Vortex PHP script overview
The new vortex.php script is included with StormVue version 3 and provides an alternative way of uploading lightning data to your website. If your web host supports PHP then you can use vortex.php in place of FTP uploads.
The script will collate real-time and up to 2 hour old lightning data and automatically generate the two JSON archives required by StormVue GEN-3 and StormStation 5 NGX on the web server end. There are many benefits to using vortex.php over to FTP:
✔️ Significantly reduces total amount of data uploaded. With PHP script upload option StormStation Data Server V3 will only upload the 2 hour archive data once. After that, only the real-time data is uploaded. The script automatically handles collecting and archiving of older data on the on the web server.
✔️ More security with HTTPS. If your web host provides SSL certificates you can use HTTPS instead of HTTP which means that all data, including your password, is encrypted. This will make it more difficult for hackers to breach your website integrity.
✔️ No data gaps. With FTP and File copy upload options there will always be a small gap in time, and consequently data, between the last archive update and the real-time data. This occurs due to the archive update interval being 3 or more minutes. With the vortex script these data gaps are eliminated. The script seamlessly updates the archive on the web end whenever new data arrives via the StormVue Data Server real-time data upload, so the archive is continuously kept up to date.
✔️ No file locks. With FTP and File copy upload options there is always a small chance of the data file being locked while it is updating. Because vortex.php can also serve lightning data to a web application, this problem is virtually eliminated.