Choosing Compute: VM vs Container vs Serverless

Summary

Each compute option trades off control, operational overhead, and cost differently — VMs give the most control, containers offer portability and density, serverless minimizes operations at the cost of some flexibility.

• 1Match 3 different hypothetical workloads to the most appropriate compute option.
• 2Learn why a long-running, stateful service often fits VMs or containers better than serverless.
• 3Practice justifying a compute choice with specific reasoning, not just a default preference.