Bangkok SG Meeting Sept. 2000

WGISS SubGroup Meetings

Chulalongkorn University

Bangkok, Thailand 13-15 Sept 2000

Edward King

(Edward.King@eoc.csiro.au)

Introduction

Meeting held in conjunction with WGISS SG meetings held later in the week at Chulalongkorn University.

These notes are not definitive. They were compiled by me as best I could during the meetings. Most presentations I attended are included, though I did not attend any of the Network or other meetings that ran in parallel to the Access SG meetings so these are not covered here.

I used Richard Morris's notes to supplement this document in one or two places where I was absent.

I hold a file of paper handouts from the meeting. These are referred to herein as Attachments and are numbered B0...Bn. Contact me if you require a copy of any of these.

Day 1, Wednesday, 13 September

Opening Remarks & Welcome from Dr Suvit (MOSTE) & Shinichi Sobue (NASDA)
Dr Suvit - Thailand is making a data acquisition, archiving and processing commitment as part of its intention to collaborate with space agencies around the world. Thailand wants to join CEOS as a sub-member before the 2001 Plenary in Kyoto.

Joint Session

Attachment document is B0 (WGISS SG Joint Session - Wednesday Morning)

Logistics - Verachai

5 min walk to lunch at 11.55

CEOS Information Infrastructure - Hiroshi Ishiguro

Long term goal - to provide comprehensive and up to date and online information relating to CEOS documents.
http://www.ceos.org is an entry point to CII.
It contains links to CEOS information, member agencies, EO tutorials, WG activities, and a contacts database.
The major goals are to promote CEOS internal & external communities at all levels (Plenary, Working Groups, Sub Groups, Task Teams as well as agency involvement).
New objectives include: providing additional services to support secretariat level activities for plenary, and to provide a working system for storage and maintainence of all CEOS plenary documents, and agendas etc for meetings.
Everything flows through CII controller (NASDA)
The target users are - CEOS secretariat & collaborators, members & associates, IGOS partners, and the general public.
Considering a CDROM version of these pages to promote CEOS activities to less "network" developed countries - this will require updated Working Group and Sub Group pages.
Action items for all present: review pages at http://www.ceos.org (comments to cii@eoc.nasda.go.jp). Review SG/TT pages by 31/12/2000 for inclusion in CII CDROM. Provide CEOS related Home pages to above email address for inclusion.

APAN2000 Earth Monitoring WG Report - Shinichi Sobue

Meeting recently in Beijing - included a tutorial and application session.
Recognised new temporary project to transfer DMSP data from NOAA to BOM (Aust.) to support Olympics for local and real time weather forecasting.
Earth Monitoring -wg activities moved from concept to operation.
Realizing benefits of utilising high end networking to exchange data & information.
Realize importance of continuing joint effort.
Plan to launch new project integrsated current Earth Monitoring & Agriculture projects focused on AgroEnvironment.
Issues - how to promote application areas? So far mostly technical people have been involved but now is the time to USE the network for real applications..
Next meeting Feb. 2001 in Hawaai.

Wireless Networking - Thom Stone

Useful to provide connectivity at conferences.
Point to Point connection in developing countries.
Connecting field sites (a very useful feature).
Provides 10 Mb ethernet using microwave frequencies.
Lucent Technologies system but compatible with ISO 802.11b hardware from other vendors.
Consists of access point and PCI cards that work in both PCs and Macs.
Security via encryption is possible (subject to US export restrictions).
Link quality monitoring (and adaptive data rates) are built in.
Can go point to point up to 15 km but needs to be line of sight (or close to it).
Technology is mature but new features are still being added.

Report on 1st EOS Workshop - Shinichi Sobue

Held 11-12 September at AIT, Bangkok.
Purpose - to promote Earth Observation data exchange for global change study.
Panel discussion assessed the current state of EO data access, exchange and use in SE Asia with aim of developing recommendations to improve utilisation.
Panel concluded:

the importance of regional network, esp. for training and education.
there is a need to consider data policy.
resources (human, computer, network) remain an issue, particularly human.
encouragement for the WGISS Test Facility concept.
knowledge transfer for science R&D is important.
regional distributed and virtual data center is desirable (such as NASDA's EOPC concept)

The way forward - "circulate and review the panel summary by the panelists themselves, and report result of W/S to WGISS and coming SGs..

