The Near Real Time MODIS processing system was conceived as a proof of concept program, and implemented under the Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) Central Satellite Data Processing (CSDP) contract. It was designed to provide NOAA with rapid access to weather data from the TERRA and AQUA satellites, and to provide risk reduction for future high data rate satellite systems by identifying the risks and problems associated with high data volumes and Near Real Time operations.

This paper and presentation will discuss the general challenges in designing an ftp server specifically for voluminous data sets. Discussion will identify: ease of use for users, using web interfaces, imaging software, security risks and design for data delivery.