Basic threddsConfig.xml

TDS Configuration File threddsConfig.xml

The TDS configuration file (content/thredds/threddsConfig.xml) allows the TDS administrator to set a number of parameters that control the behavior of the TDS. Most of these parameters will be set with reasonable default values. However, a number of them allow you to describe your server, provide contact information, and change the "theme" of server-generated HTML pages, so unless you want your server to be called "Test TDS", maintained by Support at "Unidata" with contact email support-thredds@unidata.ucar.edu (please, please say that you do not want this!), then you will need to change some of these settings.

Server Information

Information describing your TDS installation and providing contact information is configured in the serverInformation element of the TDS configuration file. This includes:

basic information about the server (e.g., name, abstract, keywords, host institution)
contact information so that users will know where to go with problems or questions.

Here is what the default version of the serverInformation element looks like:

<serverInformation>
  <name>Initial TDS Installation</name>
  <logoUrl>threddsIcon.gif</logoUrl>
  <logoAltText>Initial TDS Installation</logoAltText>

  <abstract>Scientific Data</abstract>
  <keywords>meteorology, atmosphere, climate, ocean, earth science</keywords>
    
  <contact>
    <name>Support</name>
    <organization>My Group</organization>
    <email>support@my.group</email>
    <!--phone></phone-->
  </contact>
  <hostInstitution>
    <name>My Group</name>
    <webSite>http://www.my.site/</webSite>
    <logoUrl>myGroup.gif</logoUrl>
    <logoAltText>My Group</logoAltText>
  </hostInstitution>
</serverInformation>

Where is Server Information Used

The headers and footers of all TDS generated catalog HTML pages. Examples:
- http://localhost:8080/thredds/catalog.html
- http://thredds.ucar.edu/thredds/catalog.html
The Server element of the WMS GetCapabilities document:
- http://thredds.ucar.edu/thredds/wms/grib/NCEP/GFS/Pacific_40km/best?service=WMS&version=1.3.0&request=GetCapabilities
The three supported server information documents:
- An HTML document: http://thredds.ucar.edu/thredds/serverInfo.html
- An XML document: http://thredds.ucar.edu/thredds/serverInfo.xml and
- A version only text document: http://thredds.ucar.edu/thredds/serverVersion.txt

Other Places the Server Information Will be Included

The Server element of the WCS GetCapabilities document.
All generated THREDDS catalogs that don't override this information.

Exercise: Add Server Information

Change the default server information in the TDS configuration file

Look at the current server information by viewing the Server Info page in a browser: http://localhost:8080/thredds/serverInfo.html

Edit the main TDS configuration catalog:

$ cd ${tomcat_home}/content/thredds
$ vi threddsConfig.xml         // Use the editor of your choice

Restart Tomcat so the TDS is reinitialized:

$ cd ${tomcat_home}/bin
$ ./shutdown.sh
$ ./startup.sh

Check that the server information has changed in the Server Info page: http://localhost:8080/thredds/serverInfo.html

Appearance of Generated HTML Pages

Server and institution names, logos, and links given in the above section are used in all TDS generated HTML pages.

You can also specify the CSS files and several icons used in the HTML pages. These are configured in the htmlSetup element of the TDS configuration file threddsConfix.xml. Default CSS files are provided with the thredds.war distribution, and should not be modified. Instead, these can be overridden by placing the appropriate CSS files in the ${tomcat_home}/content/thredds/public/ directory.

The following shows the default configuration of the htmlSetup element:

<htmlSetup>
  <!--
   * CSS documents used in generated HTML pages.
   * The CSS document given in the "catalogCssUrl" element is used for all pages
   * that are HTML catalog views. The CSS document given in the "standardCssUrl"
   * element is used in all other generated HTML pages.
   * -->
  <standardCssUrl>tds.css</standard CssUrl>
  <CatalogCssUrl>tdsCat.css</CatalogCssUrl>
  <openDapCssUrl>tdsDap.css</openDapCssUrl>
</htmlSetup>

More details are given in the threddsConfig.xml Reference document.