Guideline Task Team - Nic Snape

Four guidelines documents - format, catalogue, auxillary data sets and browse are maintained - on average one document is read every working day.
There is work to be done on the format document to properly incorporate HDF (currently in abeyance because of new version of HDF).
Access at http://www.eos.co.uk
EAK - what about ASDA - check to see if incorporated.

GOIN Evolution TT - Shinichi Sobue

GOIN was initiated in 1993 as part of US-Japan Framework for a New Economic Partnership.
CEOS asked WGISS to provide temporary home for a GOIN TT during a transition process in 1999.
The WGISS motivation - GOIN is like a science pilot project for utilisation of global observing strategies and CEOS technical capabilities promotion.
The objectives are how to extend GOIN to the global community and how to manage it within CEOS framework.
Four paper documents are relevant B1 (GOIN Achievments and its Future), B2 (GOIN Evolution TT Report - Draft), B3 (GOIN Evolution TT Report to WGISS/SG), B4 (Proposal from Solar-Terrestrial Subgroup).

WGISS Test Facility (WTF) / Global Observation of Forest Cover (GOFC) discussion (chair Terry Fisher)

The WGISS Test Environment - Richard Morris

At the April WGISS SubGroup meeting - it was decided TT to collect examples with GOFC potential.
Further discussion followed at WGISS 10 where the WGISS Test Environment was accepted in principle.
Peter Churchill undertook to produce a document describing it.
The first demonstration of the Test Environment based around GOFC as first case, for discussing and fine tuning, will take place at Bangkok.
A reworked version of the WTE document will be put before WGISS 11 27-29 Sept, 2000.
The document will provide an input to CEOS plenary where progress will be reported on concerning the TE.
Purpose:

how to develop & improve products.
CEOS agencies are continually developing and implementing data/info systems.
A means is required to allow WGISS to interface with, and be part of this wider field of operations - the proposed TE will be major step forward.

Description of the WTE

It will encompass the agglomeration of WGISS tools and services held and operated by all CEOS WGISS members and associates.
These will be made available by an online WGISS menu - a web site pointing to references/links
Selected science and EO projects will work in partnership with WGISS to define their data and information systems and services (ISS) requirements and adapt products to satisfy them.
Using the test facility, coherent, open, modular systems will be developed to meet the ISS requirements of individual projects.
The outputs of the TFs will often result in a pre-operational information systems.

It is not WGISS role, nor aim of TE, to run operational systems in the long term. WGISS will assist in the develpment and establishment of such systems however.
Management:

Overall direction by WGISS - a management structure is required to ensure effective interaction between key components within the TE.
This is particularly true for the WGISS menu and individual TFs.
Such a structure will have to be very transparent to accomodate everyone.

The WGISS Vice Chair has responsibility for day to day management.
The WGISS plenary will be responsible for overall management - a report will be given at each meeting.
The WGISS plenary will select which international science and EO projects will work with WGISS in the framework of test environment.
WGISS SG & TTs will be responsible for providing technical input to the various selected TFs with the partners from the projects.
The WGISS menu, once created, needs to be maintained - someone (agency) must take responsibility for this.
Test Facilities will be managed by SGs reporting to WGISS plenary. Each TF will require a technical manager to be nominated from within WGISS, in parallel the selected international science or EO project will nominate their own technical manager who will share management responsibility.

GOFC requirements & scenarios - Fire - Chris Justice (Attachment B6)

There will be generally applicable parts of projects (such as DMSG/GOFC/etc).
Then the projects will have regional networks with project specific activities.
Assessment of demonstrations:

Some very useful tools have been developed for the test bed.
Voluntary contribution building on existing activities - eg web mapping, there is a need to continue the process.

GOCF is getting underway but it is early days - mostly individual contributions (with IT needs). What is needed are community projects ie prescriptive near term achievable demos - operational R&D within the implementation teams - with IT needs. Need some early successes to help promote the test facility.
GOFC Fire: early prescriptive demonstration in SE Asia.

