1687781 - Add XML parameter support to allow Balrog to disable background updates

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Toolkit :: Application Update, task)

Description

[Nick Alexander :nalexander [he/him]]

To help releng and the Balrog operations team, we should add a query parameter to the Balrog request saying that we're from background update: &background_update=1 or similar.

We could try to do even more, respecting X-Backoff in the manner that Firefox Sync does, to allow the service to control clients, but I think we'd probably want to investigate using Remote Settings for that kind of remote kill switch before doing the non-trivial client side labour.

Comment 1

[Robin Steuber (they/them) [:bytesized]]

I think we should consider adding this functionality as an XML parameter rather than a query parameter. That is how we handle disableBITS, here. I think that both solutions are a similar amount of effort, but that following suit with disableBITS is slightly more consistent. I also asked in the Balrog channel on Matrix, and they expressed a preference for this solution.

Comment 2

[Robin Steuber (they/them) [:bytesized]]

From the conversations where this topic has come up, it sounded to me like you are okay with using the XML parameter mechanism rather than the query parameter, but I wanted to confirm. Does that sound alright?

Also, I'm talking to the Balrog people about this, and they would like to know if we have a deadline for when we need this done by. Do we have a deadline in mind for this?

Comment 3

[Robin Steuber (they/them) [:bytesized]]

Oh, I didn't mean to actually change the summary yet.

Comment 4

[Nick Alexander :nalexander [he/him]]

(In reply to Kirk Steuber (he/him) [:bytesized] from comment #2)

From the conversations where this topic has come up, it sounded to me like you are okay with using the XML parameter mechanism rather than the query parameter, but I wanted to confirm. Does that sound alright?

Yes, I'm fine with this.

Also, I'm talking to the Balrog people about this, and they would like to know if we have a deadline for when we need this done by. Do we have a deadline in mind for this?

Not really. I mean, it would be great if we had it before we hit the release channel in case we start melting servers -- that would be Firefox 89 in Release, roughly 2 months from now. But I don't think that will happen, and an XML flag wouldn't really mitigate load, since responses still need to be served with the flag. So... mid-June?

Comment 5

[Robin Steuber (they/them) [:bytesized]]

https://github.com/mozilla-releng/balrog/issues/1925

Comment 6

[Robin Steuber (they/them) [:bytesized]]

(In reply to Nick Alexander :nalexander [he/him] from comment #4)

it would be great if we had it before we hit the release channel in case we start melting servers

I believe that the Balrog team would prefer not to be trying to catch up with features that we have already implemented. When I asked :bhearsum about this, he said:

i think it's important than we have the balrog work in production and ready to use before we do anything that would potentially require us to use it -- i don't want to get into a situation where we're rushing changes into production
if you have a deadline/timeline, please let me know

---

an XML flag wouldn't really mitigate load, since responses still need to be served with the flag

XML responses, sure. But the MARs would not need to be served in that case.

Comment 7

[Robin Steuber (they/them) [:bytesized]]

Attachment: Bug 1687781 - Add XML parameter support to allow Balrog to disable background updates r=nalexander!,bhearsum!

Comment 8

[Robin Steuber (they/them) [:bytesized]]

Attachment: Bug 1687781 - Add tests for disableBackgroundUpdates r=nalexander!

Comment 9

[Robin Steuber (they/them) [:bytesized]]

I'm going to go ahead and land this. I cleared this with bhearsum. He noted that the Balrog support should be deployed next week, probably on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Comment 10

[Pulsebot]

Pushed by [e-mail]:
https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/autoland/rev/68f73dbe2b22
Add XML parameter support to allow Balrog to disable background updates r=nalexander,bhearsum
https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/autoland/rev/08d268052279
Add tests for disableBackgroundUpdates r=nalexander

Comment 11

[Iulian Moraru]

https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/68f73dbe2b22
https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/08d268052279