chore: deprecate Custom Searcher [MD-504] (#9829)

Add deprecation warnings for Custom Searcher

docs/model-dev-guide/api-guides/apis-howto/deepspeed/autotuning.rst

@@ -4,6 +4,11 @@
  DeepSpeed Autotune: User Guide
 ################################
 
+.. important::
+
+   **Deprecation Notice**: DeepSpeed Autotune is deprecated and will be removed in an upcoming
+   release. For information on supported search methods, please visit :ref:`search-methods`.
+
 .. meta::
    :description: This user guide demonstrates how to optimize DeepSpeed parameters in order to take full advantage of the user's hardware and model.
 

docs/model-dev-guide/hyperparameter/search-methods/hp-custom.rst

@@ -4,6 +4,12 @@
  Custom Search Methods
 #######################
 
+.. important::
+
+   **Deprecation Notice**: Support for all custom search methods have been deprecated and will be
+   removed in a future release. Please see :ref:`search-methods` for details on supported preset
+   searchers.
+
 +----------------------------------------------------------------+
 | API reference                                                  |
 +================================================================+

docs/reference/custom-searcher-reference.rst

@@ -4,6 +4,11 @@
  Custom Searcher Reference
 ###########################
 
+.. important::
+
+   **Deprecation Notice**: Custom Searcher is deprecated and will be removed in a future release.
+   Please see :ref:`search-methods` for details on supported preset searchers.
+
 *******************************************
  ``determined.searcher.LocalSearchRunner``
 *******************************************

docs/reference/experiment-config-reference.rst

@@ -868,9 +868,7 @@ points in the grid for this hyperparameter. Grid points are evenly spaced betwee
 The ``searcher`` section defines how the experiment's hyperparameter space will be explored. To run
 an experiment that trains a single trial with fixed hyperparameters, specify the ``single`` searcher
 and specify constant values for the model's hyperparameters. Otherwise, Determined supports three
-different hyperparameter search algorithms: ``adaptive_asha``, ``random``, and ``grid``. To define
-your own hyperparameter search algorithm, specify the ``custom`` searcher. For more information
-about custom search algorithms, see :ref:`topic-guides_hp-tuning-det_custom`.
+different hyperparameter search algorithms: ``adaptive_asha``, ``random``, and ``grid``.
 
 The name of the hyperparameter search algorithm to use is configured via the ``name`` field; the
 remaining fields configure the behavior of the searcher and depend on the searcher being used. For

docs/release-notes/deprecate-custom-searchers.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+:orphan:
+
+**Deprecation**
+
+-  Custom Searchers: All custom searchers (including DeepSpeed Autotune) have been deprecated. This
+   feature will be removed in a future release. We will maintain first-class support for a variety
+   of preset searchers, which can be easily configured for any experiment. Please see
+   :ref:`search-methods` for details.

e2e_tests/tests/fixtures/custom_searcher/searchers.py

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 import random
 import sys
 import uuid
+import warnings
 from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional, Set
 
 from urllib3 import connectionpool
@@ -15,6 +16,13 @@
 
 class SingleSearchMethod(searcher.SearchMethod):
     def __init__(self, experiment_config: dict, max_length: int) -> None:
+        warnings.warn(
+            "`SingleSearchMethod` and all custom searchers have been deprecated. "
+            "This feature will be removed in a future release. Consider configuring a preset "
+            "searcher instead (see Determined docs for details).",
+            FutureWarning,
+            stacklevel=2,
+        )
         # since this is a single trial the hyperparameter space comprises a single point
         self.hyperparameters = experiment_config["hyperparameters"]
         self.max_length = max_length
@@ -74,6 +82,13 @@ def __init__(
         exception_points: Optional[List[str]] = None,
         metric_as_dict: bool = False,
     ) -> None:
+        warnings.warn(
+            "`RandomSearchMethod` and all custom searchers have been deprecated. "
+            "This feature will be removed in a future release. Consider configuring a preset "
+            "searcher instead (see Determined docs for details).",
+            FutureWarning,
+            stacklevel=2,
+        )
         self.max_trials = max_trials
         self.max_concurrent_trials = max_concurrent_trials
         self.max_length = max_length
@@ -363,6 +378,13 @@ def __init__(
         max_concurrent_trials: int = 16,
         exception_points: Optional[List[str]] = None,
     ) -> None:
+        warnings.warn(
+            "`ASHASearchMethod` and all custom searchers have been deprecated. "
+            "This feature will be removed in a future release. Consider configuring a preset "
+            "searcher instead (see Determined docs for details).",
+            FutureWarning,
+            stacklevel=2,
+        )
         self.asha_search_state = ASHASearchMethodState(
             max_length, max_trials, num_rungs, divisor, max_concurrent_trials
         )

harness/determined/searcher/_remote_search_runner.py

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 import os
 import pathlib
 import pickle
+import warnings
 from typing import Any, Dict, Iterable, List, Optional, Tuple, Union
 
 import determined as det
@@ -21,6 +22,13 @@ class RemoteSearchRunner(searcher.SearchRunner):
     """
 
     def __init__(self, search_method: searcher.SearchMethod, context: det.core.Context) -> None:
+        warnings.warn(
+            "`RemoteSearchRunner` and all custom searchers have been deprecated. "
+            "This feature will be removed in a future release. Consider configuring a preset "
+            "searcher instead (see Determined docs for details).",
+            FutureWarning,
+            stacklevel=2,
+        )
         super().__init__(search_method)
         self.context = context
         info = det.get_cluster_info()

harness/determined/searcher/_search_method.py

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 import json
 import pathlib
 import uuid
+import warnings
 from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional, Set, Tuple
 
 from determined import experimental
@@ -224,6 +225,15 @@ class SearchMethod:
         Do not modify ``searcher_state`` passed into event handlers.
     """
 
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        warnings.warn(
+            "`SearchMethod` and all custom searchers have been deprecated. "
+            "This feature will be removed in a future release. Consider configuring a preset "
+            "searcher instead (see Determined docs for details).",
+            FutureWarning,
+            stacklevel=2,
+        )
+
     @abc.abstractmethod
     def initial_operations(self, searcher_state: SearcherState) -> List[Operation]:
         """

harness/determined/searcher/_search_runner.py

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 import pickle
 import time
 import uuid
+import warnings
 from typing import Any, Dict, Iterable, List, Optional, Sequence, Tuple, Union
 
 from determined import searcher
@@ -256,6 +257,13 @@ def __init__(
         searcher_dir: Optional[pathlib.Path] = None,
         session: Optional[api.Session] = None,
     ):
+        warnings.warn(
+            "`LocalSearchRunner` and all custom searchers have been deprecated. "
+            "This feature will be removed in a future release. Consider configuring a preset "
+            "searcher instead (see Determined docs for details).",
+            FutureWarning,
+            stacklevel=2,
+        )
         super().__init__(search_method)
         self.state_path = None
         self.session = session