nginx + docker + jupyterlab setup

[zillionare]

We've run a service for almost 3 quaters using this arch:

1. nginx listen all incoming traffic, dispatch traffic to each container via base_url (configured with ServerApp.base_url), which is unique to each student.
2. every student got his own container instance running
3. in the container, we deployed jupyter lab with our course.
4. we've use a provision script to create container, copy files if needed.

I know this may be very similiar with jupyterhub. We used to try jupyterhub, but failed due to our limited knowledge to jupyterhub (may due to firewall limitations due to our host machine?)

I tried the following steps to integrate with nbgrader:

1. use same image, but env var to disable some nbgrade extension on student container -- worked.
2. mapping same host volume to each container as exchange. Both inbound/outbound and gradebook.db are all under same host volume, and can be accessed from container inside using same inner path
3. all containers are launched under host root
4. use one nbgrader_config inside the container /etc/jupyter
5. course root set to "~/notebooks/assignemnts" -- doesn't work, have to change to absolute path

so far, I can get nbgrade run at teacher's side. and the student side can know there's assignment, but can NOT actually download them to his own assignments folder.

the link is of problem 1 is clickable, but nothing will happen, and the assignment folder is still empty after "fetch"/"clicking on problem1".

but this seems to work if the student use command 'nbgrade fetch_assignment ps1".

question:

I know maybe I should launch student's container through different users, but the configuration is a little bit complicated to me, so I'm just wondering, is it possible without running container with different user (besides, I don't want to add each student as the host's user, and I don't care too much if they can see each other's assignments), I can still let student download the assignments?

why the command line tools can work but GUI failed? Any clue to find out?

[zillionare]

This is what I'm gonna to do:

1. use container (running jupyterlab) to seperate each student
2. each student running as root inside, but notebooks_dir is /home/{student}/notebooks, use {student} folder name, not the user id (it's root) as student id
3. each student's /home/{student}/notebooks will be mapped to different host volume, say /volume/{student}, so no one can see other's assignment

this way I need not to add student as host machine's user.

need to modify some source code to fix this:

[zillionare]

I have worked out. Nbgrader is great. No need to change code. Just do some settings in nbgrader_config.py as the following:

···
user = os.environ.get("user")
course = os.environ.get("course")
is_instructor = os.environ.get("is_instructor")

c.CourseDirectory.course_id = f'{course}'

if is_instructor:
c.CourseDirectory.student_id = ''
else:
c.CourseDirectory.student_id = f'{user}'

c.Exchange.root = "/root/exchange"

used by instructor

c.CourseDirectory.root=f"/home/{user}/notebooks/assignments"

used by students

c.Exchange.assignment_dir = f'/home/{user}/notebooks/assignments'

c.IncludeHeaderFooter.header = "/root/exchange/header.ipynb"

URL to the database. Defaults to sqlite:////gradebook.db, where

is another configurable variable.

Default: ''

c.CourseDirectory.db_url = 'sqlite:////root/exchange/gradebook.db'
···

then pass all envars when launch container.