19991118: Client Routing Table

>From: "Jennie L. Moody" <address@hidden>
>Organization: .
>Keywords: 199911152309.QAA00595 MCTABLE.TXT

Hi Jennie-

>Sorry, we do seem to have almost everything working the way
>it should now under 7.6 (and I like it better already, UAPLOT 
>looks better than SKEWT, but more on that later).  

Glad you like the new features.

>I just wanted to follow up on the issue of the client
>routing- see below.
>

re: mcidas account setup.
>The problem I was discussing was from my own account.  It doesn't
>seem that user mcidas (which runs things for the webpage through
>the ldm shell script batch.k fired from cron) has had any problems
>resolving datasets.  However, I would note that the environment
>variables do not match what you have written above.  Specifically,
>for user McIDAS they are presently:
>
>MCDATA=/home/mcidas/uvaworkdata
>MCGUI=/home/mcidas/bin
>MCLOG=/incoming/logs/mcscour.log
>MCPATH=/home/mcidas/uvaworkdata:/home/mcidas/data:/home/mcidas/help
>MCTABLE_READ='/home/mcidas/uvaworkdata/MCTABLE.TXT;/home/mcidas/data/ADDESITE.
> TXT'
>MCTABLE_WRITE=/home/mcidas/uvaworkdata/MCTABLE.TXT
>
>So, should McTABLE_WRITE=/home/mcidas/uvaworkdata/ADDESITE.TXT??

If this is in the batch.k file, it should be as it is listed because
you don't want batch files screwing with your realtime data location
table.  However, in the .profile or .cshrc for the user mcidas (assuming
that the above is output from env), then it should be:

MCTABLE_WRITE=/home/mcidas/data/ADDESITE.TXT

because you want the user mcidas (who is the site admin) to update the
table used by others.  Other users have /home/mcidas/data/ADDESITE.TXT
in their MCTABLE_READ path, so this is the global one you want updated
by the user mcidas.  See:

http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/packages/mcidas/mcx/mcxacct.html 

for documentation on setting this up.

re: user's MCTABLE.TXT
>Well, all I meant was that all the other datasets are pointing
>to LOCAL-DATA and the RTGRIDS were pointing to the machine name
>(windfall etc..)....and I didn't know why this dataset should
>be different?

LOCAL-DATA implies that all files will be found through the REDIRECTions
and McPATH and that the user has defined the appropriate descriptors
with the DSSERVE command.  If the datasets that LOCAL-DATA would point
to are the same that the remote server is using, then you should go
through the remote server.  Apparently this is not the case, since
once you deleted the pointer to windfall, things started working.


>> Can you access grid data from the mcidas account (after you
>> copied over the ADDESITE.TXT file)?  If so, then delete
>
>Yes.
>
>> the entry for RTGRIDS from your MCTABLE.TXT by running
>> 
>> DATALOC DEL RTGRIDS
>> 
>> and see if you can access the data then.  If you want some
>> light reading, look at the ADDE docs in the User's Guide:
>
>I did this, and I was then able to use the RTGRIDS.  I can follow
>instructions, but I don't get it...

This means that the RTGRIDS datasets pointed to by LOCAL-DATA
are different than those pointed to by the remote server at
windfall.  What you should do is run:

DSSERVE LIST RTGRIDS

from your account and see what is listed.  Then run this from
the mcidas account on windfall and see where it points to.

I just pointed my RTGRIDS at windfall and there are not datasets
listed for that group.  I also just pointed RTIMAGES to windfall,
and there are no images available from the remote server on 
windfall.  This indicates to me that the remote server was not set
up correctly on the mcidas account on windfall.  Given that you
had to copy over ADDESITE.TXT from 7.4, I would guess that the
server table (RESOLV.SRV) was never set up by running LSSERVE.BAT.
(See http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/packages/mcidas/mcx/config_mcidas.html
for instructions).  This file will be located in /home/mcidas/uvaworkdata.
I suggest you:

1) edit the .cshrc file to put the correct location of MCTABLE_WRITE.
2) source this file.
3) Start a McIDAS session as the user mcidas
4) follow the steps in the URL above to configure the ADDE access.

>I am sure this is one of those examples that have the following
>effect:
>
>a) convince you (ie. support) that I don't understand McIDAS

Very few people do. ;-)

>a) convince me that I don't understand McIDAS (which appears
>   to be ruled by gremlins):
>   I am cruising along having no problem accessing RTGRIDS from
>   my own user account and then I do something that appears
>   to be unrelated (switch the runtime link, and then copy
>   the ADDESITE.TXT file to the appropriate working directory)
>   then I can no longer resolve any of the RTGRIDS from my
>   user account?

The problem is that the ADDE data sets were not set up correctly
(by running LSSERVE.BAT and LOCDATA.BAT), so when you made the
switchover, the remote server couldn't find any data.  So once
you get it set up correctly, you should run:

DATALOC ADD RTGRIDS WINDFALL.EVSC.VIRGINIA.EDU

from your account (to put it back the way it was before) and things 
should work correctly.

>Anyway,  should I change the environment variable for McTABLE_WRITE
>in user mcidas?

Yes, then follow the other instructions above.

Don