[PERF-386] Utilize ForumsConfig to enable and disable forums.

This specifically enables/disables the underlying comment service client
used to make calls to the service.  When disabled, this client will now
throw an exception which can be propagated upwards so that callers can
make the right decision about how to notify users of the error, or
handle retry, etc etc.

common/djangoapps/django_comment_common/models.py

 import logging
 
+from django.conf import settings
 from django.db import models
 from django.contrib.auth.models import User
 
@@ -150,8 +151,15 @@ def all_permissions_for_user_in_course(user, course_id):  # pylint: disable=inva
 class ForumsConfig(ConfigurationModel):
     """Config for the connection to the cs_comments_service forums backend."""
 
-    # For now, just tweak the connection timeout settings. We can add more later.
-    connection_timeout = models.FloatField(default=5.0)
+    connection_timeout = models.FloatField(
+        default=5.0,
+        help_text="Seconds to wait when trying to connect to the comment service.",
+    )
+
+    @property
+    def api_key(self):
+        """The API key used to authenticate to the comments service."""
+        return getattr(settings, "COMMENTS_SERVICE_KEY", None)
 
     def __unicode__(self):
         """Simple representation so the admin screen looks less ugly."""

common/djangoapps/student/tests/test_create_account.py

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ from openedx.core.djangoapps.external_auth.models import ExternalAuthMap
 import student
 from student.models import UserAttribute
 from student.views import REGISTRATION_AFFILIATE_ID, REGISTRATION_UTM_PARAMETERS, REGISTRATION_UTM_CREATED_AT
+from django_comment_common.models import ForumsConfig
 
 TEST_CS_URL = 'https://comments.service.test:123/'
 
@@ -694,6 +695,10 @@ class TestCreateCommentsServiceUser(TransactionTestCase):
             "terms_of_service": "true",
         }
 
+        config = ForumsConfig.current()
+        config.enabled = True
+        config.save()
+
     def test_cs_user_created(self, request):
         "If user account creation succeeds, we should create a comments service user"
         response = self.client.post(self.url, self.params)

common/test/acceptance/fixtures/discussion.py

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import factory
 import requests
 
 from common.test.acceptance.fixtures import COMMENTS_STUB_URL
+from common.test.acceptance.fixtures.config import ConfigModelFixture
 
 
 class ContentFactory(factory.Factory):
@@ -170,3 +171,12 @@ class SearchResultFixture(DiscussionContentFixture):
 
     def get_config_data(self):
         return {"search_result": json.dumps(self.result)}
+
+
+class ForumsConfigMixin(object):
+    """Mixin providing a method used to configure the forums integration."""
+    def enable_forums(self, is_enabled=True):
+        """Configures whether or not forums are enabled."""
+        ConfigModelFixture('/config/forums', {
+            'enabled': is_enabled,
+        }).install()

common/test/acceptance/tests/discussion/helpers.py

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ from common.test.acceptance.fixtures.discussion import (
     SingleThreadViewFixture,
     Thread,
     Response,
+    ForumsConfigMixin,
 )
 from common.test.acceptance.pages.lms.discussion import DiscussionTabSingleThreadPage
 from common.test.acceptance.tests.helpers import UniqueCourseTest
@@ -86,7 +87,8 @@ class CohortTestMixin(object):
         self.assertTrue(response.ok, "Failed to add user to cohort")
 
 
-class BaseDiscussionTestCase(UniqueCourseTest):
+class BaseDiscussionTestCase(UniqueCourseTest, ForumsConfigMixin):
+    """Base test case class for all discussions-related tests."""
     def setUp(self):
         super(BaseDiscussionTestCase, self).setUp()
 
@@ -97,6 +99,8 @@ class BaseDiscussionTestCase(UniqueCourseTest):
         )
         self.course_fixture.install()
 
+        self.enable_forums()
+
     def create_single_thread_page(self, thread_id):
         """
         Sets up a `DiscussionTabSingleThreadPage` for a given

common/test/acceptance/tests/discussion/test_discussion.py

@@ -180,7 +180,8 @@ class DiscussionResponsePaginationTestMixin(BaseDiscussionMixin):
         self.assertFalse(self.thread_page.has_add_response_button())
 
