1. Overview

The Unisys NOAAPORT Gateway system is a fully integrated, turn-key system that is configurable to receive the NWS NOAAPORT broadcast data stream, to receive the Unisys Weather data stream (satellite or landline), or receive both the NOAAPORT and the Unisys Weather data streams through diverse communication paths. The system is licensed based on the configuration purchased for the delivery. To shorten the name in this document, the NOAAPORT Gateway will be referred to as NOAAPORT from this point forward.

The NOAAPORT accepts and processes the complete product set found on the National Weather Service (NWS) NOAAPORT satellite broadcast service. This includes the GOES, NWSTG, NWSTG2, and OCONUS broadcast channels. The Unisys NOAAPORT system is also designed to accept and process the Unisys WeatherMAX data from the Unisys Weather Data Center on the Unisys broadcast channel. The Unisys broadcast channel is co-located with the NWS NOAAPORT broadcast using the SES-1 satellite, This allows use of the same satellite dish and its components for both the NOAAPORT broadcast and the Unisys broadcast. The Unisys channel can also be received via a land line connection to the Unisys WeatherMAX dissemination server located in Malvern, PA. The Unisys channel provides a Unisys NOAAPORT channel with commercial weather data to supplement and complete the weather data offered on the NWS NOAAPORT broadcast.

This system runs on an Intel platform using the Linux operating system (Red Hat or CentOS). It uses standard TCP/IP and NFS/SMB for data access. The Unisys NOAAPORT system has been tested to to process data at the planned 30Mbit/sec data stream from the NWS broadcast. The Unisys NOAAPORT system can save all the data on local disks, provide product arrival notification (PAN) messages, output the NOAAPORT data as a raw NOAAPORT packet stream, or output the data as familiar WMO bulletins that can be further processed or displayed by Unisys Product Manager or other user software.

The Unisys NOAAPORT system currently sends the NWS NOAAPORT satellite broadcast data stream and/or Unisys satellite broadcast data stream to end users over a TCP/IP socket connection in one of three formats:

• WXP (Unisys Weather Processor)
• LDM (Unidata Local Data Manager)
• GWIP (Unisys Weather Server)

The Unisys NOAAPORT system can support up to 32 end users. Each end user establishes a separate TCP/IP socket connection to the Unisys NOAAPORT computer. More than one end user has the ability to receive the same NWS NOAAPORT data stream and/or Unisys broadcast channel. For example, the NWS NOAAPORT GOES and NWSTG data stream can be sent to a WXP end user and the NWS NOAAPORT GOES and NWSTG data stream along with the Unisys broadcast channel to an LDM user.

The Unisys NOAAPORT system is SNMP enabled, and has its own publicly registered OID under Unisys Weather. With SNMP you can monitor common functions like CPU utilization, memory usage, disk space, and processes.

This document provides a detailed description on the configuration and operation of the Unisys NOAAPORT computer and satellite receiver(s). Figure 1 is a diagram of a Unisys NOAAPORT System configured to ingest the NWS NOAAPORT data stream and the Unisys broadcast channel (both satellite and land line).

Figure 1

2. NOAAPORT Ingest Description

The Unisys NOAAPORT system is an Intel based server with hardware and software installed to receive the NWS NOAAPORT satellite broadcast and/or the Unisys WeatherMAX broadcast data stream. The Unisys WeatherMAX broadcast data stream can be received via satellite and/or a land line connection to the Unisys WeatherMAX dissemination server located in Malvern, PA. To receive the satellite broadcast requires an outdoor antenna system that consists of a C-Band capable satellite dish (size varies with location, roughly 3.7 meters in diameter), an LNB, optional heater blanket, and cabling. The Satellite Link Budget allows both the NWS NOAAPORT satellite broadcast and Unisys channel broadcast data streams to be received using a single dish if it's roughly 3.7 meters in diameter. You will need two satellite receivers. If the satellite dish is roughly 3.0 meters in diameter two dishes and two satellite receivers are required.

The satellite receiver is connected to the outdoor antenna by an RF cable and to the NOAAPORT system by a network cable. The receiver converts the satellite signal to IP multicast which is processed by the NOAAPORT system. See Figure 2.

Figure 2

The NOAAPORT software will process each NOAAPORT broadcast channel and/or Unisys broadcast channel, assembling packet data into a stream and send the data over a reliable TCP/IP socket connection to a set of client processes. Client processes include the Unisys Product Manager, LDM (Local Data Manager from Unidata) or Unisys Weather Server (GWIP) all of which reside in the Unisys NOAAPORT system. A user can also connect to the NOAAPORT system by IP sockets with their own product manager. The user can receive the data as either raw NOAAPORT frames or as WMO bulletins in a format similar to the old Family of Services (FOS) feed.

2.1 National Weather Service NOAAPORT Broadcast Channels

The NWS NOAAPORT broadcast system provides a one-way broadcast communication of NOAA environmental data and information in near-real time to NOAA and external users. There are four logical channels. This includes the GOES, NWSTG, NWSTG2, and OCONUS broadcast channels.

• GOES - The GOES data stream consists of imagery data from the GOES East and GOES West satellites and includes visible (VIS), infrared (IR), water vapor (WV), shortwave infrared (SWIR), band 6 and select sounder images and products for the Eastern Conterminous United States (ECONUS), Western Conterminous United States (WCONUS), super national composites, and Northern Hemisphere (NH) composites.
• NWSTG - The NWSTG (NWS Transmission Gateway) data stream provides observations, radar products, forecasts, watches and warnings generated by the NWS forecast offices; as well as model output from NCEP models.
• NWSTG2 - An additional channel for NWS products including high resolution model data from NCEP.
• OCONUS/DCP - The fourth data stream is currently used for non-CONUS data such as Alaskan and Hawaiian model data and satellite imagery (including select Polar Orbiting Satellite channels) and as well specialized data sets such as research oriented data.

