Troubleshooting machine learning pipelines

APPLIES TO: Python SDK azureml v1

In this article, you learn how to troubleshoot when you get errors running a machine learning pipeline in the Azure Machine Learning SDK and Azure Machine Learning designer.

Troubleshooting tips

The following table contains common problems during pipeline development, with potential solutions.

Authentication errors

If you perform a management operation on a compute target from a remote job, you receive one of the following errors:

{"code":"Unauthorized","statusCode":401,"message":"Unauthorized","details":[{"code":"InvalidOrExpiredToken","message":"The request token was either invalid or expired. Please try again with a valid token."}]}

{"error":{"code":"AuthenticationFailed","message":"Authentication failed."}}

For example, you receive an error if you try to create or attach a compute target from an ML Pipeline that is submitted for remote execution.

Troubleshooting ParallelRunStep

The script for a ParallelRunStep must contain two functions:

• init(): Use this function for any costly or common preparation for later inference. For example, use it to load the model into a global object. This function is called only once at beginning of process.
• run(mini_batch): The function runs for each mini_batch instance.
  • mini_batch: ParallelRunStep invokes run method and pass either a list or pandas DataFrame as an argument to the method. Each entry in mini_batch is a file path if input is a FileDataset or a pandas DataFrame if input is a TabularDataset.
  • response: run() method should return a pandas DataFrame or an array. For append_row output_action, these returned elements are appended into the common output file. For summary_only, the contents of the elements are ignored. For all output actions, each returned output element indicates one successful run of input element in the input mini-batch. Make sure that enough data is included in run result to map input to run output result. Run output is written in output file and not guaranteed to be in order, you should use some key in the output to map it to input.

%%writefile digit_identification.py
# Snippets from a sample script.
# Refer to the accompanying digit_identification.py
# (https://github.com/Azure/MachineLearningNotebooks/tree/master/how-to-use-azureml/machine-learning-pipelines/parallel-run)
# for the implementation script.

import os
import numpy as np
import tensorflow as tf
from PIL import Image
from azureml.core import Model


def init():
    global g_tf_sess

    # Pull down the model from the workspace
    model_path = Model.get_model_path("mnist")

    # Construct a graph to execute
    tf.reset_default_graph()
    saver = tf.train.import_meta_graph(os.path.join(model_path, 'mnist-tf.model.meta'))
    g_tf_sess = tf.Session()
    saver.restore(g_tf_sess, os.path.join(model_path, 'mnist-tf.model'))


def run(mini_batch):
    print(f'run method start: {__file__}, run({mini_batch})')
    resultList = []
    in_tensor = g_tf_sess.graph.get_tensor_by_name("network/X:0")
    output = g_tf_sess.graph.get_tensor_by_name("network/output/MatMul:0")

    for image in mini_batch:
        # Prepare each image
        data = Image.open(image)
        np_im = np.array(data).reshape((1, 784))
        # Perform inference
        inference_result = output.eval(feed_dict={in_tensor: np_im}, session=g_tf_sess)
        # Find the best probability, and add it to the result list
        best_result = np.argmax(inference_result)
        resultList.append("{}: {}".format(os.path.basename(image), best_result))

    return resultList

If you have another file or folder in the same directory as your inference script, you can reference it by finding the current working directory.

script_dir = os.path.realpath(os.path.join(__file__, '..',))
file_path = os.path.join(script_dir, "<file_name>")

Parameters for ParallelRunConfig

ParallelRunConfig is the major configuration for ParallelRunStep instance within the Azure Machine Learning pipeline. You use it to wrap your script and configure necessary parameters, including all of the following entries:

