Earthworm Modules:
Wave_serverV Overview

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Wave_serverV Startup
• Shutting down Wave_serverV
• Configuration Changes Be sure to read this general discussion before you look at specific procedures.
  • Adding Tanks
  • Deleting Tanks
  • Changing SCNL
  • Changing Pin Number
  • Changing Sample Rate
  • Changing Record Size
  • Changing Tank Size
  • Changing Tank Installation and Module ID
  • Changing Index File Size
  • Changing Tank File Name
  • Changing Structure File Name
  • Changing Number of Index Files
  • Changing Number of Structure Files
  • Changing How Asynchronous Data is Handled
  • Changing Other Configuration Parameters
• Wave_serverV Tools
• Protocol Notes
• Wave_serverV History
• Troubleshooting

Introduction

This is the latest version of Wave_server as of Earthworm version v7.0. It is based on the original Wave_server. It supports the SCNL protocol and process TYPE_TRACEBUF2 messages; it is not backward compatible to SCN.

Wave_serverV provides a network-based service of trace data. It acquires Earthworm trace data messages for specified channels, and maintains a disk-based circular buffer for each channel. It then offers a network service capable of supplying specified portions of trace data from specified channels. The basic features include:

* Up to 10 concurrent clients can be serviced. This limit may be changed to suit the available hardware resources.

* The size of the disk-based buffer is user-specified, up to 2 gigabytes per trace (approximately approximately 100 days, assuming 100 SPS, 16 bit data).

* The module serves either 'sanitized' trace data in ASCII format, suitable for 'casual' purposes such as visual displays, or raw binary data containing all information (and flaws) as received from the telemetry source.

* Several crash-recovery strategies are used to permit rapid restarts with minimal loss of data after catastrophic crashes, such as system errors or power loss.

* Extensible client-server protocol to permit additional queries to be easily implemented.

* A set of client routines are available to simplify implementing client applications.

* Handles interruptions of trace data without wasting disk space. Event data from highly intermittent sources of event data will not be overwritten by long periods of quiesence.

Wave Server Startup

When wave_serverV first starts up, it reads the configuration file, and then starts a three-stage process of opening and checking tank and index files. In the first stage, it reads one of the `tank structure' files (an *.str file) if they exist. If no tank structure files are found, wave_serverV proceeds to the second stage, below.

Wave_serverV assumes that the tank structure file has the most up-to-date information about existing tank files (*.tnk) and their indexes (*.inx), especially tank file size, record size, and tank insertion position. This last crucial bit of information tells the `starting point' in the tank. Data just behind this point is the most recent information in the tank. Data after the insertion point is the oldest and will be overwritten as new data is added to the tank in circular fashion.

The server runs through the list of tanks from the structure file, verifying that each SCNL is listed in the config file. The one piece of information that wave_serverV takes from the config file in this stage is the index file size. Wave_serverV tries to open each the tank file and its index. If index files are missing or out of date, they are recreated by reading through the tank file. Depending on the amount of reconstruction needed for an index, this process may take several minutes for each tank. Note that there is no provision for checking the insertion point, read from the structure file, against the tank file.

If the tank and index files are read successfully, then that tank is marked as OK. If there are errors opening these files for a tank, then one of two things may happen. If ReCreateBadTanks is set, then new (empty) tank and index files are created using the information from the tank structure file. If ReCreateBadTanks is not set, then that tank is marked as BAD for later disposition. Once this loop has been completed for all the tanks listed in the structure file, stage one is complete.

For stage two of the startup sequence, wave_serverV scans the list of tanks in the config file. Any tanks that were not already found in the structure file will be created using the parameters listed in the config file. Any SCNLs added to the config file since wave_serverV was last run will be created now. If any errors are encountered creating new files here, that tank will be marked as BAD. Since the config file does not list the insertion point, any data that is in existing tank files for this SCNL will be effectively erased.

For the final stage of startup, wave_serverV goes through its internal list of tanks. Any that were marked as BAD previously now come to light. If PleaseContinue is set, wave_serverV will remove that tank from its internal list. Otherwise, wave_serverV will exit now.