2.2 Unisys Broadcast Channel

The Unisys broadcast channel contains the Unisys WeatherMAX product data stream. The data stream can be received via satellite broadcast (over same SES-1 satellite as NWS NOAAPORT broadcast) and/or a land line connection to the Unisys WeatherMAX dissemination server located in Malvern, PA. If both the satellite receiver and land line connection are configured, the user can configure the land line connection or satellite receiver as the primary communication link and the other as a backup. If auto failover is enabled (user configurable) and the primary fails (broken line, router failure, etc.) or the throughput rate drops below a user configurable value, the NOAAPORT system will automatically failover to the backup. There is no auto failback to the primary connection. The user must perform this manually by running a script.

3. End Users

The Unisys NOAAPORT system can support up to 32 end users. Each end user establishes a separate TCP/IP socket connection to the Unisys NOAAPORT computer. More than one end user has the ability to receive the same NWS NOAAPORT data stream and/or Unisys channel. For example, the NWS NOAAPORT GOES and NWSTG data stream can be sent to one user and the NWS NOAAPORT GOES and NWSTG data stream along with the Unisys broadcast channel to another end user

The Unisys NOAAPORT system currently sends the NWS NOAAPORT satellite broadcast data stream and/or Unisys broadcast channel to end users over a TCP/IP socket connection in one of three formats:

• WXP (Unisys Weather Processor)
• LDM (Unidata Local Data Manager)
• GWIP (Unisys Weather Server)

Software supporting all three formats come automatically bundled with the Unisys NOAAPORT system.

3.1 Unisys Product Manager (WXP)

The WXP Product Manager processing is user configurable. The Product Manager uses a configuration file to identify products based on WMO headers and saves the output to user defined files on the local hard drives of the Ingest System. The Product Manager supports user defined data output, filenames and directory structures.

The default setting divides data by channel (nwstg, nwstg2, goes, oconus, unisys) and then by data type. The data is saved over 1 or 4 disks. It organizes text data into data and text directories based on whether it is observations and model output, or manually generated text messages such as watches and warnings. Data goes into hourly or multi-hour collections. Binary data goes into directories based on type such as model for GRIB data, BUFR and sat (satellite imagery). Model data is organized by model and grid type with all data going into a single file for easier file manipulation. High resolution 1km satellite imagery is re-sampled into lower resolution 4km images for easier processing. File names are based on time and data type.

To process real-time data such as severe weather warnings, the Product Manager transmits a Product Arrival Notification (PAN) message sent via UDP datagram to a set of user defined clients at the time the product is received. The message contains date/time information, WMO header and location on disk of the product (filename, byte offset and size).

Archiving of the data is done automatically using time stamped file names. The Product Manager uses separate scour processes to remove data off the server. This is user configurable by directory and by file size and/or age.

Refer to the WXP User's guide for further information regarding configuring and running WXP.

3.2 Unidata Local Data Manager (LDM)

The NOAAPORT system supports output to the Local Data Manager (LDM) software system available from Unidata (www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/ldm/). 64 bit LDM software is supplied with the system. LDM provides product manager functionality comparable to the Unisys Product Manager. In addition, it provides a store and forward function for distributing data to multiple computers/clients.

3.3 Unisys Weather Server (GWIP)

The Unisys Weather Server receives the Unisys broadcast channel data stream and archives the data to disk. The Unisys Weather Server does not process the NWS NOAAPORT data stream.

Features of the Weather Server are:

• user configurable control files for product directory structure, site/product filtering, and product file naming specifications
• automatic archiving (i.e., maintains a specified number of copies of each product and deletes files as they age)
• creates storm attributes products from NEXRAD Composite Reflectivity products
• sends PAN (Product Arrival Notices) messages via a UDP socket connection to a list of registered clients upon receipt of a weather product
• monitors the Unisys broadcast channel data feed showing product count and any errors

Refer to Unisys Weather Server User's guide further information regarding configuring and running GWIP.

4. SNMP Monitoring

The Unisys NOAAPORT system is SNMP enabled, and has its own publicly registered OID under Unisys Weather. An OID or object identifier is an identifier used to name an object . Structurally, an OID consists of a node in a hierarchically-assigned namespace, formally defined using the ITU-T's ASN.1 standard. Successive numbers of the nodes, starting at the root of the tree, identify each node in the tree. Designers set up new nodes by registering them under the node's registration authority. With SNMP you can monitor common functions like CPU utilization, memory usage, disk space, and processes. The NOAAPORT system will also let you monitor NOAAPORT functions like throughput and frame loss, and provide information about the Novra S300 satellite receiver.

HP Openview, HostMonitor, Nagios, and MRTG are some of the 3rd party tools used for processing SNMP. These tools can also be used for monitoring, alarming, and notification, as well as generating graphs to give you a historical perspective on resources and how they are being used over time. They can send SMS messages and/or email your support staff when a threshold has been reached and something needs attention. With SNMP there is no need to write special monitoring scripts, or be in the dark about an overused resource.

An SNMP OID (object identifier) is assigned to an individual object within a Management Information Base (MIB). An MIB can be broken down into a tree structure. Within this structure, individual OIDs are representative of the leaves on the tree. More specifically, an OID is a string of numbers readable only to the MIB.

