AvnFPS OB8.3 FAQs and Troubleshooting Web Page

Aviation Forecast Preparation System OB8.3
Frequently Asked Questions
(Last Update: 11 August 2008)

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AvnFPS OB8.3 FAQs

Installation

Q1.1 How long does it take to install AvnFPS OB8.3?

From the time the "installAVNFPS.sh" command is issued to the time forecasters can start using AvnFPS OB8.3, is less than two minutes, barring any difficulties.

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Setup

Q2.1 I have a lot of primary and backup TAFs. Do I have to redo these for AvnFPS OB8.3?

No. However, some of your configuration files may be updated as new, perhaps site-specific, attributes are added. If this was not done, the new AvnFPS software may not start as some are critical for AvnFPS to function correctly.

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Q2.2 Where can we download the climate files?

The HDF5 files needed for the climatology tools can be found here. You should put the files, as is, into the


/data/adapt/avnfps/climate

directory, no uncompression or untarring of files are required for these datasets. They are ready for immediate use. If you have a location for which you require climatological data and its not available, contact MDL via the avnfps listserver. If the site's observations exist in the NCDC archives, we'll create the HDF5 file(s), post them on our site, and let you know of its availability.

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Q2.3    How to create climate files for TAF QC checks?

These are files that have the ".##.nc" extensions in /data/adapt/avnfps/climate directory. After downloading the HDF5 climate file and placing it in the /data/adapt/avnfps/climate directory, you will need to update the /awips/adapt/avnfps/etc/ids.cfg file to specify the location of the new TAF climate file. See Q2.5. Once that is completed, manually run the avnqcstats utility for the site and month desired. Depending the directory permissions on /data/adapt/avnfps/climate, you can do this as a ordinary user, or if it's more restrictive, as user fxa.

/awips/adapt/avnfps/bin/avnstart.sh avnqcstats TafID ##

Where TafID is the usual four-character ID of the TAF in question. If you have many sites and/or months to do, you can place this command in double loops.

If you use C-shell as your intepreter (as user fxa does), then the following bit of shell programming will work:

% foreach site ( TafID1 TafID2 ... )
    foreach month ( 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 )
       /awips/adapt/avnfps/bin/avnstart.sh avnqcstats $site $month
       echo Done with $site for month $month ... `date`
    end
end

Or if you use a borne-shell derivative, this will work:

$ for site in TafID1 TafID2 ... ; do
    for month in 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 ; do
        /awips/adapt/avnfps/bin/avnstart.sh avnqcstats $site $month
        echo Done with $site for month $month ... `date`
    done
done

Normally, to do all twelve months of TAF climate QC files for a large dataset (>15MB) takes appropriately 2 to 4 minutes, roughly 10 to 20 seconds per month. If avnqcstats utility is quickly going through the months--taking just a few seconds for each one--investigate the /data/logs/adapt/avnfps/avnqcstats_DOW (DOW == Day-Of-the-Week) log file on the machine where you're running the script. There may be a problem.

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Q2.4    What about the old climate files? Can they be removed now?

Yes. The climate files associated with the first-generation climate tool can and should be removed now. These are files with the following file extensions: ".gz.tar", ".gz", or no extension at all.   HDF5 format files are needed for the current suite of climate tools and have a file extension of ".hd5" For the TAF QC functions, these files have the ".##.nc" extension (where ## corresponds to the month, e.g. 01 == Jan, 02 == Feb, etc) and should be kept in the /data/adapt/avnfps/climate directory.

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Q2.5 How to view climatology from other locations other than my TAF sites?

Download the HDF5 files for the sites you want to see into the


/data/adapt/avnfps/climate

directory. Now using the AvnFPS Text Editor, or any other editor of your preference (xemacs comes to mind), open the


/awips/adapt/avnfps/etc/ids.cfg

file for editing. You will find for each location, denoted by the identifier surrounded by two brackets, has two attributes: file and pil. file value is the directory path to where to find the HDF5 file for that location. pil is the AFOS identifier for the METAR you what to use for that location when using the Ceiling/Visibility Trend Tool. Just add additional locations to the bottom of this file. Save your changes. Start any of the new climate tools. Your new sites you've added should appear in the 'Site' window in each of the climate tools. This file is need by the utility that creates the monthly QC stats file for your TAF sites as well.

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Q2.6 How to update LAMP thresholds for my TAF sites?

