ECMWF updated the default versions of its software packages and libraries used across on Atos HPCF and ECS as part of the regular update cycle.

Table of contents

Highlights

Software stack ready for IFS Cy49r1 operational upgrade

With the upcoming Implementation of IFS Cycle 49r1, this set of defaults is ready to handle the data produced.

Python 3.11 updated with earthkit

For our Python users, we now offer a more recent version of Python 3.11 with updated extra modules found on the previous default.

This Python installation is the first one that comes with earthkit, the new open-source Python project led by ECMWF, providing powerful tools for speeding up weather and climate science workflows by simplifying data access, processing, analysis, visualisation and much more. Note that this project is in the BETA stage of development. Please be aware that interfaces and functionality may change as the project develops.

Enhanced experience for the new ECMWF Jupyterhub service

This year we opened our new ECMWF Jupyterhub service at https://jupyterhub.ecmwf.int. to all users of our HPCF and ECS. While the old software stack is also supported, you will benefit from an updated Jupyter environment and tools. You can find more information about this new way of working on the HPCF and ECS in the ECMWF JupyterHub documentation pages.

Bundled ecCodes library in Python bindings by default

This installation will, by default, include the ecCodes binary library version 2.38.0 bundled with the Python bindings corresponding to the same version of ecCodes defined below. If you wish to revert to the previous behaviour, where the library used was selected from the user's environment (i.e. by loading the corresponding ecmwf-toolbox module), set the following environment variable before you import eccodes:

See ecCodes has a new binary Python wheel for more information.

ECMWF software improvements

There have been a number of bug fixes and improvements on our ECMWF software and libraries since our last default change in May 2024. See the September 2024 software release or the change logs for any of the packages below releases to learn about what is new.

How to use the new versions for testing BEFORE the update

The new versions of the software packages can be selected by using the nov24 tag in modules. For example:

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 will be able to revert to the old default versions. These can be selected with the commands:

Change list

The new version of the ECMWF Toolbox (ecmwf-toolbox module) is 2024.09.0.0, replacing 2024.04.0.0. This table summarises the changes in the version of the different packages within the bundle:

Besides ecmwf-toolbox, the following packages with their corresponding module also see their default changed:

module help python3/nov24

Please see the Release notes for full details of the changes implemented in each package.