MACHO Project: Image Retrieval Query Error Recovery


Index

  • Help Us
  • Delay prior to Screen's Redraw
  • Delay during File Retrieval
  • Error Messages within the Database Record Display
  • Errors on Retrieval


    Help Us

    Help us make the documentation more complete. If you receive an error message not covered in the following descriptions, please forward it to the MACHO webmaster. Include a description of the input and events leading upto the error.

    Delay prior to Screen's Redraw

    Due to multiple network transactions between the database server and the archive file server, the response is not instantaneous but should occur within 30 seconds.

    If the response takes more than 30 seconds, there is probably a network connection failure, a network protocol error or a database protocol error. Forward an email to the MACHO Manager including:

  • the search form input;
  • the generated logical expression, if altered;
  • text of any error messages printed within the display window; and
  • text from any error message windows which might have popped up on your screen.

    Delay during File Retrieval

    The archived files are stored within a robotic mass storage tape silo. Retrieval time for a file is variable. If the file already resides on the disk cache, the time is negligible but if the file needs to be retrieved from the tape silo, the delay can be two or more minutes. The delay includes contention with other users for drive allocation, two minutes to load the tape into the drive, time to position the tape to the file, and the time to load it onto the disk cache.

    Error Messages within the Database Record Display

    Occasionally, an error message will be displayed in the vicinity of a clickable field. This is usually caused by a database protocol error when composing the 'ftp' command to be embedded within the display for later user access. Forward an email to the MACHO Manager including:

  • the search form input;
  • the generated logical expression, if altered;
  • text of any error messages printed within the display window; and
  • text from any error message windows which might have popped up on your screen.

    Errors on Retrieval

    Most errors encountered during file retrieval are due to the authentication token's lifetime being exhausted.

    The following messages are indicative of Netscape error returns. Equivalent error messages from other Web browsers have not been collected.

    Netscape Error: Login Incorrect

    Authentication token lifetime exhausted. Reset the token either by:
  • Netscape:Reloading the MACHO Observation record display; or
  • resubmitting the generated logical search expression.

    Netscape Error: Bad login

    Might be one of:

    (1) Authentication token lifetime exhausted. Reset the token either by:

  • Netscape:Reloading the MACHO Observation record display; or
  • resubmitting the generated logical search expression.

    or (2) Communications path between the Web server and the Data server is broken. If above method didn't work, send email to the MACHO Manager.

    Netscape Error: Incorrect File or Directory Name

    The pathname of the datafile is incorrect. Either the file is missing or the pathname was incorrectly generated. Forward the entire error message in an email to the MACHO Manager.

    Netscape Error: connection was refused by the server

    The 'ftpd' daemon on the datafile server is not accepting connections. Possibly the daemon is not running, network traffic is congested, or the 'ftp' request was incorrectly formatted. If the error persists for an hour, forward the entire error message in an email to the MACHO Manager.

    Acknowledgement to use when referencing MACHO Project data

    "This paper utilizes public domain data originally obtained by the MACHO Project, whose work was performed under the joint auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration by the University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract No. W-7405-Eng-48, the National Science Foundation through the Center for Particle Astrophysics of the University of California under cooperative agreement AST-8809616, and the Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatory, part of the Australian National University."


    email enquiries

    and