McIDAS-XCD Version 2007
Upgrade Procedure
June 2007

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Please take the time to read this entire document; it's important to understand the whole procedure before you begin.

This upgrade procedure is divided into four sections.

• Section I. Before Installing McIDAS-XCD describes the actions to be performed before installing McIDAS-XCD 2007.
• Section II. Installing McIDAS-XCD describes the installation procedure for McIDAS-XCD 2007.
• Section III. Configuring McIDAS-XCD describes the actions to be performed immediately after upgrading to McIDAS-XCD 2007 from a previous version.
• Section IV. McIDAS-X and XCD Changes lists the McIDAS-X and -XCD software changes that have been made since the last upgrade.

Section I. Before Installing McIDAS-XCD

Complete all Required Actions below.

Compatibility with McIDAS-X

The McIDAS-XCD software is dependent on the McIDAS-X library and data files. McIDAS-X 2007 must be installed on the workstation prior to the installation of McIDAS-XCD 2007.

The McIDAS-XCD 2007 software package was tested and is supported on Enterprise Linux 4.0. As with McIDAS-X 2007, we recommend that you run your Enterprise Linux workstation in 32 bit mode.

See the McIDAS-XCD Administrator's Guide (revised 6/07) for more information.

Required Action:

Coordinate upgrading your site's McIDAS-X and McIDAS-XCD systems according to your needs. In particular, see Compatibility with McIDAS-X Remote Servers and McIDAS-XCD in Section II of the McIDAS-X Version 2007 Upgrade Procedure document for items that may impact your decision on when to upgrade to McIDAS-XCD 2007.

Section II. Installing McIDAS-XCD

If you need assistance with the installation or you want to know if any problems that might affect your site were noted since this upgrade was released, call the McIDAS Help Desk at (608) 262-2455 or send email.

The GRIB Server is available in -X 2007 and -XCD 2007 with the use of a MySQL database (which requires the -mysql flag during -X and -XCD builds). GRIB1 and GRIB2 files from the NOAAPORT data stream have been tested and are fully supported. See Chapters 2, 4 and 5 in the McIDAS-XCD Administrator's Guide.

Required Actions:

1. Obtain and install McIDAS-X 2007 using the instructions found on the McIDAS-X version 2007 download page.

   If you are planning on using the GRIB server with -XCD, you must install MySQL on the -XCD machine, and then build and install McIDAS-X version 2007 with the -mysql flag.

2. Obtain and install McIDAS-XCD 2007 using the instructions in Chapter 2 of the McIDAS-XCD Administrator's Guide (revised 6/07).

Grid Parameter Definition Changes

One parameter name was changed in McIDAS-XCD 2007. In the Current Icing Potential grids from AWC (RTGRIDS/ICN-ALL), the ICNG parameter was changed to TIPD, Total Icing Potential Diagnostic.

Required Actions:

1. Notify users of the parameter name change
2. Update scripts and commands where the affected parameters are used

Local Copies of GRIB Table Files

In version 2005, the gbtbpds001.* GRIB table files were moved from McIDAS-XCD to McIDAS-X for use with the GRIB decoder. These files now reside in ~mcidas/data and several files have updates in 2007.

If your -XCD workstations have any local copies in ~oper/mcidas/data, they should be removed so that the updated files in McIDAS-X 2007 (located in ~mcidas/data) are used.

Required Actions:

1. Search for local copies of the gbtbpds001.* files and remove them
2. If any files were removed, you will need to stop and restart -XCD for the changes to take effect.

McIDAS-XCD Administration Script

Several sites, including the SSEC Data Center, have written their own scripts to allow McIDAS-XCD to be run in the background, without requiring a McIDAS-X session running in the foreground. We included a generalized script, xcdadmin, in the -XCD 2006 upgrade. The use of the xcdadmin script is purely optional, but has several advantages.

• Being able to have McIDAS-XCD running without having to be logged on to the workstation
• Being able to run McIDAS-XCD without having a McIDAS-X session running in the foreground
• Easy logging of McIDAS-XCD text output
• Easier control of McIDAS-XCD when logged in remotely
• The ability to have McIDAS-XCD restart automatically on reboot

You can use xcdadmin to perform McIDAS-XCD administrative tasks, including starting and stopping -XCD, creating and rotating log files, and checking the status of -XCD. Simply type xcdadmin for usage information. It is recommended that you add an entry to cron that calls xcdadmin log -t hourly. This inserts a time stamp and disk/processor load information into the McIDAS-XCD log file. It is also recommended that you add an entry to cron that calls xcdadmin log -r daily to rotate the McIDAS-XCD log file in order to prevent the log file from filling the disk.

