11 Building an ML pipeline
This chapter covers
- Overview of ML pipelines
- Prerequisites for running an ML pipeline in Vertex AI
- Model training and deployment: local implementation vs. ML pipeline implementation
- Defining an ML pipeline to train and deploy a model
- Updating the model training code to work with an ML pipeline
- Using generative AI to help create the ML pipeline
In chapter 10, we went through the steps to deploy a deep learning model trained on tabular data. We deployed the model in a web application, first with the model running entirely on our local system, and then having the model deployed to a Vertex AI endpoint. In this chapter, we will go through the further steps to automate the training and deployment process by using an ML pipeline in Vertex AI. We will start by going over the setup steps necessary for an ML pipeline, including defining a Vertex AI dataset. Next, we will contrast the local model training and deployment we have seen from chapter 10 with model training and deployment using an ML pipeline. We will proceed to review the code specifically for the ML pipeline itself, along with the updates to the existing code, required for the model training code to work in the context of an ML pipeline. Finally, we will examine some of the ways that we can apply generative AI and get useful help from its outputs in the workflow for creating an ML pipeline.