Serverless was a big mistake... says Amazon
Fireship
3 min, 48 sec
The video discusses the misconceptions of serverless computing, Amazon Prime Video's cost savings by switching to a monolithic architecture, and the trade-offs between different cloud architectures.
Summary
- The video begins by highlighting the misconception that serverless means no servers are involved, and proceeds to explain the cost implications of serverless versus traditional architectures.
- Amazon Prime Video's switch from a serverless microservice architecture to a monolithic architecture resulted in a 90% cost reduction.
- The video provides a detailed explanation of how the distributed nature of microservices can lead to inefficiencies and higher costs compared to a monolithic approach.
- It also touches on the experiences of other companies and developers with cloud services, emphasizing that the choice of architecture involves trade-offs.
Chapter 1
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The introduction addresses the misconception about serverless computing and sets the tone for the video.
- The video opens with the statement that serverless is a lie, as it still involves servers that are not owned by the user.
- The presenter argues that serverless architectures can lead to significant spending and compares this to traditional server ownership.
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Chapter 2
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Discussion of Amazon Prime Video's cost-saving transition from serverless to monolithic architecture.
- Amazon Prime Video published an article detailing a 90% cost reduction by moving away from serverless microservices to a monolithic architecture.
- The change had financial benefits for Amazon but resulted in lost revenue as it reduced their AWS bill.
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Chapter 3

Overview of the serverless industry and the skepticism from some industry leaders.
- The serverless industry includes various platforms and open-source projects that resell AWS services.
- Prominent figures like DHH of Ruby on Rails and Basecamp have been critical of serverless, choosing to run servers independently.
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Chapter 4
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An in-depth explanation of the serverless model previously employed by Prime Video.
- Prime Video's serverless setup included step functions, Lambda-like services, and various machine learning detectors to analyze video content.
- This distributed system caused bottlenecks and high costs due to network communication and data serialization/deserialization.
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Chapter 5
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Details of Prime Video's switch to a monolithic architecture and the resulting cost savings.
- By switching to a monolithic architecture, Prime Video reduced unnecessary network usage and communication, leading to a 90% cost reduction.
- The monolithic model allows only vertical scaling, contrasting with the horizontal scaling of microservices.
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Chapter 6

The video compares architectural trade-offs and shares personal experiences with serverless architecture.
- The presenter discusses how Netflix's switch to microservices after a failure differs from Prime Video's recent transition.
- The presenter shares his own positive experience with serverless for quick project deployment, highlighting the trade-offs in cloud architecture.
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Chapter 7
The video concludes by emphasizing the trade-offs in cloud architecture choices.
- The presenter concludes that while cloud architectures have no perfect solutions, understanding the trade-offs is essential.
- The video ends with an invitation to watch future content.
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