Effective 1 June 2020, ftp will no longer be available on the NRT server

jsimpson.pps.eosdis.nasa.gov 

Effective that date the primary access method will be ftps.  A number of different ways to use ftps are available:

1. Python 3 ftplib supports ftps
2. In Linux lftp is a ftps client
3. curl works with ftps
4. wget works with ftps
5. Packages are available for Windows

You will need to have your system administrators open ports 64000-65000 in order for you ftps connection to jsimpsonftps.pps.eosdis.nasa.gov to work. If your attempt fails (hangs), it is likely that these ports are not available.

You may use jsimpsonftps.pps.eosdis.nasa.gov immediately and continue to use it after 1 June 2020. On 1 June 2020 jsimpson.pps.eosdis.nasa.gov will also be an IP name for the PPS NRT ftps server. Effective on 1 June 2020 both

jsimpsonftps.pps.eosdis.nasa.gov
          and
jsimpson.pps.eosdis.nasa.gov

are valid names (URL) for the PPR NRT ftps service.  Connections should always be made using the full name and not an alias.

For those people who can't use the preferred ftps connection we have made available an https server that has a REST service available so that you do not have to screen scrape XML pages. The REST https server uses the following URL:

https://jsimpsonhttps.pps.eosdis.nasa.gov/text/

This will provide text responses and not XML.

If you use the standard URL:

https://jsimpsonhttps.pps.eosdis.nasa.gov

You will get XML to scrape.

Documentation for this https service can be downloaded now via ftp from jsimpson.pps.eosdis.nasa.gov. Please retrieve it and read it. You should find the https server easy to use.

Also please note that jsimpsonhttps is likely to be down much longer during maintenance as the Apache software used is much more complicated to update.
Our experience shows that there are often problems with the working configurations after an update is installed.

On some occasions, jsimpsonhttps might be down for more than half day. All depends upon the complexity of the Apache update. As https is not the primary access mechanism to PPS NRT data, there is no redundent server for jsimpsonhttps.pps.eosdis.nasa.gov. So, recovery from a catastrophic server failure may take much longer. During this down period the https service may not be available.  PPS, of course, will do its utmost to repurpose another server for https services as fast as it can.

However, jsimpsonftps will retain the same uptime as the current ftp server.  So, it is suggested that if possible longer downtimes are a problem for you:  use of GPM NRT data, you should use ftps rather than https.  We will, of course, work hard to keep downtime on all the NRT servers down to the absolute minimum necessary to complete maintenance.

For questions, please email: erich.f.stocker@nasa.gov. However, if questions are about https, please ensure that you have read the documentation first. It might provide the answer that your are seeking.