The OID for Unisys is 223. The OID for Unisys Weather is 27. The OID for NOAAPORT system is 1. The OID for the Novra S300 satellite receiver is 2

The OID for accessing NOAAPORT functions is:

iso.org.dod.internet.private.enerprises.unisys.unisysweather.noaaport 1.3.6.1.4.1.223.27.1

The OID for accessing the Novra S300 satellite receiver statistics is:

iso.org.dod.internet.private.enterprises.unisys.unisysweather.s300 1.3.6.1.4.1.223.27.2

Following NOAAPORT functions are monitored:

Following Novra S300 satellite receiver functions are monitored:

5. System Layout

The NOAAPORT system is under the following directories:

5.1 NOAAPORT System Scripts/Processes

The scripts/processes that compose the NOAAPORT system are located in the /usr/noaaport/bin directory.

5.1.1 Scripts

Following is a list of scripts. These scripts start, stop and restart various NOAAPORT processes. A directory path need not be specified when running the scripts.

5.1.2 Processes

Following is a list of NOAAPORT processes. These processes are loaded and started via the NOAAPORT system scripts listed in section 5.1.1. They should not be started manually.

5.2 Configuration Files

The configuration files are located in the /usr/noaaport/etc directory. These include:

5.3 Log Files

The log files are saved into the /usr/noaaport/logs directory. These include:

5.4 License File

The license file is created and stored on the NOAAPORT computer by Unisys when the NOAAPORT system is assembled and configured. The license file is stored in “/usr/noaaport/etc/noaaport.lic”. Do not delete or modify this file. If you do, the NOAAPORT software will not run.

6. Running NOAAPORT

The NOAAPORT system is a set of processes that will start up and run independent of each other. The NOAAPORT computer is initially configured with two accounts (unisys and root). The initial password for each account is “unisys”.

6.1 Automatic Startup

The NOAAPORT system is set up to start on system bootup. The “noaaport” script in the /etc/init.d directory is set to run on init levels 3 and 5 (Graphical Login). When the system boots, the NOAAPORT system will load and run in the background. Data will be processed even though there is no one logged in or no status screen showing its running.

6.2 Manual Startup

To start the NOAAPORT system manually, log into the computer as “unisys”. Once logged in, a graphical desktop will appear. For those familiar with Linux, this is the Gnome desktop. Open up a terminal window, which can be selected from the right click menu on the desktop.

The NOAAPORT system can be started with the “noaaport” script which actually runs noaaport_startup.

It's recommended to start the NOAAPORT system with this script since it ensure's all the prerequisite programs are run and that the processes are run under the “unisys” user account.

In each situation, the script may prompt the user for the “unisys” user account password. This is to ensure the scripts start under the “unisys” user account. If you log into the terminal window as “root”, (using the command “su –”) the script (noaaport) will not prompt for the “unisys” user account password.

Normally, manual startup is generally not needed since the NOAAPORT system is started when the system boots up.

6.3 Unisys Channel Data Feed Switch Over

Data feed switch over only applies to the Unisys broadcast channel. If the NOAAPORT system is configured to receive the Unisys broadcast channel over both the satellite feed and a land line connection to the Unisys WeatherMAX dissemination server, the user can manually switch over from either the satellite receiver or the land line connection by running a script in a terminal window. The script may prompt the user for the “unisys” user account password. This is to ensure the scripts start under the “unisys” user account. If you are logged in as “root”, the scripts will not prompt you for the “unisys” user account password.

6.4 Restarting NOAAPORT

If at any point, the NOAAPORT system need to be restarted or stopped, the following scripts with the “kill” or “restart” options can be run. No option indicates to start the NOAAPORT system.

6.5 Rebooting Computer

Once the shutdown command is run, the system will shutdown and restart. The “/etc/init.d/noaaport” startup script will once again start the NOAAPORT Ingest system.

There are a number of ways to reboot a Linux computer. Here are three ways to perform a reboot.

• First, when the user logs out, a dialog box comes up with the options: Logout, Halt or Reboot. Select Reboot to restart the computer.

• Shutdown selection is also available on the Login Screen.

• The “shutdown” command can be run from a terminal window. This must be done as root.

   

  # su –

  # shutdown –r (The –r option indicates to reboot system after shutdown)

Once the shutdown command is run, the system will shutdown and restart. The “/etc/init.d/noaaport” startup script will once again start the NOAAPORT system.

7 Monitoring NOAAPORT

There are no status windows started up when the NOAAPORT system is started. This is done to allow background processing of the data. To run monitoring programs for visual evidence that the NOAAPORT system is running properly, the following scripts can be run from a terminal window:

7.1 NOAAPORT Status

Following is an example of the NOAAPORT System status display:

Unisys NOAAPORT System v 8.0
Jan 7 23:47:28

                                  --- Channel Status ---

Port#  Data Type   Status   Throughput(bps)   Last Data Recv Time   Products   Lost Frames
  1    DVB_NWSTG    Sat         1145765            23:47:27           320559          9
  2    DVB_GOES     Sat          865445            23:47:27              406         14
  3    DVB_NWSTG2   Sat         1172496            23:47:27            48494          3
  4    DVB_OCONUS   Sat             384            23:41:28            79959          0
  5    LAND_UNISYS  Conn        4898763            23:41:27           138591          0
  6    -            -                 0            --------                0          0
  7    -            -                 0            --------                0          0
  8    -            -                 0            --------                0          0

