Infrastructure Versions

Outline of functionality to be implemented in versions of the DataONE cyber-infrastructure. Version numbers are expressed in three parts: Major.Minor.Revision to reflect official releases of the software, where:

Major

Is a significantly different release from the previous version number, may provide significant additional features and may implement functionality that is not backwards compatible with prior releases.

Minor

Adds additional features to an existing release and maintains compatibility within the current major version.

Revision

Indicates a minor change from the current version, typically used to provide bug fix releases. Will not usually add additional functionality.

Three major versions are planned for the first five years of the DataONE project. These versions refer to the general implementation of the overall cyber-infrastructure, though for specific components (e.g. the Coordinating Node software stack or the Investigator Toolkit), it may be more appropriate for them to evolve their own versions (with some mapping between those and the general version of DataONE).

Version 0.x represents the prototype implementations to be developed prior to the first public release of the infrastructure. The general progression of features for this series beyond the initial specifications involves configuration of test environments and core API implementation libraries that are then used to add DataONE features and functionality to various existing data resources and component applications. The end result of the 0.x series will be three Coordinating Nodes and at least three Member Nodes that implement DataONE functionality to replicate metadata and data, enable search and discovery, and supports remote administration and monitoring. Another important output from the prototyping activities will be documentation and guidelines for further implementation, detailing the results of stress tests and evaluation of simulated failures such as node failures and connectivity issues.

Version 1.x is the first public release of the DataONE cyber-infrastructure and will represent a hardened and well-tested system that can reliably be placed in a core infrastructure role. Additional features will be added to the infrastructure throughout the 1.x series, with the majority of focus addressing the remaining performance and reliability questions as well the science use cases developed by various working groups during the first year of activity.m

Version 2.x represents more advanced functionality that builds upon the capabilities of the version 1.x series. Anticipated features of the 2.x series include content validation and quality control services (extending basic services implemented previously), more sophisticated event and notification facilities, support for content version migration strategies, and several service enhancements such as various data extraction, analysis, visualization and integration operations. An important aspect of the 2.x series development activities will be ensuring the system being implemented supports as far as possible the requirements of the scientific use cases identified throughout project.

General Schedule for Infrastructure Version 0.x

Approximate timeline and functionality for version releases.

Version	Date	Description	Use Cases	API Methods
0.1	2009/09	* General architecture laid out * Initial set of user requirements identified * Functional use cases for user requirements drafted
0.2	2009/11	* Major system components identified * Service interfaces specified * Functional uses cases fleshed out, edited for consistency * High level component interactions documented
0.3	2010/04	* Initial coding on low level functionality and shemas * Prototype specfications documented * Initial core software components identified * System metadata schema defined * CN library incompatibilities evaluatated * Base inter-process communications enabled (Mercury - Metacat) * CN, MN API wrappers generated * Reference implementations for CN and MN initiated * Low level logging incorporated into API wrappers	* Use Case 01 - Get Object Identified by PID * Use Case 36 - Resolve an Object Location	* X MN_crud.get() * done for GMN MN_crud.log() * X CN_crud.get() * X CN_crud.getSystemMetadata() * X CN_query.search()
0.4	2010/05	* Initial implementation of metadata replication and indexing * Initial implementation of selected MNs * CN Hardware procured * CN implemetation using Metacat + Mercury with API wrapper * MN - CN communication secured * Mercury search index population trigger implemented * CN - CN replication of metadata * Design initial web interface for user interaction * Design monitoring functionality to track services and objects	* Use Case 02 - List PIDs By Search * Use Case 03 - Register MN * Use Case 06 - MN Synchronize * Use Case 10 - MN Status Reports * Use Case 16 - Log CRUD Operations	* X MN_crud.getSystemMetadata() * X MN_replication.listObjects() * X CN_crud.create() * CN_crud.log() * CN_crud.resolve()
0.5	2010/06	* Initial data replication implemented * MN - MN transfer implemented * Basic search interface available * Basic log reporting available * Search and retrieval supported by ITK * Initial implementation of centralized user authentication * Identity and credentials propagated through system * Implement web interface for user interaction with CNs * Implement initial mechanisms for tracking objects and service uptime	* Use Case 06 - MN Synchronize * Use Case 17 - CRUD Logs Aggregated at CNs * Use Case 12 - User Authentication * Use Case 13 - User Authorization	* CN_authentication.login() (will use IP based auth) * CN_authentication.verifyToken() * CN_authorization.isAuthorized()
0.6	2010/07	* System self manages replication * CN controlling replication between MNs * Reporting interface for system status	* Use Case 09 - Replicate MN to MN * Use Case 24 - MNs and CNs Support Transactions
0.7	2010/08	* Basic authorization and access control * Initial authorization subsystem implemented * Initial object access control implemented	* Use Case 14 - System Authentication and Authorization
0.8	2010/09	* Stress testing * Failure recovery test and evaluation * Writeup, lessons learned * Re-design, select alternative components as necessary

Detail for Version 0.3

Major goals for this target are functional prototype implementations of the CN, MN and a simple client suitable for testing interactions.

This version of the software represents the initial implementation of the CN and MN services, and should support at least use cases Use Case 01 - Get Object Identified by PID and Use Case 36 - Resolve an Object Location.

The MN implementation will be a Django application that can stand alone, or interact with Metacat, Dryad, or ORNL DAAC for retrieving data and science metadata objects. The MN will implement the APIs described in Member Node APIs using a REST interface approach as described in /apis/REST_interface. The MN should be able to operate on any Linux, OS X or Windows platform that supports python 2.6. External dependencies beyond the standard python install should be clearly documented.

The CN implementation will be a combination of Java servlet applications including Metacat for object storage, Mercury for object indexing for basic search and browse, and “cn_service” which will implement the necessary CN APIs and the logic to interact with the object store and search index. The CN should implement the APIs described in Coordinating Node APIs using a REST interface approach as described in /apis/REST_interface.

The simple client will be implemented in Python and should support the external APIs provided by both the CN and MN implementations. The client will be developed primarily to support test operations against the CN and MN, though should be developed with consideration as a general DataONE client tool.

Detail for Version 0.4

The major change for this target is replication of content across CNs.

Version 0.4 will extend the implementations developed in version 0.3 by adding support for use cases Use Case 02 - List PIDs By Search, Use Case 03 - Register MN, Use Case 06 - MN Synchronize, and Use Case 10 - MN Status Reports.

This MN implementation for this release should support basic interaction with at least one of the specified MN targets (i.e. Metacat, Dryad, ORNL DAAC) and provide access to real data from that service.

The CN implementation will need to support replication between CN (Metacat) instances.

Detail for Version 0.5

The major change for this target is CN driven data replication across MNs.

Version 0.5 will extend the implementation developed in version 0.4 by adding support for the use cases Use Case 06 - MN Synchronize, Use Case 16 - Log CRUD Operations, and Use Case 17 - CRUD Logs Aggregated at CNs.

At completion of this milestone, the infrastructure will support the basic functionality of DataONE except with no integration of identity, authentication, and minimal authorization (dictated by machine connections rather than user identities).