Optional Actions:

1. Follow the steps below to verify that you are using the latest version of xcdadmin.
   
   From a shell prompt under the oper account, backup your current version of xcdadmin, copy the latest version to /home/oper/mcidas/bin, and change the permissions to make it executable by user oper.

   Type: mv /home/oper/mcidas/bin/xcdadmin /home/oper/mcidas/bin/xcdadmin.bak
   Type: cp /home/oper/mcidas/xcd2007/data/xcdadmin /home/oper/mcidas/bin/xcdadmin
   Type: chmod 744 /home/oper/mcidas/bin/xcdadmin
   

   From a shell prompt under the oper account, verify that you are using the correct version of xcdadmin.

   Type: which xcdadmin

   The result of this command should be the currently installed version of xcdadmin (e.g. /home/oper/mcidas/bin/xcdadmin). If it is not, remove or rename that version so that it is not the version that is executed. If the result of this command is the currently installed version, then edit the Configurable Options section of the xcdadmin script. It contains variables that change its behavior. These variables must be reviewed before using the script. In particular, the xcd_data_path variable must be set. After reviewing the Configurable Options and setting the xcd_data_path, start the McIDAS-XCD software with the command below.

   Type: xcdadmin status

   The xcdadmin status command lists the -XCD status (on or off) as well as useful statistics including -XCD version, log file location, data directory, disk space usage, and processor load averages. If this command works, then your Configurable Options have been set correctly.

2. See the Rotating the -XCD Log Files section of the McIDAS-XCD Administrator's Guide for more information about adding xcdadmin to your crontab entries.

GRIB Server Set-up

The GRIB server is available in McIDAS-X 2007 and -XCD 2007 for both GRIB1 and GRIB2 data files. You may continue to serve McIDAS GRID files as you always have, but may want to switch to the GRIB server for faster data transfers, less disk space usage, and access to the additional GRIB2 files from the NOAAPORT data stream. The real-time GRIB server utilizes a MySQL database. Only GRIB files from the NOAAPORT data stream have been tested and are fully supported. See the McIDAS-XCD Administrator's Guide for all of the information about configuring -XCD for the GRIB server.

Optional Actions:

1. Install McIDAS-X version 2007 and -XCD version 2007 using the -mysql flag. See Installing McIDAS-XCD 2007 for more information.
2. See Configuring the GRIB Decoders for information on creating the MySQL mcrtgrib database with the gribadmin command, and activating the DMBIN GRIB Decoder.
3. See Configuring Data Removal for information on using the Unix cron command to schedule the removal of GRIB1, GRIB2, and BUFR files, the cleaning of the database, and the creation of the -XCD log files.
4. See Configuring the Default ADDE Datasets for information on creating the new default GRIB1 and GRIB2 datasets. All users of GRIB1 or GRIB2 data must run the commands in step 6 to update the keywords in the GRIB1 and GRIB2 datasets on their -XCD machine.
5. See Configuring Additional GRIB2 ADDE Datasets for information on creating additional GRIB2 datasets.
6. See Starting and Stopping McIDAS-XCD for information on using xcdadmin to start and stop -XCD in the background, without a McIDAS-X session running in the foreground.
7. See Checking the Filing Status of McIDAS-XCD Data for information on using statdisp and gribadmin to check the filing status of all of the data on your -XCD machine.

Section IV. McIDAS-X and -XCD Changes

This section lists the changes made to McIDAS-X and -XCD source, data, script, and batch files since the last upgrade (version 2006).

Source Modules Changes in -XCD

The table below lists changes to McIDAS-XCD source modules since the previous upgrade (version 2006). The same information is present in the xcd_README_2007 file available on the McIDAS-XCD Software page on the McIDAS Website (https://www.ssec.wisc.edu/mcidas) and on the upgrade CD for sites that receive their software that way.

File	Description of Modifications
dmbin.pgm	Updated for GRIB2.
dmgrid.pgm	Updated to bypass GRIB2 data, which can not be used to create McIDAS grid files.
gribdb.c	New file - command to write archived GRIB1 metadata to a MySQL database.
grib2nav.c	New file - command to list the navigation parameters necessary for entering new GRIB2 datasets.
m0pirdec.for	The PIREP decoder was updated to recognize MOD and MDT as indicators of both moderate turbulence and moderate icing.
Mcgrb2dec.c	New file - code for the GRIB2 decoder, writing metadata to the MySQL database, and filing the GRIB2 files.
Mcgrbbfrdec.c	Fixed memory leaks in the code.

