Software Installation Manual

October 2008 Installation

1. Installation

1.1 Before You Start

Vaisala’s SIGMET software is supplied on a cdrom containing files which will work
on either RHEL4 ES, or RHEL5 Desktop systems. Additionally, installation files
may be downloaded from our website at www.sigmet.com. We provide an
X-Windows based install utility for installing the software on local or remote
systems.
Before you install the IRIS/RDA software, do the following:
1. Check the operating system version.
Verify that the operating system level is at least the following:

Linux: Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES Release 4. See Appendix A for
installation details. Other brands of Linux should work fine as long as the
kernel version is at least 2.6.9. We will not be able to answer OS specific
support questions on other brands.

Vaisala provides an automated installation procedure and an extensively

documented manual installation procedure for installing RHEL Desktop Release
5. If you are starting with a new computer please go to Appendix A now to
learn more.

2. Use the following sections to perform a new install or upgrade.

Mounting the install CD Section 1.2

New Software Installation Section 1.3
Initial Configuration Section 1.4
Configuring IRIS/RDA on Linux Section 1.5
Upgrade Installation Section 1.6
Install Utility Options Section 1.7
Troubleshooting Section 1.8
Basics of Login, Logout, and Shutdown Section 1.9
RVP8 & RCP8 (RDA) PCI Software Section 1.10
RDA Software Configuration Section 1.11
Testing, Backup, and Calibration Section 1.12

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1.2 Mount the CD

Login to the system as ’root’ and start the X windows environment if it is not already
running with “startx”.
Insert the cdrom into the cdrom drive. Next you must have the system “mount” the
cdrom. The installation scripts expect the cd to be mounted at /mnt/cdrom. Wait a
minute to see if Linux automounts it. If so, then record the mount device using “df”,
and unmount it with a command like:
# umount /dev/cdrom
Then mount it with a command like:
# mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
On a new system, you will probably have to first create the /mnt/cdrom directory
with a the following command:
# mkdir /mnt/cdrom

Skip to the next section:

If this is a new installation, go to Section 1.3.2; if this is an upgrade, go to Section
1.6.6. For a general description of the install utility and its options, Section 1.7.

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1.3 New Software Installation

1.3.1 Preparing for a New Software Installation

Follow the instructions in this section if you are installing a new IRIS/RDA system.
If you are upgrading from a previous IRIS/RDA version, go to Section 1.6. If you
used the sigconfig script described in Appendix A, go to Section 1.3.3.
If this is a new installation on a new computer or a new hard disk, please read
Appendix A before proceeding. Vaisala strongly recommends the use of its
automatic installation procedure as described in Appendix A.
1. Check that there is enough disk space.
The IRIS/RDA software uses about 100 megabytes on the disk. The data stored
on disk by IRIS typically uses at least 100 megabytes. Thus, you need at least
200 megabytes of free space on the disk before the installation is begun. The
software and data can be on separate disks, if desired. If there is not enough
space, unnecessary files should be deleted before proceeding. You can see the
amount of free disk space using the df command.
2. Check for conflicting user names.
The IRIS software (including the installation procedure itself) requires the
creation of two new login names: operator and observer. If either of these
names are already in use, they will have to be changed. You may, however, use
any convenient (new or old) group name for these two new login names. In this
discussion, it is assumed that the group name is “users”. Use the
redhat–config–users or linuxconf utility on Linux to make the changes.

Important: Do not proceed without making these login name modifications.

The install utility will not run if the operator name is undefined. If this is
a new system (OS installation) please read through Appendix A of this
manual and run sigconfig from the CD.

3. Choose an anchor point for the IRIS directory tree.

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1.3.2 Performing a New Software Installation

Login to the system as ’operator’ and start the X windows environment. Become the
superuser by using the ’su’ command and supplying the appropriate password (Note –
if you are doing a network based ’install to’ option, it is not necessary to become the
superuser – see section 1.9.2). You can run our sigconfig script which will modify
the OS, and also install IRIS as an alternative.

Important: A new installation completely overwrites any existing files in the

${IRIS_ROOT}/bin, and ${IRIS_ROOT}/config trees. Make sure you do
not have any irreplaceable data in these areas before proceeding.

LINUX SYSTEMS (IRIS):

# cd /mnt/cdrom/RHEL5/iris
LINUX SYSTEMS (RDA):
# cd /mnt/cdrom/RHEL5/rda
ALL SYSTEMS:
# ./install

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In the What to Install section of the install utility window, you must select
New Installation by clicking the button next to the text. This is shown above.

Note: If you are performing a RDA and IRIS install, first install the IRIS
software. Then install the RDA software with the Keep Old Files button
pressed.

You may optionally also select other optional support software packages to install by
pressing their buttons in the What to Install section. When ready to do the
install, just press Start. For a detailed description of the full capabilities of the
install utility, see section 1.7.
The installation utility takes a few minutes to complete and prints progress messages
as it runs. Don’t forget to unmount the CDROM after the installation is complete.
Example commands are below:
# cd /
# eject /mnt/cdrom
Continue with the following steps to complete the installation process and required
configuration.
Now for a new OS installation, run the sigconfig steps manuall as outlined in section
A.4.

1.3.3 Run setup utility

Use the setup utility to configure your software (this utility is described in detail in
the Utilities Manual).
$ setup
Successful operation of setup does indicate that the utilities can modify the
configuration files. All of the configurations in the setup utility should be checked
for your system.
If your system is an analysis or display system, be sure to set that in the General
setups, and in the RVP section specify that there is no processor, and the the RCP
should specify that there is no antenna.
If your system is a radar system (i.e. connected to an antenna/signal processor) the
values in the RVP and RCP sections of setup are partifularly important. These need
considerable fine tuning before the RCP can be controlled accurately. For example,
the maximum antenna speeds in both azimuth and elevation should be set at least six
degrees per second slower than the maximum the antenna can go. To check how fast
it can go, widen the limits, then run the antenna utility to see where it maxes out.
The antenna utility is also discussed in the Utilities Manual.
Finally, in the license section of the utility, enter a desired site name. Make sure that
this is unique and somehow relates to your radar site. Also, if you plan on sharing
data with others, it is important that the site name is recognizable.

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1.3.4 Get your license (IRIS or TS Archive systems ONLY)

Run show_machine_code, which displays licensing information for your system
— Machine code, Check code, Site ID, and OS Version number. For new
installations, you need to get a new license number from Vaisala.
Contact Vaisala (sigmet–[email protected]) with the information supplied by
show_machine_code, and we will provide you with the license numbers needed
for IRIS to operate. If the machine code is the same as on your current license, no
upgrade is required.
When the new license has arrived, run the setup utility and click the License
button. Type the numbers at the Features License and Products License
prompts.
For display systems, please use our free IRIS/Display license service on our web site
(http://www.vaisala.com/sigmet).

1.3.5 Run sigmet_env

Run the sigmet_env utility program. It checks for obvious mistakes like directories
which do not exist. The sigmet_env defaults to IRIS only systems, to check the
directories on an RDA system, run sigmet_env –rda.

