USING SERVERLESS FRAMEWORK V/S SAM CLI FOR AWS

Sandeep Shetty

SAM CLI – Serverless Application Model , is a command line tool provided by AWS to easily create and manage serverless applications.

Serverless Framework – Serverless Framework is also a tool similar to SAM but it is not limited to AWS, Serverless Framework can be used to easily create and manage serverless applications from various providers like AWS, Azure, GCP & more.

I will list the main differences I found between these two when used with AWS, which may help you to choose between them.

Installation

SAM
You need to follow operating system specific installation steps as there are multiple dependencies for SAM which are installed differently on different operating systems. Below are some general steps to be followed irrespective of operating system.

Create an AWS account.
Configure IAM permissions.
Install Docker. Note: Docker is only a prerequisite for testing your application locally.
Install Homebrew.
Install the AWS SAM CLI.

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/serverless-application-model/latest/developerguide/serverless-sam-cli-install.html

Serverles
For Serverless you need to follow operating system specific instructions only for installing Node.js and if you have Node.js installed on your machine already, then using single command below your Serverless installation will be ready ‘npm install -g serverless’.

Install Node.js
Install Serverless (npm install -g serverless)

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/serverless-application-model/latest/developerguide/serverless-sam-cli-install.html

Resource Definition

SAM

SAM being an AWS specific framework, it supports managing most of the AWS resources out of the box and you can expect it to be always in sync with AWS service updates.

Resources are defined in a file called template.yaml
More verbose hence produces more lines of code compared to serverless
Resources are created and managed by a cloudformation stack Eg: Defining an API Gateway endpoint in SAM
Events:
GetApiEndpoint:
Type: Api
Properties:
Path: /items
Method: GET

Serverless

Serverless being a generic framework for multiple serverless platforms , it may not support all AWS services and it will always take some time to get the latest updates with respect to changes in latest AWS services.

Resources are defined in a file called serverless.yml
More readable and less code compared to SAM
Resources are created and managed by a cloudformation stack
Eg: Defining an API Gateway endpoint in Serverless
events:
-http:
path: /items
method: GET

Local Development

SAM

Can simulate API Gateway and Lambda locally without require any extra dependencies and these two services are the most common requirements to run a serverless application in AWS.

Builtin support for basic use cases
We can run local-dynamodb using docker and connect to SAM
We can test lambda functions individually using ‘invoke’ command, which is very useful for local development
sam local invoke [OPTIONS] [FUNCTION_IDENTIFIER]
(https://docs.aws.amazon.com/serverless-application-model/latest/developerguide/sam-cli-command-reference-sam-local-invoke.html)
We can start local server using command –
sam local start-api
(https://docs.aws.amazon.com/serverless-application-model/latest/developerguide/sam-cli-command-reference-sam-local-start-api.html)

Serverless

Need extra plugins to be installed for most of the basic requirements like local development server, creating nested stacks, etc.

Need to install a plugin serverless-offline to emulate lambda and API Gateway on your machine
‘sls-offline’ is the command used to start local development server
(https://www.npmjs.com/package/serverless-offline)
We can invoke functions locally similar to SAM using ‘invoke local’ command
serverless invoke local –function functionName
(https://www.serverless.com/framework/docs/providers/aws/cli-reference/invoke-local/)

Development

SAM

On initial versions of SAM we had to run 2 different commands to build, upload and deploy and it did not support features like one step deployment and automatic deployment bucket creation which was supported in serverless framework at the same time. The Latest version of SAM supports single command deployment similar to Serverless.

Deployment steps for versions before 0.33.1
- sam package –s3-bucket my-regional-bucket –output-template-file out.yaml
- sam deploy –template-file out.yaml –capabilities CAPABILITY_IAM –stack-name MyStackName
Deployment after version 0.33.1
- sam deploy
  (https://docs.aws.amazon.com/serverless-application-model/latest/developerguide/sam-cli-command-reference-sam-deploy.html)

Serverless

We can deploy using single command ‘sls’ deploy and S3 bucket creation is taken care automatically, we can also deploy or update single function in a stack individually which is not supported by SAM.

Deploy entire stack
- sls deploy
Deploy single function
- sls deploy function –function myFunction
  (https://www.serverless.com/framework/docs/providers/aws/guide/deploying/)

Conclusion

Serverless and SAM both have pros and cons based on the various scenarios in which they are used , so based on these observations , it is better to go with SAM if you are a developer who works only with AWS cloud. It is better to choose Serverless framework if you are a full time devops engineer or cloud developer who will be managing and working with different serverless providers at the same time. This gives you the advantage of a single framework, access to a vast community, and readily available documentation.

We at techpearl have exposure to various technologies and frameworks. We will pick the framework that fits most conductive to your needs. Contact us to learn more.

blog

Vite and React: A Speedy Duo for Modern Web Development

Introduction: The Need for Speed in Web Development In the fast-paced world of web development, speed and efficiency are paramount. To meet these demands, we

Abhay Pareek

blog

Developing Conversational AI applications by harnessing the power of LLMs

Introduction The power of conversational AI has become a transformational force in a world where technology continues to alter how people live, work, and communicate.

Sreekanth Reddy

blog

Building Reusable Web Components with ReactJS: A Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction In the ever-evolving landscape of web development, the concept of reusability has become a cornerstone for efficiency and productivity. Web components have emerged as

Abhay Pareek

Talk to us to find out about our flexible engagement models.

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.

Necessary

Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Functional

Performance

Analytics

Others

USING SERVERLESS FRAMEWORK V/S SAM CLI FOR AWS

Installation

Resource Definition

SAM

Serverless

Local Development

SAM

Serverless

Development

SAM

Serverless

Conclusion

Read More Articles

Vite and React: A Speedy Duo for Modern Web Development

Developing Conversational AI applications by harnessing the power of LLMs

Building Reusable Web Components with ReactJS: A Step-by-Step Guide

We build custom software solutions, faster hassle-free with quality

Company

Career We are Hiring

Our Services

Explore More

Contact Us

Get In Touch With Us