Multi-Agent Systems: Orchestrating Agents at Scale
Who this is for:
Architecture / Concept Overview: Multi-Agent Systems: Orchestrating Agents at Scale
A multi-agent system uses a supervisor pattern to coordinate specialised agents, each responsible for a distinct domain.
%%{init: {"theme":"base","themeVariables":{"background":"#0B0E14","primaryTextColor":"#E0E6ED","lineColor":"#5D6470","darkMode":true,"primaryColor":"#2E4A4A","secondaryColor":"#374151","secondaryTextColor":"#E0E6ED","tertiaryColor":"#111827","tertiaryTextColor":"#E0E6ED","edgeLabelBackground":"#1f2937"}}}%%
flowchart LR
classDef source fill:#3F4B59,stroke:#9CA3AF,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
classDef ingestion fill:#5A4B36,stroke:#C9A86B,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
classDef processing fill:#535072,stroke:#8E82B4,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
classDef storage fill:#2E4A4A,stroke:#5FAFA8,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
classDef serving fill:#3D5550,stroke:#6BB7AA,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
classDef governance fill:#5A3F52,stroke:#C28BB0,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
USER[User Query] -->|Route| SUPERVISOR[Supervisor Agent]
SUPERVISOR -->|Delegate| SQL_AGENT[SQL Agent]
SUPERVISOR -->|Delegate| DOC_AGENT[Documentation Agent]
SUPERVISOR -->|Delegate| CODE_AGENT[Code Agent]
SQL_AGENT -->|Query| DB[Unity Catalog Tables]
DOC_AGENT -->|Search| VS[Vector Search]
CODE_AGENT -->|Execute| NB[Notebook Execution]
SQL_AGENT -->|Return| SUPERVISOR
DOC_AGENT -->|Return| SUPERVISOR
CODE_AGENT -->|Return| SUPERVISOR
SUPERVISOR -->|Synthesise| RESPONSE[Final Response]
USER:::source
SUPERVISOR:::governance
SQL_AGENT:::processing
DOC_AGENT:::storage
CODE_AGENT:::serving
DB:::ingestion
VS:::storage
NB:::ingestion
RESPONSE:::source
*Multi-agent orchestration: a supervisor routes queries to specialised agents, gathers results, and synthesises a unified response.*
%%{init: {"theme":"base","themeVariables":{"background":"#0B0E14","primaryTextColor":"#E0E6ED","lineColor":"#5D6470","darkMode":true,"primaryColor":"#2E4A4A","secondaryColor":"#374151","secondaryTextColor":"#E0E6ED","tertiaryColor":"#111827","tertiaryTextColor":"#E0E6ED","edgeLabelBackground":"#1f2937"}}}%%
graph TD
classDef source fill:#3F4B59,stroke:#9CA3AF,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
classDef ingestion fill:#5A4B36,stroke:#C9A86B,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
classDef processing fill:#535072,stroke:#8E82B4,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
classDef storage fill:#2E4A4A,stroke:#5FAFA8,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
classDef serving fill:#3D5550,stroke:#6BB7AA,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
classDef governance fill:#5A3F52,stroke:#C28BB0,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
PATTERNS[Orchestration Patterns] --> SUPERVISOR_P[Supervisor Pattern]
PATTERNS --> SEQUENTIAL[Sequential Pipeline]
PATTERNS --> PARALLEL[Parallel Fan-Out]
PATTERNS --> HIERARCHICAL[Hierarchical Delegation]
SUPERVISOR_P --> ROUTE[Route by Intent]
SUPERVISOR_P --> SYNTH[Synthesise Results]
SEQUENTIAL --> STEP1[Agent 1 - Analyse]
SEQUENTIAL --> STEP2[Agent 2 - Plan]
SEQUENTIAL --> STEP3[Agent 3 - Execute]
PARALLEL --> FAN[Fan-Out Queries]
PARALLEL --> MERGE[Merge Results]
PATTERNS:::governance
SUPERVISOR_P:::processing
SEQUENTIAL:::storage
PARALLEL:::serving
HIERARCHICAL:::ingestion
ROUTE:::source
SYNTH:::source
STEP1:::source
STEP2:::source
STEP3:::source
FAN:::source
MERGE:::source
*Multi-agent orchestration patterns: supervisor, sequential, parallel, and hierarchical.*
Key Terms
Prerequisites and Setup
- Databricks workspace with Agent Framework, Model Serving, and Vector Search.
- Multiple serving endpoints or tool sets for each specialised agent.
databricks-agentspackage.
Step-by-Step Implementation
Configuration Reference
| Parameter | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
max_delegation_depth | 3 | Maximum nesting depth for agent delegation |
timeout_seconds | 60 | Maximum time per agent execution |
parallel_execution | false | Run fan-out agents in parallel |
synthesis_model | same as supervisor | Model used for result synthesis |