Unidata Developer's BlogUnidata Developer's Bloghttps://www.unidata.ucar.edu/blogs/developer/en/feed/entries/atom2024-03-18T20:14:52-06:00Apache Rollerhttps://www.unidata.ucar.edu/blogs/developer/entry/local_data_manager_slices_dicesLocal Data Manager Slices, Dices, Makes Julienne FriesUnidata News2014-04-01T01:44:15-06:002014-04-01T01:44:15-06:00<p>
A prominent Canadian researcher has discovered that the
command line argument <code>-ayfs</code> (pronounced “aye-fuzz”), when
added to Unidata's Local Data Manager (ldm) software,
creates a whole new era in IT infrastructure capability and
a radical paradigm shift for mobile platform deployment.
</p>
<p>
Canadian scientist Steve Emmerson, currently employed by
Unidata, added the option in 1993 to the C code base, but
didn't get around to trying it until April 1st, 2014. Once
he tried it he found that the option creates
unprecedented scalability and on-demand self-service
provisioning of computer capabilities. “It seemed like a
good idea at the time,” said Dr. Emmerson about the switch
that can be enabled at runtime, “but I had no idea that it
would transform Geoscience through innovative data services
and enable revolutionary ways of wringing knowledge from an
ever-expanding pool of Earth System science data.”
</p><p>
A prominent Canadian researcher has discovered that the
command line argument <code>-ayfs</code> (pronounced “aye-fuzz”), when
added to Unidata's Local Data Manager (ldm) software,
creates a whole new era in IT infrastructure capability and
a radical paradigm shift for mobile platform deployment.
</p>
<p>
Canadian scientist Steve Emmerson, currently employed by
Unidata, added the option in 1993 to the C code base, but
didn't get around to trying it until April 1st, 2014. Once
he tried it he found that the option creates
unprecedented scalability and on-demand self-service
provisioning of computer capabilities. “It seemed like a
good idea at the time,” said Dr. Emmerson about the switch
that can be enabled at runtime, “but I had no idea that it
would transform Geoscience through innovative data services
and enable revolutionary ways of wringing knowledge from an
ever-expanding pool of Earth System science data.”
</p>
<p>
The breakthrough immediately drew international attention
when prominent Italian researcher Ben Domenico, head of Unidata's
OGC standards efforts, put the command line argument into
the latest standards document for the OGC Common Web
Services. “It was a little sneaky to make it a requirement
for all OGC services,” said Dr Domenico, currently employed
by leading cloud solution provider Unidata, “but now anyone
can deliver secure, efficient, cost-effective cloud and IT
services to the U.S. public sector. I'm a little giddy about how
quickly this has all happened. To be sure, users will have
to modify their startup scripts to add that command line
argument in order to extract concealed narratives from Big
Data analytics. But we are looking to build robust,
broker-provided solutions that could ease the migration.”
</p>
<p>
The news was received at Unidata with a mixture of
satisfaction and anxiety. “We are pleased that all of our
goals for the 2018 NSF proposal have now been met, well
ahead of schedule,” said Unidata Director Mohan Ramamurthy.
“We want to assure our funding
agencies that we still have lots of important work that, um,
needs to be funded,” he said, watching a number of once-busy
software engineers milling about the water cooler. Kevin
Tyle, chair of the Unidata User Usability Committee
agreed, stating, “Cloud computing will come and go, but the
need for publication quality graphics in the IDV will always
be with us!”
</p>