SEA multi source web mapping with merged datasets of AVHRR, TRMM, DMSP, ATSR, GMS, MODIS - the Internet works in SEA (for web access, NOT data), fire groups are already working here.
GIS framework - application driven.
GIS rapid response/48 hr turn around.
Initial site then mirror activities.
Training component.
Outreach component.
Target policy demonstrations for leverage.

Such a SEA community 12 month fire demonstration needs:

agreed upon data sources and archives.
database activity to enable merging data.
a service to merge satellite/GIS on the web.
network to enable pilot users to access web site

GOFC needs to analyse the data for fire management in a GIS context and to build user capacity.

GOFC requirements & scenarios - Forest Cover - David Skole

Demonstrating end to end data and information generation including science processing and product generation and end user needs in a regional network.
Functional requirements:

Improved discovery and access for one-stop shopping is needed.
Provision of services to create data bundles for specific science projects
Services to merge multi source data with GIS products – web based
Multiple map merge and map generation
Increase network performance and distribution

Science scenario:

Catalogue and services discovery – through IDN GOFC Portal
Archive and database access and delivery.
Provision of specific data and/or product bundles.
Tools – eg acquisition model developed with links to CNES, LTAP.
Enhancements to current networks.
Product generation at two levels.
Forest cover at regional level, coarse, and fine resolution.
Two date forest cover change.
Calibration/validation.

Actions

GOFC should document data aspects, product specs.
WTF straw map design.

Joint WTF/GOFC design team.
Technical workshop.
Next demo sets.
Involve users in assessment and evaluation.
Comment from Ivan Petiteville – GOFC requirements should be both short and long term. The short term is something WGISS can provide now with very little change, and the long term is something which needs more work, money and input.

WTF Target Vision/Demo Synthesis - Alan Doyle

Synthesising different views by threading together many parts
Important issues:

how to decide which interfaces and components to address first?
how to initially reuse items that are currently in the WGISS menu?
how to develop an interoperable services structure?
how to hook in existing and new analysis tools (eg IDL)?
how to identify and define interfaces that will enable systems to interoperate?
how to arrive at the right level of abstraction for interfaces?
how to develop interfaces that enable plug and play components?
how to define & develop components that will fit into or extend current systems?
can current systems be extended to include the additional services without a major redesign?
can the new components add functionality but minimise cost of development and maintainance?
how to define/develop interfaces, components, and toolkits that will allow quick building of new portals?

Network Performance TT - Andy Germain

Data will soon be available online at http://corn.eos.nasa.gov/performance/Net_Health/CEOS
working towards implementing a European test source at UNEP Norway.
Improved peering.
Summary of testing changes.
Some discussion from the floor at the end on the subject of "Why are these statistics important?". The answer appears to be "They make up a part of the Test Environment Menu – this type of work will show people who are having network problems who to contact and how to get a better network speed by perhaps connecting to networks such as STARTAP/APAN – etc.".

WTF Discussion - (chaired by Terry Fisher)

To be written up and summarised by Terry.
Implementation Approach

prioritisation and levels of effort from WGISS.
need a terms of reference for the WGISS Test Facility itself.
to manage the test environment – WGISS Vice chair + sub-group chairs, plus GOFC representative.

Schedules and Milestones

Nov 00 technical meeting in Washington
Feb 01 APAN meeting in Hawai
Feb 01 IWS2001 meeting – Tokyo
April 01 – SubGroups
Fall 01 Fire meeting (mentioned by Chris Justice).
Sep 01 Sub Group meeting
Nov 01 plenary meeting Kyoto, Japan

Day 2, Thursday, 14 September

Data Services TT Introduction - Ken McDonald

new DS TT leader to be nominated/appointed
Agenda is attachment document B5 (DSTT Draft Agenda).

OGC Data Services - Alan Doyle

OGC Interoperability Program - CORE Architecture - Applications, Catalogs & Directories, Operators & Methods, Repositories, Networks.
Lot of issues to be resolved in the road just ahead - eg how to search capability lists of map servers?
Very dynamic area at the moment, ideas coming and going, backed by big players, possibly with momentum disproportionate to their value.
NASSL - network accessible service ? ?
Very unclear what the roadmap is.

ISO TC211 Part 19 Overview - Lorant Czaran

Metadata and services meetings have been attended. No one from WGISS is putting together anything for any reports to ISO – so Lorant either does it himself or doesn’t report. – NOTE: what should be done?
Note from the floor: Weshould minute all SG meetings. Why is this not done already?

