FAQ

How are actors different from containers and servers?

Servers and containers and actors handle state and compute very differently:

Feature	Servers and Containers	Actors
Compute and State	Separate compute (application layer) from state (databases)	Keep state and compute together
Scaling	Need external services (load balancers, databases) to scale	Cheaper & automatically distribute load
Performance	Performance can be limited by network latency & complex locking mechanisms	Optimized performance by co-locating compute and state
Latency	Typically higher latency due to centralized data centers & database	Lower latency by deploying at the edge, closer to users
High Availability	Need manual configuration for high availability and fault tolerance	Provide built-in durability for crashes and fault isolation to prevent cascading failures
Resource Efficiency	Run continuously regardless of load, wasting resources when idle	Automatically sleep when inactive and wake instantly when needed
DevOps Overhead	Requires significant DevOps effort for setup and maintenance	Minimal DevOps overhead due to simpler, on-demand architecture

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Can I use Tivet Actors with my existing database?

Yes.

Tivet Actors behaves similar to serverless platform (e.g. Lambda, Vercel Functions, etc.) and connect directly to your database. This is common for developers who need to work with relational data in conjunction with realtime functionality.