# Presentation: 924304

## NAEFS Operational Data Delivery Challenges

***WHERE AMERICA’S CLIMATE AND WEATHER SERVICES BEGIN***

- Brent Gordon
- NCEP Central Operations

## Topics

- Status of current data exchange
- Future concerns for data exchange among centers
- Future concerns for data delivery to end customers
- GRIB2 possibilities

## Current Data Exchange

- NCEP is delivering IOC data sets to NWS FTP servers twice per day (2 GB/cycle) for CMC to download.
- CMC access to these data is over non operational data lines (i.e. Internet).
- Significant latencies in data access have been observed and traced back to NWS server load.
- NWS TOC, CMC, and NCEP are meeting this Friday to discuss options to alleviate these latencies.

## Current Data Exchange

- CMC is providing IOC data set on CMC server once per day (1.25 GB) for NCEP to download.
- NCEP access to these data is over non operational data lines (i.e. Internet).
- Considered “Data of opportunity”.
- 96.6% on-time availability since 22 June 2004.
- On-time defined as available at NCEP by 08 UTC.

## Future Concerns for Data Exchange Among Centers

- Current use of internet for IOC data distribution appears to be working for NCEP.
- Some issues exist for CMC access to NCEP IOC data.
- Working with NWS TOC to address these now.
- Internet will not be viable solution at Final Operational Implementation (FOI) in 2008.
- Operational networks are needed long before FOI.

## Future Concerns for Data Exchange Among Centers

- Operational network solutions are being investigated now.
- Current system requires a dedicated 5 Mbit per second capacity to deliver 2 GB of data within one hour latency.
- Network must be expandable to accommodate future growth of global ensembles.

## Slide 7

## Future Concerns for Data Exchange Among Centers

- Data compression will help with some of today’s issues, but there is a fear that projected growth will quickly overcome any short term benefit.
- Solution needs to accommodate ALL data exchange requirements, not just model data.
- Recommend that existing operational communication lines between CMC and NWS should be upgraded to address all of these requirements.
- These issues must also be considered as other operational processing centers join this effort.

## Future Concerns for Data Delivery to End Customers

- We know that communication links between our centers are currently limited.
- Communication capabilities to end users are even more constrained.
- NWS Forecast Offices currently limited to equivalent T-1 access for model data.
- Private users of NWS data can obtain guaranteed T-1 access to NWS servers (For a Fee)
- All other users limited to internet and NWS server capabilities

## Future Concerns for Data Delivery to End Customers

- NWS is actively working on expanding the bandwidth for its forecast offices and private users.
- This will accommodate some of the general growth of model data expected over the next 4-6 years
- Space for raw ensemble data will still be limited

## Slide 11

## Future Concerns for Data Delivery to End Customers

- Limited bandwidth to end users requires that the NAEFS development team work to create products that are compact and yet still meaningful.
- Will require education for the end users on how to use these products.
- Also requires a change in the mindset that the forecaster needs access to every ensemble member.