 
-class DiscussionHomePageTest(UniqueCourseTest):
+@attr(shard=2)
+class DiscussionHomePageTest(BaseDiscussionTestCase):
     """
     Tests for the discussion home page.
     """
@@ -189,7 +190,6 @@ class DiscussionHomePageTest(UniqueCourseTest):
 
     def setUp(self):
         super(DiscussionHomePageTest, self).setUp()
-        CourseFixture(**self.course_info).install()
         AutoAuthPage(self.browser, course_id=self.course_id).visit()
         self.page = DiscussionTabHomePage(self.browser, self.course_id)
         self.page.visit()

common/test/acceptance/tests/lms/test_teams.py

@@ -16,7 +16,8 @@ from common.test.acceptance.fixtures import LMS_BASE_URL
 from common.test.acceptance.fixtures.course import CourseFixture
 from common.test.acceptance.fixtures.discussion import (
     Thread,
-    MultipleThreadFixture
+    MultipleThreadFixture,
+    ForumsConfigMixin,
 )
 from common.test.acceptance.pages.lms.auto_auth import AutoAuthPage
 from common.test.acceptance.pages.lms.course_info import CourseInfoPage
@@ -37,7 +38,7 @@ from common.test.acceptance.pages.common.utils import confirm_prompt
 TOPICS_PER_PAGE = 12
 
 
-class TeamsTabBase(EventsTestMixin, UniqueCourseTest):
+class TeamsTabBase(EventsTestMixin, ForumsConfigMixin, UniqueCourseTest):
     """Base class for Teams Tab tests"""
     def setUp(self):
         super(TeamsTabBase, self).setUp()
@@ -47,6 +48,8 @@ class TeamsTabBase(EventsTestMixin, UniqueCourseTest):
         # TODO: Refactor so resetting events database is not necessary
         self.reset_event_tracking()
 
+        self.enable_forums()
+
     def create_topics(self, num_topics):
         """Create `num_topics` test topics."""
         return [{u"description": i, u"name": i, u"id": i} for i in map(str, xrange(num_topics))]

lms/djangoapps/discussion_api/tests/test_api.py

@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ from django_comment_common.models import (
     FORUM_ROLE_STUDENT,
     Role,
 )
+from django_comment_client.tests.utils import ForumsEnableMixin
 from openedx.core.djangoapps.course_groups.models import CourseUserGroupPartitionGroup
 from openedx.core.djangoapps.course_groups.tests.helpers import CohortFactory
 from openedx.core.lib.exceptions import CourseNotFoundError, PageNotFoundError
@@ -85,7 +86,7 @@ def _discussion_disabled_course_for(user):
 
 @attr(shard=2)
 @mock.patch.dict("django.conf.settings.FEATURES", {"ENABLE_DISCUSSION_SERVICE": True})
-class GetCourseTest(UrlResetMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase):
+class GetCourseTest(ForumsEnableMixin, UrlResetMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase):
     """Test for get_course"""
 
