The ARK CLS 'Ideal' server powers OpendTect's workstation connection. These servers support OpenWorks R2003.12 and R5000 and GeoFrame/IESX 4.4 and 4.5. The 'Ideal' data access server runs on the same machine as the OpendTect application and at present only Linux is supported. However, OpenWorks/SeisWorks or GeoFrame itself can run on either Linux or Solaris but the filesystem where the OpenWorks / GeoFrame installation is installed, either Linux or Solaris, must be NFS mounted such that OpendTect can access that filesystem to create a proper environment.

When OpendTect run is to use OpenWorks or GeoFrame, the WorkStationLink file is consulted at startup. OpendTect needs to be started from a properly prepared environment. Essentially, OpenWorks or GeoFrame must also be runnable in that environment. The startup script will check for this - For OpenWorks, the OWHOME variable is checked, for GeoFrame, GF_PATH. The full initialisation and checking sequence can be found in <OpendTect installation directory>bin/init_arkcls. It is recommended to start OpendTect from a GeoFrame or OpenWorks xterm with no WorkStationLink file.

The ARK CLS servers use shared memory to transfer the data. In init_arkcls, the amount of shared memory reserved for the ARK CLS server is set to one quarter or the available shared memory, with a maximum of 1/4 GB. The ARK CLS servers have their own license policy. You will need a license for the ARK CLS workstation connection. These licenses are distributed by dGB.