The netCDF format used in CL61 is built on netCDF‑4 which is built on Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS). You can open and read CL61 netCDF files with any HDFS or netCDF‑4 reader, for example, Panoply.
CL61 netCDF files are sent using the SSH file transfer protocol (SFTP) to a customer server. The ceilometer is defined as a secure client using a key-based scheme.
The files contain the following data:
- Atmospheric attenuated backscatter and polarization profiles
- Cloud heights and vertical visibility
- Total cloud cover (sky condition)
- Cloud layer specific covers and heights (sky condition)
- Cloud penetration depth or cloud thickness
- Precipitation detection (binary)
- Fog detection (binary)
- Measurement metadata (for example, tilt angle and gain type)
- Diagnostics data (status, monitoring)
- Metadata, including:
- Interface version
- Device identity and location
- Device status and monitoring data
For details about the netCDF file that CL61 produces, see CL61 User Guide (M212475EN).