TO: All GCN Notice recipients RE: Automated Configuration Reporting DT: 05 Jan 2016 INTRODUCTION: The GCN system has been modified to automatically report your current configuration. It reports your configuration that is currently loaded and running within the GCN programs. You can select reporting daily, weekly, monthly, or none (the default). The report is sent a few minutes after UT_midnight (if daily is selected), or on Mondays (if weekly is selected, also just after midnight), or on the 1st of the month (if monthly selected, also midnight), or never (if none is selected). TWO WAYS TO SEE YOUR CONFIGURATIONS: In the past, you have been able to see your site's configuration (a) by looking at the copy posted every UT_midnight to the website http://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/sites2_cfg.html, or (b) using the config webpage http://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/config_builder.html with selections "2" or "3"; and these two capabilities will continue to exist. But since there is a delay of few hours to a couple days between when the sites2.cg file is changed and when it is reloaded into the running programs, you might be looking at the future configuration and think it was the currently running configuration. These new automated Configuration Reports of the as-running configuration will resolve that window when there is a difference. There is also the advantage that these Configuration Reports are automatically pushed to you; you do not have to manually pull them from the website. THIS IS DIFFERENT THAN THE DAILY_REPORTS: These Configuration Reports should not be confused with the Daily Reports. The Daily Reports are reports of what Notices your site was sent each day (out of how many were produced -- the difference being due to your filtering criteria and if you were connected (for socket-based sites, and also for socket-based sites, the Daily Report gives the times when connection attempts were made, when connections succeeded, and when connections were broken)). FORMAT: The format of these configuration reports is nearly the same as what is in the sites2.cfg file; the "TOKEN: value" format. The only difference is that all the default-value fields are explicitly printed out in the report. (In the actual sites2.cfg file, the fields that have the defaults values do not need to be explicilty present in the cfg file.) PROCESS: They will be emailed to your Point-of-Contact address with the Subject-line: Your_GCN_Configuration_for_site_ MISC: An added advantage of these daily/weekly/monthly Configuration Reports is that you will have a record of what your "site name" is. It is very useful to refer to this site_name in communications with me (so I have a unique identifier about which configuration we are talking about). There are 600+ configurations in the GCN Notices system. Without a sitename, it is sometimes hard for me to determine which configuration needs to change. ACTION ITEM: If you want to receive these configuration reports, just reply to this email and include a line saying Daily, Weekly, or Monthly. (Make sure to include your SiteName, which is automatic if you include this email when you reply.) (The default is None, so if you do not want it, you do not need to reply.) EXAMPLE: Here is an example of one of these Configuration Reports: This is your current configuration of your site "SB_reduced". It is the "as-running" version within the GCN program at the time when the program was started: 16/01/05 17:32:16 UT. (If you have made a recent request for a configuration change, this as-running version may lag behind that request until the config-file is reloaded into the running program (typically 1 hr - 2 days).) This report has fields that may not explicitly appear in your "sites.cfg" file configuration. These extra fields will show the default (ie non-blocking) values of the filter functions. It also shows the type-by-type filter values (of which some filters cannot apply to the given notice type). BEGIN_SITE SITE_NAME SB_reduced DATES 03jun93 03jan15 SITE_LON_LAT -77.45 38.85 DIST_METHOD LMAIL DIST_ADDRESS sbarthel@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov