Executive summary
DataHub, the leading open source metadata platform, faced significant hurdles in distributing its software to a global user base. Utilizing a legacy distribution system resulted in prohibitive costs, rigid access controls, and a fragmented user experience. By migrating to Cloudsmith, DataHub successfully streamlined its software delivery through a unified, fully managed artifact management platform. The implementation of entitlement tokens provided granular control over software access and helped eliminate deployment friction. This transition reduced operational overhead and strengthened the company's security posture through automated image scanning.
Company description
For an early-stage startup like DataHub, software distribution is a critical business function that directly impacts customer adoption and retention. The company needed to distribute its “Remote Executor” agent, a component that collects metadata locally within a customer's infrastructure, to many enterprise customers.
However, the incumbent software distribution system, Docker Hub, presented a significant financial and operational burden. High per-seat pricing meant that projected growth would eventually make the distribution model unsustainable. To remain fiscally responsible while maintaining a “best in breed” experience, DataHub required a solution that facilitated seamless software updates without cost-prohibitive barriers.
Distributing the Remote Executor in a safe and reliable way was a very important goal.
DataHub originally relied on Docker Hub for software image distribution, but the platform lacked the sophisticated features required for enterprise-grade delivery. The team encountered several technical limitations:
Facing these obstacles, the engineering team realized they had to either build a custom distribution platform from scratch, which was a massive undertaking, or find a specialized alternative.
We used to have Docker [Hub] as a main mechanism to distribute the Remote Executor, but … Docker [Hub] … did not allow for a large customer base or controls on the artifacts that are being distributed.
DataHub chose Cloudsmith for its ability to handle complex, global distribution needs through a cloud-native SaaS architecture. The transition focused on several key technical areas:
Cloudsmith implemented this feature called entitlement tokens, and that is exactly what we wanted … a simple way to tell our customers how to download the artifacts without adding too much complexity into the … pipelines to deploy the product.
The adoption of Cloudsmith transformed DataHub’s distribution workflow from a point of friction into a strategic advantage.
[Cloudsmith] has made it much more simple for our customers, which is our primary use case... the main technical challenge which was to distribute artifacts to our customers, primarily the Remote Executor, was resolved.
Following the success of the Remote Executor distribution, DataHub plans to further optimize the distribution experience with private broadcasts and a custom portal. Having branded distribution endpoints using its own domain name, will provide a professional and recognizable experience for customers.
DataHub also plans to expand its use of Cloudsmith to manage Chainguard hardened images and libraries internally. Additionally, the team intends to implement automated lifecycle and cleanup policies to manage software versioning in relation to distribution. These controls will allow DataHub to define and enforce formal end-of-life (EOL) guidance, ensuring customers always have access to the most secure and performant versions of the platform.
The goal is to use Cloudsmith as the gold standard for all the artifacts we use to build and distribute the product.
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