Common Causes for Lambda Timeout Errors
Question
A Lambda function with proper IAM roles has been developed with the default settings and uses Node.js.
The function makes calls to a DynamoDB table.
It is estimated that the Lambda function would run for 5 minutes.
When the lambda function is executed, it does not add the required rows to the DynamoDB table and the function execution timeouts.
What needs to be changed to ensure that the Lambda function works as desired?
Answers
Explanations
Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer
A. B. C. D.Answer - B.
If the lambda function was created with the default settings, it would have the default timeout of 3 seconds, as shown below.
Since the function executes in a timespan of 300 seconds, this value needs to be changed.
Option A is incorrect since the programming language is not an issue.
Option C is incorrect since it does not mention the amount of memory required in the question.
Option D is incorrect since IAM roles should be assigned to the Lambda function.
For more information on configuring Lambda functions, please refer to the below URL-
https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/resource-model.html
The correct answer is B. Enlarge the timeout for the function.
Explanation:
When a Lambda function is executed, it is allocated a certain amount of time to complete its execution, which is known as the timeout setting. The default timeout for a Lambda function is 3 seconds, but it can be increased up to a maximum of 15 minutes. In this scenario, the Lambda function is estimated to run for 5 minutes, but it is timing out before completing its execution. Therefore, the most appropriate solution is to increase the timeout setting for the Lambda function.
Changing the underlying programming language to Python or changing the memory assigned to the function to 1 G would not necessarily resolve the issue. These changes may improve the performance of the function, but they would not directly address the timeout issue.
Assigning an IAM user to the Lambda function is not relevant to this scenario. IAM roles are used to grant permissions to AWS services and resources, such as DynamoDB, that the Lambda function needs to access. If the function was able to make calls to the DynamoDB table, it is assumed that the necessary IAM roles have already been assigned.
In summary, increasing the timeout setting for the Lambda function would likely resolve the issue of the function timing out before completing its execution.
