1ce332fa1b
The rename of process_work_units and _results_from_pipes during the fan-out refactor left three references behind, in the guide, the checklist and the loosely coupled module docstring. The guide also showed loosely_coupled_k8s_job without its executor_def and claimed the pipes client replaced the executor, which stopped being true once the graph fanned out. Both images were built and smoke tested: the code location image loads its definitions, and the payload image ships dagster_pipes without dagster. That check is now recorded as L11 in the readiness checklist, so the isolation argument is verified at image level and not only in the source. Changelog: fixed
Distributed Execution
Canonical location for documentation, example workflows and reference service implementations covering distributed execution patterns in the Simpl orchestration platform.
The service answers one question for every workflow: where does the compute actually run, and how does runtime information get back to the control plane?
Contents
| Area | Location | Status |
|---|---|---|
| User guide | documents/user-guide/distributed-execution-guide.md | Complete |
| Readiness checklist | documents/user-guide/readiness-checklist.md | Complete |
| Tightly coupled reference | src/distributed_execution/tightly_coupled/jobs.py | Runnable |
| Loosely coupled reference | src/distributed_execution/loosely_coupled/jobs.py | Runnable (subprocess verified) |
| External payload | payload/work.py | Runnable |
| Example configuration | yaml/ | Complete |
Project structure
distributed-execution/
├── src/
│ └── distributed_execution/
│ ├── repository.py # Dagster definitions (entry point)
│ ├── ops.py # Shared ops used by both patterns
│ ├── preflight.py # Readiness checks backing the checklist
│ ├── tightly_coupled/
│ │ └── jobs.py # in_process / multiprocess / k8s_job_executor
│ └── loosely_coupled/
│ └── jobs.py # PipesSubprocessClient / PipesK8sClient
├── payload/ # External workload: dagster-pipes ONLY
│ ├── work.py
│ ├── requirements.txt
│ └── Dockerfile
├── documents/user-guide/ # AC1-AC4 documentation
├── yaml/ # Working example configuration
├── tests/
├── Dockerfile
├── pyproject.toml
└── workspace.yaml
Getting started
Prerequisites: Python 3.12+ and uv.
uv sync --dev
uv run dagster dev -f src/distributed_execution/repository.py
The Dagster UI is then available at http://localhost:3000. Two jobs run end to
end on a laptop with no cluster: tightly_coupled_in_process_job and
loosely_coupled_subprocess_job. The Kubernetes variants of each require a
cluster and are documented in the user guide.
tightly_coupled_local_jobusesmultiprocess_executor. It did not complete on a Windows development machine during authoring — see the Windows note in the user guide's section 5.5.
Running tests
uv run pytest
Building the images
Two images, deliberately: the code location and the external payload are versioned and scanned independently.
docker build -t distributed-execution:0.1.0 .
docker build -f payload/Dockerfile -t distributed-execution-payload:0.1.0 payload/
Both images build and have been smoke tested locally: the code location image
loads its definitions, and the payload image contains dagster_pipes without
dagster — check L11 in the readiness checklist.
Status
Both execution targets are implemented. The tightly coupled jobs and the loosely coupled subprocess transport are verified by the test suite. The loosely coupled Kubernetes transport is implemented but has not yet been run against a cluster; see the guide's Outstanding work section.
Licence
European Union Public Licence v1.2 — see LICENSE.