Seamless Inter-Team Communication Using a Binary Tree-Based Serverless Pipeline

Introduction¶

At ShitOps, one of our core challenges has been ensuring seamless communication between our multiple specialized teams. Given the complexity of our projects and the diverse technical stacks, establishing a reliable, scalable, and fault-tolerant communication mechanism is paramount.

After thorough requirements analysis, we identified the need for a robust pipeline that not only captures communication but actively manages the tasks of teams in a coherent, traceable way. Today, I am thrilled to share our latest solution: a binary tree-based serverless pipeline architecture enhanced with Kibana visualization and antivirus scanning to ensure secure, efficient data flow.

Problem Statement¶

Teams at ShitOps are segmented by function: Development, QA, Security, and Operations. Their communication often involves complex dependencies and workflow attributions that introduce latency and information loss. Additionally, there was a need to monitor what are the tasks of the teams dynamically and visually.

The core requirements:

• Robust, real-time inter-team communication

• Complex pipeline orchestration to handle dependencies

• Transparent task assignment and monitoring

• Security scanning on all communications to prevent malware infiltration

• Visualization using Kibana for operational intelligence

Proposed Solution¶

Our solution leverages a binary tree architecture to orchestrate team communications as nodes, providing structure and hierarchy. Utilizing serverless functions (AWS Lambda) for each node enables high scalability and fault tolerance.

Architecture Overview¶

Each node in the binary tree represents a communication hub for one or two teams. Messages travel up and down the tree, allowing aggregation and distribution of information based on complex algorithms tailored to our communication patterns.

We integrated an Antivirus scanning microservice triggered at each node to ensure messages are sanitized. Further, each message is logged extensively into an Elastic Stack, enabling visualization in Kibana.

The LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) backend acts as the orchestrator and initial message intake system, interfacing with the serverless layer through API gateways.

Communication Workflow¶

1. Initial message is received by the LAMP server from a team.

2. The message is encrypted and sent via API gateway to the respective Lambda function node.

3. Antivirus microservice scans the message.

4. The Lambda function applies our custom binary tree navigation algorithm to determine message routing.

5. Messages are forwarded to child or parent nodes accordingly.

6. All events are logged for visualization in Kibana.

Algorithm Detail¶

Our binary tree traversal algorithm uses post-order traversal to collate responses from child nodes before passing to the parent, ensuring data coherence.

Implementation Challenges¶

Deploying LAMP in conjunction with serverless functions required intricate synchronization logic. Ensuring the antivirus microservice operated efficiently without introducing significant latency was another hurdle.

Our team developed custom algorithms to bridge the gap between the synchronous LAMP backend and asynchronous serverless environment.

Benefits Realized¶

• Real-time communication with failover capabilities

• Comprehensive security due to integrated antivirus scanning

• Operational visibility enhanced through Kibana dashboards

• Modular, extensible architecture conducive to future scaling

Conclusion¶

By adopting a binary tree-based serverless communication pipeline powered by a LAMP backend and real-time antivirus scanning, ShitOps has elegantly met the complex requirements of inter-team communication. This architecture represents a robust, sophisticated pipeline adaptable to evolving enterprise needs.