This change is combined with the update on the default compiler stacks on our Cray HPCF. See 2017 Compiling environment upgrade on HPCs for more information
ECMWF is changing the default versions of its software packages and libraries used across all user platforms at the centre on the following dates:
| Platforms | Date |
|---|---|
| CCB | Wednesday 22 November 2017 11:00 - 11:30 UTC |
CCA ECGATE DESKTOPS LINUX CLUSTERS | Wednesday 29 November 2017 11:00 - 11:30 UTC |
Version changes
This table summarises the changes in the version of the different packages:
| Package | Default version | Release notes | Download page | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before | After | |||
| ecCodes | 2.1.0 | 2.5.0 | ecCodes Releases | |
| EMOSLIB | 4.4.7 | 4.5.2 | History of EMOSLIB changes | EMOSLIB Releases |
| Magics | 2.31.0 | 2.34.3 | Latest News | Magics Releases |
| Metview | 4.8.3 | 4.9.0 | Metview Releases Metview Bundle | |
| GRIB-API | 1.20.0 | 1.24.0 | GRIB-API Releases | |
| ODB API | 0.16.1 | 0.17.3 | Change history | ODB API Releases |
| ECFLOW | 4.5.0 | 4.7.1 | ecFlow Releases | |
| ECFS user documentation | 2.2.3 | 2.2.4 | - | - |
Please see the Release notes for full details of the changes implemented in each package.
The next defaults are tagged as "nov17" in modules. After the session the previous defaults will be tagged as "old"
How to use the new versions for testing BEFORE the update
The new versions of the software packages can be selected by using the nov17 tag in modules. For example:
module swap metview/nov17 module load Magics/nov17 module swap emos/nov17 module swap eccodes/nov17
How to revert to the old versions in case of problems AFTER the update
Users that experience problems with the new default software packages after the update of 10 May will be able to revert to the old default versions. These can be selected with the commands:
module swap metview/old module load Magics/old module swap emos/old module swap eccodes/old
Reverting to older versions of ecflow (for server only)
Ecflow 4.7.0 introduces a new file format for the checkpoint files, which is where ecflow keeps the state of the suites so it can recover from a failure or a server stop. This new version of ecflow can work with both formats, being able to load a checkpoint from an older version. However, it will always write out the checkpoints using the new format, so older versions of ecflow will not be able to read it.
if you need to revert your server to an older version once the new server has been used, you need to do the following:
- Stop the running new (>=4.7.0) server.
- With your ecflow server stopped, locate the checkpoint files, in ECF_HOME and move them aside with a different name.
- Start the old (<4.7.0) server, which will appear completely empty.
- Since the new format of the checkpoint uses de ecflow definition language, you can load it as if it was a normal suite, with ecflow_client --load checkpoint_name.