SeaNet
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operations faqs


Operations FAQs
  1. What are the normal Steps to do for BatchXFR?
  2. The BatchXFR didn't fully complete ...what should I do?
  3. The link won't come up, why? and what should I do?
  4. The Nera handset is frozen, what should I do?
  5. SNR is poor quality, what should I do?
  6. What are DataPipes and how do they work?
  7. What is a SpecialDataPipe?
  8. What is CdevInfo and when should I use it?
  9. I get 'data not available' when I press CdevInfo, why?
  10. The Cdev Info does not return anything, it times out. What should I do?
  11. The heading on the CdevInfo is not right, what do I do?
  12. Navigation is not being displayed on CdevInfo properly, what do I do?
  13. What's SNR and what is considered a good SNR value for BHSD
  14. How do I select the BHSD carriers - ie; Comsat/Station12?
  15. What is a bad heading and how do I know where these are?
  16. How is my email system integrated?
  17. How do I look at the current accounting reports?
  18. Who should I contact if I have trouble?
  19. How do I safely shutdown the computer system?
  20. At the end of a cruise, how does the SCN Operator reset all the DataPipes and interactive users?
  21. Received Warning: no pipe control files for Clink BHSD. Is this just FYI or is there a problem?



  1. What are the normal Steps to do for BatchXFR?

    From the operators menu in the lower-left frame,
    1. Collect Outbound Data
    2. BatchXFR to bringup BatchXFR popup window
    3. CdevInfo - Check for good SNR and verify good Heading
    4. Initiate batch xfr with BatchXFR button and monitor the connection.
      When the State is UP (green) monitor the Elapsed-time, bps, and cost in the Clink status window. The bottom-right frame contains all the log information for the transfers. Click in the frame and use the down- arrow key to scroll down during the transmission.
    5. When the transfer has completed and the State is DOWN, you should check the log in the lower-right window. Also for BHSD, verify that the red-lights on the datacom switch unit are off.
    6. Check the Inbox to see if any messages were received at the ship, and press Distribute Inbound Data if needed. [Back to top]

  2. The BatchXFR didn't fully complete and the State says dormant, what should I do?

    If the batch transfer did not fully complete, you need to Manually BringDown the link by clinking the Manually: BringDown button on the BatchXFR popup window. It's important that whenever you leave the system, the State is DOWN and the red-lights on the datacom switch unit are off. [Back to top]
  3. The link won't come up, why? and what should I do?

    There are several possible reasons for this. Assuming that the SNR is good and you're in a good heading region, you should check the logs on the Nera handset. There's also the possibility that the NERA has locked-up and the handset is frozen (refer to The nera handset is frozen, what do I do?). If this occurs, please report it to SeaNet Services and list the time, SNR, heading, ocean region, and any other pertinent information that may help us solve this. It's a good idea to press Manual: Shutdown any time the link doesn't come up or shutdown successfuly. Always make sure that when you leave the SCN system that the state is OFF and the red lights on the datacom switch unit are off. [Back to top]
  4. The Nera handset is frozen, what should I do?

    We have seen this on many of the ships and it has been reported. Unfortunately, the only solution at this time is to power-cycle the Nera below-deck equipment. If this occurs, please report it to SeaNet Services and list the time, SNR, heading, ocean region, and any other pertinent information that may help us solve this (eg; what other equipment was on, shore power, etc.). Note that it will take quite a while to re-acquire the satellite. If you know the az/el settings, you can manually point the satellite which may save some time. [Back to top]
  5. SNR is poor quality, what should I do?

    First verify that you are in the proper ocean region for your location by looking at the Nera Satellite Coverage map. Second, verify that you are not within a bad heading region. A bad heading region is where a particular heading would cause an obstruction such as the mast to block the line of sight to the satellite. If you are on a bad heading, you have the option of either waiting until the ship goes to a different heading, or depending on where you are located, you may have the option of selecting another satellite. You can also set the handset to coninuously monitor the SNR. [Back to top]
  6. What are DataPipes and how do they work?

    DataPipes use a simple concept of associating a directory on a ship's computer to a directory on a computer on the Internet. DataPipes are one-directional with one directory identified as the input source directory and the other as the output destination. You can define several datapipes, with some being destined for shore and others defined as incoming datapipes to the ship. The datapipes are quite efficient and work as follows: Before a batchXFR, the operator presses Collect Outbound Data. All data for all the DataPipes are collected and packaged together in the Outbox Queue (for any ship-bound DataPipes, the request to get data along with a control-file is placed in the Outbox Queue). When the operator presses BatchXFR, the files in the Outbox Queue on the ship are transferred to the NIC's Inbox and the link is shutdown. The NIC unpackages the DataPipes and distributes the data within the DataPipes to the appropriate destination as specified in the each DataPipes' control file. For incoming (shipbound) DataPipes, the NIC retrieves data from the source directory specified in the control file and queues it in the NIC's Outbox to the ship. On the next connection, the ship will pick-up the data as well as send any shore-bound data in parallel. The standard DataPipes decouple any potential Internet latency (and machines being down, etc.) from the satellite communications which is quite costly. There is a built-in latency, however, for Incoming DataPipes since they will be picked up on the next transmission. For regular operations with several transmissions daily and for regular pickup of science data, this latency usually won't be an issue. For email however, where latency is an issue, a SpecialDataPipe should be used. [Back to top]
  7. What is a SpecialDataPipe?

    SpecialDatapipes are a mechanism designed to reduce latency for incoming DataPipes to the ship, and is especially useful for email systems. A SpecialDataPipe bypasses the central SeaNet facility and connects directly to the source computer on shore defined in the DataPipe. Currently only one directional SpecialDataPipes are supported, shore->ship. These should be used with descrection and should be setup with SeaNet technical support personnel. They provide no mechanism for packaging or compressing files and will be inefficient for individual small file transfers. Any Internet latency or connecting issues that occur will effect satellite transmission duration and cost. [Back to top]
  8. What is CdevInfo and when should I use it?

