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9.0 Real-time Data Access - Getting Started

The exercise below will take you through the steps necessary for setting up your client routing table to access real-time data. Once you have real-time groups included in the client routing table, ADDE commands can access data as soon it becomes available on the server machine.

Users that access data from Unidata should follow the instructions exactly as written. Once you have your client routing table set up to access your real-time data from Unidata, any requests you make for real-time data will be monitored by the Unidata Program Center to make sure that you do not abuse the access privileges you have been granted.

Once you have your table set up, you may start your McIDAS session and go to the next section. Remember, this chapter assumes that you are using the same dataset names as those used at Unidata. If your dataset names are different, you may have to change the dataset names in some of the commands.

  1. Start a McIDAS session.

    At the Unix prompt:

    Type: mcidas

    Your session should still be set for six frames from the last time you edited your .mcidasrc file. If not, set it for six frames, as described in Getting Started.

  2. Log on to the workstation.

    Type: LOGON   initials   project#   I

  3. Modify your client routing table so that commands requesting data from a dataset in the group ADDEINFO are routed to the Unidata remote server ADDE.UCAR.EDU.

    Type: DATALOC ADD ADDEINFO ADDE.UCAR.EDU

    A listing similar to the following is displayed. The last line informs you that commands requesting data from a group with the Server IP Address <LOCAL-DATA> are routed to the local server.

        Group Name                    Server IP Address
        --------------------         ----------------------------------------
        ADDEINFO                     ADDE.UCAR.EDU
        <LOCAL-DATA> indicates that data will be accessed from the local data directory.
    
  4. List all datasets of type TEXT in the group ADDEINFO.

    Type: DSINFO TEXT ADDEINFO

    A listing of all of the descriptor names in the group ADDEINFO is displayed. The contents of any of these text datasets can be listed by using the READ command.

  5. List the contents of the ADDE text dataset ADDEINFO/DATASETS.

    Type: READ ADDEINFO/DATASETS

    This text file (DATASETS) lists general server information for each data source. It also contains the DATALOC commands necessary to update your client routing tables.

  6. Download the DATASETS text file to your machine.

    Type: READ ADDEINFO/DATASETS DEV=T DATASETS.BAT R

    The keyword DEV=T writes the standard text window output to the specified file, in this case DATASETS.BAT. The R option replaces the existing file, if one does exist.

  7. Execute the text file as a batch job.

    Type: BATCH DATASETS.BAT

    This runs all of the DATALOC commands listed in the DATASETS.BAT file that are not commented out with REM.

  8. List your client routing table's groups and associated server IP addresses.

    Type: DATALOC

    All of the real-time servers should be displayed, in addition to any group names that were previously set up on your workstation.

  9. Run the DSINFO command to list the datasets available in the RTGRIBS group.

    Type: DSINFO X RTGRIDS

    The X is a placeholder that will list all of the data types in RTGRIDS. The DSINFO command can be used with any of the groups listed in your client routing table.


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