New Relic's AWS Lambda layer

As excited as we are to see the success of New Relic Monitoring for AWS Lambda, we’re still constantly looking for ways to make serverless monitoring easier, simpler, and more intuitive for our customers. Until recently, for example, the process of instrumenting monitoring for a Lambda function—a critical step for enabling detailed monitoring and alerting functionality—was largely a manual operation.

We know that the more we can do to simplify, streamline, and automate the process of integrating your Lambda functions with New Relic, the easier it will be for you to make the most of your serverless monitoring instrumentation; and the less likely you’ll spend time and effort dealing with avoidable instrumentation errors.

New serverless instrumentation options

Now, we’re happy to announce two new ways to add monitoring and observability to your serverless functions without requiring code changes:

• Organizations using the Serverless Framework to build, deploy, and operate applications on AWS Lambda, can now use our Serverless Plugin to gain realtime high-resolution invocation metrics and intuitive debugging throughout their serverless applications.
• Teams can also add New Relic’s AWS Lambda layer manually for faster, simpler instrumentation of Lambda functions compared to the previous, fully manual process.

Learning the benefits of Lambda layers

For those new to the concept, Lambda layers are ZIP archives that contain libraries, a custom runtime, or other dependencies. With Lambda layers, you can use libraries in your function without needing to include them in your deployment package. Lambda layers help reduce the size of your deployment package and avoid errors that can occur if you install a package with missing or out-of-date dependencies.

With New Relic AWS Lambda layers, you can:

• Monitor overall activity across your entities, and drill into specific functions in a dedicated, user-friendly UI that contains AWS Lambda-specific data like throughput, error rate, and more.
• See detailed telemetry about function execution as well as data about connected components (like other AWS services)—and then dive deeper into those components affecting AWS Lambda executions through New Relic distributed tracing, allowing you to find even uncommon issues.
• Observe all your event data along with spans (e.g., external service and external HTTP requests, code execution, database queries, etc.), stack traces, error data, invocation source data, and other relevant information.

Getting started with the New Relic Serverless Lambda layers

If you're ready to start monitoring, visualizing, troubleshooting, and alerting on your AWS Lambda functions, sign up for a New Relic Serverless free trial and choose your layers install method.

Requirements

• Lambda layers currently support serverless applications written in Node.js and Python. (For other serverless monitoring languages, including Go, Java, and .NET Core, see Enable New Relic monitoring of AWS Lambda.)
• Lambda layers supports Serverless Framework version 1.34.0 or higher.

Features

If you meet the requirements, use our Serverless Framework plugin, which allows you to add the New Relic AWS Lambda Layer to your functions without requiring a code change.

• Supports Node.js and Python runtimes
• No code change required to enable New Relic
• Enables New Relic APM agent functionality using a single layer
• Configures CloudWatch subscription filters automatically

If you have any questions, please reference our New Relic Lambda Layer documentation.

New Relic adds new talent to its serverless team

Alongside our new install methods that reduces on-boarding friction for New Relic users, we recently announced the addition of the IOpipe team to the New Relic family. Joining our existing New Relic Serverless team, the IOpipe team will initially be focused on integrating key technologies, like their support of AWS Lambda Layers and popular deployment frameworks, into the New Relic One observability platform.

The IOPipe team is a powerful complement to the teams already working hard to build great solutions for New Relic customers in the serverless space. And if you think the work we’re doing around serverless monitoring is already valuable and exciting, we can’t wait to show you what the future holds.

Connect with the New Relic Serverless team at AWS re:Invent

Are you attending AWS re:Invent 2019? Be sure to catch up with the New Relic Serverless team! Join us Dec. 2-6 at booth #2433 in the Venetian Expo Hall, and level up in your “Quest for Observability”: Meet our serverless sages, learn new ways to combat common monitoring foes, and gain serverless power-ups while exploring our latest monitoring innovations.

To learn more about using New Relic to monitor your AWS Lambda functions, and to get started on your free trial of these and other serverless monitoring innovations, visit https://newrelic.com/products/serverless-aws-lambda.