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NCEPLIBS-external

Introduction

This is a compilation of third-party libraries required to build NCEPLIBS and by extension the UFS weather model. For general information about NCEPLIBS-external, NCEPLIBS and the UFS weather model, the user is referred to the Wiki.

It includes the following libraries:

Building, Requirements, Troubleshooting, Support

Required Software

1. CMake version 3.12 or newer. If the existing CMake version is too old, you need to install a newer version. The NCEPLIBS-external code contains cmake-3.16.3 in subdirectory cmake-src. To install this version:

cd ../cmake-src # assuming you are still in the build directory
./bootstrap --prefix=INSERT_PATH_HERE
make
make install
cd ../build
rm -fr CMakeCache.txt CMakeFiles

For building NCEPLIBS-external, use /full_path_to_where_you_installed_cmake/bin/cmake instead of just cmake.

2. A supported C/C++ and Fortran compiler, see table below. Other versions may work, in particular if close to the versions listed below. If the chosen compiler is not the default compiler on the system, set the environment variables export CC=..., export CXX=..., export FC=..., before invoking cmake.

3. A supported MPI library unless installed as part of NCEPLIBS-external, see table below. Other versions may work, in particular if close to the versions listed below. It is recommended to compile the MPI library with the same compilers used to compile NCEPLIBS-external.

Prepare to Build

The following sections provide setup and usage instructions for a range of systems with different level of support. The definitions of the different support levels (e.g. pre-configured, configurable) are on the Supported Platforms and Compilers page.

Setup instructions for configurable systems

Configurable systems are macOS and Linux using the open-source GNU compilers (or a combination of the LLVM clang and GNU gfortran compiler for macOS), and the Intel compilers. Instructions are provided for selected versions of macOS and several Linux distributions/versions. As OS, compiler and library versions evolve over time, the instructions may not reflect the latest versions at all time. They should, however, work if the versions do not differ significantly.

Note that Windows systems and other compilers (e.g. PGI) are not supported at this time.

• Setup instructions for macOS Mojave/Catalina using gcc and gfortran can be found in doc/README_macos_gccgfortran.txt in the repository.
• Setup instructions for macOS Mojave/Catalina using clang and gfortran can be found in doc/README_macos_clanggfortran.txt in the repository.
• Setup instructions for Red Hat Linux 8 using gcc and gfortran can be found in doc/README_redhat_gnu.txt in the repository.
• Setup instructions for Ubuntu Linux 18.04 using gcc and gfortran can be found in doc/README_redhat_gnu.txt in the repository.
• Setup instructions for TACC Stampede using icc and ifort can be found in doc/README_stampede_intel.txt in the repository.
• Setup instructions for MSU Orion using icc and ifort can be found in doc/README_orion_intel.txt in the repository.

Setup instructions for pre-configured systems

Pre-configured systems do have existing installations of NCEPLIBS-external and NCEPLIBS. Users should not have to build any of these unless new versions of the external libraries or the NCEPLIBS are to be tested. In this case, the following instructions will be useful to repeat the steps the UFS developers have taken. They can also be useful for users trying to install NCEPLIBS-external and NCEPLIBS on other HPC platforms with preinstalled MPI, netCDF, ...

• Installation notes for NOAA RDHPC Hera using icc and ifort: doc/README_hera_intel.txt
• Installation notes for NOAA RDHPC Hera using gcc and gfortran: doc/README_hera_gnu.txt
• Installation notes for NOAA RDHPC Jet using icc and ifort: doc/README_jet_intel.txt
• Installation notes for NOAA RDHPC Gaea using icc and ifort: doc/README_gaea_intel.txt
• Installation notes for CISL Cheyenne using icc and ifort: doc/README_cheyenne_intel.txt
• Installation notes for CISL Cheyenne using gcc and gfortran: doc/README_cheyenne_gnu.txt

Get and Build the Code

git clone -b ufs-v1.0.0 --recursive https://github.com/NOAA-EMC/NCEPLIBS-external
cd NCEPLIBS-external
mkdir build
cd build
cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=INSERT_PATH_HERE ..
make <-jx>

If -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX= is omitted, the libraries will be installed in directory install underneath the build directory. The optional argument <-jx> speeds up the build process by using x parallel compile tasks. When static linking is the default option on a given system (e.g. Cray), add

-DSTATIC_IS_DEFAULT=ON

to the cmake call.

By default, NCEPLIBS-external will build and install all libraries listed above except the optional CMake (see next section when this is needed). This is primarily targeted for users who are setting up their own workstations in order to get a consistent software stack. It is important that the MPI wrappers use the same compiler that is used to compile the other external libraries, the NCEP libraries and any UFS application that depends on those.

