Receiving nodes use this to count the products in hourly bins, and the counts are forwarded to the UPC for comparisons with counts made at the source. This system appears to operate accurately and nonintruseively. It also is described in the Unidata WWW server. This means that most relay nodes will have had considerable experience as field test sites. A more detailed description of the rapid deployment plan is available via WWW 6 along with lists indicating the planned order of deployment 7 and the routing topology for Family of Services 8 and other data streams.
Hourly summaries showing the percentage of products delivered to each site also are available.
As noted earlier, this is truly a community endeavor. The IDD field test sites have been diligent and patient during a period of rapid change in both the LDM software and the programs for monitoring system performance. In particular, users at the top-level relay nodes have been involved in the test from the outset and have born the brunt of the problems. Current Unidata funding from the National Science Foundation Atmospheric Sciences Division supports the UPC, including subcontracts with data providers, and also offers periodic hardware grant opportunities for the participating universities. The Unidata Program Center is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and managed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.