• entry_script: A user script as a local file path that is run in parallel on multiple nodes. If source_directory is present, use a relative path. Otherwise, use any path that's accessible on the machine.
• mini_batch_size: The size of the mini-batch passed to a single run() call. (optional; the default value is 10 files for FileDataset and 1MB for TabularDataset.)
  • For FileDataset, it's the number of files with a minimum value of 1. You can combine multiple files into one mini-batch.
  • For TabularDataset, it's the size of data. Example values are 1024, 1024KB, 10MB, and 1GB. The recommended value is 1MB. The mini-batch from TabularDataset will never cross file boundaries. For example, if you have .csv files with various sizes, the smallest file is 100 KB and the largest is 10 MB. If you set mini_batch_size = 1MB, then files with a size smaller than 1 MB are treated as one mini-batch. Files with a size larger than 1 MB are split into multiple mini-batches.
• error_threshold: The number of record failures for TabularDataset and file failures for FileDataset that should be ignored during processing. If the error count for the entire input goes above this value, the job is aborted. The error threshold is for the entire input and not for individual mini-batch sent to the run() method. The range is [-1, int.max]. The -1 part indicates ignoring all failures during processing.
• output_action: One of the following values indicates how the output is organized:
  • summary_only: The user script stores the output. ParallelRunStep uses the output only for the error threshold calculation.
  • append_row: For all inputs, only one file is created in the output folder to append all outputs separated by line.
• append_row_file_name: To customize the output file name for append_row output_action (optional; default value is parallel_run_step.txt).
• source_directory: Paths to folders that contain all files to execute on the compute target (optional).
• compute_target: Only AmlCompute is supported.
• node_count: The number of compute nodes to be used for running the user script.
• process_count_per_node: The number of processes per node. Best practice is to set to the number of GPU or CPU one node has (optional; default value is 1).
• environment: The Python environment definition. You can configure it to use an existing Python environment or to set up a temporary environment. The definition is also responsible for setting the required application dependencies (optional).
• logging_level: Log verbosity. Values in increasing verbosity are: WARNING, INFO, and DEBUG. (optional; the default value is INFO)
• run_invocation_timeout: The run() method invocation timeout in seconds. (optional; default value is 60)
• run_max_try: Maximum try count of run() for a mini-batch. A run() is failed if an exception is thrown, or nothing is returned when run_invocation_timeout is reached (optional; default value is 3).

You can specify mini_batch_size, node_count, process_count_per_node, logging_level, run_invocation_timeout, and run_max_try as PipelineParameter, so that when you resubmit a pipeline run, you can fine-tune the parameter values. In this example, you use PipelineParameter for mini_batch_size and Process_count_per_node and you change these values when you resubmit a run later.

Parameters for creating the ParallelRunStep

Create the ParallelRunStep by using the script, environment configuration, and parameters. Specify the compute target that you already attached to your workspace as the target of execution for your inference script. Use ParallelRunStep to create the batch inference pipeline step, which takes all the following parameters:

• name: The name of the step, with the following naming restrictions: unique, 3-32 characters, and regex ^[a-z]([-a-z0-9]*[a-z0-9])?$.
• parallel_run_config: A ParallelRunConfig object, as defined earlier.
• inputs: One or more single-typed Azure Machine Learning datasets to be partitioned for parallel processing.
• side_inputs: One or more reference data or datasets used as side inputs without need to be partitioned.
• output: An OutputFileDatasetConfig object that corresponds to the output directory.
• arguments: A list of arguments passed to the user script. Use unknown_args to retrieve them in your entry script (optional).
• allow_reuse: Whether the step should reuse previous results when run with the same settings/inputs. If this parameter is False, a new run is generated for this step during pipeline execution. (optional; the default value is True.)

from azureml.pipeline.steps import ParallelRunStep

parallelrun_step = ParallelRunStep(
    name="predict-digits-mnist",
    parallel_run_config=parallel_run_config,
    inputs=[input_mnist_ds_consumption],
    output=output_dir,
    allow_reuse=True
)

Debugging techniques

There are three major techniques for debugging pipelines:

• Debug individual pipeline steps on your local computer
• Use logging and Application Insights to isolate and diagnose the source of the problem
• Attach a remote debugger to a pipeline running in Azure

Debug scripts locally

One of the most common failures in a pipeline is that the domain script doesn't run as intended, or contains runtime errors in the remote compute context that are difficult to debug.

Pipelines themselves can't be run locally. But running the scripts in isolation on your local machine allows you to debug faster because you don't have to wait for the compute and environment build process. Some development work is required to do this:

• If your data is in a cloud datastore, you need to download data and make it available to your script. Using a small sample of your data is a good way to cut down on runtime and quickly get feedback on script behavior
• If you're attempting to simulate an intermediate pipeline step, you may need to manually build the object types that the particular script is expecting from the prior step
• You need to define your own environment, and replicate the dependencies defined in your remote compute environment

Once you have a script setup to run on your local environment, it's easier to do debugging tasks like:

• Attaching a custom debug configuration
• Pausing execution and inspecting object-state
• Catching type or logical errors that won't be exposed until runtime

Configure, write to, and review pipeline logs

Testing scripts locally is a great way to debug major code fragments and complex logic before you start building a pipeline. At some point you need to debug scripts during the actual pipeline run itself, especially when diagnosing behavior that occurs during the interaction between pipeline steps. We recommend liberal use of print() statements in your step scripts so that you can see object state and expected values during remote execution, similar to how you would debug JavaScript code.

Logging options and behavior

The following table provides information for different debug options for pipelines. It isn't an exhaustive list, as other options exist besides just the Azure Machine Learning and Python ones shown here.

