Containerized Spotfire Service for Python

Spotfire Service for Python on Linux is configured to use a Docker® container by default.

To use a Spotfire Service for Python running a containerized Python engine on a Linux system, download and install Docker.

If you have not yet installed the Spotfire Service for Python, install Docker first, and then install the Spotfire Service for Python.
If you have already installed the Spotfire Service for Python before installing Docker, then stop the Spotfire Service for Python, install Docker, set the configuration to use Docker, and then restart the Spotfire Service for Python.

We tested using version 19.03.13 is recommended). See www.docker.com for more information.

Containerized Spotfire Service for Python operates the Python engine in a "sandbox", so the Python engine does not have access to the host file system. Because containerized Spotfire Service for Python prevents the Python engine from accessing the host system, it can execute Spotfire data functions if the data function is from a trusted source. (For more information about script and data function trust, see the TIBCO Spotfire Analyst User's Guide). Running the Spotfire Service for Python in a container results in negligible performance impact. If the data function is running in a container and attempts to access the file system or other host resource, the data function will fail.

Warning: Containerization of the engines does not, by default, limit access to the network. If your system supports untrusted or public users creating data functions, consider additional firewall configuration on the host system to limit container exposure to the network or internet to only necessary sites and servers. Consult your OS or Docker documentation for further guidance.

The only container framework with which we developed and tested the Spotfire Service for Python is Docker. We do not provide Docker with the base installation; however, you must have Docker installed for the Spotfire Service for Python to work properly out of the box. The service downloads and builds a default Docker image based on CentOS 8 from Docker Hub. While you cannot modify the image we provide, you can build and use a different Docker image if you have different configuration requirements. This section contains a few examples of specifying different Docker images. Alternatively, check Docker Hub for an image that might work for you.

Note: Docker is available under separate software license terms and is not part of the Spotfire Server or the Spotfire Service for Python. As such, Docker is not within the scope of your license for Spotfire Server or Spotfire Service for Python. Docker is not supported, maintained, or warranted in any way by Cloud Software Group, Inc. Download and use of Docker is solely at your own discretion and subject to license terms applicable to Docker.

You can export and change the configuration options to build and install a customized image. See Configuring Spotfire Service for Python for more information. The property to change in the configuration is startup.hook.script.

After you install and configure both the container and the Spotfire Service for Python, you can start the service. When the service starts, containers are created as needed.