Page 1© Crown copyright CBS Expert team on WIS-GTS (EC-CTS) April 2006 Tokyo, Japan Phil Chamberlain, The Met Office

The Met Office [UK] TCP/IP Status Report RTH & NMS connectivity from Exeter Message switching systems – Frost Message switching systems – Netlink Migration to TCP/IP Usage of WMO sockets Usage of File Naming Conventions Usage of FTP Procedures Usage of procedures Usage of internet IT Security issues

Page 3© Crown copyright CountryCityCircuitsProtocolInfrastructureType AustraliaMelbourneAlphanumeric GRIB T4 IP socketsFrame RelayRTH FranceToulouseAlphanumeric GRIB T4 FTPRMDCNRTH GermanyOffenbachAlphanumeric GRIB T4 FTPRMDCNRTH ItalyRomeAll dataFTPRMDCN/Interne t backup RTH Russian Federation MoscowAlphanumeric GRIB T4 FTPRMDCNRTH United States of America WashingtonAlphanumeric GRIB T4 IP SocketsFrame Relay/ISDN backup RTH RTH GTS connectivity from Exeter

Page 4© Crown copyright NMC GTS connectivity from Exeter CountryCityCircuitsProtocolInfrastructureType BelgiumBrusselsAlphanumeric GRIB T4 FTPRMDCNNMC CanadaMontrealAll dataIP Sockets/FTPFrame RelayNMC DenmarkCopenhagenAlphanumeric T4 IP socketsRMDCNNMC IcelandRejkyavikAlphanumeric GRIB T4 FTPRMDCNNMC IrelandDublinAll dataFTPRMDCNNMC NetherlandsDe BiltAll dataIP SocketsRMDCNNMC NorwayOsloAll dataIP SocketsRMDCNNMC PortugalLisbonAll dataFTPRMDCNNMC SpainMadridAlphanumeric GRIB T4 IP Sockets/FTPRMDCNNMC United KingdomReading (ECMWF) All dataFTPRMDCNBilateral

Page 5© Crown copyright Frost WMO Message Switching System WMO message switch Replacement for ageing TROPICS systems, in 2003 HP UNIX servers running HP-UX Active and Hot Stand-by set-up Synchronisation via 1Gbs -1 Fibre 100Mbs -1 to LAN for data transfers. Upgrading to 1Gbs -1 Corobor Messir-Comm software for WMO switching Nexor Mailer software for X.400 & SMTP functionality Growth 6-months ahead of system predictions – 8Gbytes output by Dec 2005

Page 6© Crown copyright Frost WMO Message Switching System

Page 7© Crown copyright Frost WMO Message Switching System

Page 8© Crown copyright Netlink FTP File Switch Non-WMO format file switch (high volume model data and satellite data) Dec Alpha DS15 servers running VMS Active and Hot Stand-by set-up 100Mbs -1 to LAN for data transfers In-House application for file switching Non WMO switch for Model & Sat products Switches fewer messages than Frost, but 10 times data volume. Upgrade completed Oct 2004 Project started to replace these (DEC VMS) systems.

Page 9© Crown copyright Netlink FTP File Switch – data volumes (main)

Page 10© Crown copyright Netlink FTP File Switch – data volumes (remote)

Page 11© Crown copyright Status – TCP/IP migration Status of migration to TCP/IP Complete for WMO links. A few remaining other X.25 links- NATS & SADIS X.25 to be removed in 2008 The rest of the X.25 connections to be removed during 2006/7 Internal X.400 messaging systems to be replaced this year

Page 12© Crown copyright Status – WMO sockets Status of usage of WMO sockets Of 33 GTS circuits, 13 are socket-based. Washington (3) Copenhagen (2) Madrid (1) De Bilt (1) Oslo (1) Melbourne (3) Montreal (2) In securing our message switch, the number of socket-based connections will reduce.

Page 13© Crown copyright Status – file naming convention Status of file naming conventions As described in the Frost connectivity guide, GTS data is batched and the batch filename will have the format.. Non-WMO format data transferred as files (typically large binary objects - model output & satellite data) from NETLINK to other WMO centres. File names are variable, user specified, and conform to VMS naming conventions. A example of NETLINK filenames can be found in the Meteo France circuit, where a filename of TTAAii_CCCC_YYGGgg.type is generated according to the Abbreviated Heading Line of the product.

Page 14© Crown copyright Status – FTP procedures Status of usage of FTP procedures FTP widely used internally & externally. Frost Messir Com application written by Corobor. NETLINK written & maintained internally. In both cases, temporary filenames are normally used when files are in transit. NETLINK being migrated this year to using AFD software developed by DWD, onto a Linux platform and using commodity hardware. AFD toolkit to be made widely available this year internally to form common data exchange processes.

Page 15© Crown copyright Status – procedures Status of usage of procedures (SMTP) is used internally to collect both land and sea-based observations. (SMTP) is used to disseminate a wide range of commercial products. (SMTP) is not used to communicate GTS data with other WMO centres.

Page 16© Crown copyright Status – Internet Status of usage of Internet Recently upgraded 40Mbps (which can flex to 100Mbps) link. Used as a primary means of dissemination to a number of customers. Used as a backup for a number of customers who have point-to-point links. VPN has been tested and our capability is being enhanced this year. The use of digital certificates and product signing is to be defined.

Page 17© Crown copyright Status – IT Security IT Security issues Our Message Switches sit in the heart of our network. Direct connection to them places them and the rest of the network under threat. As a result, we will be using staging-post servers in de-militarised zones (DMZs) to deliver to/collect from the customer. They can be configured to examine the data before it passes into the rest of our organisation, and will include virus checking. These staging-post servers will not be as WMO-intelligent as the message switches. As a result, it is likely that socket connectivity will be lost. Does anyone know of any off-the-shelf content checkers which understand WMO coded message forms?