                                    --- User Status ---

User#  Data Type    Format  IP Address/Port    Status   Throughput(bps) Free Buf  Low Buf
  1    DVB_NWSTG     WXP    127.0.0.1/5001      Conn        1139887       100%      95%
  2    DVB_GOES      WXP    127.0.0.1/5003      Conn         876642       100%      60%
  3    DVB_NWSTG2    WXP    127.0.0.1/5004      Conn         967072       100%      72%
  4    DVB_OCONUS    WXP    127.0.0.1/5005      Conn           6785        94%      92%
  5    LAND_UNISYS   LDM            */5105      Conn       24589231        99%      99%
  6    LAND_UNISYS   GWIP   127.0.0.1/5201      Conn       34589321        96%      84%

                                                         System Started: Dec 22 23:49:07
    

The Channel Status section shows the data coming in from the satellite receiver and/or land line connection from the Unisys WeatherMAX dissemination server. This is the input to the system. The columns are as follows:

The User Status section shows the output of the NOAAPORT system. These are socket connections to a post processing program. The columns are as follows:

7.2 NOAAPORT Skyline

The skyline is a graphical representation of the product ingest feed (satellite/land line) data flow. Vertical bars represent bandwidth consumption. The values are in 500Kbps increments from 0 – 6Mbit. The longer the bar, the more data is flowing. Continuous high bandwidth can tax the system. If the skyline is showing little or no dataflow, then there is a problem with the feed. This can be the result of a weak data signal, rain fade, or a Weather Service or Unisys related data outage. Following is an example of the NOAAPORT Skyline status display:

Figure 3

7.3 Receiver Status

There is one command available for checking the status of the Novra S300 satellite receiver:

Following is an example of the S300 satellite receiver status:

<RECEIVER_STATUS TIME_STAMP="2012/02/21 12:05:15.266">
    <DEVICE_TYPE>S300</DEVICE_TYPE>
    <RECEIVER_MAC>00-06-76-05-02-34</RECEIVER_MAC>
    <RECEIVER_IP>192.168.1.2</RECEIVER_IP>
    <STATUS_TIMESTAMP>2012/02/21 12:05:15.260</STATUS_TIMESTAMP>
    <DATA_SYNC_LOSS>0</DATA_SYNC_LOSS>
    <CARRIER_FREQUENCY>1154 MHz (+175 kHz)</CARRIER_FREQUENCY>
    <DVB_SIGNAL_TYPE>DVBS2</DVB_SIGNAL_TYPE>
    <VITERBI_RATE>1/2 QPSK</VITERBI_RATE>
    <MODCOD>2/3 8PSK</MODCOD>
    <SIGNAL_STRENGTH_AS_DBM>-50</SIGNAL_STRENGTH_AS_DBM>
    <SIGNAL_LOCK>Locked</SIGNAL_LOCK>
    <DATA_LOCK>Locked</DATA_LOCK>
    <LNB_FAULT>No Fault</LNB_FAULT>
    <VBER>0.00e+00</VBER>
    <PER>0.00e+00</PER>
    <UNCORRECTABLES>0</UNCORRECTABLES>
    <CARRIER_TO_NOISE>12.100000</CARRIER_TO_NOISE>
    <FREQUENCY_OFFSET>175000</FREQUENCY_OFFSET>
    <LOCKED_SYMBOL_RATE>15119</LOCKED_SYMBOL_RATE>
    <SPECTRAL_INVERSION_FLAG>Normal</SPECTRAL_INVERSION_FLAG>
    <PILOT_SYMBOL_FLAG>On</PILOT_SYMBOL_FLAG>
    <FRAME_LENGTH>Short</FRAME_LENGTH>
    <PID_COUNT>5</PID_COUNT>
    <DVB_ACCEPTED>1776</DVB_ACCEPTED>
    <TOTAL_DVB_PACKETS_ACCEPTED>739323460</TOTAL_DVB_PACKETS_ACCEPTED>
    <TOTAL_UNCORRECTABLE_TS_PACKETS>3</TOTAL_UNCORRECTABLE_TS_PACKETS>
    <ETHERNET_TRANSMIT>272</ETHERNET_TRANSMIT>
    <ETHERNET_RECEIVE>0</ETHERNET_RECEIVE>
    <ETHERNET_PACKET_DROPPED>0</ETHERNET_PACKET_DROPPED>
    <ETHERNET_RECEIVE_ERROR>0</ETHERNET_RECEIVE_ERROR>
    <TOTAL_ETHERNET_PACKETS_OUT></TOTAL_ETHERNET_PACKETS_OUT>
    <DVB_SCRAMBLED>0</DVB_SCRAMBLED>
    <DVB_CLEAR>1776</DVB_CLEAR>
</RECEIVER_STATUS>
      

The key status value to look at is the CARRIER_TO_NOISE. It should be above 9.0. See Section 11 Troubleshooting for additional usage of s300status command.

7.4 Log Files

Log files are written to the “/usr/noaaport/logs” directory. Latency logs are written to the “/usr/noaaport/logs/latency” directory.

7.4.1 Status Log

The output of NOAAPORT startup process goes into the “noaaport.log” file. In general this is only useful in debugging potential problems with the NOAAPORT system.

7.4.2 Process Logs

Separate log files are created for each of the supporting processes. A new log file is created each day. Following is the format of the log file names.

7.4.3 Latency Log

Latency logs are only created for the Unisys broadcast channel data stream where the end user format is the Unisys Weather Server (GWIP). Latency logs show the latency time in seconds for each product written to the Unisys Weather Server disk. A separate log file is created each day. Latency is defined as:

• Time product written to Unisys Weather Server - Time product was received by Unisys WeatherMAX

Format:

Each record written to the latency log consists of the following fields:

time  site  prod  latency  steady_state  comm_type

where:   time          =     timestamp record written to log
         site          =     site id
         prod          =     product id
         latency       =     latency time is seconds
         steady_state  =     Y/N 
                             Y = no backlog of products being received
                             N = backlog of products being received (normally
                             occurs after a restart of the NOAAPORT, reboot of 
                             the NOAAPORT computer or restart of the Unisys 
                             Dissemination System) and lasts for approximately 
                             1-3 minutes depending on the down time)
         comm_type     =     L/S
                             L = products being received via land line connection
                             S = products being received via satellite receiver
      

8. Serving Weather Products to Other Computers

All weather product data is stored under the /data directory. There are two methods for accessing the data on the server: NFS and SMB. The table below shows the location of the product data for the various file formats.