Once this third pass is done, wave_serverV writes its internal list to the structure file and starts adding traces to their respective tanks. Each new packet of trace data causes the current index entry for that tank to be extended in time and file position. If there is a gap between the end of a tank and the new trace data (determined by GapThresh in config file), a new index entry is started. Wave_serverV periodically writes the index and structure list to disk, to save the latest information in case of wave server crashes.

Shutting Down Wave_serverV

WindowsNT: this shutdown mechanism can be invoked in only one way: you must give the Control-C interrupt to the console window where wave_serverV is running. DO NOT try using `restart <pid>', as this will terminate wave_serverV immediately without sending a signal to it. Once wave_serverV has terminated and its console window is gone, you can start a new instance of wave_serverV by using `restart <pid>' or by letting statmgr send a restart request. This last method requires that the `restartMe' command was set in wave_serverV's .desc file.

Solaris: (unix) wave_serverV can be terminated using the `kill <pid>' command. To stop and immediately restart wave_serverV, you can use `restart <pid>'.

With earlier versions of wave_serverV (Earthworm V5.0 and earlier) the only way to shut down wave_serverV is to shut down earthworm, using the pau command or entering "quit" at the startstop window.

How to Make Configuration Changes

Be sure you understand how to restart wave_serverV. If you inadvertently shut down wave_serverV without letting it go through its normal shutdown sequence, you risk doing damage to the tank, index and structure files. In the following discussion, restart means a quick but graceful shutdown and startup of wave_serverV, using the method appropriate for your platform and wave_serverV version. When some action must be taken between wave_serverV shutdown and startup, that will be spelled out.

How do I:

• Add an SCNL (tank)? Just add a new Tank to the config file, restart wave_serverV, and the tank for the new SCNL will be created.

• Delete an SCNL? Delete the Tank line for that SCNL from the config file and shut down the wave_server. Delete (or move) the tank file and its associated index file(s). Then start the wave server.

• Change the Station/Component/Network of a tank? Since wave_serverV uses the Station, Component, Network, and Location (SCNL) names to uniquely identify trace data, a change to any one of these must be done by deleting the old SCNL and adding the new one. If there is useful data in the tank file for the old SCNL, you probably would want to keep the old SCNL in wave_serverV for a few days after you add the new one. Unless you have near the maximum allowed number of tank files or are running out of disk space, a tank file can be kept in wave_serverV indefinitely without having new data added to it.

• Change the pin number for a tank? Although pin numbers are (sometimes) recorded by wave_serverV and reported by getmenu, these numbers are not currently used by wave_serverV. So no special action is needed for wave_serverV when you change the pin number assigned to an SCNL.

• Change the sample rate for an SCNL? The sample rate is a critically important value that wave_serverV reads from the trace_buf messages it records. It uses this number for its conversions between time and sample number when wave_serverV responds to requests for trace data in ASCII format. So it is important not to mix trace data of different sample rates within one tank file. Usually, a change of sample rate will require a change in the component designation (such as is specified by Appendix A of the SEED manual); but this may not always be true.

• Change recsize (record size) of a tank? Wave_serverV considers a tank file to be made up of a sequence of records, all of them `recsize' bytes long. One of these records holds one trace_buf message. If you need to change the records size, you must get rid of the old tank file and the information for that tank in the structure file(s). You must shut down wave_serverV, remove the tank and index file(s) for that SCNL, and then start wave_serverV. That will remove the old information from the structure file(s). To get the new tank going with the new information, you change the recsize value in the config file, and then restart wave_serverV.

• Change tank file size? The tank file has a moving `starting point': as new data is added within the tank, old data is overwritten. So there is no way to extend the size of an existing tank. If you need to change the tank size, you must get rid of the old tank file and the information for that tank in the structure file(s). You must shut down wave_serverV, remove the tank and index file(s) for that SCNL, and then start wave_serverV. That will remove the old information from the structure file(s). To get the new tank going with the new information, you change the recsize value in the config file, and then restart wave_serverV.

• Change installation ID or module ID for a tank? The installation ID and module ID in the Tank command are used as filters to select which source module should be used for trace data. This information is stored in the tank structure file(s) for wave_serverV. There is currently no way to change this information without effectively destroying the information in the tank file. You must shut down wave_serverV, remove the tank and index file(s) for that SCNL, and then start wave_serverV. That will remove the old information from the structure file(s). To get the new tank going with the new information, you change the installation or module ID values in the config file, and then restart wave_serverV.

