Keep Alive

Cold Starts

Keep your services warm and responsive.

Why Cold Starts Matter

Cold starts are killing your serverless performance. One click keeps everything running smoothly.

The Cold Start Problem

Cold starts aren't just annoying—they're killing your app's performance and user experience. When your serverless functions sit idle, providers shut them down to save resources. When a request comes in, they have to spin back up, causing delays of several seconds.

The Real Impact:

  • User Experience: Slow initial page loads and API responses
  • Reliability: Timeouts and failed operations during peak traffic
  • Development: Misleading performance metrics during testing

Services Suffering From Cold Starts

AWS Services Directly Using Lambda

  • Amazon API Gateway: Cold starts delay API response times, especially for the first request or during traffic spikes.
  • AWS AppSync: Slowed GraphQL query and mutation responses.
  • AWS Step Functions: Increased workflow execution time.

Higher-Level AWS Services Built on Lambda

  • AWS Amplify: Cold starts slow down API responses in web/mobile apps.
  • AWS Chalice: Similar to API Gateway—delayed responses.

Third-Party Platforms with Similar Behavior

  • Render: Free tier services sleep after inactivity, causing wake-up delays.
  • Vercel: Serverless functions face cold starts with infrequent use.
  • Netlify Functions: Built on AWS Lambda, so same cold start issues apply.
  • Heroku (Free Tier): Dynos sleep after inactivity, similar to cold starts.

How WakeUp Solves Your Cold Start Problems

  • Simple Setup, Instant Results: Configure your endpoints in seconds. WakeUp automatically pings your services at optimal intervals to keep them warm and responsive.
  • Performance Dashboard: Monitor response times and availability across all your endpoints. Identify issues before they impact users.
  • Smart Scheduling: Automatically adjusts ping frequency based on your service behavior and traffic patterns.
  • Multi-Platform Support: Works with AWS Lambda, Render, Vercel, Netlify, Heroku, and more—anywhere cold starts are a problem.

Real-World Impact

  • E-Commerce API: An e-commerce site using AWS API Gateway + Lambda saw first-request latency drop from 3.2s to 240ms after implementing WakeUp.
  • Render Web Service: A developer blog on Render's free tier eliminated the 30-second wake-up delay for first-time visitors.
  • Microservices Architecture: A fintech application with 12 Lambda-based microservices reduced overall latency by 78% during low-traffic periods.
Start Keeping Services Warm