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P088; Presented in Canberra, 27 th March, 2008

GAIA RESOURCES. Experiences in mobilizing biodiversity data – the story of HermesLite Tim Carpenter and Piers Higgs. P088; Presented in Canberra, 27 th March, 2008. GR000: Presented in Fremantle on 20 th October, 2008. INTRODUCTION. Motivation HermesLite Overview Architecture

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P088; Presented in Canberra, 27 th March, 2008

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  1. GAIA RESOURCES Experiences in mobilizing biodiversity data – the story of HermesLite Tim Carpenter and Piers Higgs P088; Presented in Canberra, 27th March, 2008 GR000: Presented in Fremantle on 20th October, 2008

  2. INTRODUCTION • Motivation • HermesLite • Overview • Architecture • Implementation • Implementation at the WA Museum • Issues • Directions

  3. MOTIVATION • Based on our experiences with Museums: • Cost had to be minimal • No capacity to serve data • Need minimal infrastructural change • Remote management necessary • Funding for WA Museum (WAM) was made available through the Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS) • Under existing support arrangements to the WAM, Gaia Resources undertook the actual work

  4. HERMESLITE • Overview • HermesLite is an application designed to help institutions serve data - in accepted formats and standards - where they don’t have the capacity or resources to do this themselves. • Open Source • Written in Java • Easy to manage within an institution • Can be remotely managed

  5. HERMESLITE • Overview • Deployable in two configurations: • Data Retrieval mode: A liteweight, extensible, configurable Java application to extract and send data to… • Data Receiver and Storage mode: Extensible Java servlet application to receive, translate and store the data. • The Data Receiver and Storage mode can also act as the Retrieval mode if databases are local.

  6. HERMESLITE • Architecture External Server Internal Server MapServer Internal Collection Database External Database HermesLite Retrieval mode HTTPS HermesLite Receive & Store mode XML TAPIRLink

  7. HERMESLITE • Implementation • Data Retrieval mode: • Unpack distribution files onto server • Create a configuration file for each database • Set up Java Wrapper Service to run appropriately • Data Receiver and Storage mode: • Install HermesLite web application • Extend HermesLite classes • Drop in handler JAR to process data • Install other software, (e.g. TapirLink)

  8. HERMESLITE • Implementation - Data Retrieval • Configurationvia a simple properties filewithvariables

  9. HERMESLITE • Implementation - Data Storage • Extend HermesLite classes to process received rows againstchosen dataformat or standard

  10. HERMESLITE • Implementation • This can represent a considerable organisational change in the way data is delivered • Be prepared to guide your organisation through this process

  11. EXAMPLE • Western Australian Museum • Considerable discussion, demonstration, etc (“social engineering”) – still ongoing after four months • Selection statements for each database (restricting “sensitive” data) – being tuned all the time, curators define these • Darwin Core format • Restricted the fields being delivered

  12. EXAMPLE • Western Australian Museum • Production went live on 11th October, 2008 • Data services are IP restricted to OZCAM only Gaia Resource Bureau Server WAM Server MapServer WAM Collection Database Bureau Database HermesLite Retrieval mode HTTPS HermesLite Receive & Store mode XML TAPIRLink

  13. ISSUES • Two main issues struck during implementation: • “Social Engineering” • Life Sciences IDentifier (LSID) resolution

  14. ISSUES • Social Engineering • Are all parts of the organisation ready to publish their data? Consider: • Management? • Data custodians (curators)? • Information Technology staff/providers? • Customers (both “big” and “little”)? • Requires considerable cultural changes to organisations, especially when revenue from data provision

  15. ISSUES • LSIDs • A bureau service has issues with LSID resolution: • Originating institution WAM (www.museum.wa.gov.au) • Bureau service – hosting and resolving – at Gaia Resources (www.gaiaresources.com.au) • Difficulties in getting access to DNS records • Currently investigating opportunities to get around this by using the OZCAM cache as the LSID resolver

  16. DIRECTIONS • Future Directions • Discussions with GBIF and the ALA about integrating with other provider toolkits • Potential use within the Museum community in Australia under the Bureau service model

  17. DIRECTIONS TAPIRLink Collection Database Bureau Server TAPIR XML CSV MapServer SFTP Bureau Database HermesLite Receive & Store mode Collection Database SFTP HermesLite Retrieval mode TAPIRLink HTTPS Collection Database HermesLite Retrieval mode

  18. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS • Would not be possible without: • Funding from the ABRS • Support from the WAM, both from management and the curators themselves • Assistance and advice from the Faunal Collections Informatics Group members

  19. MORE INFORMATION • For more information… • Links and information available from the Gaia Resources web site, including links to the SourceForge project. • www.gaiaresources.com.au

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