8.1 NFS (Network File System)

The NOAAPORT computer exports the /data directory as read-only for mounting by other Unix based systems.

To mount the data directory on another Unix system, the root administrator of that computer will have to invoke a command like:

# mount noaaport:/data/wxmax /mnt/data

This assumes that the WeatherMAX computer has been entered into the local host table as “noaaport” and that an appropriate mount point such as “/mnt/data” has been created on the local computer.

8.2 SMB (Windows File Sharing)

The NOAAPORT computer is set up to make the /data directory available to Windows PCs (Win98, WinNT, Win2K, WinXP Win7) using the Samba program. It is configured as read-only and with guest access. In other words, all PC computers can map a drive without a password. The computer name will be “noaaport” (or whatever is set as hostname) and the mapping will be:

\\noaaport\data\wxmax

9. Configuring NOAAPORT

The NOAAPORT computer is pre-configured by Unisys to meet your operational needs. However, you can change the operational characteristics of the NOAAPORT computer through its configuration file. The file is located at /usr/noaaport/etc/noaaport.cfg

The configuration file is divided into three sections:

• [PARAMS] Defines system parameters
• [USERS] Defines the end users to receive data via TCP/IP socket connection.
• [FILTER] Defines WMO bulletins to be filtered (i.e., not sent to end user)

Within each section is a list of keywords followed by an equal (=) sign and one or more parameters. All keywords and parameters must be in upper case. Spaces and tabs are permitted, but not necessary between the keyword, equal sign and value(s).

Continuation lines are specified by terminating the line with a backslash (\). A space must precede the backslash.

A semicolon (;) is used for comments. A comment may appear anywhere. Anything entered after the semicolon character is ignored.

The following sections describe the valid keywords within each section.

9.1 [PARAMS] Section

This section has the following configuration parameters:

The [PARAMS] section specifies system parameters. All keywords are optional. If the keyword is not specified, a default value is assigned as described below.

9.1.1 LOGMASK

Specify message types to be written to the NOAAPORT process logs. This feature is mainly used for trouble shooting purposes.

Format:       LOGMASK = 0xhh, size
               where: hh = log mask. Following lists the log mask settings:
                               0x01 Satellite Protocol Messages
                               0x02 Error Messages
                               0x04 Status Messages
                               0x08 Debug Messages
                               0x10 TCP/IP Protocol Messages
                      size = log file size in megabytes 

Example:      LOGMASK = 0x19, 5

               Log TCP/IP Protocol, Debug, and Satellite Protocol Messages.
               File Size = 5 megabytes.

Default:      0x06, 5
      

9.1.2 NUM_USERS

Specifies the number of end users (i.e., socket connections) receiving the NOAAPORT data stream(s).

Format:     NUM_USERS = n
             where: n = number of users (1-32)
 
Example:    NUM_USERS = 6
 
Default:    4
      

9.1.3 NOAAPORT_BUF_SIZE

Specifies input buffer sizes for storing the NOAAPORT broadcast data streams as received from the satellite receivers and/or Unisys broadcast land line connection.

Format:     NOAAPORT_BUF_SIZE = size1, size2, size3, size4, ... (up to 8)
             where: sizen = buffer sizes (in megabytes) for Port #1, Port #2, ... Port#8
                            maximum allowable value = 10 megabytes
                            Typical value = 1 megabyte.

Example:    NOAAPORT_BUF_SIZE = 3, 1, 4, 10

             Port #1 = 3 megabytes, Port #2 = 1 megabyte, Port #3 = 4 megabytes,
             Port #4 = 10 megabytes

Default:    1 megabyte
      

9.1.4 NOAAPORT_DATA_STREAM

Specifies the NOAAPORT broadcast data stream types to be received on each port.

Format:     NOAAPORT_DATA_STREAM = {stream1,ipaddrs}, {stream2,ipaddrs}, ...(up to 8)
             where: streamn = data stream type on Port #1, Port #2, ... Port#8 
                            DVB_NWSTG = DVB NWSTG data stream (satellite)
                            DVB_GOES =  DVB GOES data stream (satellite)
                            DVB_NWSTG2  DVB NWSTG2 data stream (satellite)
                            DVB_OCONUS = DVB OCONUS/DCP data stream (satellite)
                            DVB_UNISYS = Unisys channel data stream (satellite)
                            LAND_UNISYS = Unisys channel data stream (land line)

                    ipaddrs = multicast address (satellite feed)
                            IP address of NIC card (land line)

                            Multicast address for each satellite channel is as follows:

                            DVB_NWSTG 224.0.1.1
                            DVB_GOES 224.0.1.2
                            DVB_NWST2 224.0.1.3
                            DVB_OCONUS 224.0.1.4
                            DVB_UNISYS 224.0.1.200

Example:    NOAAPORT_DATA_STREAM = {DVB_NWSTG,224.0.1.1}, {DVB_GOES,224.0.1.2}, \
                                   {DVB_UNISYS,224.0.1.200}, \
                                   {LAND_UNISYS,192.168.51.70}

             Port #1 = DVB_NWSTG (satellite), Port #2 = DVB_GOES (satellite), 
             Port #3 = DVB_UNISYS (satellite), Port#4 = LAND_UNISYS (land line)

Default:    None
      

9.1.5 SAVE_HDLC_FRAMES

Specifies if the NOAAPORT HDLC frames as received from the satellite receiver should be saved to a file on disk. This feature is mainly used for trouble shooting purposes. The files are located in /usr/noaaport/logs directory and named as satcomm_#.out.