Earth Science Data Tools and Services - Lola Olsen & David Kendig

ESDT&S are defined for classification as being products, systems,, tools or programs expressly created for application to ES data that are available for use with ES data.
Who decides if service is appropriate for inclusion?
SERF - services entry resource format.
Use http://globalchange.nasa.gov to get to IDN.
New service - in Beta - opportunity for CSIRO to participate in testing.
Demonstration of the GCMD, including the descriptions of DIFs (or was it SERFs?). There is machinery to enable writing metadata online.

Metadata Discovery Services - Nic Snape & Andy Chamberlain

Currently metadata present the following problems:

lack of interoperability
proliferation
unpredictability
difficulty in reading/interpreting

Possibilities

devise a standard way of presenting metadata to provide a degree of interoperability.
base on open standards (GML?)
furture metadata gateways responding with XML/GML, not HTML
applications. & services capable of GML
browsers or GIS, accessing modular, chained......
demonstration of a development in ArcView using a GML-based method of selecting metadata.

Satellite Image Retrieval & User Defined Tailoring of Data Products by Post Processing - Bernhard Buckl

No notes

DSTT Contribution to WTF - Ken McDonald

Group which is already working on GOFC, will provide input. They are organising a meeting for requirements collection etc. in the US on 27th November in Maryland – WGISS Test Facility Technical Group.

Lunch

WWW TT Session Introduction - Clive Best

Main TT activities:

EOGEO workshop for developers - help align systems & outreach to related communities
technology watch - to avoid wheel reinvention

Agenda for this afternoon:

EOGEO 2000 report - Yonsook Enloe
EOGEO 2001 - Terry Fisher
Review of web developments - Clive Best
An XML application - Liping Di
Balance between server/client - Mike Botts
WMT Web related issues - Alan Doyle
Agency developments
AOB

EOGEO 2000 Report - Yonsook Enloe

120 participants
40 presentations & demos
Papers at http://webtech.ceos.org/eogeo2000
Better presentations.
More people choose this as their annual technical workshop.
Systems presented using more sophisticated technology.
hot topics

security
CORBA
services
metadata
data marketing
OpenGIS WWW mapping testbed
Java standardisation
XML implementation & representation

over past years presentations are becoming more architectural (less technical) "these were my problems and these are my solutions"
need to identify the more common problems beforehand, should identify these in call for papers and have more group/panel discussion on these during meeting.

EOGEO 2001 - Terry Fisher

To be hed in conjunction with 2nd International Symposium on the Digital Earth.
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
Digital Earth theme is "beyond information infrastructure" - try to reflect a world where geospatial data infrastructure is already in place.
http://www.digitalearth.ca
much discussion about the wisdom of holding with Digital Earth - it was not clearly expressed but the bottom line, underlying much of the unease was simply that the time frame and organisation for DE conference is very formal, and anything which reduces or impedes EOGEO's ability to be flexible and agile in the area that it addresses detracts directly from its potential to deliver.

Review of Recent Web Developments - Clive Best

The web browser has become THE universal internet tool
To progress the web must provide more powerful functions for distributed computing
XML is the technology platform being proposed to achieve that
XML development:

XML spawns a host of languages
more used as a wrapper to describe structured data for transfer over http - commerce driven
community flavours of XML need defining

DTD
XML schema - more detailed description

XML can move the web to distributed services and computing

extending the web

XML-QL, query language for searching XML repositories
SOAP - Simple Object Application Protocol - RPC over http defined in XML
Distributed applications

transforming XML

XSL style sheets - formatting to different media
XSLT transformation language

defines how to transform XML from one schema to another
examples - XML to HTML
FGDC -> CIP
XML -> SVG for vector graphics, maps etc

metadata interoperability

CIP/FGDC/DIF -> transform engine (using XSLT) -> tc211

RDF (resource description framework)

logical model for defining web resources

document
person
(everything has a URI)

triplets model

resource (eg person) - property (name) - value (clive)
need to define meaning of 'person'
link these to form a 'semantic web'

