This archive contains answers to questions sent to Unidata support through mid-2025. Note that the archive is no longer being updated. We provide the archive for reference; many of the answers presented here remain technically correct, even if somewhat outdated. For the most up-to-date information on the use of NSF Unidata software and data services, please consult the Software Documentation first.
>From: Catarino David Delgado <address@hidden> >Organization: University of Wisconsin-Whitewater >Keywords: 200001111935.MAA10479 Linux David, >Other than backing up data on the hard drive to another location, are >there any forseeable issues if upgrading a version of RedHat Linux to a >newer release. The big change in RedHat 5.x and 6.x was in libc. Applications linked under 5.x by and large will not run under 6.x; they will have to be relinked. This includes all of the Unidata software that I think that you may be interested in (e.g., McIDAS, LDM, netCDF, etc.). >We are currently running relatively old versions of the McIDAS and NETcdf >software and need to upgrade it so that we can gather data. TO upgrade, we >need to upgrade our version of the OS (RedHat Linux 5.1) or install >copious libraries that are not available in the OS's native installation >form. Simply upgrading the OS to a newer version ensures future >compatability. I think that upgrading the OS is the proper way to go, but you will need to have current releases of the packages above since there have been mods made to them in order to run correctly under RH 6.x. >What preperations do I have to make and what considerations do I have to >make so that this can actually work? The upgrade from RedHat 5.2 to 6.1 on my home system went very smoothly. I did have to be concerned with a few issues, however: o the big change in libc forced updating McIDAS-X o use of the Enlightnment window manager caused some worries: it uses a lot of colors, so I was forced to run my X sessions in > 8 bit mode. This, in turn, led to some problems in that the support for 24-bit in McIDAS is not as robust as it should be (for instance, occasionally one has to rerun an EU REST command in order to make the new enhancement active for the frame desired). I found, however, that one can run in 8-bit mode in KDE pretty well o both Enlightnment and KDE required that default function key mappings be modified. For instance, both define actions for things like CNTR-F1 rendering that sequence unavailable for the McIDAS Fkey menu. Both, however, allow you to edit settings and remove those preset definitions. I think that those are the "high points", but there could be a couple/few small things that I left out. >Thank You If you run into problems, please let us know. Tom Yoksas