BigPlanet File Types

BigPlanet generates two different file types: a BigPlanet archive and a BigPlanet file. Below each file type is explained in depth.

Archives

The BigPlanet archive contains everything from the parameter sweep. The archive can require hours to build, depending on the size of the data set and number of cores employed to build it. When an archive is built, BigPlanet enables Fletcher32 checksums on numeric datasets within the HDF5 file, providing automatic data integrity verification. HDF5 validates these checksums whenever data is read, ensuring the data are not corrupted. (Note: Fletcher32 checksums are applied only to numeric array data; scalar values and string data do not receive checksum protection due to HDF5 limitations.) After building the BPA file, it is safe to remove the raw data. To generate an archive, run BigPlanet with the -a option.

Files

The BigPlanet file is a subset of the archive that is useful for rapid and in-depth analyses of a specific aspect of the full parameter sweep. BigPlanet files enable much faster data access than from the raw data or the archive itself. There are two ways of creating a BigPlanet file: 1) extracting the data from the archive, or 2) extracting from the raw simulation data. Extracting from the archive is always the fastest way to create a BigPlanet file.