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1.4 Initial Configuration

1.4.1 Setting up for scp and other ssh commands

This is the preferred method for copying files between systems. First verify that the
ssh daemon is running on both systems. This can be done with the command:
$ ps –aef | grep sshd
To turn on sshd run the following command as root:
# chkconfig ––add sshd
This program is configured with the file /etc/ssh/sshd_config. The default file should
work OK for basic IRIS scp needs. In order to authorize opening X applications on
your display afer ssh’ing to a remote machine, please edit the file to add the
following line. You can get the same effect by always typing “ssh –X”.
X11Forwarding yes
The security authorization is different for each user, so be sure to run all the
applicable commands while logged in as operator. On the source machine generate
your private key with the following command:
$ ssh–keygen –t dsa
It will prompt you for a password, enter blank for no password. This will create the
directory $HOME/.ssh. It will place in it the following files: id_dsa and id_dsa.pub.
You then need to copy the contents of the id_dsa.pub file to all the target machines.
Append it to the $HOME/.ssh/authorized_keys file. If there is no such file, then
just rename it to match. Ssh is picky about directory protections, the .ssh directory
must have protection 755. Now test by trying a simple command like:
$ ssh target date
The first time this is run, it will ask you to confirm the target host. Thereafter it will
not. It should not ask for a password. If it does, there is a problem. Problems can be
easily seen by examining the /var/log/secure log file.

1.4.2 Setting up for rcp and other “r” commands

Old IRIS systems use the rcp shell command internally to copy product files between
computers over the network. For security reasons, this feature is by default blocked,
and requires configuration to enable it.
For starters, please see the discussion on enabling the rsh services in section A.4.3.
There are two mechanisms to configure the remote commands: The ~/.rhosts file
and the /etc/hosts.equiv file. These files are placed on the receiving computer to
enable access from the outside world. The .rhosts file is placed in each user’s login
directory, and the hosts.equiv file is placed in the /etc directory and applies system

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wide. We recommend using the hosts.equiv file and checking to make sure there is
no .rhosts file for the applicable users. Note that root requires a private .rhosts file to
do rcp. This file is basically a list of hostnames and user names. Though
wildcarding is allowed, we recommend adding every host and user who needs it.
This can be little tricky to configure, so always test manually. The development
cycle is very simple. Test with an rsh command like:
$ rsh target date
If it fails, then edit the hosts.equiv file and try again. Once the rsh commands are
working, the rcp commands will almost certainly work also. A good starting point it
to rsh to your own host to see if it works. If that does not work then certainly you
cannot expect it to work from other hosts.
Figure 1–1: Sample /etc/hosts.equiv File

# Comments allowed
radar.company.com operator
analysis.company.com operator

1.4.3 Serial Line Setup

Disable Logins on the Serial Lines:
A problem that frequently arises when assigning the computer’s serial lines to IRIS is
that the system may already be running a getty process to log users onto that line.
This process must be removed before IRIS can use the serial line. Typically, there
are command statements in the /etc/inittab file that startup getty. These
should be commented out (using a ’#’ at the beginning of the line) or removed.

Set world read/write permission:

Each serial device must be set so that users can read and write to it. For a device
called /dev/ttyS0, you can test this with the following command:
# chmod 666 /dev/ttyS0
In RHEL4 the permissions will change back to the default values during the bootup
process. To set this, please create a file called 10–sigmet.permissions in the
/etc/udev/prmissions.d directory with the following contents:
ttyS0:root:tty:0666 #TTY device permissions
Note that the “tty” is the group owner, which may vary on different systems. Check
what yours should be by first typing:
$ ls –l /dev/ttyS*
In RHEL5 the /etc/udev/permissions.d directory does not exist. Instead create the file
/etc/udev/rules.d/10–sigmet.rules. Insert a line which reads:

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KERNEL==ttyS0, NAME=”%k”, GROUP=”uucp”, MODE=”0666”, OPTIONS=”last_rule”

1.4.4 Installation Security Issues

During the course of an installation, the install utility needs to perform certain root
level privileged operations. Such operations include the setting of the ownership and
mode of certain IRIS executables. Because normally the install utility is run by the
root user, these operations are allowed without question.
In the case of doing a network based installation using the “INSTALL TO” option,
this installation method is not performed by root, but is instead performed by the
operator. To grant the user operator the permission required to do these privileged
operations, the iris install utility uses the Unix sudo facility.
By use of the sudo utility, the operator effectively is allowed to execute the install
utility as the superuser. There are some minor security implications of this. Under
most circumstances it is fine for the operator to perform these operations. If you
wish to allow the operator to perform these actions (normal scenario), then no special
action is required – just run install as documented in the following sections.
If you wish to prevent the operator from doing these operations, you should create an
empty sudo configuration file using the below commands:
# rm –f /etc/sudoers
# touch /etc/sudoers
By disabling the root privileges for the install utility, when doing a network based
“INSTALL TO” installation, after the install is finished, you will need to login to the
remote system as root to complete the privileged part of the installation. The install
utility will prompt you with the exact command to execute in this case.

1.4.5 Do platform dependent configuration

On Linux systems:
Goto section 1.5.

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1.5 Configuring Linux for the first time

Most configuration of the Linux operating system is completed by Vaisala’s
automatic configuration script. Some services such as networking, ntp, ftp, and rcp
need additional site specific configuration. Please see section A.5 for more
information.
For radar systems using the RVP7, it must be on and connected at boot time. SCSI
devices are automatically assigned device names at boot time. The name chosen for
the RVP7 is typically “/dev/sga”, but will differ depending on which other SCSI
devices you have. To see details on all the SCSI devices type:
$ dmesg | grep scsi
Once you have determined the device file, you will need to change the protection to
allow world access. First check with the ls –l command to find what file your device
file is linked to. Then set the protection with a command like:
# chmod 666 /dev/sga
For RHEL4 the permissions and links to devices will change back to some default
value during the bootup process. A utility called udev recreates the /dev directory
using rules and permission files to determine which nodes to include and how to
name them. Default settings are stored in a file called /etc/udev/rules.d/50–udev.rules
and permissions in /etc/udev/permissions.d/50–udev.permissions. Files in the
permissions.d and rules.d directories are parsed in lexical order. It is important your
own rules and permissions get processed before the udev defaults.
We recommend creating a permissions file called 10–sigmet.permissions to apply
specific rules for naming devices. An example for a scsi device and tape drive
would contain the following lines:
sg*:root:disk:0666 #scsi device permissions
nst*:root:disk:0666 #tape drive
where the first field is the name of the device (wildcards allowed), the second field is
the user, the third field is the group, and the permissions to apply to the device.
For RHEL5, the /etc/udev/permissions.d directory no longer exists. Instead create a
/etc/udev/rules.d/10–sigmet.rules file. Put lines in it like:
KERNEL==”sg0”, NAME=”%k”, GROUP=”disk”, MODE=”0666”, OPTIONS=”last_rule
KERNEL==”nst0”, NAME=”%k”, GROUP=”disk”, MODE=”0666”, OPTIONS=”last_rule

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1.6 Upgrade Installation

1.6.1 When should I upgrade?
If your system is operational and you do not require the new features of a release,
then often the best thing is to NOT upgrade. Check the release notes available at
www.vaisala.com/sigmet in the customer support section to see what changes have
been made since your current release was installed. Be sure to check the release notes
for all intervening releases.
To check the release that you have currently installed, you can type the command:
$ show_machine_code –version
IRIS Version 8.00 (indicates version 8.00)

1.6.2 What should I do before I upgrade?

1. Save customized files.
As part of the upgrade, many of the files in the tree are erased and replaced. If
you have placed anything important there, be sure to save it first. The upgrade
procedure preserves everything in ${IRIS_CONFIG}.
2. Print the current setup.
Run the setup utility on the old system and generate an ASCII listing file with the
File/List command. The format of these files can change between software
versions. Therefore, some of the information may have to be entered again.
3. Before you can upgrade, you must make certain that all sigmet applications are
stopped. You can do this by exiting any IRIS/RDA utilities that you are running
and executing the following commands.
For IRIS:
$ qiris
$ qant

For RDA:
$ su
$ service rvp8 stop (or service rcp8 stop)
$ service dspexport stop

Then type ps_iris to verify that all sigmet processes are stopped. If there are
remaining processes, you can stop them as root with the “kill <process ID
number>” command. The process ID number is the first column of numbers
from the ps_iris output.

