VM, Container, or Function?
A team is picking a compute model for a new service. How do you choose between VMs, managed containers, Kubernetes and functions?
Practical scenario
A new internal reporting service handles about 5 requests per second during office hours, generates PDFs that take up to six minutes, and needs a headless browser binary. The team has been told "we use Kubernetes here".
What it tests
Answer it out loud first. The guide below stays closed until you ask for it, on purpose.
- Whether the candidate starts from workload characteristics rather than a preferred technology
- Whether they know which properties of a workload disqualify which model
- Whether operational burden is part of the comparison
Reading a strong answer is not the same as producing one. Commit to what you would say, then compare.