Apache Airflow vs. Azure Data Factory

For a quick job scanning of status and deep-diving into job issues, details, and flows, AirFlow does a good job. No fuss, no muss. The low learning curve as the UI is very straightforward, and navigating it will be familiar after spending some time using it. Our requirements are pretty simple. Job scheduler, workflows, and monitoring. The jobs we run are >100, but still is a lot to review and troubleshoot when jobs don't run. So when managing large jobs, AirFlow dated UI can be a bit of a drawback.

Incentivized

Well-suited Scenarios for Azure Data Factory (ADF): When an organization has data sources spread across on-premises databases and cloud storage solutions, I think Azure Data Factory is excellent for integrating these sources. Azure Data Factory's integration with Azure Databricks allows it to handle large-scale data transformations effectively, leveraging the power of distributed processing. For regular ETL or ELT processes that need to run at specific intervals (daily, weekly, etc.), I think Azure Data Factory's scheduling capabilities are very handy. Less Appropriate Scenarios for Azure Data Factory: Real-time Data Streaming - Azure Data Factory is primarily batch-oriented. Simple Data Copy Tasks - For straightforward data copy tasks without the need for transformation or complex workflows, in my opinion, using Azure Data Factory might be overkill; simpler tools or scripts could suffice. Advanced Data Science Workflows: While Azure Data Factory can handle data prep and transformation, in my experience, it's not designed for in-depth data science tasks. I think for advanced analytics, machine learning, or statistical modeling, integration with specialized tools would be necessary.

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• In charge of the ETL processes.
• As there is no incoming or outgoing data, we may handle the scheduling of tasks as code and avoid the requirement for monitoring.

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• It allows copying data from various types of data sources like on-premise files, Azure Database, Excel, JSON, Azure Synapse, API, etc. to the desired destination.
• We can use linked service in multiple pipeline/data load.
• It also allows the running of SSIS & SSMS packages which makes it an easy-to-use ETL & ELT tool.

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• they should bring in some time based scheduling too not only event based
• they do not store the metadata due to which we are not able to analyze the workflows
• they only support python as of now for scripted pipeline writing

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• Limited source/sink (target) connectors depending on which area of Azure Data Factory you are using.
• Does not yet have parity with SSIS as far as the transforms available.

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Easy to learn Easy to use Robust workflow orchestration framework Good in dependent job management

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We have not had need to engage with Microsoft much on Azure Data Factory, but they have been responsive and helpful when needed. This being said, we have not had a major emergency or outage requiring their intervention. The score of seven is a representation that they have done well for now, but have not proved out their support for a significant issue

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There are a number of reasons to choose Apache Airflow over other similar platforms- Integrations—ready-to-use operators allow you to integrate Airflow with cloud platforms (Google, AWS, Azure, etc) Apache Airflow helps with backups and other DevOps tasks, such as submitting a Spark job and storing the resulting data on a Hadoop cluster It has machine learning model training, such as triggering a Sage maker job.

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The easy integration with other Microsoft software as well as high processing speed, very flexible cost, and high level of security of Microsoft Azure products and services stack up against other similar products.

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• A lot of helpful features out-of-the-box, such as the DAG visualizations and task trees
• Allowed us to implement complex data pipelines easily and at a relatively low cost

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• It is very useful and make things easier
• Debugging can improve
• Its better suited than other products with the same objective

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