What is Expanso and how does it work?

Expanso is a managed platform for deploying intelligent data pipelines at the edge. It processes data where it's generated - reducing bandwidth, latency, and costs. You deploy lightweight agents on your infrastructure, build pipelines using our visual builder or YAML, and control everything from a central SaaS platform.

Can I run AI/ML models directly in my data pipelines?

Yes! Expanso supports running ONNX, TensorFlow Lite, and other models as native pipeline steps. Execute low-latency inference on streaming data, enrich events with model outputs (like risk scores), and make decisions at the edge without cloud round-trips.

How many pre-built components are available?

Expanso provides 200+ pre-built components including inputs (Kafka, HTTP, files), processors (transformations, filtering, PII masking, aggregations), and outputs (S3, Snowflake, Datadog, Splunk). Browse the complete catalog in our Component Reference.

Do I need to write code to build pipelines?

No - use our drag-and-drop visual pipeline builder to create sophisticated pipelines without code. For advanced use cases, you can also write pipelines in YAML or use the Bloblang transformation language for complex data mappings.

How does Expanso help with data governance and compliance?

Expanso includes built-in governance features: automatic PII detection and masking, policy enforcement at the edge, RBAC, SSO integration, and comprehensive audit trails. Mask sensitive data before it ever leaves your network.

Pipeline Stuck in Failed State

When you try to redeploy or restart a failed pipeline, you get 409 CONFLICT errors because the edge thinks the job is still running.

Fixed in Latest Version

This issue was fixed in the latest version of Expanso Edge. Terminal executions (Complete, Failed, Stopped) are now automatically cleaned up when starting new executions. If you're experiencing this problem, upgrade to the latest version.

Symptoms

On older versions, you'll see this sequence in the logs:

# 1. Pipeline fails with runtime error
ERR failed assignment (line 1): expected string value, got null
    execution_id=e-8fa2319e-... pipeline_id=j-465ba85c-...

# 2. Job marked as failed
INF Updating job state new_state=failed reason="Daemon execution completed unexpectedly"

# 3. Orchestrator retries every 30 seconds
INF Processing RunExecution request execution_id=e-2aeb1b32-...

# 4. Edge rejects with 409 CONFLICT
ERR Failed to start execution component=execution_scheduler
    error.code=CONFLICT error.http_status=409
    error.message="pipeline j-465ba85c-... is already running with a different execution"

# 5. Retry loop continues indefinitely
INF Degraded execution - backoff elapsed, retrying ...
ERR Failed to start execution ... error.code=CONFLICT

Why This Happens

When a pipeline fails, the edge node keeps the failed execution in its tracking map. New execution attempts get rejected because the edge thinks the job is still running—even though the runner is in a failed state.

Workaround

Manually stop the job before redeploying:

# Stop the stuck job
expanso-cli job stop <job-name>

# Wait a few seconds for cleanup
sleep 5

# Redeploy (with fixed configuration if needed)
expanso-cli job deploy your-pipeline.yaml

Symptoms​

Why This Happens​

Workaround​

Symptoms

Why This Happens

Workaround