If the terms orchestration or Apache Airflow sound like intimidating industry jargon, this article will help you cut through the noise and understand the basics. So what exactly is data orchestration? In DataOps (Data Operations), it is the underlying system that manages data workflows (such as ETL pipelines) to ensure tasks run at the right time and in the correct sequence. For example, if data transformation depends on extraction, orchestration makes sure the extraction process runs to completion first. What is a DAG? A DAG is a model that contains all the tasks to be run. DAG stands for: Directed meaning tasks have a specific direction. Acyclic meaning it has no circular dependencies — extraction cannot depend on transformation if transformation depends on extraction. Graph meaning a collection of tasks (nodes) connected by dependencies (edges). What is a Task? This is a step in a DAG that describes a single unit of work. Think of the DAG as an orchestra conductor and the tasks as the instruments.…