Questions
3 of 7
1How do you deploy a Lambda function?
2What is a Lambda deployment package?
3What are Lambda versions and aliases?
4How do you manage different environments (dev, prod) in Lambda?
5What are Lambda layers, and when would you use them?
6What is the difference between environment variables and AWS Systems Manager (SSM) Parameter Store for Lambda configuration?
7How can you manage dependencies in a Lambda function?
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03 / 07

What are Lambda versions and aliases?

Lambda versions and aliases provide a mechanism for managing and deploying function updates safely. Versions allow you to freeze the code and configuration of a function at a specific point in time, while aliases act as pointers to a specific version, enabling better deployment workflows, traffic shifting, and version management.

Lambda Versions
  1. 1

    Each version is immutable—once published, it cannot be changed.

  2. 2

    Version $LATEST refers to the most recently updated code/configuration.

  3. 3

    Useful for tracking and rolling back changes.

  4. 4

    Can be created via the Console, CLI, SDK, or IaC tools.

Lambda Aliases
  1. 1

    An alias is a named reference to a specific function version (e.g., 'prod', 'dev').

  2. 2

    Aliases can be updated to point to a different version without changing the code.

  3. 3

    You can split traffic between two versions using weighted aliases (e.g., 90% to v1, 10% to v2).

  4. 4

    Helps with canary deployments and blue/green deployments.

Create a Version and Alias Using AWS CLI