This document explains the steps that Data Managers and scientific communities need to take in order to use the EUDAT services or to join the infrastructure.
There are two modes of integration:
- to “use” EUDAT, it suffices to connect via the webservices that make up the Common Services Layer Interface (CSLI).
- to “join” EUDAT, the new infrastructure will need to adopt the EUDAT collaborative data infrastructure (CDI).
In both cases the community will benefit from access to the EUDAT’s primary services – B2SAFE for safe replication, B2FIND, the metadata harvesting and cataloguing service, B2SHARE for storage and sharing of smaller data sets, B2STAGE for transferring data to high performance computing nodes and B2DROP for storing and exchanging data with colleagues and team members. Joining is more demanding but it allows to benefit of the proper EUDAT data centre features such as: choice of data centres to federate with B2SHARE; use of their own PID service within the EUDAT domain; optimised data transfer within the EUDAT CDI; tighter control of data management policies (replication, authorisation) through direct management of core services at their site.
The joining process thus requires installing and configuring the EUDAT CDI. In practice, four packages need to be deployed: iRODS; a Handle system for PIDs (or the EPIC client); the B2SAFE iRODS rules; and (optionally) the B2STAGE DSI package. Configuration requires connection to the EPIC system; connection to other iRODS installations in EUDAT; and connection to the metadata catalog.
The definition of the CSLI API for Community Data Managers to integrate with EUDAT through the use mechanism is under development at the time of writing this document. However, the EUDAT services B2SHARE, B2STAGE and B2FIND all offer interfaces for end users, and we cover these interfaces below.