Function-as-a-Service (FaaS) enables developers to run serverless applications without managing operational tasks. In current FaaS platforms, both synchronous and asynchronous calls are executed immediately. In this paper, we present ProFaaStinate, which extends serverless platforms to enable delayed execution of asynchronous function calls. This allows platforms to execute calls at convenient times with higher resource availability or lower load. ProFaaStinate is able to optimize performance without requiring deep integration into the rest of the platform, or a complex systems model. In our evaluation, our prototype built on top of Nuclio can reduce request response latency and workflow duration while also preventing the system from being overloaded during load peaks. Using a document preparation use case, we show a 54% reduction in average request response latency. This reduction in resource usage benefits both platforms and users as cost savings.

翻译：函数即服务（FaaS）使开发者能够运行无服务器应用程序而无需管理运维任务。在当前的FaaS平台中，同步调用和异步调用均会被立即执行。本文提出ProFaaStinate，通过扩展无服务器平台实现对异步函数调用的延迟执行。该方法允许平台在资源可用性更高或负载更低的时间段执行调用。ProFaaStinate无需与平台其他部分深度集成或建立复杂系统模型即可优化性能。实验评估表明，基于Nuclio构建的原型系统能够降低请求响应延迟和工作流执行时长，同时防止系统在负载高峰时过载。在文档预处理用例中，平均请求响应延迟降低了54%。这种资源使用的减少将为平台和用户双方带来成本节约效益。