Diagram from Tim Berners-Lee (see W3C web site, TBL talk)
real problem - hidden web

estimates are that the web is 500 times bigger than what is visited by search engines
perhaps 99.8 % of content is not indexed by search engines (eg dynamic CGI)
hidden in databases searchable only through dtnamic code
how to publish data?

web chaos

finding things on the web is getting worse, not better
technology advances

dc metadata, rdf
advanced search engines - eg Google

but commercial interests dominate - search engine ranking is for sale
algorithms like Google's are easy to fake

current lines of approach

how to achieve Resource Discovery on a dynamic web

RDF
predefined vocabulary
Semantic Search Engines
UDDI

Semantic Search Engines

progress slow on "understanding text"
idea is to machine read the file and classify according to a clustering model
predefined vocabulary based on clustering

practicalities

scalability rules out either Z39.50 etc
either

RDF takes off or new protocols needed (agent/obots discover resources)
or a publish/discover infrastructure - UDDI - connect Databases through APIs

Content Description Language
UDDI Service Discovery

UDDI Universal Discovery Description and integration http://uddi.org (IBM & Microsoft)
driven by e-commerce
distributed registry of web services
aimed at business to business

UDDI World

service discovery for e-commerce

service protocols TBD/UDDI/SOAP/XML/?

Possible Implications for WGISS

IDN provides a quality high level directory service but real time updates a problem
Alternative/complementatry model to Z39.50
metadata interoperability solved?
services/product dynamic directories needed
one place to search for products/services needed for WGISS TF
fully distrib services becoming avaialable.

Conclusions

very important today to watch what is happening in core web developments
no point in repeating work done elsewhere.

An XML-based Inventory Metadata Catalog System - Liping Di

catalog of inventory metadata in XML can be built for EOS terra files
XML data catalogs from different missions and projects in XML will enhance data interoperability
XML will continue to enhance data cataloguing and archiving, and will greatly facilitate data searching and display

Balance Between Server/Client - Mike Botts

Lessons from STT Activity

options for accessing distributed data
balance of server vs client
importance of caching (client & server)

options for distributed data

use url for distributed files

simple
have direct access

may send more data than needed
client becomes heavyewight (needs more data knowledge)
may require native code (C, C++, FORTRAN) eg HDF

send intelligent request

example : WMT getmap
pro simple to support, use of transparency
con: very limited particularly for 3 D interactivity

send request, return structured document

examples VRML, XML, (SOAP, GML, etc)
pro - "simple" to standardise & extend. Independent of any programming language
con - can be imprctical for large datasets (large volumes, slow to parse), must keep up with latest document specification

send request, return distributed object

examples: Java Serialised Objects, CORBA
pro - very powerful, can include methods for intelligent access and processing, efficient with regard to transport and I/O
con - generally language or implementation specific

Return Hybrid Collection

example - package of XML doc, flat binary data, images (eg for a textured grid)
pro - can be very efficient, can be supported by any programming language on client and/or server
con - needs a standardised packaging mechanism (http)???

balancing of server and client side services

client-side services

adv. more interatctivity, can use with multiple data from multiple sources
disadv. client becomes more heavy weight, & may require more data transferred to client

server-side services

adv. allows client lightweight, & can act closer to the large data set (more processing power, less data sent over web)
disadv. interactivity requires contant server hits with dependence on speed of link & harder with multiple data sources

lessons

where services occur depends on particular need and particular data characteristics
no single answer as to where services best fit
best solution: create service components that can easily be applied within either client or servers

WMT2 OGC - Alan Doyle

before WMT : eg http://terraserver.microsoft.com, http://www.mapquest.com, http://www.epa.gov/enviro/enviromapper.html (all incompatible)
after WMT: web map servers that respond to detailed requests from a savvy client
getmap and getcapabilities request mandatory, featureinfo is optional and provides information about specific items on the map
getmap provides GIF, SVG, PNG, JPG, WebCGM or data (XML)
getmap request

spatial context

spatial reference system
corners of map
image width and height

list of layers

layer name
symbolization style

return format

GIF|JPEG|WebCGM|SVG etc
background info (color, transparency)
exception type = inimage|encoded/Parseable

cubewerx do a cascading map server (transforming other peoples data)

Geography Markup Language (GML)

