Serv-Drishti: An Interactive Serverless Function Request Simulation Engine and Visualiser

TL;DR

Serv-Drishti is an interactive, open-source simulation and visualization tool that helps researchers and developers understand and analyze serverless computing behaviors like request routing, scaling, and failures.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive, configurable simulation framework with visualization and failure analysis capabilities for serverless platforms.

Findings

Enables detailed analysis of request flow and system response.

Supports comparison of different routing and placement strategies.

Facilitates research and education in serverless computing.

Abstract

The rapid adoption of serverless computing necessitates a deeper understanding of its underlying operational mechanics, particularly concerning request routing, cold starts, function scaling, and resource management. This paper presents Serv-Drishti, an interactive, open-source simulation tool designed to demystify these complex behaviours. Serv-Drishti simulates and visualises the journey of a request through a representative serverless platform, from the API Gateway and intelligent Request Dispatcher to dynamic Function Instances on resource-constrained Compute Nodes. Unlike simple simulators, Serv-Drishti provides a robust framework for comparative analysis. It features configurable platform parameters, multiple request routing and function placement strategies, and a comprehensive failure simulation module. This allows users to not only observe but also rigorously analyse system responses under various loads and fault conditions. The tool generates real-time performance graphs and provides detailed data exports, establishing it as a valuable resource for research, education, and the design analysis of serverless architectures.