National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Major Winter Storm to Impact the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast; Inclement Weather in the Pacific Northwest

A major winter storm is expected to bring heavy snow, strong winds, and coastal flooding across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast that may cause impossible travel conditions and power outages. Blizzard conditions are possible along coastal areas from the DelMarVa Peninsula through southeastern New England. Wet weather and strong winds return to the Pacific Northwest and north-central California. Read More >

Byte Blaster:

  • Client/Server Internet Based Service (NWS is one of many participants)
    • Client software is used to receive products from other servers
    • Local server may have many clients - when a file is received it is immediately re-distributed
    • A server may collect products from different sources (e.g., satellite broadcast, local LAN, or as a client to another ByteBlaster server)
    • Multiple daisy chains are possible: Server -> Client/Server -> Client/Server ->…
  • LoadMaster (NWS)
    • Agent for load balancing clients on registered servers
    • Assists in reassignment of clients when a registered server is no longer active

Future Service Outlook:

  • IDP Environment does not currently support the Windows environment.
  • Existing operational IDP file-push protocol (e.g., XMPP) does not adequately support binary file transfer today.
  • Alternative 1: Switch to NWWS End User Client software to receive a portion of the EMWIN distribution
    • Provides an Internet push of all EMWIN US-National text products, and then some
    • Does not include EMWIN International or Image Products
  • Alternative 2: Continue to operate client/server networks in absence of the NWS ByteBlaster Servers and LoadMaster.