• Change index file size? The index file is always written in order, newest entry to oldest, so changing the file size is quite easy. Make the desired change in the config file and restart wave_serverV. If for some reason you are reducing the index file size, the oldest entries may get deleted. That will make any trace data to which those index entries refer inaccessible to wave_serverV. But it will not otherwise affect wave_serverV operation.

• Change tank file name or location? There is no way to change the name or location of an existing tank file. You must shut down wave_serverV, remove the tank and index file(s) for that SCNL, and then start wave_serverV. That will remove the old information from the structure file(s). To get the new tank going with the new information, you change the tank file name in the config file, and then restart wave_serverV.

• Change structure file name or location? The pathname of the structure file is recorded only in the configuration file, so changing it is possible. Make the change in the config file, shut down wave_serverV, move or rename the structure file to the desired location, and start wave_serverV. Make sure when you rename the structure file that it exactly matches the name that you give in the config file. Also note there is one command to name each of the structure files (if you are using two of them.)

• Change the number of index files? Changing the number of index files is simple: make the change to the config file and restart wave_serverV. If you have turned on redundant index files, new ones will be created for each tank. If you have turned off redundant index files, the second file for each tank will be ignored. But why would you want to do that?

• Change the number of structure files? There is no provision in wave_serverV to generate a structure file from existing tank tiles. If you need to add a redundant structure file, make the changes to the config file. This requires both setting RedundantTankStructFiles to 1, and specifying the name with TankStructFile2. Then shut down wave_serverV, copy the existing tank structure file to the new name, and start wave_serverV.

• Change How Asynchronous Data is Handled? Wave_serverV can now be configured to deal with asynchronous data. Data packets that overlap in the data stream can be buffered to a database file. As data is supplied to client applications this data can be resynchronized into the stream. There are a few configuration commands that can be used to control this behavior. To turn on this processing set UsePacketSyncDb to 1. The database name defaults to TB2PACKETS.SL3DB but path and filename may be specified with the PacketSyncDbFile setting. The packet database is purged occasionally during runtime, deleting any packets older than the oldest packet in the tanks. The PurgePacketSyncDb may be used to tell wave_serverV to purge the database on startup. These settings may be modified in the configuration file followed by restarting wave_serverV.

• Change any other wave_serverV parameter? All other wave_serverV configuration parameters not listed above may be changed using this procedure: make the change to the config file and restart wave_serverV.

Wave_serverV Tools

Three simple utilities are available to assist with wave_serverV problems. They basicly read the tank, index, and structure files and write out their contents in human-readable form.

• Inspect_tank will read a tank file, write out a summary of the contents similar to read_index, and optionally write a new index file. This can be used to generate a replacement index file off-line from wave_serverV. Usage is:

  
  inspect_tank [-g gap-size] rec-size tanksize tankfile-name
  
  

  The record size and tank file size should be exactly as they are given in the config file for that tank. If the -g option and a gap size are given they will be used to determine where gaps should be declared between trace data records. The default gap size is 1.5 sample intervals. By running inspect_tank repeatedly with different gapsize values, a profile of the gap history of the tank can be generated. Inspect_tank will prompt the user before writing a new index file; it selects the name that will not conflict with an existing index file name.

• Read_index will read an index file and write out a list of the index entries (start time, end time, and tank file offset.) Usage is:

  
  read_index [-g] indexfile-name
  
  

  The optional -g flag will change the output to a list of the gaps between index entries, giving the start time and length in seconds.

• Read_struct will read a tank structure file and write out its contents in a table. Usage is:

  
  read_struct structurefile-name
  
  

Protocol Notes

* The server is synchronous, in the sense that it receives a request, issues the corresponding reply, and then processes the next request. Since there may be several server threads, more than one client can be connected and requesting data at one time. The <request id> was implemented to assist asynchronous clients, such as clients which are so structured that the code issuing the requests is tightly linked to the code processing the requests, and thus has trouble remembering which reply goes with which request. It is generated by the client, and is simply echoed by the server. The request id is echoed as a fixed length 12 character string, null padded on the right as required.

