Extended slides - OpenFaaS serverless framework for Docker and Kubernetes

1. OpenFaaS framework
Serverless functions for Docker & Kubernetes
JEFFCONF - 29TH SEP
@alexellisuk / openfaas.com

2. What is Serverless?
MicroserviceMicroserviceMicroservice
Monolith
Microservice
Function
Serverless evolu*on

3. “Alexa, how’s
the weather?”
{ “intent”:
“FindWeather” }
{ “speech”:
“It’s 70 degrees” }
Lambda
Function

4. “Alexa, how’s
the weather?”
{ “intent”:
“FindWeather” }
{ “speech”:
“It’s 70 degrees” }
+

5. #serverless

6. OpenFaaS
DRIVING FACTORS
Portability
For
Developers
Radical
Simplicity
Open
Platform

8. How did OpenFaaS come about?
STORY SO FAR
• “Lambda but with containers for Alexa”
• Dockercon Cool Hacks - “push Docker beyond what it was designed to do”
• Major changes since Dockercon
• Top trending Open Source project overall
• > 5.7k stars
• Kubernetes & external provider support
• Asynchronous processing via NATS
• CLI & templating
• Regular contributors & Slack Community
Commits: 876, Forks: 372 Stars: 6589OpenFaaS Org: 33 authors, 876 commits, 372 forks, 6589 stars, Slack - 160

9. OpenFaaS top contributors and influencers
You..

10. What are serverless use-cases?
ANYTHING
Image/Video
conversion
Machine
Learning
Mobile Back-
ends / IoT
HTTP
services
Chat Bots
Batch Jobs

11. What is OpenFaaS?
"A SERVERLESS FRAMEWORK BUILT ON CONTAINERS"
• Basic primitive: containers in OCI format
• Container security
• r/o filesystem, privilege drop, content trust
• Manage functions with scheduler/orchestrator
• Rich container eco-system - commercial & community
• Anything can be a function - polyglot
• Leverage existing skills in teams (including Windows)
• Avoid vendor lock-in
• Run anywhere - cloud or on-prem

13. Payroll S3 Minio
put bonus.json
Calculate Gross
get bonus.json,
employees.json
MyAssistant

14. Comes in one flavor: Cloud Native
API Gateway Function Watchdog
Prometheus Swarm Kubernetes

15. HTTP
body
stdinrequest
stdoutresponse
“/usr/bin/node
handler.js”
headers
body
headers
Forked process
Function watchdog

16. Performance - fork vs After Burn
HELLO-WORLD & APACHE-BENCH

17. Deployed in 60 seconds
QUICK DEMO

18. Demos
• Deploy in 60 secs
• TensorFlow - whale or is it?
• CLI - new/build/deploy/invoke
• Derek - the community bot
• GIF Maker *

19. Granular ownership + permissions

20. Derek
• Checks developer sign-off
• Assigns issues
• Manages labels
• Opens & closes issues
Let the robots take over..
CHIEF MAINTAINER

21. How do I write a function?
WRITE A HANDLER
def handler(req):
r = requests.get(req)
print(r.status_code)
handler.py
requirements.txt
Python
Template
Docker
Image
requests
$ faas-cli new --lang python --name sample
Container Registry

22. What languages are available?
SHORT ANSWER - ANY
• Use supported templates
• Edit them or bring your own
• Or go “full Docker”

23. How do I arrange functions?
provider:
name: faas
gateway: http://localhost:31112
url-ping:
lang: python
handler: ./sample/url-ping
image: alexellis/url-ping
shrink-image:
image: functions/resizer:latest
fprocess: "convert - -resize 50% fd:1”
environment:
MAGICK_FONT_PATH: /fonts
$ faas-cli build -f ./sample.yml
$ faas-cli deploy -f ./sample.yml
YAML STACK
$ faas-cli new --name url-ping --lang python

24. Build, deploy, invoke

25. the GIF Maker
ffmpeg
gifsicle
FULL DOCKER EXAMPLE

26. the GIF Maker
FROM alpine:3.6
ADD https://github.com/alexellis/faas/releases/download/0.5.6-alpha/
fwatchdog /usr/bin/
RUN apk --no-cache add ffmpeg gifsicle
WORKDIR /root/
COPY entry.sh .
ENV fprocess=“./entry.sh"
CMD ["fwatchdog"]
DOCKERFILE
https://github.com/openfaas/faas/tree/master/sample-functions/gif-maker

27. Auto-scaling
DEMO
Mirror East CoastWest Coast

28. Kubernetes native
VIA EXTERNAL PROVIDER
kubernetes
• Rich eco-system and user-base with
on-prem/hybrid deployments
• Similar primitives to Docker Swarm
• Kubernetes native

29. Kubernetes native
VIA EXTERNAL PROVIDER
Gateway faas-netes
UI
CLI
Web
Func 1
Func 1
Func 2
faas-hyper
faas-ecs

30. Synchronous invocation
IN STORE RETURNS
marshal request
Gateway Func: resizer
HTTP
200
Resize
Image

31. Asynchronous invocation
RETURN A PRODUCT BY MAIL
NATS Queue
marshal request
Gateway Queue-worker
dequeue
Func: resizer
HTTP
200
HTTP
200
Resize
Image

32. Asynchronous concerns
ADDED COMPLEXITY
• Points of failure:
• Func*on
• Queue-worker
• Queue system
• Func*on response
• Store in S3 or aDB
• Poll for result
• Callback to URL?
Composable complexity

33. Asynchronous invocation
WITH A CALLBACK-URL
Gateway Func: resizer
HTTP
200
http://x.y.z
X-Callback-Url:
hUp://x.y.z
X-Callback-Url
Resize
Image
Queue etc

34. github.com/
openfaas/faas

35. FanClub GetAvatar
hUps://
Twitter
Fanclub
HOW IT WORKS
twitter.com/alexellisuk_bot

36. Providers, integrations and users

37. What’s next for OpenFaaS?
SET REPLICAS = 10,000
• Roadmap - supporting users
• Evaluating - ADP, Huawei, CodeFresh, MadGlory, IRT Saint Exupery
• Community language templates, helm chart
• AfterBurn optimisations
• Guides, manual & tutorials for developer-clouds
• Get SWAG and get involved github.com/openfaas/media
• Contributors, sponsorship and finding a home
• Speaking
• JeffConf @ Milano!
• Dockercon EU @ Copenhagen - October - use code “CaptainAlex”
• KubeCon @ Austin, USA - December 6-8

38. Where to start?
BLOGS AND GUIDES
• Introduction to OpenFaaS (15min)
https://blog.alexellis.io/introducing-functions-as-a-service/
• Your first Python function with OpenFaaS (10-20min)
https://blog.alexellis.io/first-faas-python-function/
• Morning Coffee with the FaaS-CLI (5 min)
https://blog.alexellis.io/quickstart-openfaas-cli/

39. @open_faas
https://www.openfaas.com