One of the most pressing needs OpenIFS users face is to create initial conditions to start a model experiment. Until now such initial experiment data had to be requested by contacting OpenIFS support via email.
The OpenIFS Data Hub allows OpenIFS and IFS users to produce their own initial experiment data through a web-based application that triggers an automatic data generation process on our servers. The initial data files are produced using the exact same method as if the OpenIFS team had created the data. At the end of the process the user is provided with a download web link.
The Data Hub removes therefore the need to email the OpenIFS team at ECMWF and provides one common system that is available to both ECMWF staff and external OpenIFS users everywhere. Any initial data types that are currently not yet served by the Data Hub can be requested, as before, from the OpenIFS team by emailing openifs-support@ecmwf.int.
After the initial public release of the OpenIFS Data Hub, following a pilot scheme phase, we will explore possibilities to expand this data facility with additional functionality, for instance by offering a wider range of data types or by providing access to OpenIFS training data. Feedback from users will be very important for this.
The OpenIFS Data Hub can be accessed here: https://apps.ecmwf.int/webapps/openifs/
Note: Login credentials are required to use the Data Hub. During the current pilot phase only a limited number of username-password combinations will be accepted which are disseminated directly to test users. Please note that your generic ECMWF login credentials will not work at this time. |
After the initial user authentication you will reach the Data Hub's dashboard page which shows your data request history.
To submit a new request for initial data press the "New Request" button at the top of the page. This will open a new web page containing a data request form:
Data requests are submitted to the Hub by pressing the Submit button. Once this button has been pressed the data generation process can begin and the user returns to the request history dashboard page.
Some preliminary checking is done while entering the request data.
If the dashboard page is not shown after pressing the submit button check your input fields for any errors. |
Further consistency checks will be carried out once the request is submitted. Note that any user choices resulting in an unworkable data requests will be intercepted early in the process and the user request will be aborted.
A maximum data volume of 500,000 MB is permitted for a single request. Any requests exceeding this data volume will be aborted. For reference, an initial data request at the current operational grid resolution (Tco1279L137) for a single start date with 10 days forecast length has an (uncompressed) data volume of approximately 20,000 MB.
After submitting a request the dashboard page, showing the user's request history, is displayed again.
On the Details Page for a selected request the following information is shown:
At present the OpenIFS Data Hub is only accessible to a limited number of users. This is a new facility and we expect that it will need to be further improved. The present focus has been on developing a system with robust functionality in order to generate high quality initial experiment data in a consistent, traceable and reliable fashion.
We welcome feedback and suggestions for improvements from the early users. Of particular interest will be feedback of the following nature:
We encourage users to leave feedback by commenting on this Confluence page (these comments will be managed and from time to time removed) or by emailing openifs-support@ecmwf.int.
We thank all our users for their time in giving constructive feedback!