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Service access modes

Waldur hands out services in two ways: users order offerings from the marketplace, or they apply through calls for proposals, where a proposal is reviewed and, once accepted, turned into orders. How users reach either is set by one deployment-wide setting, SERVICE_ACCESS_MODE. Three feature flags then decide what each of those paths can do.

For what users see in each mode, see How you reach services.

The setting

SERVICE_ACCESS_MODE is a runtime setting under Marketplace visibility & access. In Helm deployments set it in waldur.settingsOverrides — see Configuration overrides.

Value Marketplace in navigation Calls section in navigation Apply through an offering Applicant wording
both (default) Yes Yes Yes Calls, rounds, proposals
calls No Yes No Calls, rounds, proposals
marketplace Yes Operators only Yes Access requests, submission deadlines
  • Apply through an offering — an offering that is open for proposals shows Apply for access next to Order now. In calls mode there is no offering page to apply from.
  • In marketplace mode applicants never meet a call: their proposals are listed as access requests in their profile, and the proposal notifications are sent with the access_request_* templates instead — see Notifications. Reviewers, call managers and service providers keep the call vocabulary and, if call management is on, a sidebar section to work from.

The setting changes navigation and wording only. The API serves the same data in every mode, and a proposal submitted in one mode keeps working after the mode changes.

Feature flags that combine with it

These are toggled under Administration → User interface → Features, and are independent of the mode.

Flag What it does
marketplace.show_call_management_functionality Turns on call management: the call-managing organization's workspace, service providers' requests for offerings, and proposal reports. Without it those screens are hidden, whatever the mode.
marketplace.call_only The calls are run outside Waldur. Each call requires an external URL, and Apply sends the user there. The rounds tab, the call managers' proposal and review lists, the reviewers tab and My proposals are hidden. A call without an external URL offers no way to apply.
marketplace.catalogue_only Offerings can be browsed but not ordered; order lists and the pricing tab are hidden, and anonymous visitors land on the marketplace instead of the login page. See Catalogue mode.

Typical setups

Deployment Mode Call management call_only catalogue_only
Self-service cloud, no calls marketplace Off Off Off
Marketplace plus calls for proposals both On Off Off
Allocation portal, all access through calls calls On Off Off
Offerings granted only after review, without exposing calls marketplace On Off On
Directory of services and of calls run elsewhere calls or both On On On

In the fourth row, ordering is disabled but the offering page still offers Apply for access when the offering is open for proposals, so review is the only way in.

Upgrading from the feature flags

Before SERVICE_ACCESS_MODE existed, the same choice was spread over feature flags. On upgrade a migration derives the mode from what the deployment was showing:

Before the upgrade Mode after the upgrade
call_only on calls
call_only off, call management on both
Both off marketplace

The flags themselves are kept and keep the meaning described above. Check the derived value after upgrading: a deployment that had neither flag on is now in marketplace mode, so any proposals its applicants made are shown to them as access requests.