Backend Architecture
Motivation
The backend architecture for Autoflow is designed to provide a robust and scalable platform for managing and orchestrating data pipelines.
Reason:
- Scalability: The system needs to handle large volumes of data and complex pipelines.
- Reliability: Ensuring that pipelines run reliably and consistently, even in the presence of failures.
- Flexibility: Allowing users to define and manage pipelines with different data sources, transformations, and destinations.
Sub-Topics:
- Components: The core building blocks of the system and their responsibilities.
- Data Flow: How data moves through the system and how pipelines are executed.
- Workflow Management: Mechanisms for defining, scheduling, monitoring, and managing pipelines.
- Integration: How Autoflow integrates with other systems and tools.
- Security: Measures taken to protect data and ensure secure access.
Components
The Autoflow backend architecture consists of several key components:
- Autoflow Server: The central control plane for managing pipelines. It handles workflow definition, scheduling, execution, monitoring, and user interactions. (server/main.go)
- Task Runner: Responsible for executing tasks within a pipeline. Each task runner can handle a specific type of task, such as data extraction, transformation, or loading. (pkg/task/task.go)
- Data Storage: Stores pipeline metadata, configurations, and task execution logs. The database choice can vary depending on the specific requirements and scale. (server/config/config.go)
- API Gateway: Provides a RESTful interface for users to interact with the system, such as creating, updating, and managing pipelines. (server/api/api.go)
Data Flow
The data flow in Autoflow follows a pipeline-based approach. Pipelines are defined as sequences of tasks, each performing a specific operation on the data.
- Pipeline Definition: Users define pipelines using the Autoflow Server interface.
- Task Scheduling: The server schedules tasks based on user-defined triggers or cron expressions.
- Task Execution: Task Runners are assigned tasks based on their capabilities.
- Data Transformation: Tasks process data according to their definitions, potentially transforming, filtering, or enriching the data.
- Output Destination: Transformed data is written to the specified output destinations, such as databases, file systems, or messaging queues.
- Monitoring and Logging: The server monitors task execution, logs events, and provides insights into pipeline performance.
Workflow Management
Autoflow provides a comprehensive workflow management system:
- Pipeline Definition: A visual or code-based interface for defining pipelines, including defining tasks, dependencies, and scheduling options.
- Task Execution: Real-time monitoring of task execution status, including progress, error messages, and metrics.
- Versioning and History: Tracking changes to pipeline definitions and task execution history for auditing and analysis.
- Alerting and Notifications: Triggering alerts and notifications based on events such as task failures, pipeline delays, or data quality issues.
- User Management: Controlling access and permissions for users and teams to manage pipelines.
Integration
Autoflow is designed to integrate with various systems and tools:
- Data Sources: Supports a wide range of data sources, including databases, file systems, messaging queues, and APIs.
- Data Transformations: Provides a library of built-in data transformations and allows users to define custom transformations.
- Output Destinations: Offers support for various output destinations, including databases, file systems, messaging queues, and analytics platforms.
- Third-Party Tools: Integrates with popular data analytics tools and orchestration platforms for seamless pipeline management.
Security
Security is a critical aspect of Autoflow:
- Authentication and Authorization: Implements robust authentication and authorization mechanisms to control access to pipelines and sensitive data.
- Data Encryption: Encrypts data at rest and in transit to protect against unauthorized access.
- Access Control: Provides granular access control mechanisms to restrict access based on roles and permissions.
- Security Auditing: Logs security-related events and actions for forensic analysis and compliance.
