Compute@Edge’s unique isolation sandbox technology enables a fast, secure JavaScript experience as developers continue to enter into the growing ser

Fastly Launches New Era of Highly-Secure Serverless JavaScript With Zero Cold Starts | Fastly

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2021-07-21 13:30:08

Compute@Edge’s unique isolation sandbox technology enables a fast, secure JavaScript experience as developers continue to enter into the growing serverless computing landscape.

SAN FRANCISCO -- JULY 21, 2021 -- Fastly, Inc. (NYSE: FSLY), a global edge cloud platform provider, today 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.

“When we launched Compute@Edge with a language-agnostic vision, JavaScript wasn’t one of the languages we evaluated for support, because at the time, it couldn’t compile to WebAssembly, meaning we wouldn’t have been satisfied with the security of JavaScript within our serverless compute environment,” said Tyler McMullen, CTO at Fastly. “However, since we released Compute@Edge, JavaScript has been the most requested language to add, so it was top of our priority list once WebAssembly supported it. Today, we’re thrilled to open up a serverless, zero-cold start JavaScript offering with a reduced attack surface, compared to similar offerings on the market. With serverless computing on the rise, we hope this motivates continued adoption of a powerful technology for businesses as they build modern digital experiences.”

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.