     @classmethod
@@ -133,7 +134,7 @@ class GetCourseTest(UrlResetMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase):
 @attr(shard=2)
 @ddt.ddt
 @mock.patch.dict("django.conf.settings.FEATURES", {"ENABLE_DISCUSSION_SERVICE": True})
-class GetCourseTestBlackouts(UrlResetMixin, ModuleStoreTestCase):
+class GetCourseTestBlackouts(ForumsEnableMixin, UrlResetMixin, ModuleStoreTestCase):
     """
     Tests of get_course for courses that have blackout dates.
     """
@@ -177,7 +178,7 @@ class GetCourseTestBlackouts(UrlResetMixin, ModuleStoreTestCase):
 @attr(shard=2)
 @mock.patch.dict("django.conf.settings.FEATURES", {"DISABLE_START_DATES": False})
 @mock.patch.dict("django.conf.settings.FEATURES", {"ENABLE_DISCUSSION_SERVICE": True})
-class GetCourseTopicsTest(UrlResetMixin, ModuleStoreTestCase):
+class GetCourseTopicsTest(ForumsEnableMixin, UrlResetMixin, ModuleStoreTestCase):
     """Test for get_course_topics"""
     @mock.patch.dict("django.conf.settings.FEATURES", {"ENABLE_DISCUSSION_SERVICE": True})
     def setUp(self):
@@ -551,7 +552,7 @@ class GetCourseTopicsTest(UrlResetMixin, ModuleStoreTestCase):
 @attr(shard=2)
 @ddt.ddt
 @mock.patch.dict("django.conf.settings.FEATURES", {"ENABLE_DISCUSSION_SERVICE": True})
-class GetThreadListTest(CommentsServiceMockMixin, UrlResetMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase):
+class GetThreadListTest(ForumsEnableMixin, CommentsServiceMockMixin, UrlResetMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase):
     """Test for get_thread_list"""
 
     @classmethod
@@ -1006,7 +1007,7 @@ class GetThreadListTest(CommentsServiceMockMixin, UrlResetMixin, SharedModuleSto
 @attr(shard=2)
 @ddt.ddt
 @mock.patch.dict("django.conf.settings.FEATURES", {"ENABLE_DISCUSSION_SERVICE": True})
-class GetCommentListTest(CommentsServiceMockMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase):
+class GetCommentListTest(ForumsEnableMixin, CommentsServiceMockMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase):
     """Test for get_comment_list"""
 
     @classmethod
@@ -1442,6 +1443,7 @@ class GetCommentListTest(CommentsServiceMockMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase):
 @disable_signal(api, 'thread_voted')
 @mock.patch.dict("django.conf.settings.FEATURES", {"ENABLE_DISCUSSION_SERVICE": True})
 class CreateThreadTest(
+        ForumsEnableMixin,
         CommentsServiceMockMixin,
         UrlResetMixin,
         SharedModuleStoreTestCase,
@@ -1694,6 +1696,7 @@ class CreateThreadTest(
 @disable_signal(api, 'comment_voted')
 @mock.patch.dict("django.conf.settings.FEATURES", {"ENABLE_DISCUSSION_SERVICE": True})
 class CreateCommentTest(
+        ForumsEnableMixin,
         CommentsServiceMockMixin,
         UrlResetMixin,
         SharedModuleStoreTestCase,
@@ -1962,6 +1965,7 @@ class CreateCommentTest(
 @disable_signal(api, 'thread_voted')
 @mock.patch.dict("django.conf.settings.FEATURES", {"ENABLE_DISCUSSION_SERVICE": True})
 class UpdateThreadTest(
+        ForumsEnableMixin,
         CommentsServiceMockMixin,
         UrlResetMixin,
         SharedModuleStoreTestCase,
@@ -2370,6 +2374,7 @@ class UpdateThreadTest(
 @disable_signal(api, 'comment_voted')
 @mock.patch.dict("django.conf.settings.FEATURES", {"ENABLE_DISCUSSION_SERVICE": True})
 class UpdateCommentTest(
+        ForumsEnableMixin,
         CommentsServiceMockMixin,
         UrlResetMixin,
         SharedModuleStoreTestCase,
@@ -2774,6 +2779,7 @@ class UpdateCommentTest(
 @disable_signal(api, 'thread_deleted')
 @mock.patch.dict("django.conf.settings.FEATURES", {"ENABLE_DISCUSSION_SERVICE": True})
 class DeleteThreadTest(
+        ForumsEnableMixin,
         CommentsServiceMockMixin,
         UrlResetMixin,
         SharedModuleStoreTestCase,
@@ -2914,6 +2920,7 @@ class DeleteThreadTest(
 @disable_signal(api, 'comment_deleted')
 @mock.patch.dict("django.conf.settings.FEATURES", {"ENABLE_DISCUSSION_SERVICE": True})
 class DeleteCommentTest(
+        ForumsEnableMixin,
         CommentsServiceMockMixin,
         UrlResetMixin,
         SharedModuleStoreTestCase,
@@ -3072,6 +3079,7 @@ class DeleteCommentTest(
 @ddt.ddt
 @mock.patch.dict("django.conf.settings.FEATURES", {"ENABLE_DISCUSSION_SERVICE": True})
 class RetrieveThreadTest(
+        ForumsEnableMixin,
         CommentsServiceMockMixin,
         UrlResetMixin,
         SharedModuleStoreTestCase

