Log payload on 503 errors

EDUCATOR-1956

openedx/core/djangoapps/zendesk_proxy/utils.py

@@ -20,9 +20,9 @@ def create_zendesk_ticket(requester_name, requester_email, subject, body, tags=N
     common/djangoapps/util/views.py). Both of those callers use basic auth, and should be switched over to this oauth
     implementation once the immediate pressures of zendesk_proxy are resolved.
     """
-    if not (settings.ZENDESK_URL and settings.ZENDESK_OAUTH_ACCESS_TOKEN):
-        log.debug('Zendesk is not configured. Cannot create a ticket.')
-        return status.HTTP_503_SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE
+    def _std_error_message(details, payload):
+        """Internal helper to standardize error message. This allows for simpler splunk alerts."""
+        return 'zendesk_proxy action required\n{}\nNo ticket created for payload {}'.format(details, payload)
 
     # Remove duplicates from tags list
     tags = list(set(tags))
@@ -42,6 +42,10 @@ def create_zendesk_ticket(requester_name, requester_email, subject, body, tags=N
     # Encode the data to create a JSON payload
     payload = json.dumps(data)
 
+    if not (settings.ZENDESK_URL and settings.ZENDESK_OAUTH_ACCESS_TOKEN):
+        log.error(_std_error_message("zendesk not configured", payload))
+        return status.HTTP_503_SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE
+
     # Set the request parameters
     url = urljoin(settings.ZENDESK_URL, '/api/v2/tickets.json')
     headers = {
@@ -49,10 +53,6 @@ def create_zendesk_ticket(requester_name, requester_email, subject, body, tags=N
         'Authorization': "Bearer {}".format(settings.ZENDESK_OAUTH_ACCESS_TOKEN),
     }
 
-    def _std_error_message(details, payload):
-        """Internal helper to standardize error message. This allows for simpler splunk alerts."""
-        return 'zendesk_proxy action required\n{}\nNo ticket created for payload {}'.format(details, payload)
-
     try:
         response = requests.post(url, data=payload, headers=headers)