1.6.3 Where to get software upgrades?

The RVP8 and RCP8 (collectively the RDA) and IRIS are active products. New
features and bug repairs are provided in the form of software upgrades. Software
upgrades from Vaisala can be obtained from two sources:

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FTP (Internet) Upgrades- These are available from ftp.sigmet.com. For

example, to obtain the release RDA 8.00 you would go to:

ftp.sigmet.com/outgoing/releases/8.11.6

Section 1.6.5 shows a typical ftp session. These public releases are FREE of
charge but do not include support services unless you are under warranty or have
purchased a support contract from Vaisala. Contact sigmet–[email protected]
if you need to arrange a support contract.

CDROM Upgrades- these are provided as part of a support contract or upon
request.

1.6.4 How should I upgrade

There are two basic upgrade techniques:

Upgrade using “install” utility — This is the preferred technique since it leaves
all configuration files intact. This is described in Section 1.6.6.

CD–ROM Operating System Upgrade & Vaisala software Full Re-Install —
Backup your configuration files and network files and then do an install from
scratch as described in Appendix A. Then restore your configuration files to the
new installation. This is the preferred technique only when it is required that you
upgrade the operating system which might be necessary in the event of hardware
or new hardware.
Once you have decided on either a network or CDROM upgrade, then proceed with
the upgrade installation as described in the sections below.

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1.6.5 Getting the network upgrade files

There are two ways to get the network upgrade files. Both techniques use ftp to get
the files from ftp.sigmet.com. The ftp client service is enabled on your computer
allowing you to run an ftp session and “get” files from another networked computer:

Use your IRIS workstation/RVP8/RCP8/RCW to get the files- a one-step
procedure that requires that you have internet access.

Use another machine on the network– a two-step procedure to first ftp the files
to another computer, and then “get” them from this machine by running ftp on the
IRIS workstation/RVP8/RCP8/RCW. Note that an alternative is to copy the files
to a CDROM.
No matter what technique you use, you will need some basic familiarity with ftp.
Here we will assume that our computer with the name sigcomp has direct internet
access (the one-step procedure). The two-step procedure is analogous.

The one-step approach: Direct download

On your IRIS Workstation/RVP8/RCP8/RCW create a directory called
/tmp/iris–X.XX. If you will be downloading RDA software also, use a separate
directory named /tmp/rda–X.XX. Here the X.XX is the version number of the
RDA software that you want to install. This naming convention makes it easy to
identify the version of the install files. You should make a directory for each
version and type (IRIS/RDA) of software that you download. As operator type
(assuming version 8.11.0 for all examples here):
$ cd /
$ mkdir /tmp/rda–8.11.0

Position yourself in the /tmp directory by typing:
$ cd /tmp/rda–8.11.0
Note that on a windows machine, all of the commands below can be typed in the
MS–DOS prompt window (remember to use the “\” backslash for DOS).

Start ftp and follow the sample session below (your responses are indicated by
bold)
$ ftp ftp.sigmet.com
Connected to ftp.sigmet.com
220 Welcome to Vaisala Westford Operations FTP Server
Name: anonymous
331 Guest login ok, send your complete e–mail address as password.
Password: <Use your email address>
230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply.
ftp> cd outgoing/releases/
ftp> dir

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You will see a directory listing of available releases. You are looking for an 8.11.0
release, then:
ftp> cd 8.11.0
ftp> dir

You will then need to enter the appropriate directory for your OS version. Round
the version down, so if you are running RHEL5.1, use RHEL5:
ftp> cd RHEL5
ftp> dir

You will see a listing of the release type. You are looking for the “rda” release,
then:
ftp> cd rda
ftp> dir

Now you will see a list of files with file sizes. We recommend that you download
all the files. The absolute minimum required files for an upgrade are:
app.gz
install
install.gz
install.rf
instiris
tplates.gz

Make a list of the files that you want to download including at least the six files in
the list above. Of the other files on the FTP site, man.tgz contains the manuals,
and web.tgz contains the IRIS/Web feature which you might not need. Prepare to
download by selecting BINARY file transfer:
ftp> bin
200 Type set to I.

Important: If you do not specify BINARY transfer, the download will not work.

Now “get” the files, for example:
ftp> get app.tgz
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening BINARY mode data connection for app.gz (4897560 bytes)
226 Transfer complete.
You will get a confirmation that BINARY transfer is being used and the size of
the file in bytes is displayed. Depending on the size of the file and the speed of
your connection, the download could take many minutes. When the file transfer is
completed, you will get a confirmation message.

You can also use the multiple get command “mget” to get all of the files:
ftp> mget *
You will be prompted for each file download so you can still pick-and-choose by
typing “y” or “n” to select (yes or no).

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After you have downloaded all of the files, then end your session by typing:
ftp> quit
221 Goodbye
$ (back to UNIX prompt)
For the one-step approach, you have all of the files that you need in the directory
/tmp/rda–8.11.0 on the RVP8.

Completing the two-step approach using another computer

The two step approach is to use another computer to get the upgrade files and then
get these files on the RVP8. The first step of getting the files from Vaisala is done
analogus to the one-step approach described above. The second step is to ftp the files
from the other computer to the RVP8. This is also analogous to the procedure
described above. An alternative is to put the files on a CDROM, mount the CDROM
on the RVP8 and then copy the files to the RVP8.
The end result of all these various procedures is that the upgrade files are on the
RVP8 in a directory called /tmp/rda–X.XX. N

Set the modes on the files

Become root using the su command and password. Go to the RVP8 directory where
the files were downloaded and change the mode on two of the files that require
execute privilege, i.e.,
# cd /tmp/rda–8.11.0
# chmod +x install
# chmod +x instiris
You are now ready to move on to the next section.

1.6.6 Performing an Upgrade Installation

Follow these instructions if you are upgrading from a previous Vaisala system.
Login to the system as ’operator’ and start the X windows environment if it is not
already running. Become the superuser by using the ’su’ command and supplying the
appropriate password (Note network installations do not use root–see section 1.7.2).

Warning: An upgrade installation overwrites any existing files in the

${IRIS_ROOT}/bin tree. Backup any important files before proceeding.

LINUX SYSTEMS (IRIS):

# cd /mnt/cdrom/RHEL4/iris
LINUX SYSTEMS (RDA):

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# cd /mnt/cdrom/RHEL4/rda
# ./install
In the What to Install section of the install utility window, you must select
Upgrade by pressing its button in. This is shown below:

You may optionally also select other optional software packages to install by pressing
their buttons in the What to Install section. When ready to do the install, just
press Start.

Note: If you are performing a RDA and IRIS install, first install the IRIS
software. Then install the RDA software with the Keep Old Files button
pressed.

The installation script takes a few minutes to complete and prints progress messages
as it runs. Don’t forget to unmount the CDROM after the installation is complete.
# cd /
# eject /mnt/cdrom

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1.6.7 Post Upgrade Tasks

Because some setup files may have changed formats, please run the following
command:
$ makeAsciiSetups

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1.7 Install Utility Window Options

This section describes in detail all the options available in the install utility. It is
located on the distribution cdrom, as well as in the ${IRIS_ROOT}/install
directory after installation.