Go here and download the files you need for your particular site(s) and place them in the /awips/adapt/avnfps/data/thresholds directory. These files are in HDF5 format. No uncompression or untarring of files are required for these datasets. They are ready for immediate use.

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AvnWatch Features

Q3.1 How do I rearrange the guidance tabs in the TAF Editor/View? I like to put GFS-MOS first, for instance.

Just about everything in the TAF Editor/Viewer is configurable. Some aspects of the GUI are customizable by the individual, like the use of fonts and size of text windows, but others can only be done via a configuration file. If you want to change layouts, like the tabs in the TAF viewer, you will have to coordinate these changes with your staff as this is done via the gui.cfg file. For the guidance tabs in the viewer, use the AvnFPS text editor (or your favorite editor and go to the /awips/adapt/avnfps/etc directory) and open a file called "gui.cfg". In there, you will find a section labeled "[viewers]", like this:

# viewers: taf and metar must be present, taf must be first on the list
[viewers]
tags=taf,metar,gfsmos,gfslamp,tug,ngmmos,etamos,etabuf,grids

The token ordering of the list for "tags" is how the tabs are arranged in the TAF viewer. So if you want GFS-MOS to the first MOS guidance tab from the left (note the restriction: taf token must be first in the list), a change like this will work

tags=taf,gfsmos,gfslamp,tug,ngmmos,etamos,etabuf,grids,metar

Save the file. Changing this file does not require that AvnFPS servers be restarted, just the AvnWatch GUI. Under File, there is a "Restart" option, select that and your changes to gui.cfg will take effect.

See this link for more details on this and other configuration files in AvnFPS OB8.3.

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Q3.2 How do I remove guidance tabs like Eta or AVN-MOS from the TAF viewer?

See Q3.1 and, instead of rearranging them, remove tokens from the "tags" list. For BUFR Eta, it corresponds to "etabuf" token, likewise, AVN-MOS corresponds to "avnmos", etc.

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Q3.3 The CCFP monitoring icon is grey for my TAF sites. What is wrong?

The CCFP is a seasonal product. So if it's wintertime, this is to be expected. The Aviation Weather Center issues the product beginning in the early spring through late fall. It is not available during the winter months. So long as the MKCCFP# products are arriving into the FXA text database, this indicator will 'light-up' once AWC begins issuing the product in the spring and will cease--turn grey--in the fall. The CCFP product covers the CONUS, but not Alaska or the offshore offices. These WFOs can remove this indicator from AvnWatch GUI, freeing up 'real-estate', so to speak, if they wish.

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Q3.4 How do I remove obsolete (or unavailable) guidance buttons in the Weather Plot GUI?

To change the guidance buttons in the weather plot GUI, use the AvnFPS text editor (or your favorite editor and go to the /awips/adapt/avnfps/etc directory) and open a file called "wxplot.cfg". In there, you will find a section labeled "[viewers]", like so:

[viewers]
tags=taf,metar,gfsmos,gfslamp,ngmmos,etamos,etabuf,grids

Delete the guidance source tag you wish to remove from the GUI. For instance, Pacific and Alaska regions do not have NGM MOS available and can be removed from the list.

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Q3.5 How do I get the weather plot GUI to print directly to the printer?

For the guidance button in the weather plot GUI, use the AvnFPS text editor (or your favorite editor and go to the /awips/adapt/avnfps/etc directory) and open a file called "wxplot.cfg." In there, you will find a section labeled "[print]", like so:

[print]
cmd=convert - tmp/%s.jpg

You should alter the cmd tag to the following

[print]
cmd=convert - -resize 600x1100 jpg:- | lpr -o landscape

This will send the image directly to the printer. The convert program has lots of options so you may want to explore those in more detail. What I've found is that the "jpg:-" token *has* to be the last one to the convert command, or it won't work.

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Q3.6   What is AvnFPS flight category monitoring?

Instead of monitoring ceiling and visibility seperately to determine if an amendment is needed, flight category monitoring combines the two elements.   This feature results in a new indicator on the AvnWatch GUI that flags the TAF only when differences between TAF and observations are operationally significant. This should reduce the number of amendments and -- when they are issued -- can be more operationally significant: a benefit to our customers.

The instructions on enabling flight category monitoring can be found here.

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Q3.7   What is this TAF/LAMP guidance tab in the TAF Viewer/Editor?

This is a new TAF generating technique for amendments and regular issued times. Instead of starting from a "blank sheet" when creating a new TAF, the underlying algorithm uses the current, official TAF as its starting point.   LAMP probabilistic guidance is then used to examine differences between LAMP and the official forecast. If the disagreement is significant, then the TAF is updated appropriately with LAMP guidance.   See this paper for more details on the algorithm's implementation.

