How to perform database migration for a live service with no downtime

AWS, DynamoDB, Serverless

Performing a database migration while continuing to serve user requests can be challenging. It’s a question that many students have asked during the Production-Ready Serverless [1] workshop. So here’s my tried-and-tested approach to migrating a live service to a new database without downtime. I’m going to use DynamoDB as an example, but it should work …

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The one mistake everyone makes when using Kinesis with Lambda

AWS, Kinesis, Lambda, Serverless

AWS Kinesis and Lambda are a great combo for processing large amounts of data in real-time. However, there’s a common oversight that many developers make when integrating these two services. There are established best practices for configuring Lambda’s EventSourceMapping [1] for Kinesis: Configure an OnFailure destination for failed records. Enable BisectBatchOnFunctionError. Override MaximumRetryAttempts. Choose a …

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How I implemented web analytics reporting with Amazon Timestream

AWS, Serverless, Timestream

A month ago, I shared how I built an affiliate tracking system in a weekend [1]. Since then, I’ve enhanced the system by integrating analytics reporting, enabling affiliates to gauge the performance of their URLs. This post will describe how the system works and why I chose Amazon Timestream over DynamoDB.   How it works 1. …

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Serverless v4 will start charging users, but that’s a good thing

AWS, Serverless

The Serverless Framework remains a top choice for serverless development, as evidenced by the recent State of Serverless report [1]. Yet, its appeal has waned over time due to the lack of innovation in recent years, prompting users to explore other options. Recently, they announced [2] significant updates for Serverless v4: Fees will be introduced …

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Amplify: how to share code without Lambda Layers or private NPM

Amplify, AWS, Lambda, Programming, Serverless

Sharing code efficiently across different parts of an application can be challenging with AWS Lambda, especially when using Amplify. Today, I’ll walk you through a solution to this common problem, without relying on Lambda Layers or private NPM repositories. The Context In my previous post about Lambda Layers [1], I delved into its limitations, especially …

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How I built an affiliate tracking system in a weekend with serverless

API Gateway, AppSync, AWS, DynamoDB, Lambda, Serverless

Having taught thousands of students to build serverless applications via my online courses and workshops, I felt it was time to kick-start an affiliate program to boost sales. Affiliates would receive 50% of the revenue and get a 15% discount code for their audience. It feels like a good deal but I would need a …

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CloudFormation: How to set Deletion Policy to Retain for production only?

AWS, CDK, CloudFormation, SAM, Serverless

It’s a good practice to use CloudFormation’s deletion policy to protect stateful resources such as DynamoDB tables or RDS databases from accidental deletions. Such as when someone accidentally deletes a CloudFormation stack! As I discussed previously [1], this is a much better way to guard against these accidental data losses than separating stateful and stateless …

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