Installation
Currently the DESC dataregistry database is only accessible through NERSC
(i.e., PerlMutter).
Using the dataregistry at NERSC
The dataregistry package is readily available as part of the
desc-python-bleed environment (see here
for details about the Conda environments available at NERSC). Therefore
before getting started, make sure to activate the desc-python-bleed
environment from the command line, or, when working at the NERSC JupyterHub,
select the desc-python-bleed kernel.
If you wish to install the dataregistry package yourself, see the
instructions here.
Access accounts
Authentication to the DESC dataregistry database works through two primary
group accounts, reg_reader and reg_writer. These accounts have
different privileges depending on the database schema you are connected to.
Both reg_reader and reg_writer have query (read) access to the primary
working schema (lsst_desc_working), but only reg_writer has write
access to register new entries in the database.
Both reg_reader and reg_writer accounts have read and write access to
the tutorial schemas (used for the tutorial notebooks, i.e., the
tutorial_working and tutorial_production schemas).
Neither reg_reader or reg_writer can write to the main production
schema (lsst_desc_production), however they both have read access. If you
need to register production entries, please consult one of the data registry
admins.
Depending on which account you have access to, you will need to perform a one-time-setup to authenticate, detailed below.
Authenticating with the database
A one-time setup is required in order to authenticate with the DESC data
registry database. This is done via a YAML configuration file which stores the
connection information to the database, and a .pgpass file, which stores
user credentials.
First, make a dataregistry configuration file. We recommend a file named
~/.config_reg_access stored in your $HOME directory, containing the
entry
sqlalchemy.url : postgresql://<username>@dataregistry-release-test-loadbalancer.mcalpine-test.development.svc.spin.nersc.org:5432/desc_data_registry
where <username> should either be reg_writer or reg_reader,
depending on what account you have access to.
Then (if you don’t have one already), create a file named ~/.pgpass in your
$HOME directory, and append the entry
# data registry db
dataregistry-release-test-loadbalancer.mcalpine-test.development.svc.spin.nersc.org:5432:desc_data_registry:<username>:<password>
where <password> is provided on demand by the DESC data registry admins. As
a final step, the .pgpass file must only be readable by you, which you can
ensure by doing
chmod 600 .pgpass