POC_NAME Scott Barthelmy POC_ADDRESS sbarthel@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov DAILY_REPORT 1 DAILY_REPORT_ADDRESS sbarthel@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov CONFIG_REPORT 2 # Site-Specific items: TRIGGER_ID 0 INTENSITY -1.000000 ERROR 360.100006 DELAY 999.900024 SIGNIFICANCE 0.000000 CONF_LEVEL 0.000000 OBSERVABILITY ADMIN ATTACHMENT FITS SIMBAD_NED 1 CEL_RA_LIM 0.00000 360.00000 CEL_DEC_LIM -90.00000 90.00000 GAL_LON_LIM 0.00000 360.00000 GAL_LAT_LIM -90.00000 90.00000 ECL_LON_LIM 0.00000 360.00000 ECL_LAT_LIM -90.00000 90.00000 TIME_OF_DAY 0 86400 SUN_DEG_DISTANCE 0.000000 SUN_HOUR_DISTANCE 0.000000 MOON_DEG_DistANCE 0.000000 MOON_ILLUM 100.099998 DOW_TOD_TEST 0x0,00:00 # Type-Specific items: IPN_POS error=360.100 delay=1e+03 simned=1 GRB_COUNTERPART error=360.100 delay=1e+03 INTEGRAL_SPIACS inten=-1.00 signif=0.00 delay=1e+03 INTEGRAL_WAKEUP inten=-1.00 error=360.100 delay=1e+03 simned=1 INTEGRAL_REFINED inten=-1.00 error=360.100 delay=1e+03 simned=1 INTEGRAL_OFFLINE inten=-1.00 error=360.100 delay=1e+03 simned=1 SWIFT_BAT_GRB_POS inten=-1.00 signif=0.00 error=360.100 delay=1e+03 trig_id=0 simned=1 SWIFT_XRT_POS inten=-1.00 signif=0.00 error=360.100 delay=1e+03 simned=1 SWIFT_UVOT_POS inten=99.00 signif=0.00 error=360.100 delay=1e+03 simned=1 SWIFT_BAT_TRANS inten=-1.00 signif=0.00 error=360.100 delay=1e+03 simned=1 SWIFT_UVOT_NACK_POS error=360.100 delay=1e+03 AGILE_GRB_WAKEUP_POS inten=-1.00 signif=0.00 error=360.100 delay=1e+03 simned=1 AGILE_GRB_GROUND_POS inten=-1.00 signif=0.00 error=360.100 delay=1e+03 simned=1 AGILE_GRB_REFINED_POS inten=-1.00 signif=0.00 error=360.100 delay=1e+03 simned=1 AGILE_POINTDIR delay=1e+03 FERMI_GBM_FLT_POS inten=-1.00 signif=0.00 error=360.100 delay=1e+03 conf=0.00 FERMI_LAT_POS_UPD inten=-1.00 error=360.100 delay=1e+03 simned=1 FERMI_LAT_TRANS inten=-1.00 signif=0.00 error=360.100 delay=1e+03 simned=1 SIMBAD_NED error=360.100 delay=1e+03 SWIFT_BAT_MONITOR inten=-1.00 signif=0.00 error=360.100 delay=1e+03 MAXI_UNKNOWN inten=-1.00 error=360.100 delay=1e+03 simned=1 SNEWS_EVENT delay=1e+03 COMMENT I use this entry to be closer to a real configuration and for testing. See also SBmailAll. END_SITE REMINDER OF RECENT ADDITIONS TO GCN: In case you have missed them, here is a brief list of the most recent additions to the GCN system. You might consider signing up for these Notice types as well. The full announcements/descriptions for each of these can be found at: http://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/gcn/whats_new.html SNEWS (Dec 2015) // SNEWS neutrino coincidences and singles from supernovae 2nd VOEvent Ver 2.0 server (Nov 2015) // A redundant Ver 2.0 VOevent server added FERMI_GBM LOCATION MAPS (Apr 2014) // GBM Location_Map URL available FERMI_GBM_LIGHTCURVE (Apr 2014) // GBM Lightcurve URL available FERMI_LAT_OFFLINE (Feb 2014) // LAT detections found in off-line ground processing SUZAKU_LIGHTCURVE (Nov 2013) // Lightcurves from Suzaku-WAM IPN_RAW resumes (Aug 2012) // IPN Team resumes producing the IPN_RAW notices SWIFT_BAT_SUB_SUB_THRESHOLD (May 2012) // Swift-BAT Triggers with very low significance; use for temporal coincidences VOEvent Direct Server (Mar 2012) // Added 3 VOEvent servers to allow for direct distribution of VOEvents FERMI_LAT_MON/_TRANS (Aug 2011) // Flare-ups from known sources monitored by Fermi-LAT & non-GRB transients FERMI_LAT_GND (Aug 2011) // Automated ground processing to get GRB positions MOA (Aug 2011) // Locations of up-coming gravitational lensing events DOW_TOD (Jun 2011) // Preprogrammed notices at specific days-of-week & time-of-day FERMI_GBM FIN_POS (Jun 2011) // Human-in-the-loop ground-based analysis MAXI_UNKNOWN/_KNOWN (Apr 2011) // Unknown transients & Flare-ups from Known sources INTEGRAL_WEAK (Feb 2011) // Subthreshold detections by INTEGRAL SWIFT_BAT_MONITOR (Feb 2010) // Flare-ups from known sources monitored by Swift-BAT Sincerely, Scott Scott Barthelmy NASA-GSFC, Code 661, Greenbelt, MD 20771 PHONE: 301-286-3106 (office) CELL: 301-346-3733 EMAIL: scott@lheamail.gsfc.nasa.gov PAGER: 3013463733@cingularme.com WEB: http://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/gcn