[LDM #XRF-902723]: Inquiry on log messages and missing surface data through LDM data stream

Hi Derek,

> Please see attached for the pqact.conf and ldmd.conf configuration files.

The pqact(1) configuration-file, etc/pqact.conf, has a _lot_ of entries that 
will _never_ match a data-product.

These are the relevant lines in the LDM configuration-file, ldmd.conf:

> EXEC  "pqact"
> request WMO ".*" freshair.atmos.washington.edu
> request UNIWISC ".*" freshair.atmos.washington.edu
> request FNEXRAD "png|rad" freshair.atmos.washington.edu

I recommend changing the pqact(1) entry to this:

EXEC pqact -f WMO etc/pqact_wmo.conf
EXEC pqact -f UNIWISC etc/pqact_uniwisc.conf
EXEC pqact -f FNEXRAD etc/pqact_fnexrad.conf

and copying the WMO, UNIWISC, and FNEXRAD entries in etc/pqact.conf to their 
data-specific pqact(1) configuration-files. This should improve processing 
efficiency and allow us to determine which data-feed is having problems (see 
below).

> I checked on ls -l for where my ldmd file is located.  If I use "~bin/ldmd", 
> I receive an error that "ls: cannot access [REMOVED]/bin/ldmd: No such file 
> or directory",

Try "~/bin/ldmd" instead of "~bin/ldmd".

> but when I put in the correct path, I receive the file/program information.  
> The owner and group of the ldmd file is not root.  The ownership of this file 
> is by our LDM admin user account and a different group name from root.  The 
> root user should be tied to this other admin account.

The ERROR message from ldmd(1) regarding port 388 indicates that the program 
isn't installed correctly.

> Additionally, the permissions for the file are 755.  Is there any additional 
> information you need from the "ls -l"?

Yes: 1) whether or not the setuid bit is enabled; and 2) whether or not the LDM 
admin user account has root privileges.

When the LDM is correctly installed, the ERROR log messages about port 388 will 
go away.

> I am currently reaching out to some of NPS's system administrators for 
> support on some of the port, permissions, and data flow issues.  I have been 
> notified that port 388 is open and setuid is enabled.
> 
> For pqact(1), how do we properly check the pqact(1) processes and for each of 
> the 3 likely scenarios you mentioned that are causing the issue with pqact(1) 
> for the LDM feed?

It's a bit of trial-and-error. If you do what I suggested above, then any 
"Processed oldest product" messages in the LDM log file will indicate which 
feed is having problems.

> I noticed that on the tutorial page, the link to the decoders page is broken. 
>  Is there a different URL to check?

Try 
<https://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/ldm/ldm-current/basics/programs.html#decoders>.

> For your awareness, our LDM feed is currently running on an older Linux 
> machine with a Red Hat REL6 OS.  We do have newer machines with REL8 or a 
> virtual machine option to rebuild a new configuration on if it comes to that, 
> but we would prefer to try to get the partly working process to work at a 
> better capacity first if possible.

We've had mixed results with virtual machines because performance depends on 
what else the physical machine is doing.

How many cores/CPU-s does your machine have?

> Please advise on what other recommendations you have for us to check on for 
> our data flow processes.

The best thing would be for us to examine the system in question by logging 
onto it as the LDM user. We understand that this isn't always possible.

> Thank you very much for your time and help.

No worries.

Get back to us when you can.

Regards,
Steve Emmerson

Ticket Details
===================
Ticket ID: XRF-902723
Department: Support LDM
Priority: Normal
Status: Closed
===================
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