lms/djangoapps/discussion_api/tests/test_serializers.py

@@ -31,10 +31,11 @@ from util.testing import UrlResetMixin
 from xmodule.modulestore.tests.django_utils import SharedModuleStoreTestCase
 from xmodule.modulestore.tests.factories import CourseFactory
 from openedx.core.djangoapps.course_groups.tests.helpers import CohortFactory
+from django_comment_client.tests.utils import ForumsEnableMixin
 
 
 @ddt.ddt
-class SerializerTestMixin(CommentsServiceMockMixin, UrlResetMixin):
+class SerializerTestMixin(ForumsEnableMixin, CommentsServiceMockMixin, UrlResetMixin):
     @classmethod
     @mock.patch.dict("django.conf.settings.FEATURES", {"ENABLE_DISCUSSION_SERVICE": True})
     def setUpClass(cls):
@@ -426,7 +427,12 @@ class CommentSerializerTest(SerializerTestMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase):
 
 
 @ddt.ddt
-class ThreadSerializerDeserializationTest(CommentsServiceMockMixin, UrlResetMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase):
+class ThreadSerializerDeserializationTest(
+        ForumsEnableMixin,
+        CommentsServiceMockMixin,
+        UrlResetMixin,
+        SharedModuleStoreTestCase
+):
     """Tests for ThreadSerializer deserialization."""
     @classmethod
     @mock.patch.dict("django.conf.settings.FEATURES", {"ENABLE_DISCUSSION_SERVICE": True})
@@ -629,7 +635,7 @@ class ThreadSerializerDeserializationTest(CommentsServiceMockMixin, UrlResetMixi
 
 
 @ddt.ddt
-class CommentSerializerDeserializationTest(CommentsServiceMockMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase):
+class CommentSerializerDeserializationTest(ForumsEnableMixin, CommentsServiceMockMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase):
     """Tests for ThreadSerializer deserialization."""
     @classmethod
     def setUpClass(cls):

lms/djangoapps/discussion_api/tests/test_views.py

@@ -27,13 +27,14 @@ from discussion_api.tests.utils import (
     make_minimal_cs_thread,
     make_paginated_api_response,
     ProfileImageTestMixin)
+from django_comment_client.tests.utils import ForumsEnableMixin
 from student.tests.factories import CourseEnrollmentFactory, UserFactory
 from util.testing import UrlResetMixin, PatchMediaTypeMixin
 from xmodule.modulestore.tests.django_utils import ModuleStoreTestCase
 from xmodule.modulestore.tests.factories import CourseFactory, check_mongo_calls, ItemFactory
 
 
-class DiscussionAPIViewTestMixin(CommentsServiceMockMixin, UrlResetMixin):
+class DiscussionAPIViewTestMixin(ForumsEnableMixin, CommentsServiceMockMixin, UrlResetMixin):
     """
     Mixin for common code in tests of Discussion API views. This includes
     creation of common structures (e.g. a course, user, and enrollment), logging

lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/base/tests.py

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ from lms.lib.comment_client import Thread
 from common.test.utils import MockSignalHandlerMixin, disable_signal
 from django_comment_client.base import views
 from django_comment_client.tests.group_id import CohortedTopicGroupIdTestMixin, NonCohortedTopicGroupIdTestMixin, GroupIdAssertionMixin
-from django_comment_client.tests.utils import CohortedTestCase
+from django_comment_client.tests.utils import CohortedTestCase, ForumsEnableMixin
 from django_comment_client.tests.unicode import UnicodeTestMixin
 from django_comment_common.models import Role
 from django_comment_common.utils import seed_permissions_roles, ThreadContext
@@ -346,7 +346,13 @@ class ViewsTestCaseMixin(object):
 @patch('lms.lib.comment_client.utils.requests.request', autospec=True)
 @disable_signal(views, 'thread_created')
 @disable_signal(views, 'thread_edited')
-class ViewsQueryCountTestCase(UrlResetMixin, ModuleStoreTestCase, MockRequestSetupMixin, ViewsTestCaseMixin):
+class ViewsQueryCountTestCase(
+        ForumsEnableMixin,
+        UrlResetMixin,
+        ModuleStoreTestCase,
+        MockRequestSetupMixin,
+        ViewsTestCaseMixin
+):
 
     CREATE_USER = False
     ENABLED_CACHES = ['default', 'mongo_metadata_inheritance', 'loc_cache']
@@ -392,6 +398,7 @@ class ViewsQueryCountTestCase(UrlResetMixin, ModuleStoreTestCase, MockRequestSet
 @ddt.ddt
 @patch('lms.lib.comment_client.utils.requests.request', autospec=True)
 class ViewsTestCase(
+        ForumsEnableMixin,
         UrlResetMixin,
         SharedModuleStoreTestCase,
         MockRequestSetupMixin,
@@ -1019,7 +1026,7 @@ class ViewsTestCase(
 @attr(shard=2)
 @patch("lms.lib.comment_client.utils.requests.request", autospec=True)
 @disable_signal(views, 'comment_endorsed')
-class ViewPermissionsTestCase(UrlResetMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase, MockRequestSetupMixin):
+class ViewPermissionsTestCase(ForumsEnableMixin, UrlResetMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase, MockRequestSetupMixin):
 
     @classmethod
     def setUpClass(cls):
@@ -1127,7 +1134,11 @@ class ViewPermissionsTestCase(UrlResetMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase, MockRequ
 
 
 @attr(shard=2)
-class CreateThreadUnicodeTestCase(SharedModuleStoreTestCase, UnicodeTestMixin, MockRequestSetupMixin):
+class CreateThreadUnicodeTestCase(
+        ForumsEnableMixin,
+        SharedModuleStoreTestCase,
+        UnicodeTestMixin,
+        MockRequestSetupMixin):
 
     @classmethod
     def setUpClass(cls):
@@ -1143,6 +1154,9 @@ class CreateThreadUnicodeTestCase(SharedModuleStoreTestCase, UnicodeTestMixin, M
         cls.student = UserFactory.create()
         CourseEnrollmentFactory(user=cls.student, course_id=cls.course.id)
 
+    def setUp(self):
+        super(CreateThreadUnicodeTestCase, self).setUp()
+
     @patch('lms.lib.comment_client.utils.requests.request', autospec=True)
     def _test_unicode_data(self, text, mock_request,):
         """
@@ -1164,7 +1178,12 @@ class CreateThreadUnicodeTestCase(SharedModuleStoreTestCase, UnicodeTestMixin, M
 
 @attr(shard=2)
 @disable_signal(views, 'thread_edited')
-class UpdateThreadUnicodeTestCase(SharedModuleStoreTestCase, UnicodeTestMixin, MockRequestSetupMixin):
+class UpdateThreadUnicodeTestCase(
+        ForumsEnableMixin,
+        SharedModuleStoreTestCase,
+        UnicodeTestMixin,
+        MockRequestSetupMixin
+):
 
     @classmethod
     def setUpClass(cls):
@@ -1180,6 +1199,9 @@ class UpdateThreadUnicodeTestCase(SharedModuleStoreTestCase, UnicodeTestMixin, M
         cls.student = UserFactory.create()
         CourseEnrollmentFactory(user=cls.student, course_id=cls.course.id)
 
