How We Built a Serverless Web App for the Stax Console

Stax Web Console: A Serverless GraphQL Journey

This post details the challenges and successes of building Stax's web console, a performant and intuitive application for managing a complex serverless platform. The focus is on the shift to a serverless GraphQL API using AWS AppSync, improving upon an initial REST API architecture.

The Serverless Advantage

The decision to build a serverless solution from the outset leveraged the inherent benefits of AWS Lambda for scalability, reliability, and security. This minimized infrastructure overhead, enabling the team to focus on development and deployment, rather than server management. The horizontal scaling of Lambda functions ensured consistent performance even under peak loads, directly contributing to meeting service-level agreements. Inherent AWS security features also simplified compliance.

Evolution from REST to GraphQL

The initial REST API-based architecture, while efficient, presented limitations: complex state management in the React frontend, tight coupling leading to instability during feature development, and the need for a custom WebSocket implementation for real-time updates. These challenges, coupled with the need to integrate with multiple backend services, led to the adoption of a GraphQL API using the Backend for Frontend (BFF) pattern.

GraphQL's ability to fetch data from diverse sources with a single query, simplifying authentication and enabling independent backend service refactoring, proved invaluable. AWS AppSync, a fully managed serverless GraphQL service, became the core of this new architecture, leveraging AWS Lambda for resolver functions, DynamoDB for data storage, and EventBridge for event-driven updates.

Leveraging Stax's Own API

Stax's API-first approach allowed the team to "dogfood" its own REST API during console development, improving quality control and documentation. The GraphQL API acts as a proxy, enabling the introduction of beta features in the console before public release via the REST API. Authentication is streamlined through AWS Cognito, ensuring secure data segregation and access control. GraphQL Subscriptions, integrated with the Stax Event Bus, provide real-time updates without requiring page refreshes.

Addressing Challenges

While AWS AppSync simplified many aspects, limitations such as the 30-second query timeout and a low batch limit for Lambda functions required careful consideration. Strategies like optimizing data retrieval and abstracting Cognito interactions were employed to mitigate these issues.

Future Directions

Future development will focus on performance enhancements through caching and expanding real-time updates across all Stax components. This will improve responsiveness and reliability, even during periods of high demand or service disruptions. The serverless architecture allows the team to prioritize feature development and customer experience, while maintaining security and compliance.

For more information on Stax and its capabilities, contact the team for a demo.

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