Multi-Tenancy and Isolation
Architecture Diagram
Formal Definitions
Detailed Explanation
What is Multi-Tenancy?
Multi-tenancy allows multiple teams or organizations to share a single Airflow instance while maintaining logical isolation. Each tenant has their own DAGs, connections, variables, and resource quotas.
Key Insight: Without proper isolation, one team's resource-intensive DAGs can starve other teams' workflows.
Isolation Layers
| Layer | Method | Granularity | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| DAG Access | RBAC + Tags | Per-DAG | tags=['tenant:alpha'] |
| Resources | Pools | Per-task | pool='alpha_pool' |
| Credentials | Connections | Per-connection | conn_id='alpha_db' |
| Configuration | Variables | Per-variable | Variable.get('alpha_config') |
| Logs | Log routing | Per-DAG | S3 prefix s3://logs/alpha/ |
| Network | Namespaces | Per-tenant | K8s namespace airflow-alpha |
Multi-Tenancy Architecture
RBAC Configuration for Multi-Tenancy
Pool-Based Resource Quotas
Connection and Variable Isolation
Resource Quota Best Practices
- Start with reasonable limits â monitor usage and adjust based on actual needs
- Implement chargeback â track resource usage per tenant for cost allocation
- Set up alerts â notify when tenants approach quota limits
- Review quarterly â adjust quotas based on changing team needs
- Document quotas â ensure tenants understand their resource limits
Key Concepts Table
| Isolation Layer | Method | Implementation | Granularity |
|---|---|---|---|
| DAG Access | RBAC + Tags | tags=['tenant:alpha'] | Per-DAG |
| Resources | Pools | pool='alpha_pool' | Per-task |
| Credentials | Connections | conn_id='alpha_db' | Per-connection |
| Configuration | Variables | Variable.get('alpha_config') | Per-variable |
| Logs | Log routing | S3 prefix s3://logs/alpha/ | Per-DAG |
| Network | Namespaces | K8s namespace airflow-alpha | Per-tenant |
Code Examples
Tenant Management API
Tenant-Aware DAG Factory
Tenant Monitoring
Performance Metrics
Multi-Tenancy Metrics
| Metric | Target | Warning | Critical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isolation Score | > 0.9 | 0.7-0.9 | < 0.7 |
| Pool Utilization | < 80% | 80-95% | > 95% |
| Cross-Tenant Impact | 0 | Any | Multiple |
| Provisioning Time | < 5min | 5-15min | > 15min |
Tenant Resource Distribution
| Tenant | Pool Slots | DAG Count | Task Count | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha | 32 | 15 | 200 | 75% |
| Beta | 32 | 10 | 150 | 60% |
| Gamma | 64 | 25 | 400 | 80% |
See Also
- Security Best Practices â Security and access control
- Kubernetes Executor â K8s namespace isolation
- Monitoring and Alerting â Tenant-level monitoring
- Performance Tuning â Optimizing multi-tenant performance