Serval

Serval is a REST API for natural language processing services.

Development

Development in Docker Compose

This is the simplest way to develop. First, git clone the repo:

git clone https://github.com/sillsdev/serval.git

Then build Serval:

dotnet build serval

Clone the Machine repo into an adjacent folder to Serval:

git clone https://github.com/sillsdev/machine.git

Build the Machine repo:

dotnet build machine

Now, if you are using a local docker image and have a GPU with at least 12 GB of RAM:

• Clone the Machine repo into an adjacent folder to Serval:
• Build the docker image with docker build . -t mpy.local
• Register your machine as a ClearML agent (see dev team for details)
• In docker-compose.yml, update ClearML__Queue to be the queue that your computer (agent) is listening to If you will use the standard Machine.py images:
• In docker-compose.yml, update ClearML__Queue and ClearML__DockerImage to the appropriate values

In the Serval root, run docker compose up

cd serval && docker compose up

If using vscode, launch "DockerComb" to debug Serval and the for-testing-only Echo Engine.

Development locally

Alternatively, you can develop without containerizing Serval.

Install MongoDB 6.0 as a replica set run it on localhost:27017. (You can run docker compose -f docker-compose.mongo.yml up from the root of the serval repo to do so).

Make sure that the environment variable ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT is set to "Development" by running export ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Development or adding it to your .bashrc.

Open "Serval.sln" and debug the ApiServer.

Deployment on kubernetes

There are 3 different environments that Serval is deployed to:

• Internal QA for testing out the deployment
• External QA for clients to test new updates before production
• Production

To deploy the cluster

• Add the dallas-rke KubeConfig to your kubectl configs
• Run kubectl config use-context dallas-rke
• First, startup the storage (using internal qa for example)
• helm install serval-pvc deploy/serval-pvc -n nlp -f deploy/qa-int-values.yaml
• Now you can turn on Serval
• helm install serval deploy/serval -n nlp -f deploy/qa-int-values.yaml

To update the cluster

• To upgrade Serval:
  • For QA internal Run:
    • kubectl config use-context dallas-stage
    • helm upgrade serval deploy/serval -n nlp -f deploy/qa-int-values.yaml
  • For QA external Run:
    • kubectl config use-context dallas-rke
    • helm upgrade serval deploy/serval -n serval -f deploy/qa-ext-values.yaml
  • For Production Run:
    • kubectl config use-context aws-rke
    • helm upgrade serval deploy/serval -n serval -f deploy/values.yaml

Environments:

• Production:
  • Full deployment, full NMT and SMT builds
• Staging:
  • Full Deploymnet, dummy NMT building (10 steps, small model)
  • Also used for Docker-compose local staging
• Development:
  • Non-docker use only

Debugging

To access Serval API

• Internal QA:
  • Use the VPN
  • In C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts, enter in a line for 10.3.0.119 serval-api.org
  • go to https://machine-api.org/swagger and accept the security warning
• External QA:
  • go to https://qa.serval-api.org/swagger and accept the security warning

To view pod logs:

• Run: kubectl get pods to get the currently running pods
• Run: kubectl logs <pod name>
• Run: kubectl describe pod <pod name> to check a stalled pod stuck in containercreating

Running the API E2E Tests

In order to run the E2E tests, you will need to have the appropriate credentials

• Get Client ID and Client Secret from auth0.com
  • Login, go to Applications-> Applications -> "Machine API (Test Application)" or similar
  • Copy Client ID into Environment variable SERVAL_CLIENT_ID
  • Copy Client Secret into Environment variable SERVAL_CLIENT_SECRET
  • Copy the auth0 url into Environment variable SERVAL_AUTH_URL (e.g. SERVAL_AUTH_URL=https://sil-appbuilder.auth0.com)
  • Set SERVAL_HOST_URL to the api's URL (e.g. SERVAL_HOST_URL=http://localhost) Now, when you run the tests from Serval.E2ETests, the token will automatically be retrieved from Auth0.

Debugging the S3 bucket

To view files stored in the bucket, run

aws s3 ls s3://silnlp/<deployment environment>

Mongo debugging

• First, get the mongo pod name: kubectl get pods -n serval
• Then forward to a local port, such as 28015: kubectl port-forward <pod name> 28015:27017 -n serval
• Download MongoDB Compass.
• Then, open MongoDB Compass and connect to mongodb://localhost:28015/?directConnection=true

Development Notes

CSharpier

All C# code should be formatted using CSharpier. The best way to enable support for CSharpier is to install the appropriate IDE extension and configure it to format on save.

Coding conventions

Here is a good overview of naming conventions. Here is a good overview of coding conventions. If you want to get in to even more detail, check out the Framework design guidelines.

Documentation

See the Swagger documentation for Serval here.

Special thanks to

BugSnag for error reporting: