Starting the ecFlow Server

The executable ecflow_server is used to start an ecflow_server using the default port number or that defined by the environment variable ECF_PORT.

cd ECF_dir1
nohup ecflow_server & # start ecFlow with **default** port 3141

Multiple ECFs can be run on the same host using different port numbers. There are two mechanisms for specifying the port number:

  • Using arguments on the command line. i.e. ecflow_server –port=3141

  • Using the Environment variable. ECF_PORT

If both are specified the command line argument takes precedence

cd ../ECF_dir2
ecflow_server –-port=3142& # start ecFlow with port number 3142
cd ../ECF_dir3
export ECF_PORT=3143
ecflow_server &            # starts ecFlow with port number 3143

Note: the ECFs are started in different directories so that the output and checkpoint files are not overwritten

Adding a new server to ecflow_ui adds the definition to the file:

~/.ecflowrc/servers.

This can be modified directly.

You cannot start two ecFlow servers on the same machine with the same port number. To simplify users wanting their own ecFlow servers we have a script ecflow_start.sh that sets up an ecFlow server using a port number based on the users own unique user ID

You can check what port numbers are being used, with netstat: To list all open network ports on your machine, run:

netstat -lnptu

Here is a breakdown of the parameters:

  • l - List all listening ports

  • n - Display the numeric IP addresses (i.e., don’t do reverse DNS lookups

  • p - List the process name that is attached to that port

  • t - List all TCP connections

  • u - List all UDP connections

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Fig. 3 Viewing new ECFLOW servers with ecflow_ui

When using non-default ecFlow servers, ecflow_ui needs to be configured to recognise the port used. This can be done in the Manage servers dialog.