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24 changes: 22 additions & 2 deletions docs/user_guide.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ Before diving into SimDB functionality, it's important to understand these key t
**Workflow**: Typically, you create and manage simulations locally, then push them to a remote SimDB server for sharing. The data referenced by your simulation can be either local (on your machine) or remote (on a data server).

**IMAS Access Layer compatibility**:
SimDB uses imas-python to read IMAS data. [imas-python](https://pypi.org/project/imas-python/) requires Access Layer 5 (AL5) or later and does not support the older Access Layer 4 (AL4). If your IMAS data was written using AL4 (e.g., MDSplus-based AL4 databases), you must convert it to AL5 format before use. See [AL4 MDSplus data migration](user_guide.md#al4-mdsplus-data-migration) below.
SimDB uses `imas-python` to read IMAS data. [imas-python](https://pypi.org/project/imas-python/) requires that MDSplus data files to be ingested were written with Access Layer 5 (AL5) or later, and does not support reading MDSplus files written with Access Layer 4 (AL4). If your IMAS data was written in MDSplus using AL4 (e.g., MDSplus-based AL4 databases), you must first convert it to AL5 format before use. See [AL4 MDSplus data migration](user_guide.md#al4-mdsplus-data-migration) below.

## Local simulation management

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ Without port (uses default):
**Note:** Ensure that the specified port is accessible through your network firewall. Contact your system administrator if you experience connectivity issues.

## AL4 MDSplus data migration
SimDB uses [imas-python](https://pypi.org/project/imas-python/) to read IMAS data. `imas-python` requires Access Layer 5 (AL5) or later and **does not support the older Access Layer 4 (AL4).**
SimDB uses [imas-python](https://pypi.org/project/imas-python/) to read IMAS data. `imas-python` requires that MDSplus data to be read was written with Access Layer 5 (AL5) or later and **does not support the older Access Layer 4 (AL4).**

If you have existing IMAS data stored in an AL4 MDSplus, you must migrate it to the AL5 directory layout before referencing it in a SimDB manifest. This can be done using the `mdsplusIMASDB4to5` tool provided by IMAS-Core, which creates the new AL5 directory layout with links to the original data files (the original data is not removed).
```mdsplusIMASDB4to5 [-h] [--dry-run] [-p PATH] [-d DATABASE] [-f]```
Expand All @@ -164,6 +164,26 @@ For further details on the `mdsplusIMASDB4to5` tool, refer to the IMAS-Core docu

## Remote SimDB servers

### Configuration file

SimDB stores remote server configuration in ~/.config/simdb/simdb.cfg. This file is automatically created on the first run of the SimDB CLI and is pre-populated with a connection entry for the default ITER SimDB server:
```
[remote "iter"]
url = https://simdb.iter.org/scenarios/api
default = True
username = $USER
firewall = F5
```

You can inspect the current remotes at any time with:

```bash
simdb remote config list
```
You can also view or edit `simdb.cfg` directly, but it is recommended to use the `simdb remote config` CLI commands to manage remotes to ensure the file stays correctly formatted.

**ITER users:** See [Connecting to the ITER remotes](https://simdb.readthedocs.io/en/latest/iter_remotes.html) for a step-by-step guide to setting-up and testing the ITER remote connection.

The SimDB CLI is able to interact with remote SimDB servers to push local simulations or to query existing simulations. This is done via the simdb remote command:

```bash
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