Performance best practices using Java and AWS Lambda

TL;DR

This paper investigates techniques to reduce cold start latency and improve performance of Java-based AWS Lambda functions through systematic testing and combination of various strategies.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of multiple methods to mitigate cold start issues in Java AWS Lambda functions, including their individual and combined effects.

Findings

Certain strategies significantly reduce cold start latency.

Combining techniques yields greater performance improvements.

Load testing confirms effectiveness of proposed approaches.

Abstract

Despite its already widespread popularity, it continues to gain adoption. More and more developers and architects continue to adopt and apply the FaaS (Function as a Service) model in cloud solutions. The most extensively used FaaS service is AWS Lambda, provided by Amazon Web Services. Moreover, despite the new trends in programming languages, Java still maintains a significant share of usage. The main problem that arises when using these two technologies together is widely known: significant latencies and the dreaded cold start. However, it is possible to greatly mitigate this problem without dedicating too much effort. In this article, various techniques, strategies and approaches will be studied with the aim of reducing the cold start and significantly improving the performance of Lambda functions with Java. Starting from a system that involves AWS lambda, java, DynamoDB and Api Gateway. Each approach will be tested independently, analyzing its impact through load tests. Subsequently, they will be tested in combination in an effort to achieve the greatest possible performance improvement.