The first section is labeled Install from/to. The default information in this
section is shown above. This default information assumes that the installation will be
from the directory from which the installation was run, and will be installing to the
default directory (/usr/sigmet) in the local computer. In section 1.7 below, other
options for Install from/to will be discussed.
The second section is labeled What to Install. In this section, you choose
which of many different files to install. Depending on which button(s) are pressed,
there are three basic different installation that can be performed:
1. A New installation of the software.
2. An Upgrade installation on a system where an older version is already installed.
3. Do not install the application software, but install one or more different optional
support software packages such as Manuals, IRIS Header Files, a subset of

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the IRIS Source Code, complete IRIS Object Code, or IRIS Product
Examples. The meaning of each of the optional support software packages is
described in section 1.7 below.
It should also be noted that when doing either a New or Upgrade installation, you can
also install at the same time one or more of the optional support software packages
discussed in item 3 above.

1.7.1 “Read From” Option

The install utility allows for the files used in the installation to come from one of
three different locations. The default location is the DIR this means that the
installation program will automatically populate the Read From option with the path
where the install command was run (this implicitly works for CDROMs). However,
by using the Read From button, you can choose to access the files also from either
the files already installed on your system (Local option).
When selecting the DIR option, you can type a directory in manually.
When selecting the Local option, this implies that the files will be taken from the
local installation of IRIS or RDA already in this computer and copied to some other
destination. In this case in the box to the right of the Read From button, you must
fill in the location of the root directory of the IRIS software on your local system. By
default this is the translation of the IRIS_ROOT environment variable, but you can
override this if you wish.
When selection the Dir option, this implies that the files will be taken from some
temporary directory on the local computer and copied to some other destination. In
this case in the box to the right of the Read From button which is automatically
populated with the directory where ./install was executed from.

1.7.2 Install To Option (Including Network Installs)

The Install To fields must be entered in the install window. These fields
choose where the IRIS software will be installed. By default, these fields will always
be filled in in such a way that the IRIS software will be installed to the local system
in the default /usr/sigmet directory.
However, with the Install To fields, you can choose to install the software to any
other computer on your network, or to any directory on your computer.
To install to a remote computer (Network Install) one important step is that
the install utility must be run from the as operator rather than from root. Thus the
command would be:
$ cd /usr/sigmet/install
$ ./install

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In the install utility window, enter the nodename of the remote computer that you are
installing to in the Install To field. And if you wish to install to a directory that
is different from /usr/sigmet, enter this directory into the Dir box
immediately to the right of the Install To box.
These network installations are very convenient, as if you update a single system on
your network from a CDROM by choosing all of the default options in the Install
from/to section of the install utility, you can then install from the Local directory
of this first machine (Local option) to every other machine on your network by
putting their hostnames, one at at time, into the Install To field. This is a big time
saving operation.
After the software has been installed on the remote machine, you must complete the
procedure by setting the ownerships, modes, and application defaults on the remote
machine itself. This can be done by way of a remote login (as root), as in:
# rlogin Remote_Machine –l root
# cd /usr/sigmet/install
# ./instiris –setown –v

1.7.3 Manuals Option

To install the Online Manuals, prior to starting the install, press the Manuals button
in in the What to Install section of the install utility.
This installs both the online manuals, and the viewer program. It uses approximately
38 Mbytes of disk space. Generally the online manuals are more up to date than the
printed versions.

1.7.4 Headers, Source, and Objects

If you would like to install IRIS Header files, a subset of the IRIS Source Code,
or the complete IRIS Object Code and Libraries, prior to starting the install, press
the Header, Source, and/or Objects button(s) in in the What to Install
section of the Install Utility.
These options may be used separately or together, and result in the building of
sub-directories from your IRIS root:
/usr/sigmet/src/libs Common libraries
/usr/sigmet/src/utils IRIS utilities
/usr/sigmet/src/iris IRIS Client/Server
/usr/sigmet/src/include Header files
The Headers option brings in the following ASCII files:

Header files that define all structures and constants used by IRIS. These are
essential for programmers who wish to use IRIS data directly.

Makefiles to rebuild each section of IRIS.

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The Objects option brings in the following machine generated files:

Compiled object files for all of IRIS. These are necessary in order to use
incremental field patches that you may receive from time to time.

Debugable executable versions of all IRIS modules.
Lastly the Source option, install some program source examples (located in
/usr/sigmet/src/utils/examples) and any additional source code that you have
purchased as part of a special agreement with SIGMET.

1.7.5 Product Example file option

When using a IRIS/RDA release cdrom, it is possible to install example Product
and Raw Product files. To do so, press the Product Examples button prior
to clicking Start. Also, you must fill in the Product and the Raw fields next to the
Product Example button. These fields are automatically filled in with default
installation directories for IRIS Products and IRIS Raw Products. If you use different
directories for these products, edit these fields prior to starting the install.
This will place a number of IRIS type product files in the above mentioned
directories. These files can either be viewed directory, or may be re–ingested to
make other products.

1.7.6 Verbose Option

Normally, install does its work silently, and prints only minimal progress messages
as it runs. To see more details, press the Verbose button prior to clicking Start.

1.7.7 Keep Old Files Option

This option should only be used when upgrading or installing a computer system that
has both RDA and IRIS software installed. When using this option, make sure that
to install IRIS first and then install the RDA software with this button pressed.

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1.8 Troubleshooting
This section contains suggestions for fixing common problems.

1.8.1 File Ownership and Protection

Sometimes there are problems after an installation with access to some of the files.
Typically, this is evidenced by an error message saying that the user does not have
privilege to do an operation. This can happen when starting a program or when
calibration files are accessed. If you should have this problem, run the instiris
script, as shown below:
# instiris –setown
This procedure goes through the /usr/sigmet directory tree, changing the owner
of all files to operator and setting the protection, as follows:

Directories — rwxrwxr–x

All files, except executable files — rw–rw–r––

Executable files — rwsrwsr–x
Always use instiris –setown to fix the protection of your files. Do not try to
change the protection of these files yourself.

1.8.2 Authorizing remote X–Windows on Your Node

To allow IRIS systems running on other nodes to send output to your screen, enter
the command:
$ xhost +<host>
Where “<host>” is your remote hostname, or IP address. Once you have this
working to your satisfaction, edit your /etc/profile.d/sigmet.sh file and put the
appropriate command at the end of the file. This will cause it authorize the windows
as soon an anyone logs in. You can also put such a command in your home directory
.bash_profile file if you want just one user to authorize.

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1.9 Basics of Login, Logout and Shutdown

1.9.1 Power up procedure

When you power the computer on, the system will go through an automatic startup of the
operating system at the end of which the software starts and performs power–up self tests. This
is described in detail in of both the RVP8 & RCP8 User’s Manuals.
If you are not doing any diagnostic or software maintenance work on the system, there is no
need to log-in after power-up; simply turn the unit on and your application software will take
over.

1.9.2 Local and remote login

There are two ways to login to a SIGMET system:

Local login: The local keyboard, mouse and monitor can be used or via a KVM.

Remote login: If telnet is enabled you can use this for remote access. Check
with your network administrator.
For the remainder of this discussion it is assumed that local login is used.

1.9.3 Default operator and root login passwords

There are two default users defined in the standard software installation:

”root” with password ”xxxxxxxx” (8 lower case x’s). This is for Operating
System maintenance functions.

”operator”with password ”xxxxxx” (6 lower case x’s). This is for SIGMET
application software maintenance functions. These are all described in detail in
the Utilities Manual.
Your system administrator can change either of these passwords by using standard Linux
password support.