 

Source Module Changes in -X

The table below lists changes to McIDAS-X source modules since the previous upgrade (version 2006) that are used by -XCD. The same information is present in the xcd_README_2007 file available on the McIDAS-XCD Software page on the McIDAS Website (https://www.ssec.wisc.edu/mcidas) and on the upgrade CD for sites that receive their software that way.

File	Description of Modifications
grib2func.c	New file - GRIB2 data extractions functions and algorithms.
gribfunc.c	Added functionality to extract GRIB2 ensembles and accumulations. Added nav function to properly calculate McIDAS navigation for GRIB2 data. Updated ensemble values to be character strings, and no longer map to integers.
mcgrib.h	Changed g2clib headers needed for GRIB2.
mcgrib2.h	New file - GRIB2 prototypes, declarations, and definitions for navigation table, parameter table, and model table structures.
ncdffunc.c	Minor changes for GRIB2.
xcdgrib.c	Modification to Mcgtpstrg function to capture blank entries in the gbtbpds* files. Made strings for ensemble grids left justified. Added readers of new files grib2NavLookup.txt, grib2NCEPModels.txt and grib2Parameters.txt, and added matchup functions to properly identify GRIB2 data using these files.

Data File Changes in -XCD

The table below lists changes to McIDAS-XCD data files since the previous upgrade (version 2006). The same information is present in the xcd_README_2007 file available on the McIDAS-XCD Software page on the McIDAS Website (https://www.ssec.wisc.edu/mcidas) and on the upgrade CD for sites that receive their software that way.

File	Description of Modifications
RTMODELS.CFG	Added North American Mesoscale US Polar Stereographic grids, NAM-USPS. Added Rapid Update Cycle 20 km grids, RUC-USLC3.
XCDDEC.VER	Updated -XCD version number to 2007.

 

Data File Changes in -X

The table below lists changes to McIDAS-X data files since the previous upgrade (version 2006) that are used by -XCD. The same information is present in the xcd_README_2007 file available on the McIDAS-XCD Software page on the McIDAS Website (https://www.ssec.wisc.edu/mcidas) and on the upgrade CD for sites that receive their software that way.

File	Description of Modifications
gbtbpds001.2v2 gbtbpds001.2v3	The apostrophe was removed from Blackadar's mixing length scale due to incompatibilities with MySQL syntax.
gbtbpds001.2v2	Updated ICNG parameter name to TIPD.
gbtbpds001.bv1	Added grid number 253 to fix North Pacific Hurricane Wave Model (NPH) grids.
grib2NavLookup.txt	New file - allows for a matchup between the McIDAS navigation parameters calculated from GRIB2 files and a unique identifier for that dataset.
grib2Parameters.txt	New file - allows for a matchup of the GRIB2 data with their respective parameter names (based on GRIB2 documentation Template 4.0).
grib2NCEPModels.txt	New file - identifies the NCEP model type for GRIB2 data.
STNDB.CORE	Updates to the core station database file.

Script and Batch File Changes in -XCD

The table below lists changes to McIDAS-XCD scripts and batch files since the previous upgrade (version 2006). The same information is present in the xcd_README_2007 file available on the McIDAS-XCD Software page on the McIDAS Website (https://www.ssec.wisc.edu/mcidas) and on the upgrade CD for sites that receive their software that way.

File	Description of Modifications
_mcidasxcd.mk xcd_install Makefile	Installation file changes. Added new files and made changes for installing g2clib and jasper. Added -D_64BIT_ if on a Linux 64 bit workstation, so that g2clib will compile correctly.
gribtodb	Wrapper script that calls gribdb.k.
gribadmin	Added entry for the new field "field_number". Reordered the GRANT and REVOKE commands for the MySQL database.
xcd_init	Updated version number.
xcdscour	Added entry for deleting GRIB2 files. Improved deletion algorithm when a large grouping of files can not be deleted due to operating system limitations.
XCDADDE.BAT	Added XCDGRB2.BAT.
XCDGRB2.BAT	New file - batch file to run DSSERVE commands for McIDAS GRIB2 datasets.
XCDGRIB.BAT XCDGRID.BAT	Added NAM-USPS and RUC-USLC3.