[McIDAS #DJR-180829]: Mcidas xcd vs ldm mcidas

Hi Randy,

re:
> I need assistance in determining the difference between running Mcidas
> XCD and LDM mcidas.

First, let's make sure we are referring to the same thing under the name
"ldm mcidas".  We (Unidata) have a package of decoders for the IDD UNIWISC
(GOES imagery and CIMSS GOES products), NLDN (lightning), NIMAGE (NOAAPORT
GOES imagery in compressed GINI format), and FNEXRAD (FSL wind profiler data)
datastreams.  I named this package "ldm-mcidas" a LONG time ago since it
converted data relayed by the LDM into McIDAS formats (AREA, MDXX, and GINI).
This package should not be confused with the LDM or McIDAS.

> I believe I am running both now on my 2 noaaport machines.

I believe that you are running the LDM on your NOAAPORT ingest machine(s).
Aren't you sending that data via the LDM to another machine that is running
the McIDAS-XCD decoders?  This is the way Unidata sites are typically setup.

> One runs ldm and one runs xcd.

So, this does sound like our recommended setup.

> Is this a requirement?

No.  I phrased my earlier reply around the Unidata distribution of McIDAS and
decoding by McIDAS-XCD since I include McIDAS BATCH files that are configured
for that setup.

> Do I need to run XCD in order to serve the data up to mcidas?

No.  You can serve any data that McIDAS ADDE can handle regardless of how
it gets put on your system.  Again, my previous reply was framed in a way
to let you know that the Unidata distribution of McIDAS has features
(BATCH files for ADDE dataset setup, etc.) that are not included in the SSEC
release.  If you are running SSEC McIDAS-X/-XCD, you can still use the scripts
I provide in our release AS LONG AS you remember to modify them to match
your installation and data that you want to serve.  Since you _are_ running
McIDAS-XCD, however, it is likely that you will be able to use most of the
scripts that I provide in my release.  The only difference for you will be
that you most likely are not getting an IDD feed of the UNIWISC, NLDN, etc.
datastreams.  Your McIDAS-XCD setup will be producing MD, GRID and TEXT files
that can be served, and you will need to modify the scripts I provide in our
release to comment out DSSERVE setup for data you do not have.

I am sorry that this seems so complicated.  Perhaps I should have made my
earlier reply simpler by noting:

1) setup ADDE serving of data using the DSSERVE command
2) enable the ADDE remote server interface by:

   - creating and configuring the .mcenv file
   - making sure that the machine's firewall allows access through port 112

The other reason I phrased my earlier reply the way I did was because of the
way I instruct Unidata users to setup accounts for McIDAS and ADDE.  In SSEC
McIDAS, the user 'mcadde' has its own HOME directory.  All configurations for
the remote ADDE interface are done through 'mcadde's account.  In order to
make things simpler for my users, I instruct them to create the 'mcadde'
account as a non-login account AND to set its HOME directory to be the same
as the user 'mcidas'.  This way, all configurations can be done by the user
'mcidas'.  To me this was simplier than SSEC's method of having to configure
the 'mcidas' AND 'mcadde' accounts.  Also, SSEC instructs the user to create
an 'oper' account in which McIDAS-XCD runs.  I eliminated use of an 'oper'
account in favor of doing everything in the 'mcidas' account.

> Thanks,
> randy
> 
> 

Cheers,

Tom
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Ticket Details
===================
Ticket ID: DJR-180829
Department: Support McIDAS
Priority: Normal
Status: Open