+    def setUp(self):
+        super(UpdateThreadUnicodeTestCase, self).setUp()
+
     @patch('django_comment_client.utils.get_discussion_categories_ids', return_value=["test_commentable"])
     @patch('lms.lib.comment_client.utils.requests.request', autospec=True)
     def _test_unicode_data(self, text, mock_request, mock_get_discussion_id_map):
@@ -1202,7 +1224,12 @@ class UpdateThreadUnicodeTestCase(SharedModuleStoreTestCase, UnicodeTestMixin, M
 
 @attr(shard=2)
 @disable_signal(views, 'comment_created')
-class CreateCommentUnicodeTestCase(SharedModuleStoreTestCase, UnicodeTestMixin, MockRequestSetupMixin):
+class CreateCommentUnicodeTestCase(
+        ForumsEnableMixin,
+        SharedModuleStoreTestCase,
+        UnicodeTestMixin,
+        MockRequestSetupMixin
+):
 
     @classmethod
     def setUpClass(cls):
@@ -1218,6 +1245,9 @@ class CreateCommentUnicodeTestCase(SharedModuleStoreTestCase, UnicodeTestMixin,
         cls.student = UserFactory.create()
         CourseEnrollmentFactory(user=cls.student, course_id=cls.course.id)
 
+    def setUp(self):
+        super(CreateCommentUnicodeTestCase, self).setUp()
+
     @patch('lms.lib.comment_client.utils.requests.request', autospec=True)
     def _test_unicode_data(self, text, mock_request):
         commentable_id = "non_team_dummy_id"
@@ -1245,7 +1275,12 @@ class CreateCommentUnicodeTestCase(SharedModuleStoreTestCase, UnicodeTestMixin,
 
 @attr(shard=2)
 @disable_signal(views, 'comment_edited')
-class UpdateCommentUnicodeTestCase(SharedModuleStoreTestCase, UnicodeTestMixin, MockRequestSetupMixin):
+class UpdateCommentUnicodeTestCase(
+        ForumsEnableMixin,
+        SharedModuleStoreTestCase,
+        UnicodeTestMixin,
+        MockRequestSetupMixin
+):
 
     @classmethod
     def setUpClass(cls):
@@ -1261,6 +1296,9 @@ class UpdateCommentUnicodeTestCase(SharedModuleStoreTestCase, UnicodeTestMixin,
         cls.student = UserFactory.create()
         CourseEnrollmentFactory(user=cls.student, course_id=cls.course.id)
 
+    def setUp(self):
+        super(UpdateCommentUnicodeTestCase, self).setUp()
+
     @patch('lms.lib.comment_client.utils.requests.request', autospec=True)
     def _test_unicode_data(self, text, mock_request):
         self._set_mock_request_data(mock_request, {
@@ -1279,7 +1317,12 @@ class UpdateCommentUnicodeTestCase(SharedModuleStoreTestCase, UnicodeTestMixin,
 
 @attr(shard=2)
 @disable_signal(views, 'comment_created')
-class CreateSubCommentUnicodeTestCase(SharedModuleStoreTestCase, UnicodeTestMixin, MockRequestSetupMixin):
+class CreateSubCommentUnicodeTestCase(
+        ForumsEnableMixin,
+        SharedModuleStoreTestCase,
+        UnicodeTestMixin,
+        MockRequestSetupMixin
+):
     """
     Make sure comments under a response can handle unicode.
     """
@@ -1297,6 +1340,9 @@ class CreateSubCommentUnicodeTestCase(SharedModuleStoreTestCase, UnicodeTestMixi
         cls.student = UserFactory.create()
         CourseEnrollmentFactory(user=cls.student, course_id=cls.course.id)
 
