Fastly, Inc. Launches New Era of Highly-Secure Serverless Javascript with Zero Cold Starts
July 21, 2021 at 09:00 am EDT
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Fastly, Inc. announced the availability of JavaScript in Compute@Edge, allowing developers to build with even more flexibility in Fastly’s serverless compute environment. With more JavaScript developers in the world than there are for any other development language, the availability of a faster, more secure way of building with JavaScript brings Compute@Edge’s safety benefits and speedy execution to more workloads around the globe. For years, JavaScript developers have had to navigate ~250+ milliseconds of startup latency in serverless environments. Known as cold starts, this latency delays request processing, slowing down time-sensitive applications and websites. To compensate for these delays, developers have tried adding more functions into a single serverless deployment, leading to increased security risks due to a larger blast radius for attacks. Combined with some alternative platforms’ lack of proper sandboxing between instances, serverless JavaScript has fallen prey to attackers, and developers have either avoided serverless technology or had to accept the shortcomings in safety and speed. Fastly solves for both of these challenges through key architectural decisions made when Compute@Edge was initially built. Instead of relying on existing technologies for serverless compute - like reusable containers - Fastly built Compute@Edge using WebAssembly. This high-performance technology allows Compute@Edge to scale with startup times that are 100x faster than other serverless offerings on the market, so customers can now execute JavaScript code without having to worry about cold start times. With security in mind, Fastly developed a unique, highly-secure isolation technology that creates and destroys a sandbox for each individual request from JavaScript compiled through WebAssembly. Fastly has been laser focused on enhancing the developer experience for Compute@Edge and also recently announced its local testing environment, allowing developers to run test code with production level parity so they can find and fix issues fast while building for scale and performance within a serverless compute environment.
Fastly, Inc. provides a programmable edge cloud platform that helps the worldâs brands deliver online experiences possible through edge compute, delivery, security, and observability offerings, improving site performance, and enhancing security at a global scale. The Company enables developers to deliver secure Websites and apps. The edge cloud is a category of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) that enables developers to build, secure, and deliver digital experiences at the edge of the Internet. Its network services are designed to speed up and optimize the delivery of Web and application traffic while ensuring developers and engineers do not lose visibility or control. The Companyâs professional services include network services, managed security service, and response security service. The Company offers three levels of support plans and available technical support add-ons with dedicated technical specialists and account managers that provide extended security expertise.
FASTLY, INC. 
