| WRF Portal: A GUI For Running WRF Beta Version 0.93 for Linux, Mac, and Windows - released May 29, 2008 |
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WRF Portal is the GUI that takes you through the entire process of running WRF: creating a domain (using the built-in WRF Domain Wizard component that generates your namelist.wps and namelist.input files), creating and running workflows, monitoring the progress of your runs, diff'ing workflows and files. Supports WRF version 2.x and generally supports the new WRF version 3. Get the source code here.
What's New in version 0.93? - Updates to WRF Domain Wizard for WRF 3 namelist.input, WPS 3 "lat-lon" regional and global domains, and visualizing NetCDF files in IDV and Google Earth.
| Run WRF Portal using Java Web Start (recommended, no installation required) | |
Click here to launch WRF Portal Beta 0.93 No installation required. Just click on the link and WRF Portal will set itself up and run. You will also automatically get updates to WRF Portal as they are made available. This beta version includes support for WRF 3 and WPS 3. Help! WRF Portal doesn't launch! Here are some trouble-shooting tips. Note: WRF Domain Wizard 1.22 is imbedded inside WRF Portal. |
What is Java Web Start?
Java Web Start is an application-deployment technology that automatically downloads your software then launches (runs) the application. You do not need to set up directories, run installation programs, or configure anything. Just click the link and the program runs. The first time you click on the link above, there is a delay while the software downloads. The next time you click the link, Web Start checks to see if an update is available. If one is, then it downloads the update. Otherwise it runs the local copy (avoiding the delay of downloading it again).
Do I need to install Java Web Start first?
Many computers already have Java (and Java Web Start) installed. It comes standard with Linux and Mac computers. If the "launch WRF Portal " link above starts the program, you are all set! If you don't already have Java on your system, you can download it from here. You only need to install the Java Runtime Edition (or JRE).
| Download, Unzip And Run WRF Portal from command line | |
Download wrf-portal.zip (Beta 0.93) (26 Mb) If you are unable to run WRF Domain Wizard as a Java Web Start applications, simply download the wrf-portal.zip file into a directory of your choosing (e.g. c:\wrf-portal or /home/wrf-portal) and unzip it. Then run "runWRFPortal.bat" (under Windows) or "runWRFPortal" (under Linux you will have to chmod +x to make the script runnable) to launch the program. After that, you can place a shortcut to wrf-portal on your desktop. WRF Domain Wizard is imbedded inside WRF Portal. |
Requirements to run WRF Portal
Minimum: Java 1.5
Recommended: Java 1.6 (Java 6) for much better performance
390 MB of RAM (memory) available
1024 x 768 (or better) video display
WPS and WRF version 2.2 or later already installed on some computer you can connect to from WRF Portal
Ruby (required to run default WRF scripts) installed on some computer you can connect to from WRF Portal. Ruby is standard on most Linux/Mac systems.
If WRF Portal won't start after you click the "launch" link above, you probably don't have Java installed on your computer. The software requires Java 1.5 or later to be installed on your desktop computer in order to run. Java 6 (or 1.6) is highly recommended for performance reasons. You can download the free Java Runtime Environment (JRE) here. Just download the JRE, install it, and then click the "launch" link (above) again.
If Java is installed on your desktop computer and yet the "launch" link still doesn't work, then Java Web Start isn't configured correctly on your computer's web browser. Here are instructions on how setup *.jnlp association for Java Web Start in various web browsers.
| Optional: download the External (Ruby) Workflow Manager | |
Download external workflow manager (0.1 Mb) WRF Portal comes with an internal (Java) workflow manager built in. It is able to run your tasks (like ungrib, metgrid, real, and wrf) without a batch system (such as SGE or LSF). It will also report any errors and create log files for you. The External Workflow Manager requires Ruby to run. Since it runs on the server on which WRF is installed, even if you shut down WRF Portal, it continues running and monitoring your jobs. It is also more robust (it can resubmit jobs on failure). You must have SGE or LSF installed in order to use the external workflow manager. When To Install and Use the External Workflow Manager When To Use the Internal Workflow Manager If you don't use SGE or LSF to submit jobs (true on most desktop linux systems), then you must use the internal workflow manager. |