1.9.4 Login procedure

Local login as operator after power-up

Connect keyboard, mouse and monitor and then cycle power on the system to
force a reboot. This causes Linux to recognize these devices on power-up.

At the power-up “login” prompt type “operator” and press Enter. When
prompted, provide the appropriate password (factory default is “xxxxxx”, 6 lower
case x’s).

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Logging-in as operator you will be taken to an X-Window screen.

Right-click the mouse and select “New Window” to get a terminal window.
The top of the terminal window shows, for example:

operator on rvp8–1 : /home/operator

i.e., your user name, the node name of the system and the current directory path.
If you would like to have a terminal with a bigger font, you can type “sigterm”.

Switching from operator to root login using su"

The easiest way to switch to a root login for system administration work is to type the super user
command “su” and then give the root password. The prompt will change from $ to # indicating
that you are root.

Exiting su" root login to return to operator

In an X–terminal where you have become the “super user (su)”, simply type “exit” to return to
operator. The prompt will change from # to $.

Local root login after powerup

To login as root after a power–up or after exiting X–Windows, simply type “root” and press
Enter at the login prompt, then give the appropriate password (factory default is “xxxxxxxx”, 8
lower case x’s).
You will be in a full screen terminal. This is not as convenient as X–Windows since only one
terminal can be displayed on the screen.
If you need a second full screen terminal type “Alt-F2”. You can return to your
original terminal by typing “Alt-F1”. The other function keys can provide
additional terminals.

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1.9.5 Logout procedure

Logout from XWindows

Method 1: Right-click the mouse and select “Exit”.

Method 2: Simultaneously press “Ctrl-Alt-Backspace” on the keyboard.
You will be logged out and the screen will show the initial login prompt. on the full screen
terminal.

Root Logout from full screen terminal

If you logged–in as root from the power-up full screen terminal,

1.9.6 Poweroff shutdown procedure

If you need to swap PCI cards in the chassis, you must first do a poweroff
shutdown as described here.
As either operator or root type “poweroff”. The system will go through a shutdown sequence.
When it is done “Power down” will be displayed. At this point you can press the power switch
located on the right lower front of the chassis.

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1.10 RVP8 & RCP8 (RDA) Software Installation

1.10.1 Install the upgraded kernal module

After you upgrade you may get an error message saying that there is a kernel module mismatch.
This is easily fixed by rebooting. As an alternative you can restart the kernel module with the
following commands:
# rdasys stop
# rdasys start

1.10.2 Installation steps to “flash” FPGA’s in SIGMET devices

In this section you will be installing FPGA software into each of the SIGMET components. You
will need to make an inventory of what is in your system and then issue an “rdaflash” command
to each one as described below:

Login as “operator” with password “xxxxxx” (6 x’s)

You will enter X–Windows. Right click the mouse and start a terminal window.

For each SIGMET component (italic) type the appropriate command (bold):
SIGMET Component Unit ID If RVP8, type:
Standard RVP8/Rx Card –0 rdaflash –program rvp8rx–0
Standard I/O–62 Card –0 rdaflash –program io62–0
Standard Connector Panel –0 rdaflash –program io62cp–0
Standard RVP8/IFD –0 rdaflash –program rvp8ifd–0
Optional RVP8/Tx Card –0 rdaflash –program rvp8tx–0
Optional 2nd RVP8/Rx –1 rdaflash –program rvp8rx–1

If RCP8, type:
Standard I/O–62 Card –0 rdaflash –program io62–0
Standard Connector Panel –0 rdaflash –program io62cp–0

Do a system shutdown by typing “poweroff”

When “Power down” is displayed, turn power off with power switch on lower
right of front panel.
This completes the FPGA software installation.

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1.10.3 Reboot power-up check and RDA diagnostics

After you have completed the installation steps above, you should reboot the unit. You can
observe the progress of the reboot on the monitor. In addition, the front panel LED display will
show the time of the reboot and display diagnostic messages. Typically about 1 minute is
required for the system to complete reboot.
After the reboot is completed, login as operator, right-click to start a terminal window, and then:

Stop the rvp8 (or rcp8) process by typing:
$ killall rvp8 (or rcp8)

Run the following diagnostics and observe the results:
(for RVP8 and RCP8 systems)
$ rdadiags io62–0 tests I/O–62
$ rdadiags io62cp–0 tests connector panel.
Requires test cable

(for RVP8 systems only)

$ rdadiags rvp8rx–0

Run these also for any optional RVP8 cards such as:
$ rdadiags rvp8tx–0 tests RVP8/Tx
$ rdadiags rvp8rx–1 tests 2nd RVP8/Rx

Restart the RVP8 or RCP8 process by typing (for the RVP8 example):
$ rvp8 & or rcp8 &

Verify that the restart messages show no faults.

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1.11 RDA Software Configuration

After the receiving your unit from the factory, or after software re–installation, there are several
configuration steps required to customize your system for your particular environment and
application. The configuration tools available for this are summarized in the table below.
Configuration RDA Description of Configuration Features
Tool Device
setup/RVP utility RVP8 Configures the local environment required to run RVP8 the support utilities
setup_dsp.conf such as ascope and dspx. Examples include radar equation parameters
that are required for calibration, pulse width definitions and PRF request
limits.
setup/RCP utility RCP8 Configures the local environment required to run the RCP8 support utilities
setup_ant.conf that such as antenna or bitex. Examples include, max allowed AZ/EL ve
locity request, MIN and MAX elevation angles that can be requested and
LAT/LON of radar for sun tracking.
RVP8 TTY setups RVP8 Defines the details of the sampling and processing algorithms as well as
rvp8.conf the operational configuration of the system. Examples include, IF filter de
sign and selection, PRF limits, relative trigger timing, dual polarization fea
tures.
RCP8 TTY setups RCP8 Used to configure which status and control bits are available and define the
rcp8.conf antenna servo control parameters. Examples include, physical or virtual
tachometer selection, shutdown safety criteria and internal antenna simula
tor on/off.
softplane.conf RVP8 File that is edited which defines the various I/O signals on the I/O62 con
nector panel, pin by pin. For example, whether a line is an input or output,
pinbypin.
RCP8 electrical spec such as RS422 or TTL, what local variable name is associat
ed with each line.

Important: Both the setup utility and the TTY setups must be configured to
customize your system. This is part of the installation procedure.

All of the configuration results are stored as ASCII text “.conf” files, typically in a directory
called /usr/sigmet/ (factory default). The file names are indicated in the table above. Each file
has a factory default configuration file that is stored in the template directory (the default is
/usr/sigmet/config_template/init/). An advantage of this approach is that for a radar network
with identical hardware, configuration maintenance can be performed by copying pre-tested files
over the network.
The following serve as references and are not repeated here:
setup utility IRIS Utilities Manual
RVP8 TTY setups RVP8 User’s Manual
RCP8 TTY setups RCP8 User’s Manual
An overview of these setups for both the RVP8 and RCP8 is provided in the next two sections,
followed by a description of the softplane.conf file and its configuration.

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1.11.1 RCP8 Setup Configuration Summary

The table below summarizes the setups required for the RCP8 and its associated host computer
(if any). The three cases are summarized in “System Network Architecture” section of
Chapter 1 of the RCP8 User’s Manual.

