TITLE: GCN CIRCULAR NUMBER: 32419 SUBJECT: Introducing new GCN Kafka broker and web site for transient alerts, https://gcn.nasa.gov DATE: 22/07/20 21:07:26 GMT FROM: Judith Racusin at GSFC Scott Barthelmy (GSFC), Eric Burns (LSU), Dakota Dutko (GSFC), Meredith Gibb (GSFC), Victor Gonzalez-Leon (GSFC), Tess Jaffe (GSFC), Ryan Lorek (GSFC/UMBC), Israel Martinez (GSFC/UMD), Tom McGlynn (GSFC), Judy Racusin (GSFC), David Simpson (GSFC), Leo Singer (GSFC), Teresa Sheets (GSFC), Alan Smale (GSFC), and Dongguen Tak (DESY) report on behalf of GCN, TACH, and HEASARC: We are pleased to introduce the new General Coordinates Network, the evolution of the Gamma-ray Coordinates Network (now referred to as GCN Classic) using modern, open-source, reliable, and secure alert distribution technologies that have been established by the broader astronomy community and promoted by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. We invite you to join one of our three public Zoom webinars for an overview of the new GCN: August 1, 2022 12:00-13:00 UTC (best for Atlantic): https://bit.ly/3Pt2TH9 August 1, 2022 20:00-21:00 UTC (best for Pacific): https://bit.ly/3IT7Qqc August 2, 2022 04:00-05:00 UTC (best for Asia and Oceania): https://bit.ly/3v2pNwV GCN has a redesigned website, https://gcn.nasa.gov and a new improved method of streaming GCN Notices called GCN Classic over Kafka. All three classic GCN Notice formats (text, VOEvent, 160-byte binary packet) are now also available over Kafka. This new Kafka streaming service can be used as a drop-in replacement for GCN Classic socket and VOEvent subscribers, with an upcoming release serving email subscribers. GCN Classic over Kafka has the following advantages over the legacy delivery methods: - Self Service: Users can manage their own accounts and subscription settings through the new GCN web site, https://gcn.nasa.gov. - Open Standards: Notices are sent using one standard protocol, Apache Kafka. - Open Source: Receive GCN Notices using open-source client software. - Highly Available: Notices are served by a cluster of redundant Kafka brokers in the cloud. - Secure: Notices are protected in transit with SSL/TLS. The old GCN Classic web site, https://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov, and the legacy socket delivery methods will continue to be supported for the foreseeable future. However, starting later this year new features and notice types will only be available on the new web site and GCN Kafka, including: - Self-service configuration of GCN Notice notifications over email - Modernization and enhancement of GCN Circulars - Unified, searchable GCN Notice and Circular archive integrating the features of the GCN Viewer (https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/tachgcn, GCN Circular 31036) For questions, issues, or bug reports, please contact us via: HEASARC feedback form: https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/Feedback?selected=kafkagcn GitHub issue tracker: https://github.com/nasa-gcn/gcn.nasa.gov/issues [CORRECTION: de-mangled links that were processed through Microsoft Outlook's Safe Links]