Ensure --dist=loadscope is used when running pytest in parallel

The loadscope setting is required for parallel execution of our system
tests using pytest. The option ensure that all tests within a single
(module) scope will be assigned to the same worker.

This is neccessary because the worker sets up the nameservers for all
the tests within a module scope. If tests from the same module would be
assigned to different workers, then the setup could happen multiple
times, causing a race condition. This happens because each module uses
deterministic port numbers for the nameservers.

.gitlab-ci.yml

@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@ stages:
     - *find_pytest
     - cd bin/tests/system
     - >
-      "$PYTEST" --junit-xml="$CI_PROJECT_DIR"/junit.xml -n "$TEST_PARALLEL_JOBS" --dist loadscope | tee pytest.out.txt
+      "$PYTEST" --junit-xml="$CI_PROJECT_DIR"/junit.xml -n "$TEST_PARALLEL_JOBS" | tee pytest.out.txt
     - '( ! grep -F "grep: warning:" pytest.out.txt )'
   after_script:
     - awk '/^=+ FAILURES =+/{flag=1;next}/^=+.*=+$/{flag=0}flag' bin/tests/system/pytest.out.txt || true

bin/tests/system/README

@@ -97,12 +97,7 @@ Issuing plain `pytest` command without any argument will execute all tests
 sequenatially. To execute them in parallel, ensure you have pytest-xdist
 installed and run:
 
-pytest --dist loadscope -n <number-of-workers>
-
-It is vital to provide the `--dist loadscope` option when running the tests in
-parallel to ensure tests from a single module are executed from the same
-thread. Otherwise, there's a risk of port contention and inefficient use of
-resources.
+pytest -n <number-of-workers>
 
 
 Running the System Tests Using the Legacy Runner
@@ -704,11 +699,13 @@ collisions are likely to occur.
 
 Pytest-xdist is used for executing pytest test cases in parallel using the `-n
 N_WORKERS` option. By default, xdist will distribute any test case to any
-worker, which would lead to the issue described above. Therefore, it is vital
-to use the `--dist loadscope` option which ensures that test cases within the
-same (module) scope will be handled by the same worker.
+worker, which would lead to the issue described above. Therefore, conftest.py
+enforces equivalent of `--dist loadscope` option which ensures that test cases
+within the same (module) scope will be handled by the same worker. Parallelism
+is automatically disabled when xdist.scheduler.loadscope library is not
+available.
 
-$ pytest -n auto --dist loadscope
+$ pytest -n auto
 
 Test selection
 ---

bin/tests/system/conftest.py

@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ if os.getenv("LEGACY_TEST_RUNNER", "0") == "0":
             help="don't remove the temporary test directories with artifacts",
         )
 
-    def pytest_configure():
+    def pytest_configure(config):
         # Ensure this hook only runs on the main pytest instance if xdist is
         # used to spawn other workers.
         if not XDIST_WORKER:
@@ -156,6 +156,20 @@ if os.getenv("LEGACY_TEST_RUNNER", "0") == "0":
                 raise exc
             logging.debug(proc.stdout)
 
+            if config.pluginmanager.has_plugin("xdist") and config.option.numprocesses:
+                # system tests depend on module scope for setup & teardown
+                # enforce use "loadscope" scheduler or disable paralelism
+                try:
+                    import xdist.scheduler.loadscope  # pylint: disable=unused-import
+                except ImportError:
+                    logging.debug(
+                        "xdist is too old and does not have "
+                        "scheduler.loadscope, disabling parallelism"
+                    )
+                    config.option.dist = "no"
+                else:
+                    config.option.dist = "loadscope"
+
     def pytest_ignore_collect(path):
         # System tests are executed in temporary directories inside
         # bin/tests/system. These temporary directories contain all files

bin/tests/system/run.sh

@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ def into_pytest_args(in_args):
     if in_args.expression is None:
         # running all tests - execute in parallel
         args.extend(["-n", "auto"])
-        args.extend(["--dist", "loadscope"])
     else:
         args.extend(["-k", in_args.expression])
     if in_args.noclean:
@@ -48,7 +47,7 @@ def main():
         "Using pytest system test runner\n\n"
         'Please consider invoking "pytest" directly for more control:\n'
         "  single test:     pytest -k dns64\n"
-        "  parallel tests:  pytest -n auto --dist loadscope\n\n"
+        "  parallel tests:  pytest -n auto\n\n"
         "Alternately, use ./legacy.run.sh for the legacy system test runner.\n"
     )