Archiving datasets

Data Update Utility

The Data Update Utility enables you to update astro datasets such as Earth Orientation Parameters (EOP), Space Weather, Leap Second, SPICE time.ker, Solar Flux, satellite databases, GPS, etc.

You can manually update one or more datasets or you can schedule a time and frequency for automatic updates.

If you do not have an internet connection, see the section Updating data without an internet connection in this topic.

For more information on Space Weather data, go to https://celestrak.com/SpaceData.

If the default location under Program Data is not writable, the DUU puts the files in your Config area.

Running the utility

To run the utility, select Data Update Utility... from the Utilities menu.

The Data Update Utility screen contains three tabs:

• Astro Data configures automatic updates or performs a manual update of astro data.
• History reviews the activity of automatic Astro Data updates.
• Connection downloads updates through a proxy server.

The Data Update Utility does not pass sign-in information to the proxy. You must enter sign-in information using the utility independent of STK settings.

Astro data

To configure automatic updates or perform a manual update, select the Astro Data tab. The grid shows the available Astro datasets, the date of AGI’s latest version, and the version that is on the local computer.

Manual Updates

To manually download updates for Astro datasets:

1. For each dataset that you want to update, select its Update check box, or select the Check All check box to update all datasets.
2. To store previous versions of a dataset when a new version is downloaded, select the Archive check box. For more information, see Archiving datasets.
3. Click Update Now to download the updates.

The display will automatically refresh, showing the new versions on the local computer.

The color of the dataset indicates its current status:

• Red datasets have updates available.
• Black datasets are up to date.
• Purple datasets are not currently available on AGI servers.

You must have local administrator rights or at least write access to the folders where the datasets are located.

Automatic Updates

To configure automatic updates:

1. Select the Enable Automatic Updates check box.
2. For each dataset that you want to automatically update, select its Auto Update check box,or select the Check All check box to update all datasets.
3. Select a Frequency. Choose Daily, Weekly, or Monthly. With the exception of LeapSeconds.dat, AGI typically updates the datasets daily.
4. Select a Scheduled Date/Time. Pick a date and time to perform the next update; the utility will perform updates at the frequency that you have selected from that date and time onward. If you set the date to a point in the past, the field will automatically be updated to the next future date — from that point — when an update should be performed, based on the frequency that you have selected.
5. To store previous versions of a particular dataset, select Archive for that dataset. For more information, see Archiving datasets.
6. Click Ok or Apply for the changes to take effect.

History

The History tab provides information about the activity of the Automatic Updates. It is useful to check this to diagnose problems, such as missing updates because STK was running.

Clicking Delete History permanently deletes the current history contents.

If an automatic update occurs while this tab is up, the tab is automatically refreshed.

Connection

You can use the Connection tab to download datasets through a proxy server:

1. Select the Use Proxy check box, specify the appropriate Server and Port information, and select the proper Proxy type from the shortcut menu.
2. If your internet access is via a firewall, select the Requires Authentication check box and specify a proxy username and password. If you are unsure how your internet connection is configured, please consult your system administrator.
3. Under FTP Connection Settings, the Passive FTP mode is set by default. Clear Passive Mode to use the FTP active mode when connecting to a remote FTP server.

Updating data without an internet connection

If you are running STK on a computer that is not connected to the internet, perform the following steps to update your data:

1. Download the DataUpdate.zip from https://ftp.agi.com/dist or https://Stk12-00-duu.agi.com/dist to another computer that is connected to the internet. If you only need the satellite database (satdb) data, it is also available separately at the same location.
2. Copy the ZIP file to removable media or a network resource that the unconnected computer can access.
3. Extract the contents of the ZIP file into either of the following:
• Your STK program data folder, which is typically C:\ProgramData\AGI\STK <version number>. The ProgramData folder is often hidden by default, so you may need to alter your Windows folder options to display it.
• Your user folder, which is typically C:\Users\<username>\Documents\STK <version number>.

AGI refreshes the DataUpdate ZIP file with the latest data every day at 8 am UTC.

Archiving datasets

The dataset archive files are stored in the following folders:

• EOP and stkFluGeoMag files:

<STK all users area>\DynamicEarthData\DataUpdate Archives

• LeapSecond.dat files:

<STK all users area>\DynamicEarthData

• Satellite databases:

<STK all users area>\Databases\Satellite\DataUpdate Archives

• GPS Almanac

<STK all users area>\GPSAlmanacs\DataUpdate Archives

The archived files are renamed to include the date they were created (e.g., LeapSecond-7-13-2005.dat).

Restoring an archived satellite database

To replace the current satellite database with an archived satellite database:

1. Move the current satellite database files in the STKData\Databases\Satellite folder to another folder.
2. Search for all files in the archive folder (STKData\Databases\Satellite\DataUpdate Archives) with a certain date in the filename (for example, 10-7-2004).
3. Copy all the files with that date to STKData\Databases\Satellite and rename each file to remove the date from the file name (for example, rename stkSatDbAll-10-7-2004.sd as stkSatDbAll.sd).

Archiving disk space requirements

You need to consider how much disk space is available and how often you receive updates before using the archive feature. For example, one set of archive files for EOP, stkFluGeoMag, and LeapSecond.dat requires about two megabytes of disk space and the Satellite Database requires about 15 megabytes of disk space.