Apache Airflow is an open-source workflow management system (WMS) that is primarily used to programmatically author, orchestrate, schedule, and monitor data pipelines as well as workflows. The solution makes it possible for you to manage your data pipelines by authoring workflows as directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) of tasks. By using Apache Airflow, you can orchestrate data pipelines over object stores and data warehouses, run workflows that are not data-related, and can also create and manage scripted data pipelines as code (Python).
Apache Airflow Features
Apache Airflow has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:
-
Smart sensor: In Apache Airflow, tasks are executed sequentially. The smart sensors are executed in bundles, and therefore consume fewer resources.
-
Dockerfile: By using Apache Airflow’s dockerfile feature, you can run your business’s Airflow code without having to document and automate the process of running Airflow on a server.
-
Scalability: Because Apache Airflow has a modular architecture and uses a message queue to orchestrate an arbitrary number of workers, you can easily scale it.
-
Plug-and-play operators: With Apache Airflow, you can choose from several plug-and-play operators that are ready to execute your tasks on many third-party services.
Apache Airflow Benefits
There are many benefits to implementing Apache Airflow. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:
-
User friendly: Using Apache Airflow requires minimal python knowledge to get started.
-
Intuitive user interface: The Apache Airflow user interface enables you to visualize pipelines running in production, monitor progress, and also troubleshoot issues when needed.
-
Easy integration: Apache Airflow can easily be integrated with cloud platforms (Google, AWS, Azure, etc).
-
Visual DAGs: Apache Airflow’s visual DAGs provide data lineage, which facilitates debugging of data flows and also aids in auditing and data governance.
-
Flexibility: Apache Airflow provides you with several ways to make DAG objects more flexible. At runtime, a context variable is passed to each workflow execution, which is quickly incorporated into an SQL statement that includes the run ID, execution date, and last and next run times.
-
Multiple deployment options: With Apache Airflow, you have several options for deployment, including self-service, open source, or a managed service.
-
Several data source connections: Apache Airflow can connect to a variety of data sources, including APIs, databases, data warehouses, and more.
Reviews from Real Users
Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by PeerSpot users currently using the Apache Airflow solution.
A Senior Solutions Architect/Software Architect says, “The product integrates well with other pipelines and solutions. The ease of building different processes is very valuable to us. The difference between Kafka and Airflow, is that it's better for dealing with the specific flows that we want to do some transformation. It's very easy to create flows.”
An Assistant Manager at a comms service provider mentions, “The best part of Airflow is its direct support for Python, especially because Python is so important for data science, engineering, and design. This makes the programmatic aspect of our work easy for us, and it means we can automate a lot.”
A Senior Software Engineer at a pharma/biotech company comments that he likes Apache Airflow because it is “Feature rich, open-source, and good for building data pipelines.”
Bizagi’s industry-leading low-code process automation platform connects people, applications, robots, and information. As the most business-friendly and flexible solution on the market, Bizagi enables true collaboration between business and IT, delivering faster adoption and success. Fuelled by a community of 1 million users, Bizagi powers over 1,000 organizations worldwide including Adidas, BAE Systems, and Old Mutual. For more information visit www.bizagi.com
BP Logix, a privately held company headquartered in San Diego, Ca., provides an intelligent business process management (BPM) and workflow platform for rapid development of digital business applications. The company’s products feature an innovative no-code/low-code interface, empowering “citizen developers”—business users—to rapidly configure custom applications. Hundreds of global organizations across every sector – government, non-profit, and commercial – have deployed BP Logix products and services, driving digital transformation and setting new benchmarks for agility, customer engagement, and speed to market.
Process Director from BP Logix is a BPM-driven, low-code/no-code platform for rapid development of digital applications. Process Director offers:
- Rapid prototyping and creation of workflow-, case-, or event-driven digital applications.
- Configurable and reusable business rules driving every aspect of application behavior and user experience.
- Great HTML5 user interface and reporting tools, ensuring a great experience for your colleagues and your customers, on any major mobile or desktop platform.
- Robust security, easy auditability and full accountability.
- Wealth of data and application connectors supported by a data virtualization layer that simplifies and secures access to enterprise information and services.
- Social network integration and federated authentication, essential building blocks for the easy, rapid deployment of customer-facing and supply-chain facing digital applications.
- Integration with digital payment platforms.
- Strong administrative tools for architecting and managing your application environment.
Programming is slow. Digital business is fast. Process Director helps you set the pace for your digital enterprise.
