OpenFaaS

OpenFaaS is a serverless framework designed to simplify the deployment of functions and existing code to Kubernetes. It is positioned as a versatile solution suitable for companies of various sizes, including small startups and large enterprises. OpenFaaS is used by professionals and industries such as software developers, DevOps teams, cloud architects, technology companies, and e-commerce and retail industries.

Key Features

Serverless Functions, Made Simple: According to the vendor, OpenFaaS allows for the deployment of both functions and existing code to Kubernetes. It provides flexibility for developers by supporting functions written in any language. OpenFaaS can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud, offering versatility.

Deploy to production with OpenFaaS Standard and Enterprise: OpenFaaS Standard and Enterprise editions offer the capability to deploy functions to production environments. Templates provided by OpenFaaS follow best practices, allowing users to quickly write and deploy new functions. Functions can scale to meet demand and scale down to zero when idle, optimizing resource utilization.

Templates that just work: OpenFaaS provides templates that, according to the vendor, enable users to efficiently get code into production within minutes. These templates follow best practices and ensure that functions are built and deployed efficiently. Users also have the option to create their own templates, providing flexibility and customization.

Efficient scaling: According to the vendor, OpenFaaS allows fine-tuning of function scaling to match the type of traffic received. Functions can scale down to zero, reducing costs during periods of low demand. The auto-scaling capabilities provided by OpenFaaS Pro enable functions to dynamically scale based on demand.

Event-driven workloads: OpenFaaS supports invoking functions through events from various sources such as Apache Kafka, AWS SQS, Postgresql, Cron, and MQTT. This enables the creation of event-driven architectures and the integration of functions with existing systems.

A sandbox for your customer's code: OpenFaaS Enterprise provides a sandbox environment for customers to extend platforms using their code snippets. The Function Builder API allows source code to be transformed into functions, which can be deployed via the OpenFaaS REST API. Network policies, resource limits, a runtime class, read-only filesystem, and dedicated namespaces ensure code isolation.

ETL and data-pipelines: According to the vendor, OpenFaaS Pro offers fine-tuning of autoscaling to match the execution pattern of functions and handle retries for failed invocations. JetStream for OpenFaaS enables parallel execution and automatic scaling of data pipelines and ETL processes. Machine learning models can be deployed as functions and scaled, even for long-running tasks.

Kubernetes, made usable: OpenFaaS enhances Kubernetes with features such as scaling, queueing, monitoring, and event triggers. According to the vendor, this allows users to focus on shipping features instead of managing the underlying infrastructure. Functions can be executed on-demand or on a schedule and can be triggered by events from existing systems like Apache Kafka or AWS.

One function, many clouds: According to the vendor, OpenFaaS functions are built as portable OCI images, making them compatible with multiple cloud providers. This eliminates the need for writing an abstraction layer and allows products to run on different clouds. Integration with containers and Kubernetes makes OpenFaaS a suitable choice for teams already using these technologies.

We speak your language: OpenFaaS supports functions written in any language. Official templates are available for popular languages such as Go, Java, Python, C#, Ruby, Node.js, and PHP. Custom microservices written with frameworks like Express.js, Vert.x, Flask, ASP.NET Core, FastAPI, and Django can also be brought along.