Advanced Data Processing in Airflow with Hooks, XComs, Sensors, and Variables
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Learning Objectives
Overview
WeTelco, a leading telecom company, continues to deal with massive datasets daily, including customer records, billing data, device information, and various operational metrics. As the company grows, the need for efficient data processing becomes critical. Previously, WeTelco streamlined its ETL pipeline using Task Groups to manage the complexity of its Airflow DAG. However, the company now faces more sophisticated challenges that require leveraging advanced Airflow concepts such as Hooks, XComs, Sensors, and Variables.
In this project, WeTelco aims to build on the foundational knowledge of Airflow by integrating these advanced features into their DAG. The focus is on optimizing data workflows by:
- Using Hooks: To interact with external systems like databases and cloud storage.
- Utilizing XComs: For inter-task communication, enabling tasks to share data dynamically.
- Implementing Sensors: For monitoring external conditions or events and triggering tasks accordingly.
- Managing Variables: To make the DAG more flexible and reusable by controlling configurations centrally.
By the end of this project, WeTelco expects to have a more robust, flexible, and dynamic ETL pipeline capable of handling the complexities of its growing data ecosystem.
Prerequisites
- Basic Airflow Knowledge:
- Understanding of Python functions, decorators, and context managers, which are essential for implementing Hooks and XComs.
- Familiarity with database operations (e.g., querying, updating) and interaction with cloud storage platforms like AWS S3.
- Experience in developing ETL pipelines, especially using Airflow or similar workflow orchestration tools.
- Understanding of common ETL challenges such as data extraction, transformation, loading, and backup processes.