XML based
intended to enable transport and storage of geographic information in XML, including properties
intended to model the structure and relationships for real world geography
there is a distiction between GML and graphic represntation (eg SVG)

where to find:

www.opengis.org - > follow links to WM servers Implement spec & GML spec

IDN TT - Lola Olsen

Attachments: B7 (DIF statistics), B8 (IDN TT Profile), B9 (Write a DIF V8), B10 (XSL notes), B11 (DIF<->ISO mapping), B12 (Responses to proposals to modify parts of IDN).
Node reports from: Lorant Czaran, Terry Fisher, Lola Olsen, Tomomi Neo, lee belbin – on the number of DIFS in their IDN’s and other operational issues.
MEDI - from AODC (Java based metadata creation tool for offline use) can be used tro create, locate, maintain, metadata records
Lee Belbin - Antarctic community is developing a metadata starter kit.

MD8 - Dave Kendig

release objectives

enable easier exchange of data among IDN nodes
enable distributed input to IDN
improve usability
inprove ease of installation
create more open search API
create foundation for future extensibility
reduce software maintainence

proposals for addition/deletion of DIF
improve spatial search using polygons and polylines
heterogeneous metadata exchange
free-text search enhancements (upgrade Isite, XML, XSL)
Parent/child relationship in DIF
thesaurus
valids for access constraints
XML Schema developments
focus on portal functionality and usability issues
idn website search
improved search ranking
improved DIF presentation
navigation between DIFs and SERFs
allow users to rate/comment on entries (similar to amazon.com)
zope? (try gist.jrc.it says Clive Best - it's on freshmeat.net)

Day 3, Friday, 15 September

CINTEX TT Introduction - Yonsook Enloe

Agenda is attachment document B13 (CINTEX TT Draft Agenda).
Needs to be some discussion about linking of catalogues to provide wholesaling of data for GOFC support.
Is there an automated way of searching all data centres, rather than going to each one individually?
Problem of somehow searching across heterogeneous interfaces (IMS/FGDC Z39.50/Homemade) - is simple search the only option - how far have we come?
Need to think about this soon - before the (late) November technical meeting.
NOTE: Yonsook will collect the formal list of datasets from the Agencies i.e. CNES, CSIRO, NASDA, CCRS, JRC, etc which may be needed by the GOFC people for the Test facility. Also look at the search and access parameters needed to acquire that data.

WMT2 Technical Challenges - Alan Doyle

Web map server is not a particularly good way of retrieving data. But it is a good way to display it (ie it gives you colour, not values)
Web Feature Server (WFS) and Web Coverage Server (WCS) are possibilities.
Will there be a Coverage Markup Language and will it be part of GML?
XML Considerations (problems/opportunities)

leverage GML
use X*L -specs in a graduated way (much as GML does)
Realize that 99% of data is not in XML databases

We (the GML et al community) are in a mode where the specs are crystallising sufficiently that some demonstrations will be possible and some assessment of their functionality made before the end of the year.

Valids Discussion

EOSDIS - Jingli Yang

EDG metadata updates and valids coordination
8 US DAACS + international data centres (DLR, CSIRO, HEOC (Japan), IRE-RAS (Russia), CCRS (Canada), ISA-MEIDA (Israel))
Metadata model:

developed using a bottom up approach
3 mandatory EDG attributes (Parameter, Sensor or Data_Set_Id)
4 optional attributes - Source, Campaign, Processing_Level, Data_Center_Id
extended attributes for dataset specific search

Parameter

a measured or derived geophysical variable represented in the data
262 geophysical parameter valids
56 parameter filters
parameter valids and filters are generated based on GCMD geophysical keywords
2072 parameter aliases have been created to aid data & document search

Sensor

280 sensor valids
14 sensor filters
Sensor valids and filters are generated based on defined rules (see valids author webpage)
87 sensor aliases

Data_Set_Id

A named collection of data/observations
data center specific and determined by each data center
1065 data set ID valids (92 are CINTEX data sets)
approximately 150 data set short name aliases

Extended attributes

are used for search fields that are not common across all (or most) datasets
There are about 40 extended attribute categories (ie grouping to improve manageability)

Metadata Processing

Data centers submit valids and related files
Process and test valids and related files
Generate support file for EDG clients
Web-based automated valids processing and testing tool (EVP) will be released Fall 2000
Metadata maintainance
Valids coordination

New Guide System

To replace current WAIS-based V0 guide subsystem with state-of-the-art indexing, search and and retrieval technology for improved functionality and maintainence.
Isite software is selected for the system.
Components - spider, checksum, Guide index creation,......
Status - A demo version of the baseline system will be delivered in Fall 2000
NOTE: The "Guide System" is an index to a heterogenous "Guide Collection" of documents describing the data in the various DAACS.