Format:     SAVE_HDLC_FRAMES = {1,min}, {2,min}, {3,min}, ... (up to 8 ports)
             where: 1-8 = port # 
                    min = minutes worth of data to be saved (zero = do not save)

Example:    SAVE_HDLC_FRAMES = {1,60}, {2,0}, {3,30}, {4,0}
             Save 60 minutes worth of data for port #1 and 30 minutes worth of data 
             on port #3.

Default:    No data is saved.
      

9.1.6 MULTICAST_INTERFACE

Specifies the IP address of the NIC interface to listen on for DVB multicast packets from the NWS broadcast stream. When you configure the LAN for the DVB receiver, use the IP address of the NIC card for that LAN.

Format:    MULTICAST_INTERFACE = ipaddrs
            where: ipaddrs = IP address of the NIC card connected to the DVB receiver.

Example:   MULTICAST_INTERFACE = 10.0.0.2

Default:   None
      

9.1.7 UNISYS_MULTICAST_INTERFACE

Specifies the IP address of the NIC interface to listen on for DVB multicast packets from the Unisys broadcast channel. This is not required if the same NIC interface is used for both the NWS NOAAPORT broadcast S300 receiver and the Unisys broadcast S300 receiver. When you configure the LAN for the DVB receiver, use the IP address of the NIC card for that LAN.>

Format:     UNISYS_MULTICAST_INTERFACE = ipaddrs
             where: ipaddrs = IP address of the NIC card connected to the DVB receiver.

Example:    UNISYS_MULTICAST_INTERFACE = 10.0.0.3

Default:    None
      

9.1.8 S300_IP

Specifies the IP address of the Novra S300 satellite receiver.

Format:     S300_IP = ipaddrs
             where: ipaddrs = S300 IP address

Example:    S300_IP =  192.168.1.2

Default:    None
      

9.1.9 SNMP_COMMUNITY

Specifies the SNMP community string for accessing SNMP statistics

Format:     SNMP_COMMUNITY =  string
             where: string = SNMP community string

Example:    SNMP_COMMUNITY = public

Default:    None

      

9.1.10 LATENCY_LOG

Specifies whether to create a latency log. This only applies if the Unisys broadcast channel is configured.

Format:     LATENCY_LOG = n
             where: n = YES/NO

Example:    LATENCY_LOG = YES

Default:    NO
      

9.1.11 LANDCOMM_IP_INTERFACE

Specifies the IP address of the NIC interface for receiving data from the Unisys WeatherMAX Dissemination server. This only applies if the Unisys broadcast channel is configured as a land line connection.

Format:     LANDCOMM_IP_INTERFACE = ipaddrs
             where: ipaddrs = IP address of the NIC card used for receiving data from 
                              the Unisys WMAX Dissemination server.

Example     LANDCOMM_IP_INTERFACE = 10.0.0.4

Default:    None
      

9.1.12 LANDCOMM_SOCK_RECV_BUF_SIZE

Specifies the socket receive buffer size. This only applies if a Unisys broadcast channel land line connection is configured.

Format:     LANDCOMM_SOCK_RECV_BUF_SIZE = n
             where: n = socket receive buffer size

Example:    LANDCOMM_SOCK_RECV_BUF_SIZE = 131072

Default:    65536
      

9.1.13 LANDOMM_PORT_NUM

Specifies the socket port number for establishing a connection to the Unisys WeatherMAX dissemination server. This only applies if the Unisys broadcast channel is configured as a land line connection.

Format:     LANDCOMM_PORT_NUM = n
             where: n = port number

Example:    LANDCOMM_PORT_NUM = 5003

Default:    None
      

9.1.14 LANDCOMM_HEARTBEAT_TIMEOUT

Specifies the timeout in seconds to wait for receipt of a heartbeat message or product data from the Unisys Dissemination server prior to resetting the socket connection. This only applies if the Unisys broadcast channel is configured as a land line connection.

Format:     LANDCOMM_HEARTBEAT_TIMEOUT = n
             where: n = timeout in secs

Example:    LANDCOMM_HEARTBEAT_TIMEOUT = 5

Default:    10
      

9.1.15 LANDCOMM_CONNECT_TIMEOUT

Specifies the timeout in seconds to wait for establishing a land line connection to the Unisys Dissemination server prior to failover to the satellite receiver. This only applies if the Unisys broadcast channel is configured both as a land line connection and satellite and auto failover is enabled.

Format:     LANDCOMM_CONNECT_TIMEOUT = n
             where: n = timeout in secs

Example:    LANDCOMM_CONNECT_TIMEOUT = 500

Default:    300
      

9.1.16 UNISYS_PRIMARY_COMM

Specifies the primary communications connection (satellite or land line) for the Unisys broadcast channel. This only applies if the Unisys broadcast channel is configured both as a land line connection and satellite.

Format:     UNISYS_PRIMARY_COMM = x
             where: x = communications type (LAND,SAT)

Example:    UNISYS_PRIMARY_COMM = LAND

Default:    LAND
      

9.1.17 UNISYS_AUTO_FAILOVER

Specifies if auto failover is enabled for the Unisys broadcast channel. This only applies if the Unisys broadcast channel is configured both as a land line connection and satellite.

