MSS /public Data
/public Data Stored Before 05/96
NIMBUS data prior to 05/96 are stored on 8mm tape. These data may only be retrieved by operator request through GSD Help. Please be kind, and ask only for data you're sure you really need, as retrieving these data is very time-consuming.
/public Data Stored Before 06/00
NIMBUS data prior to 06/00 are stored on the UniTree/DSRS MSS, available via DSRS from the MSS root path '/ds'. NOAAPort and WSR88D data, saved by the FDR system, are available from the root path '/fdr'.
/public Data Stored Before 11/02
NIMBUS data prior to 11/02 are stored on the FileServ/VolServ MSS, available via the wrapper scripts from the MSS root path '/mss/ds' (technically '/mss1/ds'). NOAAPort and WSR88D data are available from the root path '/mss/fdr' (technically '/mss1/fdr').
Latest /public Data Stored
GSD ingests, processes, and generates a large amount of data contained in a large number of files, many of which need to be saved long-term. Over time, millions of files are produced. One of the limitations with current MSS technology is that the databases used to maintain these files' metadata become unwieldy once millions of files are asked to be managed. For example, performance in both the UniTree/DSRS and FileServ/VolServ MSSes degraded rapidly due to this behavior.
The only realistically way to deal with this is to limit how many files an MSS database handles. Moving to new MSS partitions periodically (as we've done when we moved to the StorNext MSS) is hardly an ideal method. Another is to migrate data saving further into the FDR system. As of 11/02, all /public data stored on the MSS are being stored via FDR. The MSS root path to access these data via the wrapper scripts is '/mss/fdr' (technically '/mss2/fdr'). Here, data are tarred up in batches.
For most data types, the mapping between the /public directory structure and the /mss/fdr directory structure is similar to the earlier /mss/ds structure. The mapping is not obvious for most gridded data, however. A GRIB viewer application may be used to help locate these data in their FDR locations.