Case 1: Case 2: Case 3:

Serial Interface Combined RCP8/RCW Socket Interface
RCP8 TTY Setups: Site Host section
Serial port /dev/ttyS0 (e.g.) .../fifo_hostio–x See note .../fifo_hostio–x See note

Baud rate for host computer I/O 9600 –Ignored– –Ignored–

RCP8 Setup: RCP Section

System has an antenna Yes Yes Yes
Interface Type Native Serial Serial
Main channel device name .../fifo_hostio–y See note .../fifo_hostio–y See note

running at Not displayed for –Ignored– –Ignored–

with parity interface type Native –Ignored– –Ignored–
Antenna angle insertion source Native RCP8 Normal serial Normal serial
AntExport Running on RCP8 No No Yes

Host RCW Setup Utility: RCP (e.g., running IRIS/Radar)

System has an antenna Yes
Interface Type Serial
Main channel device name /dev/ttyS0/ (e.g.)
running at 9600 NA

with parity No
Antenna angle insertion source Normal Serial

Note: The recommended full path for the fifo interface is /usr/sigmet/config/fifo_hostio–x. The
other one (it does not matter which) is at /usr/sigmet/config/fifo_hostio–y.

For Case 3: AntExport Receiving Workstation

System has an antenna Yes
Interface Type Socket
AntExport hostname/IP-Address <for source node
running AntExport>
AntExport Port Number 30745

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1.11.2 RVP8 Setup Configuration Summary

The table below summarizes the setups required for the RVP8 and its connection to the
associated host radar control workstation (RCW). Please refer to the “System Network
Architecture” section of Chapter 1, RVP8 User’s Manual.

Table 1–1: RVP8 Local Setups: TTY Setups and Setup Utility

RVP8 TTY Setups

“Mc” Live angle input Antenna angles from RVP8 Az/El 2: Tags
TTL inputs
Antenna angles from RVP8 Az/El 3: S/D
S/D inputs
Antenna angles from other source 1: None
(e.g., serial input)
“Mt N” Range Mask spacing These are all forced by the corresponding settings in the
“Mt N” Maximum number of Pulses/Sec RVP8 Setup Utility: RVP Section
“Mt N” Maximum instantaneous PRF (See Below)

RVP8 Setup Utility: RVP Section

System has a signal processor Yes
Interface Type Native
Range Mask spacing Default is 125 m Configuring these fields will also
set the corresponding fields in
Minimum PRF As required the RVP8 TTY Setups
Maximum PRF As required for max duty cycle (See above)

RVP8 Setup Utility: RCP Section

Response to Mc Live angle input (above) TTL binary angles or S/D “None”
System has an antenna Yes Yes
Interface Type Serial
Main channel device name Not applicable when Antenna Default: /dev/ttyS0
angle insertion source is set to
running at RVP8 Default: 9600
with parity None
Antenna angle insertion source Native RVP8 Normal serial
DspExport Running on RVP8 Yes Yes

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Table 1–2: Setup Utility on RCW (Radar Control Workstation) running IRIS

IRIS Host RCW Setup Utility: RVP Section

System has a signal processor Yes
Interface Type Socket
DspExport hostname/IP–Address <hostname or IP address of RVP8>
DspExport Port Number Default: 30740

IRIS Host RCW Setup Utility: Ingest Section

Response to Mc Live angle input (above) TTL binary angles or S/D “None”
Manner of angle acquisition Binary TAGS Serial Stream

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1.11.3 Configuring the softplane.conf file

What is the softplane.conf file ?

The softplane.conf file is used to define pin–by–pin assignment of I/O functions to various
connectors on the I/O-62 connector panel. It is a plain text ASCII file that is self-documented.
Since the RVP8 and RCP8 have virtually no jumpers, or wirewrap, all I/O configuration on the
I/O-62 connector panel is done by software approach according to this file.

Where is softplane.conf ?
The file resides in the IRIS_CONFIG directory. Typically this is /usr/sigmet/config (this is the
default directory that is factory installed). The factory configurations are also available in the
/usr/sigmet/template/init directory so that you can always return to the factory defaults if you
need to.

When do I need to change softplane.conf ?

The softplane.conf file that is shipped with your system is configured for a standard connector
panel with I/O as described in the RCP8 User’s Manual. As long as you use the standard I/O pin
assignments, then you do not need to change softplane.conf.
If you need to redefine some of the I/O pins on the connector panel, or add additional SIGMET
cards such as a second I/O-62 then you must change softplane.conf.

Editing softplane.conf
You will need to use a text editor to modify the softplane.conf file. There are several editors
included in the system:

vi The generic UNIX editor that is available on every UNIX system.
It is really arcane to use, but many people know how to use it out of necessity or
they are simply used to it now.

gedit This is more user friendly with keyboard commands and mouse
support when you are in X–Windows so it a little easier to learn than vi.
If you are not familiar with either of these, then you will need to either find someone who is or
learn how to use these tools.
To start an editing session you would do the following as operator:
$ cd /usr/sigmet/config
$ gedit softplane.conf
or
$ vi softplane.conf

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softplane.conf file: RVP8 example

An example from the beginning and some excerpts from the softplane.conf file are shown below
(note that the command “cat” causes the file to be listed on a terminal):
$ cat /usr/sigmet/config/softplane.conf
# **********************************
# * *
# * Softplane Configuration File *
# * *
# **********************************

# The following general purpose control and status signals

# can be routed to/from any available hardware pin. The ’~’
# prefix character may be used for signal inversion.
#
# Control Outputs Status Inputs
# ––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––
# cPedAZ[15:0] sPedAZ[15:0]
# cPedEL[15:0] sPedEL[15:0]
# cEarthAZ[15:0] sServoPwr
# cEarthEL[15:0] sLocal
# cServoPwr sStandby
# cCabinetRelay sLowerEL
# cTransmitPwr sUpperEL
# cPWidth[3:0] sTransmitPwr
# cTrigBlank sTransmitLocal
# cRadiateOn sPWidth[3:0]
# cRadiateOff sTrigBlank
# cReset sRadiate
# cIrisMode[2:0] sAirflowFlt
# cAux[63:0] sWavegpFlt
# true sInterlockFlt
# false sMagCurrentFlt
# sReset
# sIrisMode[2:0]
# sAux[319:0]

splConfig.sVersion = ”7.32”

# ––––––––––––––––––– IO62 Slot #0 –––––––––––––––––––

#
splConfig.Io62[0].lInUse = 1
# The remote backpanel type should be one of the following:
# Direct : Direct I/O with IO62 connector itself
# IO62CP : Standard IO62–CP connector panel
# RVP88D : RVP8 portion of WSR88D panel
# RCP88D : RCP8 portion of WSR88D panel
#
splConfig.Io62[1].sExtPanel = ”IO62CP”
# TTL/CMOS on J1
#
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin01 = ”sPedAZ[0]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin02 = ”sPedAZ[1]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin03 = ”sPedAZ[2]”
...

