Deploy OpenEdX Forum V2 to mitx

[feoh]

Description/Context

Overall

Changes that will require new infrastructure:

• new python service to replace Ruby service
• mysql instead of mongo
• feature flags
• data migration?

Deployment

• Split forum v2 and ultimately all openedx deploy into their own, non ol-infrastructure repository
• Write Dockerfile
• Create docker-packer-pulumi pipeline

[feoh]

https://github.com/openedx/forum

[feoh]

Forked the repo and took a very uneducated swing at a Dockerfile, but I'm missing too much context for this to be a likely hit.

[feoh]

Enabled in mitx-ci:

app@5cf73745591e:~/edx-platform$ ./manage.py lms waffle_flag --create --everyone discussions.enable_forum_v2

Creating flag: discussions.enable_forum_v2
Setting name: discussions.enable_forum_v2
Setting everyone: True
Setting percent: None
Setting superusers: False
Setting staff: False
Setting authenticated: False
Setting group(s): []
Setting user(s): set()
Setting rollout: False
Setting testing: False
app@5cf73745591e:~/edx-pl

[feoh]

Enable mysql backend as per @blarghmatey:

app@5cf73745591e:~/edx-platform$ ./manage.py lms waffle_flag --create --everyone forum_v2.enable_mysql_backend

Creating flag: forum_v2.enable_mysql_backend
Setting name: forum_v2.enable_mysql_backend
Setting everyone: True
Setting percent: None
Setting superusers: False
Setting staff: False
Setting authenticated: False
Setting group(s): []
Setting user(s): set()
Setting rollout: False
Setting testing: False

[feoh]

From @blarghmatey:

We need to provide the settings expected by the plugin which you can find at https://github.com/openedx/forum/blob/master/forum/settings/common.py

In particular, we need to set the MongoDB values, as well as setting the search backend to forum.search.es.ElasticsearchBackend

[feoh]

mongodb settings for forumv1:

https://github.com/mitodl/ol-infrastructure/blob/main/src/bilder/images/forum/files/forum.env.j2

[feoh]

I figured out the necessary syntax for a couple of the configurables by interpolating the example found here: https://github.com/openedx/forum/blob/342ad3b59344cb998159eb4ee580b39785888a62/forum/settings/test.py#L68 with the forum v1 info Tobias pointed me at previously.

Hopefully I managed to actually connect with the ball, if not make a base hit :)

[pdpinch]

Where/how can I see this in action? Is it on https://lms-ci.mitx.mit.edu/ ?

[feoh]

We found an upstream bug in validating this, reported at openedx/forum#155

[feoh]

Not even sure this will work going forward but worth a try. This is the URL that throws the exception:

https://courses-qa.mitxonline.mit.edu/courses/course-v1:MITx+10.50.CH01x+1T2023/discussion/forum/

[feoh]

Where/how can I see this in action? Is it on https://lms-ci.mitx.mit.edu/ ?

MITx Online QA.

See my URL above for an exact path to reproduce, but I'm also not sure if that URL encodes my user etc as we went through a bunch of steps to get there.

[pdpinch]

Thanks Chris. That URL is fine. I get the same 500 error that you reported.

https://courses-qa.mitxonline.mit.edu/courses/course-v1:MITx+10.50.CH01x+1T2023/discussion/forum/

I presume forums v2 is only enabled for this one course?

[pdpinch]

I heard from 2U that addressing the release blockers has delayed the deprecation and removal of forums v1. I don't think we can proceed with testing at least until openedx/forum#155 is resolved.