Users working on HPC systems should use the MPI libraries installed by the system administrators for the compiler they want to use. Usually compilers and MPI libraries can be loaded as modules on those systems. If other dependencies such as netCDF are also provided as modules for the target compiler, then these should also be used. In this case, users need to turn off explicitly the build of those libraries as follows:

Turn Off Specific Libraries

How to turn off building ...

1. CMake: not necessary, CMake is installed in a separate step only if the default OS version is too old (see below).

2. MPI: Add -DBUILD_MPI=OFF to the cmake flags. If CMake cannot find the MPI library, make sure that the MPI wrappers are in the PATH environment variable, and set the environment variable MPI_ROOT to the directory where MPI was installed.

3. zlib: zlib will be built as dependency for NetCDF or libpng. If neither of those is built, the zlib build is also turned off.

4. HDF5: will be built as dependency for NetCDF. If netCDF is not built, the HDF5 build is also turned off.

5. NetCDF: Add -DBUILD_NETCDF=OFF to the cmake flags and set the environment variable NETCDF to the directory where NetCDF was installed. On some systems, the netCDF-c and netCDF-fortran libraries are installed in separate locations. In this case, set set the environment variable NETCDF to the directory where netcdf-c was installed, and NETCDF_FORTRAN to the directory where netcdf-fortran was installed. If NetCDF is not built, the libpng build must also be turned off and an existing libpng installation, linking against the same zlib version as NetCDF, must be used.

6. libpng: Add -DBUILD_PNG=OFF to the cmake flags. If CMake cannot find the libpng library, set the environment variable LIBPNG_ROOT to the directory where libpng was installed. See the troubleshooting section about issues with linking to libz if the libpng build is disabled but the NetCDF build is not. If libpng is not built, the NetCDF build must also be turned off and an existing NetCDF installation, linking against the same zlib version as libpng, must be used.

7. libjpeg: libjpeg will be built as dependency for Jasper. If Jasper is not built, the libjpeg build is also turned off.

8. Jasper: Add -DBUILD_JASPER=OFF to the cmake flags. If CMake cannot find the Jasper library, set the environment variable Jasper_ROOT to the directory where Jasper was installed (note the case-sensitive name of the environment variable).

9. WGRIB2: Add -DBUILD_WGRIB2=OFF to the cmake flags. If CMake cannot find the WGRIB2 Fortran modules or library, set the environment variable WGRIB2_ROOT to the directory where WGRIB2 was installed. Note that WGRIB2 installations vary between systems. For the NCEPLIBS build to work, the WGRIB2 Fortran modules are expected in WGRIB2_ROOT/include and the WGRIB2 library in WGRIB2_ROOT/lib.

10. ESMF: Add -DBUILD_ESMF=OFF to the cmake flags and set the environment variable ESMFMKFILE to point to the file esmf.mk of the ESMF installation.

The above options to turn off selected components can also be used by advanced users who already have parts of the software stack installed for the UFS.

Troubleshooting

1. The cmake step reports an error that it cannot detect the MPI type. Only the MPI libraries listed above have been preconfigured for ESMF. Other libraries can be used by setting -DMPITYPE=... in the cmake call, provided that ESMF supports this library (currently supported by ESMF: mpi, mpt, mpich, mpich2, mpich3, mvapich2, intelmpi, lam - see ESMF documentation for details).

2. The build fails because of undefined symbols in any of the libraries. The most likely reason for this error is that cmake found a different version of the library on the system, for example installed by the Linux package manager or homebrew on macOS. While there is no single solution for this problem, the following options have been used successfully:

   • Remove the existing library, if possible (often it is not, because other software on the system depends on it)
   • Take the existing library out of the PATH and LD_LIBRARY_PATH, if possible (not always, because other software installed in the same location, may be needed). On HPC systems, this often means unloading a specific module.
   • Look inside NCEPLIBS-external's top-level CMakeLists.txt if the offending library is one of the build targets, and if yes, turn it off.
   • If the offending library is a prerequisite for a build target (i.e. HDF5 is a prerequisite for NetCDF) and the build target itself is already installed on the system, try to turn off the build target (e.g. option(BUILD_NETCDF "Build NetCDF?" OFF))
   • If the offending library is a prerequisite for a build target (i.e. HDF5 is a prerequisite for NetCDF) and the build target itself is not installed on the system, you need to install the build target using the same method you used for installing the offending library and turn it off in CMakeLists.txt.

Disclaimer

The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) GitHub project code is provided on an "as is" basis and the user assumes responsibility for its use. DOC has relinquished control of the information and no longer has responsibility to protect the integrity, confidentiality, or availability of the information. Any claims against the Department of Commerce stemming from the use of its GitHub project will be governed by all applicable Federal law. Any reference to specific commercial products, processes, or services by service mark, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply their endorsement, recommendation or favoring by the Department of Commerce. The Department of Commerce seal and logo, or the seal and logo of a DOC bureau, shall not be used in any manner to imply endorsement of any commercial product or activity by DOC or the United States Government.