13.3 Serverless and Cloud VM Robots: Cloud-Hosted Execution Options

13.3 Serverless and Cloud VM Robots: Cloud-Hosted Execution Options

Core Concept: Automation Cloud can run unattended jobs on infrastructure that UiPath hosts. Cloud robots - Serverless run background, cross-platform processes on demand with no machine to manage. Cloud robots - VM give you Windows virtual machines managed by UiPath, for automations that need a desktop. The exam description lists both under Orchestrator.

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Cloud Robots - Serverless

What runs on serverless

• Background, cross-platform processes only. Processes that need a Windows desktop, or Windows-only activities, cannot run there. (UiPath notes a known issue where foreground jobs with UI Automation are interpreted as background jobs.)
• Jobs use the Cloud - Serverless runtime (and a Testing runtime type for test automation).

Machine sizes

When you create a serverless machine you choose the size used for its jobs:

With automatic size selection, Orchestrator chooses based on the job: remote debugging jobs use Medium, processes that use UI Automation or Document Understanding use Standard, and other processes use Small.

Why teams use it

• No robot installation, patching, or machine connection.
• Capacity scales with demand, so API-driven and queue-driven background work starts quickly.
• Studio can remote debug on serverless robots.

Guard rails

On the Community plan, triggers that use a Cloud - Serverless runtime automatically get execution-based trigger disabling (disable after 10 consecutive failed executions, grace period 0 days), shown as read-only.

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Cloud Robots - VM

What you get

• Windows virtual machines hosted and maintained by UiPath, connected to Orchestrator automatically.
• You create a Cloud robot VM pool and choose its image, such as Windows Server 2019 or a Windows desktop image, and its size.

Pool types

Availability profiles (automatic pools)

Runtimes

A cloud VM runs foreground jobs through its unattended runtime. Additional runtimes can be added only for background processes.

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Setting Up Serverless Execution

1. In Tenant > Machines, add a machine of type Cloud robots - Serverless and choose its size or automatic selection.
2. Assign that machine to the folder that holds the process.
3. Make sure the process is a background, cross-platform project; check this in Studio before publishing.
4. Start a job or configure a trigger that uses the Cloud - Serverless runtime type.
5. Review the first runs in the Jobs page and adjust the machine size if jobs are slow or run out of memory.

Because nothing is installed on your side, serverless jobs cannot read files from a local drive or a network share. Keep inputs in storage buckets, queues, or cloud services instead.

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Choosing Where a Process Runs

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Exam-Style Scenarios

Scenario 1: A process calls three REST APIs, transforms JSON, and writes a result to a storage bucket. It is triggered by an API trigger dozens of times a day. Best fit: serverless; it is background and cross-platform.

Scenario 2: A process fills forms in a Windows desktop ERP client. Best fit: Cloud VM or your own unattended machine. Serverless cannot host desktop UI automation.

Scenario 3: Nightly batches should cost as little as possible, and a few minutes of start-up time is acceptable. Best fit: an automatic VM pool with the Balanced profile, or serverless if the process is background and cross-platform.

Scenario 4: Jobs sometimes fail with out-of-memory errors on serverless. Fix: choose a larger machine size, such as Medium (4 GB) or Large (10 GB), instead of relying on the automatic Small size.

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Recording and Troubleshooting

• Video recording of jobs is available for Cloud robots - Serverless, which helps investigate failures when you cannot sign in to the machine.
• Remote debugging with a serverless robot uses a Medium machine automatically, so the debug session has enough memory.
• Use Schedule ending of job execution and job alerts on triggers to catch stuck jobs.

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Common Traps

• Serverless is not a Windows desktop. Foreground or Windows-compatibility processes need a VM or your own machine.
• Automatic machine size is picked per job type; it does not grow when a job runs out of memory.
• Additional runtimes on a cloud VM are for background processes only.
• Serverless and Cloud VM robots are Automation Cloud offerings, not part of a standalone on-premises Orchestrator.