    CdevInfo is a button on the BatchXFR, InteractiveIP, and WebMirror popup windows. You should make sure that the Clink is set correctly before pressing CdevInfo. When pressed, it returns the Clink communications device information for the specified Clink. For BHSD, it will return information include Nav position, SNR, heading, az, el, etc. CdevInfo should be used before each transmission, and items such as SNR and heading should be verified. [Back to top]
  9. I get 'data not available' when I press CdevInfo, why?

    The SCN collects statistics about the antenna system every 15minutes and it uses the same mechanism that CdevInfo uses. If you press CdevInfo at the same time the system is gathering statistics (currently on a 15minute boundary), then you will get 'data not available' since the Nera unit is busy handling the other request. [Back to top]
  10. The Cdev Info does not return anything, it times out. What should I do?

    This is an indication that something is either wrong with the serial connection to the Nera unit, or perhaps that the Nera unit locked-up and the handset is frozen (see The nera handset is frozen, what do I do?). If the nera handset is fine (accepts button presses), check the lights on the datacom switch. You should see some red lights go on when Cdev is pressed and they should go off once the CdevInfo is displayed. If they are solid, flashing, or in some unknown state, you may have to power-cycle the Nera unit. Otherwise, check cables and reboot the computer if necessary (make sure you do a graceful shutdown first). [Back to top]
  11. The heading on the CdevInfo is not right, what do I do?

    On systems where the heading source is NMEA, there is a known NERA software bug in which the computer output fed to CdevInfo is not correct. In either case, you should verify that the heading on the handset is correct and report the situation to SeaNet services. If the handset is not correct, then you have a hardware configuration problem and you should ask SeaNet services for assistance. [Back to top]
  12. Navigation is not being displayed on CdevInfo properly, what do I do?

    This is a hardware problem and should be reported to SeaNet Services. [Back to top]
  13. What's SNR and what is considered a good SNR value for BHSD

    SNR is the signal to noise ratio and is measured on the Nera BHSD antenna system. The rule of thumb is that >500 is a reasonable number, however, SeaNet is gathering the antenna statistics and is looking at these more closely to evaluate SNR and performance. You can monitor the SNR continuously via the handset which can be useful to show if the SNR is jumping all over the place. [Back to top]
  14. How do I select the BHSD carriers - ie; Comsat/Station12?

    The BHSD carrier can be selected by the Clink pull-down menu on the BatchXFR, Interactive IP, and WebMirror popup windows. BHSD-001 is Comsat and BHSD-012 is Station12. [Back to top]
  15. What is a bad heading and how do I know what the bad heading regions are?

    A bad heading region is where a particular heading would cause an obstruction such as the mast to block the line of sight to the satellite. If you are on a bad heading, you have the option of either waiting until the ship goes to a different heading, or depending on where you are located, you may have the option of selecting another satellite. For each ship, SeaNet intends to provide a bad-heading diagram which will identify bad heading ranges at-a-glance for your current location. [Back to top]
  16. How is my email system integrated?

    This has been done on a customized basis for each ship depending on its custom email system. All systems integrated with the SCN are based on DataPipes. If you are interested in using SeaNet with your current email system, please contact SeaNet services. [Back to top]
  17. How do I look at the current accounting reports?

    Under the operator's menu click on View Accounting Report. [Back to top]
  18. Who should I contact if I have trouble?

    First check any documentation on-ship, otherwise contact SeaNet services at SeaNet.Service@seanet.int and/or submit a trouble report. Additionally, there are phone numbers for the SeaNet support staff in the SCN documentation. [Back to top]
  19. How do I safely shutdown the computer system?

    Standard Unix procedures. Refer to the shipboard documentation. [Back to top]
  20. At the end of a cruise, how does the SCN Operator reset all the DataPipes and interactive users?

    From the SCN main menubar (upper-left window), press Utilities. From the Utilities menu, press New Cruise. The New Cruise form will appear in the bottom-right window. If you wish to archive all log files for the previous cruise, enter an Archive name (e.g., atlv3l22). Press the New Cruise button to reset DataPipes, Interactive Users, and Scheduler Tasks to the standard configuration plus any customized installation specific configurations. This will also archive all log files assuming bypass archiving is not selected. [Back to top]
  21. Received Warning: no pipe control files for Clink BHSD. Is this just FYI or is there a problem?

    The following is a sample of the warning message you may get when you Distribute Inbound Data:     
    

  "Warning: no pipe control files for Clink BHSD 
   2000/06/26 15:41:38 GMT Total Ftp 0 bytes in 2 secs (0 bytes/sec)"

    In general this should not happen (but obviously can). The upshot is that there may be files sitting in your InBox without knowing where to go. For instance if an Info message or a reply to a trouble message is sent you, it would show up in your InBox with no destination (which makes sense since you would just read the message and dispose of it appropriately). So when you try to distribute your inbound data, if it has no idea what to do with the file(s), it gives you that warning. Look at your InBox queue and see what files are there. If they are messages or data files sent from the SeaNet shore-based support, then you will need to manually move them, view them, or delete them as appropriate. It is possible that you could have a file or directory present that has the control missing for some reason (perhaps arrived from a SpecialDataPipe). In those cases, it should automatically clear itself on the next successful cycle of Collected Outbound Data, Batch Transfer, and Distribute Inbound Data. It may also be possible that there's an empty sub-directory tree (directory with no files underneath it). If it's an empty tree, just delete it using the web interface. [Back to top]