Principle:Ray project Ray Ray Runtime Initialization
| Knowledge Sources | |
|---|---|
| Domains | Distributed_Computing, Runtime_Management |
| Last Updated | 2026-02-13 17:00 GMT |
Overview
A runtime initialization mechanism that bootstraps a distributed computing framework, connecting a client process to a cluster scheduler and object store.
Description
Runtime Initialization is the foundational step in any distributed computing framework. It establishes the connection between a client process and the distributed runtime infrastructure, including the cluster scheduler (Raylet), the Global Control Store (GCS), and the distributed object store (Plasma). Without initialization, no distributed operations (task submission, actor creation, object passing) can proceed.
The initialization process typically involves:
- Loading the runtime factory via reflection or configuration
- Creating worker processes and connecting to the cluster head node
- Registering shutdown hooks for graceful cleanup
- Establishing communication channels with the scheduler
Usage
Use this principle as the first step in any Ray application. Runtime initialization must precede all distributed operations including task submission, actor creation, and object store access. It is a mandatory entry point for both single-node and multi-node cluster deployments.
Theoretical Basis
Runtime initialization follows the Factory Method Pattern. A runtime factory class is loaded dynamically (via reflection), which produces the concrete runtime instance. This decouples the public API from the specific runtime implementation (native cluster mode vs. local development mode).
Pseudo-code:
// Abstract initialization pattern
factory = loadFactory("runtime.DefaultFactory")
runtime = factory.createRuntime()
registerShutdownHook(runtime::shutdown)
The initialization is idempotent — calling it when already initialized is a no-op. It is also synchronized to prevent race conditions in multi-threaded startup scenarios.