* A client establishes a connection to a wave server by requesting a TCP connection on an agreed-upon address and port number. The client may issue as many requests as desired once the connection is made. The client may close the connection at any time to terminate the interaction.

* <s><c><n> is short-hand for site code, channel code, network id, and location code. The format is four space-separated ASCII strings.

* <flags> is currently used by the server to indicate special conditions. Currently three flags are used, but additional flags can be added as needed. Formally, it is:

<flags>:: F | F<letter>...<letter>

That is, it consists of the letter F followed by zero or more letters. A space terminates the <flags>. The bare letter F by itself means that the requested data was returned; there may be gaps in the data but it is up to the client to detect those. Currently "FR", "FL", and "FG" are implemented to indicate that the request totally missed the tank. "FL" means that the requested interval was before anything in the tank; "FR" means the requested interval was after anything in the tank. "FG" is used to indicate that the requested interval fell wholy within a gap in the tank.

* <datatype> is a two character code ala CSS. Currently, only i2, i4, s2, and s4 are implemented. i means Intel byte order; s means Sparc byte order; 2 and 4 meaning two- four-byte signed integer.

* All times are given as ASCII representations of floating point seconds since 1970.

* Currently most of the following reqeusts and replies are handled by the ws_clientII routines that are included in the libsrc part of the Earthworm source tree.

Requests and Responses

MENU: <request id>

<request id> pin# <s><c><n><l> <starttime> <endtime> <datatype> . . . . . pin# <s><c><n><l> <starttime> <endtime> <datatype> \n

MENUPIN: <request id> <pin#>

<request id> <pin#> <s><c><n> <datatype> <\n>

MENUSCNL: <request id> <s><c><n><l>

<request id> <pin#> <s><c><n> <datatype> <\n>

GETPIN: <request id> <pin#> <starttime> <endtime> <fill-value>

<request id> <pin#> <s><c><n><l> F <datatype> <starttime> <sampling rate>

sample(1) sample(2)... sample(nsamples) <\n> {the samples are ASCII}

If the requested time is older than anything in the tank, the reply is:

<request id> <pin#> <s><c><n><l> FL <datatype> \n

For the case when the requested interval is younger than anything in the tank, the reply is

<request id> <pin#> <s><c><n><l> FR <datatype> <youngest time in tank> <sampling rate> \n

GETSCN: <request id> <s><c><n><l> <starttime> <endtime> <fill-value>

A above, but for specified scnl name.

<request id> <pin#> <s><c><n><l> F <datatype> <starttime> <sampling-rate>

sample(1) sample(2)... sample(nsamples) <\n>

GETSCNLRAW: <request id> <s><c><n><l> <starttime> <endtime>

As above, but returns the trace data in the form in which it was circulating within the system. The original trace data ("TYPE_TRACEBUF2" messages) spanning the requested period will be returned in binary form. Only whole trace data messages will be supplied, so that the actual <starttime> may be older than requested, and the <endtime> may be younger than requested. The initial part of the reply is part ASCII as above, terminated by a "\n", following that are the binary "TYPE_TRACEBUF2" messages. The reply is terminated when the stated number of binary bytes have been sent:

<request id> <pin#> <s><c><n><l> F <datatype> <starttime> <endtime> <bytes of binary data to follow> \n <trace_buf msg> ... <trace_buf msg>

If the requested time interval is older than anything in the tank, the reply is:

<request id> <pin#> <s><c><n><l> FL <datatype> <oldest time in tank> \n

If the requested time interval is older than anything in the tank, the reply is:

<request id> <pin#> <s><c><n><l> FR <datatype> <youngest time in tank> \n

For the case when the requested interval falls completely within a data gap, the reply is:

<request id> <pin#> <s><c><n><l> FG <datatype> \n

HISTORY

Kent Lindquist then produced an enhanced version, including the idea of segmenting the tank into one partition for each trace. Since then, several authors were involved in wave_server development: Alex Bittenbinder wrote the main thread; Mac McKenzie wrote the parser of the client thread (server_thread.c); Eureka Young wrote the server routines; Dave Kragness pretty much re-wrote the main thread while implementing crash-recovery, and Pete Lombard produced the suite of associated client routines.

TROUBLESHOOTING