Valids coordination

working with EDG <-> IDN (joint valids team, maintain a non-compliant EDG valids webpage)
EDG -> GCMD (Summary document search)
GCMD -> EDG (EDG Icon for individual DIFs)

Coordination between ECS and EDG
CIP, EDG, IDN Relationships?

CCRS Valids - Brian McLeod

No notes

ESA Valids - Ivan Petiteville

No notes

How Can Valids Be Better Coordinated Across CINTEX Sites? - discussion lead by Yonsook Enloe

Four major entities - IDN Valids Coordination Node, EGD Valids CN, CIP Valids CN, GOFC Valids CN

Implementation Updates

DIAL/CIP Updates - Lakshmi Kumar

DIAL provides catalog & data services, local and distributed search, supports protocols (HTTP, V0, and soon CIP)
DIAL/CIP translatr facilitates interop between ICS and DIAL domains. This activity started in March 2000
translates incoming CIP to DIAL and DIAL responses back to CIP (assymetric, DIAL can't search CIP)
Features (as of Sept 2000)

CIP services: init, search, present, close
spatial and temporal searches
level-1 segmentation
named result....

NASDA IMS Server Status - Ben Burford

Offline during Feb-April (security problems)..
Online since middle of May but catalog data no longer being updated since the end of March.
New system coming on line soon (with up to date data).
Need to resolve some valids disputes between NASA/NASDA (in the hands of the Scientists)
NASDA testing, NASA testing.
Big list of datasets going into the new server (practically everything held by NASDA).

INFEO Updates - Ivan Petiteville (on behalf of Michel Millot)

Status

Still running (nominally)
Currently no major changes in the number of collections available
No. of registered users is steadily increasing
JRC involvement in the operation still currently planned to stop at end of 2000
Catalog testing planned
INFEO CIP 2.4 Retrieval manager public availability - RAL/DERA UK CIP 2.4 R.M.
simpler map definition
ability to announce and advertise resources
Release B public availability planned 10/2000
Conclusion - Despite the adversities, development went ahead to improve INFEO and to make it as complete, as useful, and as up to date as possible.
We can confidently say that INFEO will be in a state allowing transfer to one or several other institutions to pursue further its operation and development.

ESA Plans for INFEO

JRC approaches ESA to run in March 2000. ESA's answer contingent on detailed technical assessment
Only INFEO-A assesed so far
ESA management answer not before October 2000
To increase the use, performance bottlenecks must be eliminated. A test campaign involving all the actors should be set up to identify the bottlenecks and weaknesses of the complete system (INFEO core+data repository)
data providers should satisfy some basic requirements to join INFEO (criteria like connectivity, collection databases, response time...)
regular monitoring of the whole INFEO performance with feedback to data providers.
Maybe add new gateways and data collections
Maybe redesign the thematic collections tree (in fact just a reconfiguration)
need to improve/tune the MCF monitoring capabilities
Improve the web user interface.
Maybe add on-line ordiring capabilities, improve security of MWNDs, add an API library, provide results in XML using XSL

MUIS Status Updates

MUIS-B accepted summer 2000
MUIS-C development ongoing, operational first Q 2001
MUIS-C "EOLI" interface under development by DLR. Delivery expected for end of 2000
CIP access to MUIS after summer 2000
MUIS accessible via INFEO during 4th Q 2000
assessment of INFEO during 2nd H 2000
ODISSEO harmonisation to be started in 4th Q 2000

Federation Helpdesk - Ben Burford

Plan to set up a wevb site with documentation to assist with setting up new sites
Help from Sue ? at JPL who has a lot of DAAC user interaction experience
Ideas from IDN - should be about 6 months.

Main Page

Legal Notice & Disclaimer