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# Relays and relay drivers on J6

#
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J6_IntRelay1 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J6_IntRelay2 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J6_IntRelay3 = ””

splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J6_ExtRelay1 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J6_ExtRelay2 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J6_ExtRelay3 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J6_ExtRelay4 = ””

# BNC testpoint monitors

#
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J13_BNC = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J16_BNC = ””

# BNC trigger drivers direct from IO62 PCI card.

# Special signals ’trigger[8:1]’ may also be used here.
#
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J14_BNC = ”trigger[1]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J15_BNC = ”trigger[2]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J17_BNC = ”trigger[3]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J18_BNC = ”trigger[4]”

# RS232 TTY transmitters from IO62

#
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.TTY0_Tx = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.TTY1_Tx = ””

# ––––––––––––––––––– IO62 Slot #1 –––––––––––––––––––

#
splConfig.Io62[1].lInUse = 0

# ––––––––––––––––––– IO62 Slot #2 –––––––––––––––––––

#
splConfig.Io62[2].lInUse = 0
....
# <End of softplane definitions>

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softplane.conf file: RCP8 example

An example from the beginning and some excerpts from the softplane.conf file are shown below
(note that the command “cat” causes the file to be listed on a terminal):
# **********************************
# * *
# * Softplane Configuration File *
# * *
# **********************************
# The following general purpose control and status signals
# can be routed to/from any available hardware pin. The ’~’
# prefix character may be used for signal inversion.
#
# Control Outputs Status Inputs
# ––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––
# cPedAZ[15:0] sPedAZ[15:0]
# cPedEL[15:0] sPedEL[15:0]
# cEarthAZ[15:0] sServoPwr
# cEarthEL[15:0] sLocal
# cServoPwr sStandby
# cCabinetRelay sLowerEL
# cTransmitPwr sUpperEL
# cPWidth[3:0] sTransmitPwr
# cTrigBlank sTransmitLocal
# cRadiateOn sPWidth[3:0]
# cRadiateOff sTrigBlank
# cReset sRadiate
# cIrisMode[2:0] sAirflowFlt
# cAux[80:0] sWavegpFlt
# true sInterlockFlt
# false sMagCurrentFlt
# sReset
# sIrisMode[2:0]
#
sAux[319:0]splConfig.sVersion = ”8.00”
# ––––––––––––––––––– IO62 Slot #0 –––––––––––––––––––
#
splConfig.Io62[0].lInUse = 1
# The remote backpanel type should be one of the following:
# Direct : Direct I/O with IO62 connector itself
# IO62CP : Standard IO62–CP connector panel
# RCP88D : RCP8 portion of WSR88D panel
# RVP88D : RVP8 portion of WSR88D panel
#
splConfig.Io62[0].sExtPanel = ”IO62CP”# TTL/CMOS on J1
#
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin01 = ”sPedAZ[0]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin02 = ”sPedAZ[1]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin03 = ”sPedAZ[2]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin04 = ”sPedAZ[3]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin05 = ”sPedAZ[4]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin06 = ”sPedAZ[5]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin07 = ”sPedAZ[6]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin08 = ”sPedAZ[7]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin09 = ”sPedAZ[8]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin10 = ”sPedAZ[9]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin11 = ”sPedAZ[10]”

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splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin12 = ”sPedAZ[11]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin13 = ”sPedAZ[12]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin14 = ”sPedAZ[13]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin15 = ”sPedAZ[14]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin16 = ”sPedAZ[15]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin17 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin18 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin19 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin20 = ””# TTL/CMOS on J2
#
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J2.pin01 = ”cEarthAZ[0]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J2.pin02 = ”cEarthAZ[1]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J2.pin03 = ”cEarthAZ[2]”
. . .

splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J2.pin15 = ”cEarthAZ[14]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J2.pin16 = ”cEarthAZ[15]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J2.pin17 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J2.pin18 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J2.pin19 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J2.pin20 = ””# TTL/CMOS on J4
#
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J4.pin01 = ”sPedEL[0]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J4.pin02 = ”sPedEL[1]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J4.pin03 = ”sPedEL[2]”
. . .

splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J4.pin15 = ”sPedEL[14]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J4.pin16 = ”sPedEL[15]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J4.pin17 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J4.pin18 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J4.pin19 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J4.pin20 = ””# TTL/CMOS on J5
#
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J5.pin01 = ”cEarthEL[0]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J5.pin02 = ”cEarthEL[1]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J5.pin03 = ”cEarthEL[2]”
. . .

splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J5.pin15 = ”cEarthEL[14]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J5.pin16 = ”cEarthEL[15]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J5.pin17 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J5.pin18 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J5.pin19 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J5.pin20 = ””# TTL/CMOS on J7
#
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J7.pin01 = ”sAux[0]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J7.pin02 = ”sAux[1]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J7.pin03 = ”sAux[2]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J7.pin04 = ”sAux[3]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J7.pin05 = ”sAux[4]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J7.pin06 = ”sAux[5]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J7.pin07 = ”sAux[6]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J7.pin08 = ”sAux[7]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J7.pin09 = ”sAux[8]”

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splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J7.pin10 = ”sAux[9]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J7.pin11 = ”sAux[10]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J7.pin12 = ”sAux[11]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J7.pin13 = ”sAux[12]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J7.pin14 = ”sAux[13]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J7.pin15 = ”sAux[14]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J7.pin16 = ”sAux[15]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J7.pin17 = ”sAux[16]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J7.pin18 = ”sAux[17]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J7.pin19 = ”sAux[18]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J7.pin20 = ”sAux[19]”
#
# Eight IO62 line pairs on J3
#
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_01_14.lRS422 = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_01_14.iTerm = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_01_14.pinPos = ”cPWidth[0]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_01_14.pinNeg = ”cPWidth[1]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_02_15.lRS422 = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_02_15.iTerm = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_02_15.pinPos = ”cRadiateOn”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_02_15.pinNeg = ”cRadiateOff”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_03_16.lRS422 = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_03_16.iTerm = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_03_16.pinPos = ”cServoPwr”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_03_16.pinNeg = ”cTransmitPwr”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_04_17.lRS422 = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_04_17.iTerm = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_04_17.pinPos = ”cReset”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_04_17.pinNeg = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_05_18.lRS422 = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_05_18.iTerm = 1
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_05_18.pinPos = ”sPWidth[0]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_05_18.pinNeg = ”sPWidth[1]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_06_19.lRS422 = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_06_19.iTerm = 1
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_06_19.pinPos = ”sRadiate”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_06_19.pinNeg = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_07_20.lRS422 = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_07_20.iTerm = 1
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_07_20.pinPos = ”sServoPwr”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_07_20.pinNeg = ”sTransmitPwr”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_08_21.lRS422 = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_08_21.iTerm = 1
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_08_21.pinPos = ”sReset”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_08_21.pinNeg = ””
# Two RS–422 Tx/Rx chips on J3
#
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_09_22 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J3_10_23 = ””
# Seven IO62 line pairs on J9
#
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_01_14.lRS422 = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_01_14.iTerm = 1
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_01_14.pinPos = ”sWavegpFlt”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_01_14.pinNeg = ”sAirflowFlt”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_02_15.lRS422 = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_02_15.iTerm = 1

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splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_02_15.pinPos = ”sInterlockFlt”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_02_15.pinNeg = ”sMagCurrentFlt”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_03_16.lRS422 = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_03_16.iTerm = 1
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_03_16.pinPos = ”sLocal”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_03_16.pinNeg = ”sStandby”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_04_17.lRS422 = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_04_17.iTerm = 1
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_04_17.pinPos = ”sLowerEL”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_04_17.pinNeg = ”sUpperEL”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_05_18.lRS422 = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_05_18.iTerm = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_05_18.pinPos = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_05_18.pinNeg = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_06_19.lRS422 = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_06_19.iTerm = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_06_19.pinPos = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_06_19.pinNeg = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_07_20.lRS422 = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_07_20.iTerm = 0
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_07_20.pinPos = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J9_07_20.pinNeg = ””
# Relays and relay drivers on J6
#
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J6_IntRelay1 = ”cPWidth[0]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J6_IntRelay2 = ”cPWidth[1]”
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J6_IntRelay3 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J6_ExtRelay1 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J6_ExtRelay2 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J6_ExtRelay3 = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J6_ExtRelay4 = ””
# BNC testpoint monitors
#
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J13_BNC = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J16_BNC = ””
# BNC trigger drivers direct from IO62 PCI card.
# Special signals ’trigger[8:1]’ may also be used here.
#
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J14_BNC = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J15_BNC = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J17_BNC = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J18_BNC = ””
# RS232 TTY transmitters/Receivers from IO62
#
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.TTY0_Tx = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.TTY1_Tx = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.TTY0_Rx = ””
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.TTY1_Rx = ””
# ––––––––––––––––––– IO62 Slot #1 –––––––––––––––––––
#
splConfig.Io62[1].lInUse = 0
# ––––––––––––––––––– IO62 Slot #2 –––––––––––––––––––
#
splConfig.Io62[2].lInUse = 0
# ––––––––––––––––––– IO62 Slot #3 –––––––––––––––––––
#
splConfig.Io62[3].lInUse = 0

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softplane. conf organization and syntax

The softplane.conf file is used to define every I/O pin on every connector, on the PCI cards
themselves and on the connector panel. There are two primary definitions that are made for each
pin:

Physical interface- the electrical properties (RS422 output, analog input, TTL
output, etc.).

