Lambda

Write your code, build your function, and that's it! Lambda functions are isolated pieces of code that run very specific tasks.

Networking

Lambda can run inside or outside a VPC (default). If you need to access a private resource (e.g., RDS), you must configure a VPC.

Pricing

Free tier includes 1,000,000 requests and 400,000 GB-seconds of compute per month. After that, pay per request.

Key Features

Integrations

Integrates with numerous AWS services, including S3, DynamoDB, EventBridge, SQS/SNS, and Kinesis.

Monitoring

Logging and monitoring through Amazon CloudWatch.

Resource Configuration

Memory configurable from 128 MB to 10,240 MB in 1 MB increments. CPU scales proportionally with memory allocation, up to 6 vCPUs at maximum memory.

Execution Time

Time limit of 900 seconds (15 minutes). For longer workloads, use ECS, Batch, or EC2.

Runtime Support

Supports industry-standard languages including Python, Go, Java, Node.js, and others.

Triggers

Lambda functions can be triggered by:

• Scheduled events using EventBridge

• HTTP requests

• Changes in S3 buckets

• Messages in SNS/SQS queues

• And more

Use Cases

• Simple data processing

• Quick file manipulation

• Real-time data analysis

• Automated operations tasks (e.g., shutting down EC2 instances)

Storage Options

Temporary Storage (/tmp)

• Default size: 512 MB

• Location: /tmp directory

• Lifecycle: Available only during function execution

• Use cases: Temporary file operations, caching, intermediate results

• Performance: Faster than network storage, slower than memory

• Alternative: Use S3 or EFS for larger or persistent storage needs

Quotas and Limits

Compute and Storage

• 1,000 concurrent executions (default, increasable via quota request)

• 512 MB - 10 GB ephemeral disk storage (/tmp)

• EFS integration available with VPC configuration

• 4 KB total size limit for environment variables

• 128 MB - 10,240 MB memory allocation

• 15-minute maximum execution time for synchronous invocations

Deployment

• Compressed package (zip) ≤ 50 MB

• Uncompressed package ≤ 250 MB (use S3 for larger packages)

• Request/response payload ≤ 6 MB

• Streamed responses ≤ 20 MB