Format:     UNISYS_AUTO_FAILOVER = x
             where: x = YES/NO

                        YES = automatically failover to backup if primary connection fails
                        NO = disable auto failover to backup if primary connection fails

Example:    UNISYS_AUTO_FAILOVER = YES

Default:    YES
      

9.1.18 UNISYS_THROUGHPUT_THRESHOLD

Specifies the data throughput threshold (bps) prior to switching the Unisys broadcast channel data feed from the primary connection to the backup. This only applies if the Unisys broadcast channel is configured both as a land line connection and satellite.

Format:     UNISYS_THROUGHPUT_THRESHOLD = rate,time
             where: rate = bps
                    time = validation time in secs

Example:    UNISYS_THROUGHPUT_THRESHOLD = 500000,120

             The data throughput must average 500000 bps over 120 second time frame. 
             If less than 500000 bps, the NOAAPORT system will switch from the primary 
             connection to the backup.

Default:    256000,600
      

9.1.19 UNISYS_FILTER_ID

Specifies a 3 character ID for the Unisys broadcast channel filter file (giwdnnn.asc) file. This only applies if the Unisys broadcast channel is configured.

Format:     UNISYS_FILTER_ID  =  nnn
             where: nnn = 3 character D for the filter file (gwidnnn.fil)

Example:    UNISYS_FILTER_ID  = 223  
             Filter file name = gwid223.fil

Default: None
      

9.1.20 UNISYS_FILTER_KEY

Specifies an 8 character key for decrypting the Unisys broadcast channel filter file (giwdnnn.asc) file. This only applies if the Unisys broadcast channel is configured.

Format:     UNISYS_FILTER_KEY =  nnnnnnn
             where: nnnnnnn = 8 character key

Example:    UNISYS_FILTER_KEY = 2BH567FQ

Default:    None
      

9.2 [USERS] Section

9.2.1 USER_x

Specifies configuration data for each user. There must be one USER_n keyword for each user.

Format:     USER_n = stream, format, bufsiz, mode, ipaddr, port

             where: n = user number (1-32)

             stream = data stream to be received. Possible values are:
                           DVB_NWSTG, DVB_GOES, DVB_NWSTG2, DVB_OCONUS,
                           DVB_UNISYS, LAND_UNISYS

             format = Data format type. Possible values are: WXP, LDM, GWIP, FRM
                           
                            WXP = Unisys Weather Radar Display Processor
                            LDM = Unidata Local Data Manager
                            GWIP = Unisys Weather Server
                            FRM = Raw NWS NOAAPORT broadcast frames as received 
                                  (unaltered) 

             bufsiz = Buffer size (in megabytes) for queing data to be sent to the 
                      end user over the TCP socket connection. This buffer is a 
                      circular queue. The buffer size needs to be large enough not 
                      to allow it to wrap if the user cannot receive the data fast 
                      enough. Typical value is 50 megabytes. 

             mode = Indicates if the end user is a server or client. A server 
                    listens for TCP socket connection requests. A client sends 
                    socket connection requests.

                    Possible values are: SERVER, CLIENT

             Ipaddr = IP address of end user. If the user is a client, enter an 
                      asterisk (*).

             port = TCP port number that the NOAAPORT data stream will be sent over 
                    to the end user

Example:     USER_1 = DVB_GOES,   WXP,  5,  SERVER,  127.0.0.1,  5001
             USER_2 = DVB_NWSTG,  WXP,  5,  SERVER,  127.0.0.1,  5002
             USER_3 = DVB_NWSTG2, WXP, 10,  SERVER,  127.0.0.1,  5003
             USER_4 = DVB_OCONUS, WXP,  5,  SERVER,  127.0.0.1,  5004
      

9.3 [FILTER] Section

9.3.1 USER_x

Specifies WMO bulletin filtering information for each user. This information determines which bulletins are sent over the TCP/IP socket connection to the end user. There must be one USER_n keyword for each user (i.e., number specified on NUM_USERS keyword in [PARAMS] section).

Format:     USER_n = mod {x,x ... x} {x,x ... x} {x,x ... x} {x,x ... x} {x,x ... x}, \
                         {x,x ... x} {x,x ... x} {x,x ... x} {x,x ... x} {x,x ... x}, \
                                              .
                                              .
                                              .
                         {x,x ... x} {x,x ... x} {x,x ... x} {x,x ... x} {x,x ... x}

             where: n = user number (1-32). This number must agree with the user number 
                        specified on the USER_n keywords in the [USERS] section.

             mod = NONE_EXCEPT or ALL_EXCEPT
                   NONE_EXCEPT = filter bulletins that match the specified pattern(s)
                   ALL_EXCEPT = do not filter bulletins that match the specified pattern(s)

             x = character matching pattern

                 { } is a position to match with a pattern. 
                     Valid patterns are: *, c1-c2 and c
                       * = any single character
                       c1-c2 = range of characters
                       c = single character

             Notes: Each group of six patterns define a candidate for a bulletin name. 
                    Bulletins are separated by a comma.

Example:    USER_1 = ALL_EXCEPT {H} {A-H,K} {F,K,S,U} {*} {*} {Y}, \
                                {*} {B} {F-M,R,T,W} {H} {*} {*}

             Above example shows two patterns for filtering WMO bulletins. All bulletins 
             will be filtered except if one of the following two conditions are satisfied:

             Condition #1
              * 1st character must be H
              * 2nd character must be A-H or K
              * 3rd character must be F,K,S or U
              * 4th character may be anything
              * 5th character may be anything
              * 6th character must be Y

             Condition #2
              * 1st character may be anything
              * 2nd character must be B
              * 3rd character must be F-M, R, T or W
              * 4th character must be H
              * 5th character may be anything
              * 6th character may be anything

Default:    ALL_EXCEPT {*} {*} {*} {*} {*} {*}

             No filtering (all bulletins are sent to end user).
      

