Setting up 'sister' servers with packages

Question:

What's the easiest way to set up sister servers?

Explanation:

For more information on sister servers see the FAQ entitled: Making data available to other LAS servers

With LAS v5.2 setting up sister servers has been greatly simplified. You can now use LAS 'packages' to create portable descriptions of the contents of an LAS server. These 'packages' can be installed at another site that wishes to present a user interface to the initial LAS.

Solution:

To enable 'sister' servers you must have servers 1, 2 and 3 already set up and running, each with their own datasets and XML configuration files. If server 1 wants to provide access to data from 2 and 3 then servers 2 and 3 must create 'packages' and server 1 must install these 'packages'.

LAS v5.2 comes with a script for creating and installing packages:

 lasxml/server/livepack.pl

Run this script with no arguments to receive the following instructions:

Usage:
 livepack.pl --install [--skip dnameexp [--skip dnameexp]]
 package_file [package_file] ...
 Install a LiveAccess package from file or URL package_file.
 --skip Don't install datasets with names matching regular expression
 dnameexp

 livepack.pl --uninstall package_name [package_name] ...
   Uninstall the package(s) with the given name(s).

 livepack.pl [--l] --list
   List the names of all installed packages
   --l long format (lists datasets in packages)

 livepack.pl --query package_file
   Lists all of the datasets in a package file

 livepack.pl --create [--full] package_file las_config_file
   Create a LiveAccess package in file package_file from LAS
   configuration file config_file. 
   --full create both a user interface server and data server

livepack.pl can be used to create a package file that, when installed,
   creates a LAS user interface server on the server where the package
   is installed. All data server requests from this user interface
   are forwarded to the server on which the livepack was created.

If the --full option is specified, then installation of a
   livepack will create both a user interface and a data server on
   the server where the package is installed. Note that a full
   package will only work if Ferret is used as the visualization program.
   Also note that a full package is less likely to run since educated
   guesses have to be made about what files to include in the
   package and these guesses may be wrong. Caveat emptor.

Jonathan Callahan: Jonathan.S.Callahan@noaa.gov
Last modified: April 16, 2002