+    def setUp(self):
+        super(CreateSubCommentUnicodeTestCase, self).setUp()
+
     @patch('lms.lib.comment_client.utils.requests.request', autospec=True)
     def _test_unicode_data(self, text, mock_request):
         """
@@ -1332,7 +1378,7 @@ class CreateSubCommentUnicodeTestCase(SharedModuleStoreTestCase, UnicodeTestMixi
 @disable_signal(views, 'comment_created')
 @disable_signal(views, 'comment_voted')
 @disable_signal(views, 'comment_deleted')
-class TeamsPermissionsTestCase(UrlResetMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase, MockRequestSetupMixin):
+class TeamsPermissionsTestCase(ForumsEnableMixin, UrlResetMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase, MockRequestSetupMixin):
     # Most of the test points use the same ddt data.
     # args: user, commentable_id, status_code
     ddt_permissions_args = [
@@ -1599,7 +1645,7 @@ TEAM_COMMENTABLE_ID = 'test-team-discussion'
 @attr(shard=2)
 @disable_signal(views, 'comment_created')
 @ddt.ddt
-class ForumEventTestCase(SharedModuleStoreTestCase, MockRequestSetupMixin):
+class ForumEventTestCase(ForumsEnableMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase, MockRequestSetupMixin):
     """
     Forum actions are expected to launch analytics events. Test these here.
     """
@@ -1620,6 +1666,9 @@ class ForumEventTestCase(SharedModuleStoreTestCase, MockRequestSetupMixin):
         cls.student.roles.add(Role.objects.get(name="Student", course_id=cls.course.id))
         CourseAccessRoleFactory(course_id=cls.course.id, user=cls.student, role='Wizard')
 
+    def setUp(self):
+        super(ForumEventTestCase, self).setUp()
+
     @patch('eventtracking.tracker.emit')
     @patch('lms.lib.comment_client.utils.requests.request', autospec=True)
     def test_thread_event(self, __, mock_emit):
@@ -1783,7 +1832,7 @@ class ForumEventTestCase(SharedModuleStoreTestCase, MockRequestSetupMixin):
 
 
 @attr(shard=2)
-class UsersEndpointTestCase(SharedModuleStoreTestCase, MockRequestSetupMixin):
+class UsersEndpointTestCase(ForumsEnableMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase, MockRequestSetupMixin):
 
     @classmethod
     def setUpClass(cls):
@@ -1802,6 +1851,9 @@ class UsersEndpointTestCase(SharedModuleStoreTestCase, MockRequestSetupMixin):
         cls.other_user = UserFactory.create(username="other")
         CourseEnrollmentFactory(user=cls.other_user, course_id=cls.course.id)
 
+    def setUp(self):
+        super(UsersEndpointTestCase, self).setUp()
+
     def set_post_counts(self, mock_request, threads_count=1, comments_count=1):
         """
         sets up a mock response from the comments service for getting post counts for our other_user

lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/tests/test_utils.py

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import datetime
 import json
 import ddt
 import mock
+from mock import patch, Mock
 from nose.plugins.attrib import attr
 from pytz import UTC
 from django.utils.timezone import UTC as django_utc
@@ -14,6 +15,8 @@ from edxmako import add_lookup
 from django_comment_client.tests.factories import RoleFactory
 from django_comment_client.tests.unicode import UnicodeTestMixin
 import django_comment_client.utils as utils
+from lms.lib.comment_client.utils import perform_request, CommentClientMaintenanceError
+from django_comment_common.models import ForumsConfig
 
 from courseware.tests.factories import InstructorFactory
 from courseware.tabs import get_course_tab_list
@@ -1417,3 +1420,32 @@ class PermissionsTestCase(ModuleStoreTestCase):
         # content has no known author
         del content['user_id']
         self.assertFalse(utils.is_content_authored_by(content, user))
+
+
+class ClientConfigurationTestCase(TestCase):
+    """Simple test cases to ensure enabling/disabling the use of the comment service works as intended."""
+
+    def test_disabled(self):
+        """Ensures that an exception is raised when forums are disabled."""
+        config = ForumsConfig.current()
+        config.enabled = False
+        config.save()
+
+        with self.assertRaises(CommentClientMaintenanceError):
+            perform_request('GET', 'http://www.google.com')
+
+    @patch('requests.request')
+    def test_enabled(self, mock_request):
+        """Ensures that requests proceed normally when forums are enabled."""
+        config = ForumsConfig.current()
+        config.enabled = True
+        config.save()
+
+        response = Mock()
+        response.status_code = 200
+        response.json = lambda: {}
+
+        mock_request.return_value = response
+
+        result = perform_request('GET', 'http://www.google.com')
+        self.assertEqual(result, {})

lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/tests/utils.py

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ Utilities for tests within the django_comment_client module.
 from mock import patch
 
 from openedx.core.djangoapps.course_groups.tests.helpers import CohortFactory
-from django_comment_common.models import Role
+from django_comment_common.models import Role, ForumsConfig
 from django_comment_common.utils import seed_permissions_roles
 from student.tests.factories import CourseEnrollmentFactory, UserFactory
 from util.testing import UrlResetMixin
@@ -12,7 +12,19 @@ from xmodule.modulestore.tests.factories import CourseFactory
 from xmodule.modulestore.tests.django_utils import SharedModuleStoreTestCase
 
 
-class CohortedTestCase(UrlResetMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase):
+class ForumsEnableMixin(object):
+    """
+    Ensures that the forums are enabled for a given test class.
+    """
+    def setUp(self):
+        super(ForumsEnableMixin, self).setUp()
+
+        config = ForumsConfig.current()
+        config.enabled = True
+        config.save()
+
+
+class CohortedTestCase(ForumsEnableMixin, UrlResetMixin, SharedModuleStoreTestCase):
     """
     Sets up a course with a student, a moderator and their cohorts.
     """

lms/lib/comment_client/utils.py

@@ -55,6 +55,10 @@ def perform_request(method, url, data_or_params=None, raw=False,
                     metric_action=None, metric_tags=None, paged_results=False):
     # To avoid dependency conflict
     from django_comment_common.models import ForumsConfig
+    config = ForumsConfig.current()
+
+    if not config.enabled:
+        raise CommentClientMaintenanceError('service disabled')
 
     if metric_tags is None:
         metric_tags = []
@@ -66,7 +70,7 @@ def perform_request(method, url, data_or_params=None, raw=False,
     if data_or_params is None:
         data_or_params = {}
     headers = {
-        'X-Edx-Api-Key': getattr(settings, "COMMENTS_SERVICE_KEY", None),
+        'X-Edx-Api-Key': config.api_key,
         'Accept-Language': get_language(),
     }
     request_id = uuid4()
@@ -79,7 +83,6 @@ def perform_request(method, url, data_or_params=None, raw=False,
         data = None
         params = merge_dict(data_or_params, request_id_dict)
     with request_timer(request_id, method, url, metric_tags):
-        config = ForumsConfig.current()
         response = requests.request(
             method,
             url,
@@ -112,7 +115,7 @@ def perform_request(method, url, data_or_params=None, raw=False,
                 data = response.json()
             except ValueError:
                 raise CommentClientError(
-                    u"Comments service returned invalid JSON for request {request_id}; first 100 characters: '{content}'".format(
+                    u"Invalid JSON response for request {request_id}; first 100 characters: '{content}'".format(
                         request_id=request_id,
                         content=response.text[:100]
                     )

lms/urls.py

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ from openedx.core.djangoapps.auth_exchange.views import LoginWithAccessTokenView
 from openedx.core.djangoapps.catalog.models import CatalogIntegration
 from openedx.core.djangoapps.programs.models import ProgramsApiConfig
 from openedx.core.djangoapps.self_paced.models import SelfPacedConfiguration
+from django_comment_common.models import ForumsConfig
 from openedx.core.djangoapps.site_configuration import helpers as configuration_helpers
 
 # Uncomment the next two lines to enable the admin:
@@ -905,6 +906,7 @@ urlpatterns += (
     url(r'config/self_paced', ConfigurationModelCurrentAPIView.as_view(model=SelfPacedConfiguration)),
     url(r'config/programs', ConfigurationModelCurrentAPIView.as_view(model=ProgramsApiConfig)),
     url(r'config/catalog', ConfigurationModelCurrentAPIView.as_view(model=CatalogIntegration)),
+    url(r'config/forums', ConfigurationModelCurrentAPIView.as_view(model=ForumsConfig)),
 )
 
 urlpatterns = patterns(*urlpatterns)