Migrating from Cumulus 1 to MX: Difference between revisions

Migrating from Cumulus 1 to MX (view source)

Revision as of 08:30, 7 August 2021

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 ==Configuration file==
-MX's [[Cumulus.ini]] has different content to the legacy [[Cumulus.ini_(Cumulus_1)|'''cumulus.ini''']].
+MX's [[Cumulus.ini]] has different content to the legacy [[Cumulus.ini_(Cumulus_1)|'''cumulus.ini''']]. From release 3.12.0,many more new settings were added, more settings were removed, and some parameters in the file were renamed.  The first cross reference, in listing all the parameters, makes it clear which settings were introduced in the legacy software, and which MX release added new settings, this should help you to grasp how many new settings exist!
+Consequently, if you are migrating from the legacy software to MX now, it is best to rename your old '''cumulus.ini'' file  so it is is not seen by MX.  Let MX create a new configuration file with just the parameters it needs using the various [MX_Administrative_Interface#Changing_Settings|settings pages in the admin interface]].  That will ensure you don't get muddled by parameters used for Cumulus 1 (but not for MX); and you do have all the parameters you do need, set correctly.
+===Configuration file naming restrictions===
 Cumulus 1 can recognise, in some circumstances, "cumulus1.ini", and other variants, not just "cumulus.ini".
-MX only recognises "Cumulus.ini".
+MX only recognises "Cumulus.ini". The Windows operating system is not case sensitive for file names.  All other operating systems require the first letter of the filename to be a capital, and the remainder to be lower case as shown.
+===Historical evolution of configuration file===
+The oldest approach for migration from the legacy software, was to copy across to MX your existing configuration file, and let MX ignore all the parameters that do not apply to it.  This worked because the early MX releases had few new parameters, and mostly used the majority of the old parameters.
+For any parameters that were not set by the admin interface (and there were many "read-only" parameters in early releases of MX), one assumed these also existed in Cumulus 1 (refer to [[Cumulus.ini (Cumulus 1)]]) and so were already in your file.
+To add the few new parameters that MX did need (see [[Cumulus.ini (MX 3.0.0 to 3.7.0)]] page), you would then go to the [[MX_Administrative_Interface#Changing_Settings]] pages and work steadily through ALL the options.
+Retaining your old settings as far as possible simplified any migration of data files from your legacy installation into MX, because it ensured you kept to same unit selections, and same extra sensor selections.
+At releases like 3.3.0 and 3.6.0, amongst others, there were changes to "read-only" parameters for MX. These could not be adjusted through the admin interface, and needed to be entered manually into the '''Cumulus.ini''' file, as instructed on [[Cumulus.ini (MX 3.0.0 to 3.7.0)]] page.
+===Subsequent evolution of configuration file===
-The old approach for migration, was to copy across your existing file, and let MX ignore all the parameters that do not apply to it.  To add the parameters that MX does need, you would then go to the [[MX_Administrative_Interface#Changing_Settings]] pages and work steadily through ALL the options.  For any parameters that were not set by the admin interface (and there were many "read-only" parameters in early releases of MX), one assumed these also existed in Cumulus 1 and so were already in your file.
+Substantial changes to settings available were made from release 3.8.0 onwards.  The content of the '''Cumulus.ini''' file changed drastically, with much deviation from the configuration file used in earlier releases (including for the legacy software), hence [[Cumulus.ini]] is a new page describing the settings, and the parameters appearing in the configuration file, applicable from that release.
-At releases like 3.3.0 and 3.6.0, amongst others, there were changes to "read-only" parameters for MX. These could not be adjusted through the admin interface, and needed to be entered manually as listed on [[Cumulus.ini (MX 3.0.0 to 3.7.0)]] page. If you choose to migrate to an old MX release, to simplify some data file issues listed below, then refer to that page for the new parameters, and refer to [[Cumulus.ini (Cumulus 1)]] if you need to check if particular parameters were used by the legacy software.  However, you should reuse your old file, and just use the admin interface to work through all settings pages and finalise the new settings.
+More changes were made in 3.10.0, and subsequent releases, as settings that previously had to be made directly in file were gradually moved to be advanced settings controlled in the admin interface.  In addition, these releases, have added many new settings never encountered in your legacy software.
