A Cruise Data Transfer (CDT) copies the whole cruise data package from the shipboard data warehouse to another location: a backup drive, a NAS, a server or cloud storage.

How It Works

  1. The scheduler starts each enabled cruise data transfer that isn’t already running, every transferInterval minutes (see openvdm.yaml). A transfer can also be started from the main page, and they all run at the end of Finalize Current Cruise.
  2. The worker tests the destination, builds the list of what to leave out, then copies <warehouse_base_dir>/<cruiseID>/ to the destination with rsync or rclone. The list always includes the always-ignored files and folders.
  3. Progress is shown as a percentage on the main page.

If rsync or rclone fails, the transfer fails, and the reason includes the tool’s error and the first file that failed.

Destination Directory

How the Destination Directory is used depends on the transfer type. The cruise is copied into <destination directory>/<cruiseID>.

Transfer type Destination Directory
Local Directory An absolute path on the OpenVDM server (leading /), e.g. /mnt/backup
Local Directory, containing : An rclone remote:path, e.g. s3-archive:cruises
Rsync Server A path within the rsync module given in the Rsync Server field; / for the module’s top level
SMB Share A path within the share given in the SMB Server/Share field; / for the share’s top level
SSH Server An absolute path on the server (leading /)
FTP Server An absolute path on the FTP server (leading /)

A : is allowed only for Local Directory.

Configuration Fields

Navigate to Configuration → Cruise Data Transfers → Add/Edit. The connection fields for each transfer type are described in Transfer Types.

Field Description
Name / Long Name Identifiers shown in the web interface
Transfer Type See Transfer Types
Destination Directory See above
Destination Directory is mountpoint? Local Directory only: fail if nothing is mounted there, rather than filling the OpenVDM server’s disk
Skip empty directories / Skip empty files Don’t copy empty directories or zero-byte files
Sync with source directory Delete files at the destination that are no longer in the cruise
Transfer bandwidth limit Maximum rate in kB/s; 0 for no limit
Include OpenVDM generated files? Include the cruise and lowering configuration files and the MD5 summary
Collection Systems to EXCLUDE Collection system transfers whose directories aren’t copied
Extra Directories to EXCLUDE Extra directories that aren’t copied

Test Setup

Test Setup checks the destination without copying anything: that the server can be reached and the login works, that the destination directory exists, and that OpenVDM can write to it. Fix any failed check before running the transfer.

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