Configuring McIDAS-XCD to Read From a NOAAPORT SDI

The most effective way to use the NCEP/NWSTG channel from a NOAAPORT SDI is to decode the data into files using McIDAS-XCD. This section discusses how to configure McIDAS-XCD to feed off the NCEP/NWSTG output from a NOAAPORT SDI. The three configurations you can choose from are:

Configuring McIDAS-XCD for a Local Feed

To configure McIDAS-XCD for a local NOAAPORT NCEP/NWSTG feed, you must edit both the ~oper/mcidas/data/NTXT.CFG and ~oper/mcidas/data/NBIN.CFG circuit configuration files.

Complete the steps below for both of the files (NTXT.CFG and NBIN.CFG).

1. Edit the file. Both files will have lines similar to those below.

# -------- If -XCD is running locally on the SDI NOAAPORT receiver ------

FILE=/tmp/jmb.fifo.1     # SDI named pipe for NOAAPORT ASCII text stream
PERM=READONLY            # open named pipe as READONLY

# -------- If -XCD is remote from the SDI NOAAPORT receiver -------------

#HOST=127.0.0.1           # IP address of the SDI NOAAPORT receiver
#HOST_PORT=1501           # Remote host IP port number to connect

2. Verify that the lines that begin with FILE= and PERM= are not commented out. (If there is a # at the beginning of each line, remove it.) The example in step 1 above is correct.

3. If necessary, change the FILE= value to the appropriate file name for your configuration. For NTXT.CFG, the value should be either /tmp/jmb.fifo.1 (feed one) or /tmp/jmb.fifo.4 (feed two). For NBIN.CFG, the value should be either /tmp/jmb.fifo.2 (feed one) or /tmp/jmb.fifo.5 (feed two).

4. Verify that the PERM= value is set to READONLY, as shown in the example in step 1 above.

5. Verify that the lines that begin with HOST= and HOST_PORT= are commented out. (If there is not a # at the beginning of each line, add one.) The example in step 1 above is correct.

Configuring McIDAS-XCD for a Remote Feed

To configure McIDAS-XCD for a remote NOAAPORT NCEP/NWSTG feed (i.e., McIDAS-XCD is not on the same machine as the SDI ingestor), you must edit both the ~oper/mcidas/data/NTXT.CFG and ~oper/mcidas/data/NBIN.CFG circuit configuration files.

Complete the steps below for both of the files (NTXT.CFG and NBIN.CFG).

1. Edit the file. Both files will have lines similar to those below.

# -------- If -XCD is running locally on the SDI NOAAPORT receiver ------

FILE=/tmp/jmb.fifo.1     # SDI named pipe for NOAAPORT ASCII text stream
PERM=READONLY            # open named pipe as READONLY

# -------- If -XCD is remote from the SDI NOAAPORT receiver -------------

#HOST=127.0.0.1           # IP address of the SDI NOAAPORT receiver
#HOST_PORT=1501           # Remote host IP port number to connect

2. Comment out the lines that begin with FILE= and PERM=. (Do so by adding a # at the beginning of each line.)

3. Uncomment the lines that begin with #HOST= and #HOST_PORT=. (Do so by removing the #, if present, at the beginning of each line.)

4. Change the HOST= value from 127.0.0.1 to the host name or IP address of the NOAAPORT SDI you wish to read data from (e.g., foo.bar.edu).

5. If necessary, change the HOST_PORT= value from the default (1501 for NTXT.CFG, 1502 for NBIN.CFG) to the appropriate port number for your configuration.

Configuring Two McIDAS-XCD Workstations to Feed From a Remote SDI

To configure two McIDAS-XCD workstations to feed from one remote SDI, you must edit both the ~oper/mcidas/data/NTXT.CFG and ~oper/mcidas/data/NBIN.CFG circuit configuration files on both of the McIDAS-XCD workstations.

Complete the steps below for both of the files (NTXT.CFG and NBIN.CFG) on both of the McIDAS-XCD workstations.

1. Edit the file. Both files will have lines similar to those below.

# -------- If -XCD is running locally on the SDI NOAAPORT receiver ------

FILE=/tmp/jmb.fifo.1     # SDI named pipe for NOAAPORT ASCII text stream
PERM=READONLY            # open named pipe as READONLY

# -------- If -XCD is remote from the SDI NOAAPORT receiver -------------

#HOST=127.0.0.1           # IP address of the SDI NOAAPORT receiver
#HOST_PORT=1501           # Remote host IP port number to connect

2. Comment out the lines that begin with FILE= and PERM=. (Do so by adding a # at the beginning of each line.)

3. Uncomment the lines that begin with #HOST= and #HOST_PORT=. (Do so by removing the #, if present, at the beginning of each line.)

4. Change the HOST= value from 127.0.0.1 to the host name or IP address of the NOAAPORT SDI you wish to read data from (e.g., foo.bar.edu).

5. On the first McIDAS-XCD workstation: Set the HOST_PORT= value to 1501 in NTXT.CFG (as shown in the example in step 1 above), and to 1502 in NBIN.CFG.

On the second McIDAS-XCD workstation: Set the HOST_PORT= value to 1503 in NTXT.CFG, and to 1504 in NBIN.CFG.