Production Docker Image for Apache Airflow

• Production Docker Image for Apache Airflow

• Basic container image knowlegde
  • https://docker-curriculum.com
    
• Details of CI container image of Airflow
  • https://github.com/apache/airflow/blob/master/IMAGES.rst
    
• Details of how Kubernetes Airflow integrate
  • “Airflow on Kubernetes” by Michael Hewitt
  • https://www.crowdcast.io/e/airflowsummit/6
    
• Details on deploying Airflow with the image

• You want to deploy Airflow using container images
• You want to contribute to Airflow in Devops area
• You want to learn about best practices of using Airflow Containers
• You are a curious person that want to learn something new

• Standard unit of software
  • OCI: https://opencontainers.org
• Packages code and its dependencies
• Lightweight execution package of software
• Container images - binary packages

• Docker is a command line tool
  • Building, Running, Sharing containers
• Docker Engine runs containers
• Alternatives: rkt, containerd, runc, podman, lxc, …
• DockerHub.com is popular container registry
• Alternatives: GitHub, GCR, ECR, ACR

FROM ubuntu:18.04
COPY . /app
RUN make /app && make install
WORKDIR /bin/project
ENTRYPOINT ["/bin/project"]
CMD ["--help"]

• Specify base image
• Run commands
• Copy files
• Set working directory
• Define entrypoint
• Define default command

• Predictable, consistent development & test environment
• Predictable, consistent execution environment
• Lightweight but isolated: sandboxed view of the OS isolated from others
• Build once: run anywhere
• Kubernetes runs containers natively
• Bridge: “Development → Operations”

• Builds optimised image
• Highly customizable (ARGs)
• Multi segmented (build + main)
  ## Usage

docker build . -t yourcompany/airflow:1.10.11-BUILD_Id

FROM apache/airflow:1.10.11

# change to root user temporarily
USER root

RUN apt-get update \
    && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
    emacs \
    && apt-get autoremove -yqq --purge \
    && apt-get clean \
    && rm -rf '/var/lib/apt/lists/*'
    
# Change back to the airflow user
USER airflow

# Add extra dependencies
RUN pip install --user numpy

# Embed DAGs (Optionally) - DAGs can be baked in but also
# they can be git-synced or mounted from shared volume
COPY --chown=airflow:root dags-folder $(AIRFLOW_HOME)/dags/

• Use releases images
• Simple build command
• Own Dockerfile
• No need for Airflow sources

• Potentially bigger size
• Predefined extras only
• Installs limited set of python dependecies

git clone [email protected]:apache/airflow.git

cd airflow

git checkout v1-10-stable

docker build .

• Installs from PyPi == 1.10.11
• Additional airflow extras, dev, runtime deps …
• Does not use local sources (can be run from master including entrypoint)

• Breeze - development and test environment
• Supports building production image
• Auto-complete of options
• New Breeze video showing building production images:
  • https://s.apache.org/airflow-breeze
• ./breeze build-image --help

See BREEZE.rst in the Airflow repo

• Docker and Docker-Compose - not recommended for production
• Managed Container Services
  • Managed: Amazon ECS, Google Container on VMs, Azure Container Instances
• Kubernetes on-Prem:
  • Helm Chart
  • Airflow Operator (not recommended yet)
• Managed Kubernetes: Amazon EKS, Google GKe, Azure AKS
• OpenShift (also Kubernetes)