Logical interface- The internal variable name that is associated with each pin.
With this in mind, we can describe the syntax of the file.

“#” at the beginning of a line indicates a comment. These are used for internal
documentation and if you make changes you should comment them, for example
# TTL I/O on J7
#
# Modification by REP on 2 Apr 03
# Added new interlock input on connector panel J7 pin07
...

The top part of the file provides a list of internal variables names that are used to
define the logical interface to the softplane. These are divided into status inputs
(also called indicators) and control outputs (also called requests). For example,
sPedAZ0 corresponds to the LSB of a digital azimuth angle relative to the
antenna pedestal. The tables on the next page provide a summary of the available
status and control variable names.
Important: This table is subject to change

Each definition line in the file starts with the keyword text:

# splConfig...

The first un-commented line of the file indicates the version of the IRIS support
software that was last used to machine–generate the file. This is an information
only field for traceability purposes and is thus not edited. In the example we have
this shown as:

# splConfig.sVersion = ”7.32”

In any event, on the TTL connectors (J1, J2, J4, J5, J7) each of these connectors must be
exclusively used for INPUT (s vars) or OUTPUT (c vars). You can not mix these on an
individual connector.

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Table 1–3: Summary of softplane.conf Status and Control Bits

Control Output Meaning/Interpretation

cPedAZ[15:0] 16 bits of antenna azimuth angle relative to the pedestal (fixed base system)
cPedEL[15:0] 16 bits of antenna elevation angle relative to the pedestal (fixed base system)
cEarthAZ[15:0] 16 bits of antenna azimuth angle relative to the earth (moving platform)
cEarthEL[15:0] 16 bits of antenna elevation angle relative to the earth (moving platform)
cServoPwr To control servo power on
cCabinetRelay To control a relay signal
cTransmitPwr Request transmit power on
cPWidth[3:0] Request one of four pulse widths
cTrigBlank Trigger blanking signal
cRadiateOn Request radiate on
cRadiateOff Request for radiate off
cReset Request a reset of external equipment
cIrisMode[2:0] Request the application software (e.g., IRIS) to switch to 1 of 8 operating modes.
cAux[63:0] Arbitrarily assigned output requests
true Internal logic variable
false Internal logic variable

Status Input Meaning/Interpretation

sPedAZ[15:0] 16 bits of antenna azimuth angle relative to the pedestal (fixed base system)
sPedEL[15:0] 16 bits of antenna elevation angle relative to the pedestal (fixed base system)
sServoPwr Servo power on indicator
sLocal Antenna local mode indicator, usually tied to an external local/remote switch.
sStandby Radar ready to radiate indicator
sLowerEL Lower limit switch indicator
sUpperEL Upper limit switch indicator
sTransmitPwr Transmitter cabinet power on indicator
sTransmitLocal Transmitter local mode indicator, usually tied to an external local/remote switch.
sPWidth[3:0] Indicator of the current pulse width
sTrigBlank Indicator that trigger blanking is requested, usually from an external source.
sRadiate Radiate on indicator
sAirflowFlt Cooling airflow fault indicator
sWavegpFlt Wave guide pressure fault indicator
sInterlockFlt Master interlock fault indicator
sMagCurrentFlt Transmitter overload fault indicator
sReset Request for reset coming from external source
sIrisMode[2:0] Information on which operating mode is active in the application software
sAux[319:0] Arbitrary status indicators

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Next, each piece of hardware is identified as being either in use or not in use.

splConfig.Io62[0].InUse = 1 if in use
splConfig.Io62[0].InUse = 0 if unused or not installed

Currently, the I/O-62 is the only I/O device supported by the softplane.

The method of connecting to the I/O-62 is specified next, for example:

splConfig.Io62[0].sExtPanel = ”DIRECT”

Currently, the options are:

Type of Connection softplane
Descriptor
Direct connect to I/O-62 via 62 pin connector DIRECT
I/O-62 Connector Panel (used for RVP8 and RCP8) IO62CP
WSR88D connector panel, RVP8 portion RVP88D
WSR88D connector panel, RCP8 portion RCP88D

The assignments for each connector and each pin are then made. For
convenience, these are usually grouped together by connector. For example let’s
say that , Pin 1 of connector J1 on the I/O-62 connector panel is assigned to be
the LSB of the input azimuth angle, i.e.,

# TTL/CMOS on J1
#
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin01 = ”sPedAZ[0]”
...

The notation ”” indicates that no assignment is made.
# BNC testpoint monitors
#
splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J13_BNC = ””

In the example above the “pin name” is J13_BNC.

Putting a ~ in front of a logic variable inverts the variable.

splConfig.Io62[0].Opt.Cp.J1.pin03 = ”~sPedAZ[2]”

Check in the /usr/sigmet/config_template/init directory for other examples of softplane

configurations.

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1.12 Testing, Backup, and Calibration

After software installation and before calibration, it is possible to check performance
and detect errors in the installation. If DSP calibrations are off, radar data may not be
available.

1.12.1 Ascope Test (RVP8 Installations ONLY)

Run the ascope utility by typing ascope. This serves as an overall test of the signal
processor. See the Utilities Manual for details. If the displayed PRF does not match
what is requested, the processor type may be set incorrectly. Be careful with high
PRFs because the pulse width control may not be working yet.

1.12.2 Antenna Test (RCP Installations ONLY)

Run the Antenna utility by typing antenna. It should be able to control the
position and speed of the antenna as documented in the Utilities Manual.

1.12.3 IRIS Test (IRIS systems ONLY)

As a final test, run IRIS and schedule a simple task that moves the antenna, runs the
signal processor, and generates a PPI product. Be sure to check for messages in the
message menu. Normal startup should produce no messages.

1.12.4 Print Special Files

Because every system is customized on installation, it is desirable to save the work
that was done at installation time, in case it needs to be repeated. Our
recommendation is to print the Setup listing file generated by the all command.

1.12.5 Make a Full Backup

You should backup your system on a regular basis. This is the only way to restore
your disk if data are lost. For HP systems follow the system backup procedures
recommended by these manufacturers. In addition, the sigbru utility can be used for
auxiliary backup. Linux customers can use the backup procedure recommended by
Red Hat or can use the sigbru utility for complete backup and restore. Sigbru is
described in Appendix D.

1.12.6 DSP Calibration (RVP Installations ONLY)

Below is a list of the calibrations for the signal processor in the suggested order.
Next to each is the name of the utility program that can help perform the calibration.
How to perform each calibration is described in the IRIS/RDA Utilities Manual.

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1. Calibration of Reflectivity. (zauto)

2. Calibration of the dual-pol LDR Offset. (suncal)
3. Calibration of the dual-pol ZDR Offset. (zdrcal)

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