IRIS input setups

IRIS allows you to configure up to 16 input devices. Each input is a separate process watching a special directory looking for files to arrive. When a file arrives, the process invokes a conversion program, and adds the resulting data to the IRIS product inventory.

The netCDF and HDF5 input pipes require 16-bit data.

Number of input devices

Enter the number of inputs you wish to configure for your system. The maximum number supported is 16.

Menu alias

Enter a name for this input.

Pipe program name

Enter the name of a conversion program run when a file arrives.

IRIS checks for this program in the ${IRIS_PIPES} directory.

If you enter a blank name here, then it is assumed files are in IRIS product format, and are directly inserted into the inventory after byte swapping.

Source directory

Enter the directory to monitor for files.

Each input channel must have a separate directory. At startup, all files found in the directory are deleted. The input process then checks every few seconds for files. If it finds a file with the same size as last time, it runs the pipe conversion program and deletes the file.

All files starting with a "." are ignored. If you are copying between computers you should use "rename notification". In that scheme, the file is first copied to a temporary filename starting with at ".". After the slow copy is completed, the file is renamed to the final name. This prevents the input from reading a partial file. If the filename ends with .gz then gunzip is applied before processing. If the file name with .Z, uncompress is applied.

The following table shows the input pipes supplied with the IRIS system You may also choose to write your own. For more information, see the Antenna utility section of IRIS Programming Guide (M212927EN).

Supported IRIS input pipes
Name Supported product types Supported data types Syntax Purpose
Archive2toIris RAW Z, V, W
BMPSatToIris USER None (Image RGB or Grey Scale) Pipe Converts satellite image to IRIS USER product.
BufrToIris PPI, CAPPI, TOPS, MAX RAIN1, RAINN V, W, ZDR, LDRh, Rain Rate, RAIN Pathnames Converts WMO BUFR format to IRIS cartesian products using OPERA guidelines
HDF5ToIris Pathnames

Converts NORAD HDF5 file to an IRIS product.

The pipe is no longer officially supported.
IMDSatToIris Pathnames

Converts India Meteorological Department (IMD) satellite data from HDF5 format to an IRIS product.

The pipe is no longer officially supported.
hdf52iris RAW Pathnames

Converts OPERA HDF5 file to an IRIS RAW product.
HDFSatToIris USER Pathnames Converts HDF4 satellite image to an IRIS USER product.
KmaRadToIris CAPPI Pipe Converts an array to an IRIS CAPPI product.
KmaSatToIris USER Pipe Converts satellite image to IRIS USER product.
KnmiHDF5ToIris Pathnames
odimhdf52pb Converts ODIM HDF5 2.4 polar data to IRIS Focus protobuf format.
odimhdf52raw Converts ODIM HDF5 2.4 polar data to IRIS Raw format.
pb2raw Converts IRIS Focus protobuf format to IRIS Raw format.
PBMSatToIris USER Pathnames Converts a PBM, PGM, or PPM satellite image to an IRIS USER product.
PictureToIris IMAGE None (Image RGB or Grey Scale) Pathnames Converts, for example, TIFF files to IRIS IMAGE product.
RainbowToIris RAW T, Z, V, W, ZDR, Pathnames

Converts Gematronik Rainbow format to an RAW product.

The pipe is no longer officially supported.
UfToIris RAW T, Z, Zc, V, w, SQI, ZDR, PhiDP, KDP, RhoHV, LDRh, LDRv Pathnames Converts UF format to IRIS RAW product.

Command line syntax

Use one of the following options to determine how IRIS runs the pipe program:

  • Pipe:

    pipe-pathname input-filename <input-pathname >outputpathname

  • Pathnames:

    pipe-pathname ip:input-pathname if:input-filename op:output-pathname

Notification scheme

Use one of the following options to determine how IRIS detects that a new file has arrived:

  • Polling:

    IRIS checks every few seconds to see if a new file has arrived. If the file size is the same as last time it checked, then the file is processed.

  • TCP/IP Socket:

    IRIS expects to receive a socket message on the specified port number every time a file arrives. This allows immediate input without the delays due to a polling period.

    The socket message syntax is the same as for a normal IRIS network receiver, that is FILE followed by the filename and a null.