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Q3.8 Why is the TAF/LAMP viewer blank occasionally during the day?

The most likely reason is that there's missing data that is required by the algorithm to produce an updated TAF.

The MDL LAMP team is working towards the goal of having updated LAMP guidance every hour. The algorithm to create the updated TAF with LAMP guidance requires access to 'thresholds' in order to assess the differences between the official forecast and LAMP guidance. These thresholds are unique to each cycle and location. As new LAMP cycles come online, the threshold files need to be updated to include them. Fortunately this is very simple to do.

Go here and download the files you need for your particular site(s) and place them in the /awips/adapt/avnfps/data/thresholds directory. These files are in HDF5 format. No uncompression or untarring of files are required for these datasets. They are ready for immediate use, and once in the thresholds directory, the forecaster should be able to see the TAF with updates from LAMP in the TAF/LAMP viewer.

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Q3.9 For a TAF the LLWS indicator is green, although we don't have a radar or profiler assigned to it. Why?

AvnFPS now examines the ACARS profiles, looking for a match between TAF and airport. ACARS profiles are derived from appropriately instrumented aircraft, either departing from or arriving at the airport. The wind profile is assigned a three-letter identifier designating the airport--which is most often just the leading letter removed from the TAF ICAO ID--for example, IAD, PIT, or SEA but not always! Check the ACARS profile in D-2D to determine the proper ID for your TAF sites. This field is provided in
the TAF Site Info Editor. If you update it, be sure to restart the AvnFPS servers for the change to take effect. Given the nature of the measurement "system", ACARS data (and the LLWS value based on it) is not guaranteed to be available at all times at a given airport. For small airports it is likely ACARS profiles will never be available.

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Trouble Shooting

Once you have AvnFPS OB8.3 up and running routinely, you should consult the AvnFPS User's Guide Trouble Shooting section for more information should problems arise later.

Q4.1 We experienced px1 (or px2) failover (or failback), and the server icons on the AvnWatch GUI are red.

This means that the AvnFPS OB8.3 servers were not automatically restarted. If you cannot be user "fxa" or cannot find someone at your office who can, call the NCF and tell them you need the AvnFPS servers restarted. The command to do this is:

/awips/adapt/avnfps/bin/remoteServers.sh restart

The NCF engineers have recieved training on AvnFPS, so they should be familiar with the software and have no difficulties restarting the servers.

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Q4.2 The AvnFPS server icons are green but we aren't getting any new metars (or some other real-time text data).

AvnFPS gets its METAR, TAF and CCFP text products from the Postgres database via triggers as implemented in the fxatext database's watchwarn table. If you know that your data feeds from your communications processor (cpsbn1 or cpsbn2 machine) are okay and can call up these products using the textdb command, then its likely the trigger entries in the watchwarn table have been removed. See the AvnFPS User's Guide "Creating Database Triggers" on how to re-create them, here. After you've re-created them and if the textdb command fetches current, up-to-date metars, tafs, etc., then you can manually update AvnFPS by using a nifty little utility to fetch them out of the text database:

% /awips/adapt/avnfps/bin/fetchText.sh [ALL|MTR|TAF]

If you do not supply an argument to the script, all products are fetched out of the text database, which is usually the preferred option.

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Q4.3 Why do the server indicator lights on AvnWatch change from green to red and back to green in a irregular fashion? It's not even Christmas yet.

This behavior is almost certainly caused by a large time skew in the system clocks between the server machine and the machine where AvnWatch client is running. You or your ITO should compare times between px2f and the client machine, using the date command. If the difference is significant--say more than 30 seconds--then your ITO should stop and restart the NTP (Network Time Protocol) daemon, ntpd, on px2f machine. Once the system clocks are in sync, this problem with AvnFPS indicator lights should go away. If not, contact NCF and open a trouble ticket for further investigation.

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Other Questions

This section is devoted to questions that aren't addressed above or in the AvnFPS User's Guide.

Q5.1 How to add a TAF to AvnFPS without actually sending it out of the office?

This question is usually asked by a WFO when there is a new TAF to be issued by the office in the next few months and the forecasters want to practice monitoring and issuing forecasts for the new site well before the actual day arrives to officially issue them to the outside world.

