starting confdb

The prefered way is to is to use the web start

https://confdb.web.cern.ch/confdb/v3/gui/

the alternative way is to use the ./start script

git clone git@github.com:cms-sw/hlt-confdb.git
cd hlt-confdb
./start

branches

The following branches are defined

• confdbv1: v1 converter used in Run1
• confdbv2: v2 converter used in Run2
• confdbv3: v3 converter (currently in use
• confdbv3-beta: beta version of the v3 converter to be at the bleeding edge
• confdbv3-test: test version of the v3 converter, will break frequently

Note the confdbv3-beta and confdbv3-test do not have their history preserved and will be frequently force synced to confdbv3.

versioning policy

The confdbv3 will be frequently released and pushed to the web server for users.

The version format is V<converter-version>-<major-version>-<minor-version>, e.g. V03-00-01.

The converter version corresponds to v3, v2, v1 and implies a major database scheme change The major version changes whenever the python output of the menu changes, ie the same menu will now have a differnt python output. It is also permissable to increase the version number when a major feature is added, in fact this is recommended, it is just mandidatory when the python output changes. It is policy to only install major versions on the DAQ. The minor version is for all other changes.

deployment instructions

1. first the ChangeLog describing the changes should be updated with the new version number
2. then change the version number in src/conf/confdb.version
3. make the PR with this changes and merge it (and any other changes you wish to make for this release)
4. create a release with title of the version (eg V03-01-00). Tag it with this version as well, using "create new tag: VXX-YY-ZZ on publish"
5. log into lxplus8 (on lxplus9 and above the right version of java is not available) as confdb (ping trigger management for password)
6. go to directory with this repo cloned there (currently ~/private/hlt-confdb)
7. move to the branch you wish to deploy and ensure you have the latest version
8. deploy by executing ./deploy.sh. this will automatically deploy to the correct location using the branch name, stripping confdb from the start of the name to get the name to deploy to

After deployment, make sure that changes in the confdbv3 branch are also propagated to the confdbv3-beta and confdbv3-test branches (unless there are reasons not to, e.g. developments in progress). The two development branches should always be a superset of the stable branch. To deploy new versions of the non-production branches, update them appropriately and re-run the deployment script ./deploy.sh from the relevant branch (so, once per branch).

online operations: request deployment of new confdb converter at P5

When the python converter of ConfDB is updated, this is considered a "major update" (the X or Y in version number X.Y.Z need to be increased), and it warrants the release of a new ConfDB version.

The converter used online (P5) should not differ from the one used offline. This means that the updated converter should be provided to the DAQ group, requesting to deploy it at P5. The steps below describe how to prepare this request.

0. Make sure the v3 instance of ConfDB is up-to-date, meaning it includes, or corresponds to, the "major update" to be propagated to DAQ.

1. Log into lxplus with the confdb account.

2. Go to directory where this repo is cloned (currently ~/private/hlt-confdb).

3. Run the script

   ./deployDAQ.py --update-hilton

   This creates the converter to be passed to DAQ, and used by FOG (commonly referred to by FOG as the "DAQ converter"), copying it from the current version of the converter in the v3 instance. To verify that the update has worked correctly, one can check the content of the following directory.

   /afs/cern.ch/user/c/confdb/www/daq

   If the option --update-hilton is not specified, the script only creates a copy of the v3 converter in the daq/ directory, but it does not update the version of the converter used by FOG for testing on Hilton machines.

4. Open a JIRA ticket in the CMSHLT project to request the update of the converter used online by DAQ. In this ticket, include FOG and DAQ as Components. Examples of such requests can be found in CMSHLT-2347 and CMSHLT-3114.