Logging options example

import logging

from azureml.core.run import Run

run = Run.get_context()

# Azure Machine Learning Scalar value logging
run.log("scalar_value", 0.95)

# Python print statement
print("I am a python print statement, I will be sent to the driver logs.")

# Initialize Python logger
logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
logger.setLevel(args.log_level)

# Plain Python logging statements
logger.debug("I am a plain debug statement, I will be sent to the driver logs.")
logger.info("I am a plain info statement, I will be sent to the driver logs.")

handler = AzureLogHandler(connection_string='<connection string>')
logger.addHandler(handler)

Azure Machine Learning designer

For pipelines created in the designer, you can find the 70_driver_log file in either the authoring page, or in the pipeline run detail page.

Enable logging for real-time endpoints

In order to troubleshoot and debug real-time endpoints in the designer, you must enable Application Insight logging using the SDK. Logging lets you troubleshoot and debug model deployment and usage issues. For more information, see Logging for deployed models.

Get logs from the authoring page

When you submit a pipeline run and stay in the authoring page, you can find the log files generated for each component as each component finishes running.

1. Select a component that has finished running in the authoring canvas.

2. In the right pane of the component, go to the Outputs + logs tab.

3. Expand the right pane, and select the 70_driver_log.txt to view the file in browser. You can also download logs locally.

   

Get logs from pipeline runs

You can also find the log files for specific runs in the pipeline run detail page, which can be found in either the Pipelines or Experiments section of the studio.

1. Select a pipeline run created in the designer.

   

2. Select a component in the preview pane.

3. In the right pane of the component, go to the Outputs + logs tab.

4. Expand the right pane to view the std_log.txt file in browser, or select the file to download the logs locally.

Interactive debugging with Visual Studio Code

In some cases, you may need to interactively debug the Python code used in your ML pipeline. By using Visual Studio Code (VS Code) and debugpy, you can attach to the code as it runs in the training environment. For more information, visit the interactive debugging in VS Code guide.

HyperdriveStep and AutoMLStep fail with network isolation

After you use HyperdriveStep and AutoMLStep, when you attempt to register the model you may receive an error.

• You're using Azure Machine Learning SDK v1.

• Your Azure Machine Learning workspace is configured for network isolation (VNet).

• Your pipeline attempts to register the model generated by the previous step. For example, in the following example, the inputs parameter is the saved_model from a HyperdriveStep:

  register_model_step = PythonScriptStep(script_name='register_model.py',
                                     name="register_model_step01",
                                     inputs=[saved_model],
                                     compute_target=cpu_cluster,
                                     arguments=["--saved-model", saved_model],
                                     allow_reuse=True,
                                     runconfig=rcfg)
  

Workaround

To work around this error, use the Run class to get the model created from the HyperdriveStep or AutoMLStep. The following is an example script that gets the output model from a HyperdriveStep:

%%writefile $script_folder/model_download9.py
import argparse
from azureml.core import Run
from azureml.pipeline.core import PipelineRun
from azureml.core.experiment import Experiment
from azureml.train.hyperdrive import HyperDriveRun
from azureml.pipeline.steps import HyperDriveStepRun

if __name__ == "__main__":
    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
    parser.add_argument(
        '--hd_step_name', 
        type=str, dest='hd_step_name', 
        help='The name of the step that runs AutoML training within this pipeline')
        
        
    
    args = parser.parse_args()
    
    current_run = Run.get_context()

    pipeline_run = PipelineRun(current_run.experiment, current_run.experiment.name)

    hd_step_run = HyperDriveStepRun((pipeline_run.find_step_run(args.hd_step_name))[0])
    hd_best_run = hd_step_run.get_best_run_by_primary_metric()

    print(hd_best_run)
    hd_best_run.download_file("outputs/model/saved_model.pb", "saved_model.pb")
    
    
    print("Successfully downloaded model") 

The file can then be used from a PythonScriptStep:

from azureml.pipeline.steps import PythonScriptStep
conda_dep = CondaDependencies()
conda_dep.add_pip_package("azureml-sdk")
conda_dep.add_pip_package("azureml-pipeline")

rcfg = RunConfiguration(conda_dependencies=conda_dep)

model_download_step = PythonScriptStep(
    name="Download Model 9",
    script_name="model_download9.py", 
    arguments=["--hd_step_name", hd_step_name],
    compute_target=compute_target,
    source_directory=script_folder,
    allow_reuse=False,
    runconfig=rcfg
)

Next steps

• For a complete tutorial using ParallelRunStep, see Tutorial: Build an Azure Machine Learning pipeline for batch scoring.

• For a complete example showing automated machine learning in ML pipelines, see Use automated ML in an Azure Machine Learning pipeline in Python.

• See the SDK reference for help with the azureml-pipelines-core package and the azureml-pipelines-steps package.

• See the list of designer exceptions and error codes.