Title

AWS re:Invent 2023 - Netflix’s journey to an Apache Iceberg–only data lake (NFX306)

Summary

• Netflix modernized their data lake using Apache Iceberg, an open table format invented at Netflix.
• The transition from a Hive-based data lake to an Iceberg-only data lake aimed to manage data lakes with transactional compliance efficiently.
• Netflix faced challenges with scaling and required new features and tools to handle the data volume.
• The migration to Iceberg resulted in cost reductions, performance improvements, and better security controls.
• Netflix developed a comprehensive ecosystem around Iceberg, including metadata services, table management services, and migration tooling.
• The migration tooling was designed to minimize data movement, user friction, and ensure business continuity.
• Netflix encountered and addressed several migration challenges, such as legacy data formats and custom libraries.
• The Iceberg ecosystem at Netflix includes services like Metacat, Polaris, Auto-Tune, AutoLift, and secure Iceberg tables.
• Netflix is open-sourcing their Hive to Iceberg migration tooling to benefit the broader community.

Insights

• Apache Iceberg offers significant advantages over Hive, including ACID transactions, a rich metadata layer, and better data management capabilities.
• Netflix's migration to Iceberg is a substantial effort, involving the migration of over 1.5 million tables and hundreds of petabytes of data.
• The migration tooling developed by Netflix is state-of-the-art, featuring components like processors, communicators, migrators, reverters, and shadowers to handle the complex migration process.
• Netflix's approach to migration emphasizes minimal disruption to users and operations, showcasing their commitment to maintaining service quality during significant infrastructure changes.
• The open-sourcing of Netflix's migration tooling reflects a commitment to the open-source community and a desire to set industry standards for data management practices.
• Netflix's data platform architecture is highly sophisticated, leveraging AWS services like S3 and EC2, and custom-built services to handle their big data needs.
• The talk highlights the importance of data in driving Netflix's customer-facing features, such as personalized recommendations and content discovery.
• Netflix's journey underscores the trend towards cloud-native, extensible architectures that enable rapid experimentation and tech stack improvements.