•         advanced

Configuring McIDAS-XCD

Configuring McIDAS-XCD is a multistep process that has been greatly simplified in Unidata McIDAS-X v2008 by the inclusion of the configuration script mcxconfig. mcxconfig leads the user through the steps that are need to configure McIDAS-XCD by asking questions about what the user intends to process with McIDAS-XCD decoders, and by advising what needs to be done to complete the configuration of both McIDAS-X and McIDAS-XCD.

NOTE:

mcxconfig is designed to be run after McIDAS-X and McIDAS-XCD executables have been build and installed.

After logging onto the workstation as the user mcidas do the following:

Type: cd $MDATA
Type: mcxconfig

Answer the questions asked by mcxconfig and complete the instructions listed at the end of mcxconfig to configure XCD.

The remainder of this section gives an overview of the steps that mcxconfig leads the user through.

If you already have a McIDAS-X session running under the Unix login name mcidas, start with step 2. Enter commands exactly as shown; case is important.

1. Log on to the workstation as the user mcidas and start a McIDAS-X session.
   Type: mcidas

2. Copy the McIDAS schema repository file, SCHEMA, to the directory in which you want your XCD decoders to create output data files making sure that it has group read and write permissions:
   Type: mkdir xcddatadirectory
   Type: cp ~mcidas/data/SCHEMA xcddatadirectory
   Type: chmod g+rw xcddatadirectory/SCHEMA

   xcddatadirectory must be the full Unix pathname of the target directory (example: /data/ldm/mcidas). It must be readable and writable by mcidas and by the user that runs the Unidata LDM (user ldm).

3. Define the McIDAS string XCDDATA to contain the same full Unix path of the directory in which you want XCD decoders to write their output McIDAS data files as you specified above. From the McIDAS session,
Type: TE XCDDATA "xcddatadirectory

For example:

Type: TE XCDDATA "/data/ldm/mcidas
4. Run the batch file XCD.BAT.
Type: BATCH XCD.BAT

The message "BATCH:DONE" must be displayed before you can continue.

XCD.BAT redirects several data files, saves them in the redirection table XCD, and initializes the GROUPS.DAT and COUNTRY.DAT files.

5. List the active data circuits.
Type: CIRCUIT LIST

The table below lists the default values of the circuits for the Family of Services data stream for Unidata McIDAS-X.

Circuit	Active	Comm. Port	Command	Configuration File
DDS	no	none	INGETEXT	DDS.CFG
PPS	no	none	INGETEXT	PPS.CFG
IDS	no<	none	INGETEXT	IDS.CFG
HRS	no	none	INGEBIN	HRS.CFG

You will note that all circuits are set inactive by default. You should leave them configured like this in order for XCD to work with the Unidata LDM!

6. List the active data monitors, their associated decoders, and status.

   Type: DECINFO

   The table below lists the default status of data monitors and decoders.

   Data Monitor	Decoder	MD File	Status	Description	Configuration File
   DMSFC	SAODEC	1-10	A	Surface hourly	ISFCDEC.CFG
   DMRAOB	RABDEC	11-30	A	Upper air	IRABDEC.CFG
   DMSYN	SYNDEC	51-60	A	Synoptic	SYNDEC.CFG
   	SHPDEC	31-40	A	Ship/Buoy	ISHPDEC.CFG
   DMMISC	F14DEC	41-50	A	FOUS14	FO14DEC.CFG
   	PIRDEC	61-70	A	PIREP/AIREP	PIRPDEC.CFG
   	ETAMOS	101-110	A	ETA MOS	ETAMOS.CFG
   	GFSMOS	111-120	A	GFS MOS	GFSMOS.CFG
   	TERDEC		A	Terminal Fcst	TERMDEC.CFG
   	TIRDEC		I	TIROS NAV	TIRDEC.CFG
   	MDRDEC		A	MDR grids	MDRDEC.CFG
   DMGRID	GRIBDEC		I	NMC GRIDS	GRIBDEC.CFG
   DMNEXR	NEXRFILE		I	NEXRAD prods	NEXRFILE.CFG
   DMBIN	GRBFILER		I	GRIB & BUFR	GRBFILER.CFG

7. Use the DECINFO command to activate or deactivate any data monitors and decoders you want/do not want to run. Please note that deactivating a data monitor will deactivate all decoders that the data monitor runs. See McIDAS-XCD Administrative Commands for details on running DECINFO.

8. Example of activating decoding of NOAAPORT model grids:

   The DMBIN decoder files GRIB1 and GRIB2 messages into files of the same format and populates a MySQL database. To activate GRIB data filing for use with the ADDE GRIB server, run DECINFO as follows:

   Type: DECINFO SET DMBIN ACTIVE

   NOTEs:

   • In order for GRIB filing to work, MySQL will have had to been installed on the workstation running the LDM and McIDAS-XCD.
   • It is highly recommended that sites access model data using the GRIB server. Access is, in most cases, faster, and the disk space used is much less.

   The DMGRID data monitor decodes GRIB1 messages into McIDAS grids and stores the grids into McIDAS Grid files. To activate GRIB data decoding, run DECINFO as follows:

   Type: DECINFO SET DMGRID ACTIVE

Contact Us   •   Site Map   •   Search   •   Terms and Conditions   •   Privacy Policy   •   Participation Policy

Unidata is a member of the UCAR Office of Programs, is managed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, and is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. P.O. Box 3000   •   Boulder, CO 80307-3000 USA   •   Tel: 303-497-8643   •   Fax: 303-497-8690