AvnFPS doesn't actually perform the actions to disseminate your aviation forecasts to the NWS WAN or the NWWS. That's the job of handleOUP.pl: a script that AvnFPS transmission server invokes when it wants to issue products found in its pending queue. The handleOUP.pl script consults several files to determine: 1) Proper WMO identifier for the product; 2) whether the product should be sent on the NWWS; 3) and whether the product should be sent on the WAN.

Another action handleOUP.pl script performs is to store the product into the local text database.

Your Aviation focal point or ITO should use the AvnFPS configuration GUIs to create the required configuration files for the new product. Here are the steps to perform on px2 as user "fxa":

Use the AvnFPS configuration GUI "Taf Site Info" to create the necessary configuration file for your new TAF. Be sure to fill in all required text fields, especially the AFOS and WMO ID text fields. Look at other official TAF sites if you are unsure of what these identifiers look like. Save your changes.
Use the AvnFPS configuration GUI "Taf Product" to either add your new TAF to an existing group or create a separate, new group with the new TAF its sole member.
Use the AvnFPS configuration GUI "Triggers" to add the new METAR and TAF triggers to your text database. Make sure the TAF and METAR text fields are filled in for the new TAF and press "Make" to create the database triggers.
Using your favorite text editor, open the /awips/fxa/data/afos2awips.txt text file. Here you will need to insert a new line consisting of the AFOS identifier of your new TAF in the first column, and its corresponding WMO ID in the second and third fields. Save your changes.
Using your favorite text editor, open the /data/fxa/workFiles/wanMsgHandling/NWWS_exclude_CCC.txt file (CCC is your office three-letter identifier). Here you will need to insert a new line consisting of the AFOS identifier of your new TAF. By having this entry in here, you will block the sending of your new TAF onto the NWWS.
Using your favorite text editor, open the /data/fxa/workFiles/wanMsgHandling/WAN_exclude_CCC.txt file. You may have to create it. Many offices do not seem to have this file by default. Here you will insert a new line consisting of the AFOS identifier of your new TAF. By having this entry in here, you will block the sending of your new TAF onto the WAN.

Your Aviation focal point or ITO should repeat the last three bullets on px1 machine as well to take care of the case of px2 failover to px1.

Finally, for all these changes to take effect, bounce the AvnFPS servers.   You will need to be user 'fxa' on any Linux workstation to do that:

    % /awips/adapt/avnfps/bin/remoteServers.sh restart

Restarting or bringing up a new AvnWatch GUI will show the new TAF site--if its in the DEFAULT group, otherwise, use the "Backup" button to select the group your new TAF is in. Initially the TAF button will be red and the monitoring lights greyed out due to the absence of metars and tafs to decode for that site.   Either be patient for the next metar for your new TAF to arrive, or request it from the text database using the avntrigger.sh script, or, as any user, run the command:

    % /awips/adapt/avnfps/bin/fetchText.sh MTR

At this point, you should be able to compose your first TAF for the new site.   It will have to be "Sent" in order for it to be monitored in AvnFPS (remember that the Aviation Focal Point or your ITO should have blocked its transmission over the WAN). Once you've done that, AvnFPS monitoring lights will return to "normal".

When your office is ready to issue the new TAF officially, your Aviation focal point or ITO should remove the TAF's AFOS entries from the NWWS_exclude_CCC.txt and WAN_exclude_CCC.txt files on both px1 and px2 machines.

It is good practice to look at the handleOUP.log files in /data/logs/fxa/YYYYMMDD directories on px2 (or px1 in case of failover) to see the actual dispensation of your text products.

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Q5.2   What do we need to do when the ICAO TAF format change occurs in the Fall 2008?

Nothing. AvnFPS TAF decoder can support both formats.   AvnFPS software, given the day and time, will provide guidance TAFs in the correct format, and TAF Syntax checker will adjust accordingly.

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Q5.3 What do we do to get AvnFPS to support a 30-h TAF?

First, this requires that new date/time groups are allowed. If so, then start the TAF Site Editor for the affected airport and change TAF duration text field from 24 to 30 [hrs]. Save your change and then restart the AvnWatch GUI. The AvnFPS servers do not need to be restarted, just the client(s), for this kind of change. Once that happens, the guidance TAFs and Syntax Checker will be 'aware' the TAF is 30-h long.

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AvnFPS OB8.3 FAQs

1. Installation

2. Setup

3. AvnWatch Features

4. Troubleshooting

5. Other

Installation

Setup

AvnWatch Features

Trouble Shooting

Other Questions