6.5 Artifacts and configurations for reproducibility

Key points

1. A model registry stores model versions with names and aliases. An alias like 'champion' is a stable pointer that moves when a better model wins. MLOps means machine learning operations.

   What NVIDIA says (1)

   “The champion alias always points to the current production model: In a typical production cycle, start with a full pipeline run to establish a baseline champion.”

   — RAPIDS Deployment: Fraud detection model lifecycle with cuDF, Prefect, MLflow and Triton

2. Version control records every change to files over time. Configs in version control can rebuild an environment exactly. MLOps means machine learning operations.

   What NVIDIA says (1)

   “Storing infrastructure configurations in version control so production environments can be quickly replicated, whether for fault-tolerance or to create a replica environment for development.”

   — What Is MLOps? (NVIDIA Glossary)

Key terms

• MLflow: An open-source tool that records experiment settings, metrics and models, and keeps a model registry.
• Model registry: A store of model versions with names and aliases, such as the current production "champion".
• Model artifact: A file produced by a run, such as a saved model, that is stored with the run record.

Sample question

In the fraud MLOps example, how does the team always know which model version is in production?