**Session Date/Time:** 13 Feb 2024 19:00

# [TOOLS](../wg/tools.html)

## Summary

The TOOLS working group discussed the ongoing IETF infrastructure transition, including the shift to sprint-based development and the status of application migrations. Key challenges with Mailman 3 migration, a new IESG website, and issues with document banners (feat Clarity) were covered. Updates on RFC email aliases, Yang Catalog, DataTracker, and the RPC editor were also provided, highlighting a reduced velocity for new features and bug fixes due to the infrastructure work.

## Key Discussion Points

*   **IETF Infrastructure Transition:**
    *   Work is fervently ongoing, with a shift to Sprint-based development.
    *   **Author Tools** and the three major **Wikis** are now in production on the new infrastructure, receiving positive feedback.
    *   Challenges remain in providing a completion roadmap due to unpredictability, but periodic updates will continue via tools-discuss and meetings.
    *   Focus is on getting databases and persistent storage in place for most applications.
    *   Difficult applications like the **DataTracker** and the primary IETF web server are not yet in staging for load testing, but progress is being made.
    *   A necessary architecture change (moving away from Fargate for Kubernetes backing) in December/January added time but was crucial for stability.
    *   Changes to systems like the DataTracker will be avoided as IETF 119 approaches to prevent disruption; production deployments may be deferred until after the meeting.
*   **Mailman 3 Migration:**
    *   Deployment planned for the previous weekend was deferred due to uncovered issues during testing.
    *   A critical issue identified is the non-functional "global whitelist mechanic" in Mailman 3, which allows DataTracker account holders (e.g., ID posters) to post to any list. A developer is building necessary extensions to Mailman 3.
    *   Other issues include ensuring correct plumbing through Postfix and Post-confirm, and completing end-to-end message flow tests.
    *   The next deployment attempt is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday morning (US time), as the original Monday target is a US holiday.
    *   Current focus is on functionality; performance tuning is expected post-migration.
    *   The current mail processing system handles nearly 5 million messages per month.
*   **New IESG Website:**
    *   A new IESG website was put into production yesterday.
    *   A bug was identified where `ietf.org` does not redirect to `www.ietf.org`.
*   **Feat Clarity (Document Banners):**
    *   The "feat Clarity" project (adding banners to Internet-Drafts and RFCs in the DataTracker) appears to be stalled with the IESG.
    *   The specific blocking point is an outstanding question about a normative-looking reference to Warren's draft.
*   **RFC Email Aliases:**
    *   An unintentional bug in last month's "feat RFC" release caused RFC pages to display email links like `RFCXXXX@ietf.org`.
    *   A fix is in progress to point these links to the last draft alias if one exists, or remove the link if the RFC did not originate from a draft.
    *   An extended discussion on the existence and domain of these aliases is ongoing on `tools-discuss`.
*   **Post-confirm Change:**
    *   A change to Post-confirm in late January to modify the envelope-from for aliases has made draft and group aliases much more useful, with improved delivery to major mail silos.
*   **Author Tools Analytics:**
    *   This PHP application's self-maintaining code leaves artifacts, making "deploy as code" challenging. It was initially deployed once. The team plans to capture necessary artifacts for future "as code" deployment.
*   **Yang Catalog:**
    *   The Yang Catalog instance is deployed in DigitalOcean, but issues persist with redeploying configuration as code from Pantheon.
    *   Environment variables are suspected to be causing problems with the tree display.
    *   Development on Yang Catalog has low priority due to the infrastructure transition, and community help is welcomed.
*   **DataTracker Updates:**
    *   Velocity for bug fixes and new features is currently reduced due to the infrastructure transition work.
    *   Periodic tasks (e.g., draft expiration) are being migrated from cron jobs to Celery tasks in preparation for a cloud environment.
    *   Scheduled task times are being adjusted, with an eventual goal of universal UTC time for all services in production (presentation layer will still show local time zones).
*   **RPC Editor:**
    *   The RPC tools modernization project is developing an editor primarily for the RFC Production Center (RPC) editors.
    *   It is intended to eventually be useful for community members, but the current focus is on RPC use cases.
*   **XML2RFC Subseries References (Issue 1100):**
    *   Discussion continues regarding the format of subseries references in RFCs.
    *   Concerns from the RPC Editor relate to the appearance of subseries with only one comprising RFC (e.g., BCPs, STDs) versus those with multiple.
    *   The RPC Editor is currently developing requirements for these different cases, impacting the XML2RFC work. The interplay between XML2RFC and RPC Editor work is noted as slow.

## Decisions and Action Items

*   **Infrastructure:** Continue sending periodic updates to tools-discuss and reporting in venues like this.
*   **Mailman 3:** The next deployment attempt is nudged to Tuesday morning (US time) due to a US holiday on Monday.
*   **IESG Website:** Casara to investigate and address the `ietf.org` not redirecting to `www.ietf.org` bug.
*   **Feat Clarity:** Greg to send an email to Roman to clarify the outstanding normative reference issue. Worst case, this will be discussed at the IESG Formal meeting on Thursday.
*   **Yang Catalog:** Robert to liaise with Joe Clark to further address Yang Catalog issues and consider involving other informed community members.

## Next Steps

*   **Infrastructure Transition:** Continue moving applications to the new infrastructure, with an awareness of IETF 119 deadlines.
*   **Mailman 3:** Proceed with the planned deployment attempt on Tuesday morning (US time).
*   **Feat Clarity:** Resolve the normative reference issue with the IESG.
*   **RFC Email Aliases:** Allow community discussion on `tools-discuss` to play out regarding the long-term approach for these aliases.
*   **Development Velocity:** Expect an increase in velocity for bug fixes and new features for DataTracker and other services once the IT infrastructure transition work is complete.
*   **Next TOOLS Call:** The upcoming TOOLS call (after IETF 119) may be canceled due to travel and the code sprint, but notice will be given.