title: THREDDS OPeNDAP speed Matlab
body: <p>Using the following code in Matlab:</p>
  
  <pre><code>nc_file_list = {'http://data.nodc.noaa.gov/thredds/dodsC/ghrsst/L2P/MODIS_A/JPL/2015/287/20151014-MODIS_A-JPL-L2P-A2015287235500.L2_LAC_GHRSST_D-v01.nc.bz2'};
  
  
  temp.sl = ncreadatt(nc_file_list,'/','northernmost_latitude');
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I try to get a single attribute from a netcdf file on a THREDDS OPeNDAP server. Ive been told this should be very quick as the netcdf philosophy is build around accessing small parts of data in big data sets.</p>
  
  <p>The total size of the netcdf file is around 20 Mb. Running this code takes 17 seconds (internet speed is 5 Mb/s). </p>
  
  <p>I need to process 19,000 files so I want this netcdf attribute reading to go alot quicker. Is there a way to read the attribute of the link given above in under 1 second? </p>