Netlify Moves Edge Functions Into Dedicated Firecracker MicroVMs.

Netlify has moved Edge Functions from an external hosted execution service into Firecracker MicroVMs running inside its own edge network. The rebuilt platform is already handling production traffic, with no project changes or price increase required.

The infrastructure processes about a billion Edge Function invocations each day. Netlify rebuilt it over several months in collaboration with Unikraft, according to the launch post.

p99 invocation speed

47.4% faster

on the rebuilt platform

Availability

99.998%

for Edge Functions

Log delivery

5x faster

Edge Function logs

Daily scale

About 1 billion

Edge Function invocations

Previously, a request arriving at Netlify’s edge network had to leave that network for execution by a hosted service. Requests now stay within the edge network and run in Firecracker MicroVMs closer to the point where Netlify receives them.

Every deploy gets its own MicroVM. The edge node determines which requests can share a machine before sending the request onwards.

A technical follow-up explains that the edge node first writes a specification for the machine that will execute the function. This identifies three components: the runtime image, Netlify’s platform image and the Edge Function image. It also sets limits for CPU, memory and connections.

Netlify hashes that specification together with site-specific information to create a service ID. Deploys containing different code or environment variables receive different IDs and never share a MicroVM.

This isolation limits the reach of a compromised deploy. Even if code escaped the runtime, it could not access another customer’s deploy or the underlying compute layer.

No migration work is needed. Existing Edge Functions have moved to the new infrastructure automatically, and Netlify is keeping the same pricing. The change affects the execution layer rather than project configuration or application code.

What changed with Netlify Edge Functions? Netlify Edge Functions now execute in Firecracker MicroVMs inside Netlify’s edge network. Requests previously left that network for a hosted execution service, while each deploy now receives an isolated MicroVM.

When are the faster Netlify Edge Functions available? The rebuilt platform is already serving production traffic. Existing projects do not need configuration or code changes.

Do the new Edge Functions MicroVMs cost more? No. Netlify states that the new infrastructure is running at the same pricing as the previous execution service.