Performance best practices using Java and AWS Lambda

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.