-Substantial changes to changes were made from release 3.8.0 onwards, hence [[Cumulus.ini]] is a new page applicable from that release. More changes were made in 3.10.0, and subsequent releases, as settings that used to have to be made directly in file were gradually moved to be advanced settings controlled in the admin interface.  From release 3.12.0,many more new settings were added, more settings were removed, and some parameters in the file were renamed.
+For example the changes include the (advanced) ability to change the number of decimal places for storing derived values like daily rainfall, sea level pressure, and wind speeds.
+Changes to the [[New Default Web Site Information|Default Web Site]] (diverging away from the [[Customised templates]] approach in the legacy software) and implementing the option to use (as was available in the legacy software, and the earliest MX beta, but then removed) a copy action instead of a file transfer action for [[Your Own Server]], has led to many,many new settings. Thus the advice has become abandon your old legacy software cumulus.ini file when you move to MX.
-Consequently, if you are migrating from the legacy software to MX now, it is best to rename your old '''cumulus.ini'' file  so it is is not seen by MX.  Let MX create a new configuration file with just the parameters it needs using the various [MX_Administrative_Interface#Changing_Settings|settings pages in the admin interface]].  That will ensure you don't get muddled by parameters used for Cumulus 1 (but not for MX); and you do have all the parameters you do need, set correctly.
-==Settings==
+===Settings===
 The settings pages in Cumulus 1 and MX work differently:
 * for Cumulus 1 you choose to save changes by clicking OK,
 * for MX changes are only saved when you click a '''Save''' button if one is provided.
-* If there is no Save button anywhere on the screen (as in Extra Web Files) then the setting is saved when you move to next field/line.
+* The alarms page works slightly differently, with an "Update alarms" button.
+* If there is no Save button anywhere on the screen (as in Extra Web Files) then the setting is saved to configuration file when you move to next field/line, and acted on when you next restart MX.
-Be aware that you should restart MX after changing settings, as many settings are only read from file when MX starts.
+Be aware that you should restart MX after changing many settings.  This is because many settings are only written to configuration file, not yet to internal code, and such settings are only read from configuration file when MX starts. The developer is changing the code, so that in more cases edits on the settings pages do update the settings used by the code, as well as the file, but at time of writing there is no list of which settings work like that, and which require a restart.
 ===Start date===
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 === Station connections===
-You can skip this sub-section if your weather station connects to mX either by uSB or by wireless connection.
+You can skip this subsection if your weather station connects to MX either by USB or by wireless connection.  It is relevant if your station connects by a serial connection and MX needs to be told which port.  It also applies if the serial connection is converted to USB.
-If your weather station used a port to connect to Cumulus 1, that port was set on the settings screen as a number and stored in Cumulus.ini_(Cumulus_1) in the station section as a parameter in the format '''Port=n'''.
+If your weather station used a port to connect to Cumulus 1, that port was set on the settings screen as a number and stored in [[Cumulus.ini_(Cumulus_1)]] in the station section as a parameter in the format '''Port=n'''.
 In Cumulus MX, as it runs on various operating systems, the port is specified using text (instead of a number), again you select it within settings, on Station settings page, but within [[Cumulus.ini]] in the station section the parameter is in the format  '''Comport=tttttttt'''.
-If your old parameter had a value of '''3''', and you are still using Windows, the new setting would have value of '''COM3'''.
+If your old parameter had a value of '''3''', and you are still using Windows, the new setting would have value of '''COM3''', i.e. serial port 3 now requires a "COM" prefix.
-A typical parameter value for other serial connecting devices might be "/dev/ttyUSB0".
+A typical parameter value for other serial connecting devices might be "/dev/ttyUSB3" where the final digit will change depending on the new connection.
 ===RG11 Rain gauge===