Beanstalk
Lightsail and Elastic Beanstalk use primarily EC2 resources under the hood. Elastic Block Store (EBS) and Relational Database Service (RDS) are more specific services providing storage and database solutions, respectively.
A. Elastic Container Service
B. Lightsail
C. Elastic Beanstalk
D. Elastic Compute Cloud
A. Elastic Container Service
C. Elastic Beanstalk
Both AWS Elastic Container Service (ECS) and Elastic Beanstalk support the deployment of Docker containers. Lightsail and Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) are not specifically designed for Docker container management.
A. Elastic Beanstalk
B. AWS Lambda
C. Amazon EC2
D. AWS Fargate
C. Amazon EC2
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) is the AWS service that allows you to quickly provision virtual private servers (instances) with pre-configured templates.
A. AWS Key Management Service (KMS)
B. AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)
C. AWS Security Hub
D. AWS Directory Service
B. AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)
We explored AWS Elastic Beanstalk and Lambda in this blog. AWS Elastic Beanstalk enables web application deployment on the cloud, while Lambda offers server-less configurations. We also discussed the characteristics of AWS Elastic Beanstalk and Lambda. Additionally, we provided a step-by-step practical demonstration to help users use these services according to their requirements. The blog also covered AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam topics, reinforcing foundational knowledge. By understanding these services and concepts, readers can understand AWS comprehensively, facilitating effective cloud computing practices.
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