10. Sample NOAAPORT Configuration

Example #1

Following configuration file is an example of a NOAAPORT system receiving the the four NWS NOAAPORT data streams and Unisys Channel data stream over satellite. There are 5 end users (4 WXP users and 1 LDM) receiving data.

;GENERAL_PARAMS
[PARAMS]
LOGMASK = 0X06,5
NOAAPORT_BUF_SIZE = 10,10,10,10,10
NUM_USERS = 5
SAVE_HDLC_FRAMES = {1,0}, {2,0}, (3,0}, {4,0}
NOAAPORT_DATA_STREAM = {DVB_NWSTG, 224.0.1.1}, {DVB_GOES, 224.0.1.2}, \      
                       {DVB_NWSTG2, 224.0.1.3}, {DVB_OCONUS, 224.0.1.4}, \
                       {DVB_UNISYS, 224.0.1.200}                          
MULTICAST_INTERFACE = 10.0.0.2
UNISYS_MULTICAST_INTERFACE = 10.0.0.2
S300_IP = 192.168.1.2

;UNISYS_CHANNEL_PARAMS
UNISYS_FILTER_ID = 234
UNISYS_FILTER_KEY = DG54F0KL

[USERS]
;        DATA TYPE   FORMAT   BUFSIZE   MODE     IPADDRS    PORT
USER_1 = DVB_NWSTG,  WXP,     100,      SERVER,  127.0.0.1, 5001
USER_2 = DVB_GOES,   WXP,      50,      SERVER,  127.0.0.1, 5003
USER_3 = DVB_NWSTG2, WXP,      50,      SERVER,  127.0.0.1, 5004
USER_4 = DVB_OCONUS, WXP,      50,      SERVER,  127.0.0.1, 5005
USER_5 = DVB_UNISYS, LDM,     200,      CLIENT,  *,         5105

[FILTER]
USER_1 = ALL_EXCEPT  {*}  {*}  {*}  {*} {*} {*}
USER_2 = ALL_EXCEPT  {H}  {*}  {*}  {*} {*} {*}
USER_3 = NONE_EXCEPT {A}  {B-G} {*} {D-E,T}{*} (*} 
USER_4 = ALL_EXCEPT  {*}  {*}  {*} {*} {*}  {*}
USER_5 = NONE_EXCEPT {H}  {*}  {*} {*} {*}  {*}
      

Example #2

Following configuration file is an example of a NOAAPORT system receiving the Unisys Channel via satellite feed and also a line connection to the Unisys WeatherMAX dissemination server. There are 4 end users (LDM user receiving Unisys Channel (satellite), LDM user receiving Unisys channel (land line), GWIP user receiving Unisys channel (satellite) and GWIP user receiving Unisys channel (land line).

[PARAMS]
;GENERAL_PARAMS
LOGMASK = 0X0E,5
NOAAPORT_BUF_SIZE = 5,5
NUM_USERS = 2
SAVE_HDLC_FRAMES = { 1,0} , {2,0}, (3,0}, {4,0}
NOAAPORT_DATA_STREAM = {DVB_UNISYS, 224.0.1.200}, {LAND_UNISYS,192.168.51.35}
UNISYS_MULTICAST_INTERFACE = 10.0.0.2
S300_IP = 192.168.1.2
LATENCY_LOG = YES

;UNISYS_CHANNEL_PARAMS
UNISYS_FILTER_ID = 232
UNISYS_FILTER_KEY = 87030DF56
UNISYS_THROUGHTPUT_THRESHOLD = 256000,600
UNISYS_PRIMARY_COMM = LAND
UNISYS_AUTO_FAILOVER = YES

;UNISYS_LANDCOMM_PARAMS
LANDCOMM_SOC_RECV_BUF_SIZE = 131072
LANDCOMM_IP_INTERFACE = 10.0.0.2
LANDCOMM_PORT_NUM = 5002
LANDCOMM_HEARTBEAT_TIMEOUT = 10
LANDCOMM_CONNECT_TIMEOUT = 300

[USERS]
;          DATA TYPE    FORMAT   BUFSIZE    MODE    IPADDRS     PORT
USER_1 =   DVB_UNISYS,  LDM,     100,       CLIENT, *,          5001
USER_2 =   LAND_UNISYS, LDM,     100,       CLIENT, *,          5002
USER_3 =   DVB_UNISYS,  GWIP,     50,       SERVER, 127.0.0.1,  5201
USER_4 =   LAND_UNISYS, GWIP,     50,       SERVER, 127.0.0.1,  5201

[FILTER]
USER_1 =  ALL_EXCEPT  {*}  {*} {*} {*} {*}  {*}
USER_2 =  NONE_EXCEPT {G-K,M,Q,R} {T} {F-L} {*} {*}  {*}
USER_3 =  ALL_EXCEPT  {*}  {*} {*} {*} {*}  {*}
USER_4 =  ALL_EXCEPT  {*}  {*} {*} {*} {*}  {*}
      

11. Troubleshooting

12. Operating System Updates

Updates to the operating system generally do not affect the Unisys NOAAPORT Ingest system.

13. Mail Checking

Some scripts that run out of cron can create a significant amount of mail. It is recommended to check root and unisys mail from time to time (once every other month or so) in order to make sure disk space isn't exhausted. Log in as root or unisys and type in “mail”. You can check individual mail messages or type “d *” to delete all the messages. Type “q” to quit mail when done.