The Core Architecture consists of the GEO Web Portal, Clearinghouse, and Registry components along with processes to register, discover and use services accessible via GEOSS Interoperability Arrangements. In 2007, an Initial Operating Capability (IOC) was established and tested for the Core Architecture for exchange and dissemination of observations and information for GEOSS.
Results accomplished for the IOC:
o An architecture has been established for GEOSS in terms of a set
of component types, the functional requirements for interaction between the components, and standards for the interactions.
o Demonstration of the core architecture was accomplished and
recorded, showing: 1) the service registration and discovery process, 2)application of the architecture to eight societal benefit area
scenarios, and 3) use of the portal candidates.
Click here for screencast videos of the demonstrations
o An Initial Operating Capability has been established for GEOSS.
An on-line site describing the IOC has been developed
Click here for more details.
GEO Portals and Clearinghouses
As a response to the GEO call for participation, three organizations have offered and deployed a GEO Web Portal and Clearinghouse candidate as a key component to the GEOSS concept. For further information on these implementations:
GEOSS Registries have been established for Components, Services,
and Standards. Interoperability between the Clearinghouse and the
Service Registry has been tested successfully.Click here for more on Registries
Standards and Interoperability
Under the venue of the Standards Registry and the Standards and
Interoperability Forum, standards for services and encodings have been
recommended to be GEOSS Interoperability Arrangements based upon
interoperability testing in the Architecture Implementation Pilot. Click here for more on Standards
GEOSS Interoperability Process Pilot Project
The GEO 2006 Workplan charged Task AR-06-01 with developing a process for achieving interoperability among GEOSS components. A draft document describing an Interoperability Process was circulated in June, 2006, but it was apparent that this process would need to be tested and refined based on real-world experiences with GEOSS components.
At the July co-Chair meeting of the GEO Architecture and Data Committee the idea of developing pilot projects to test the Interoperability Process was proposed. This would help elucidate the various levels of interoperability and could serve as a basis for guiding GEO contributors on procedures, practices and standards. Dr. Achache suggested that the Interoperability Process be tested with the Biodiversity and Ecosystem SBAs as examples. The co-Chairs also proposed that additional test cases could be derived from FDSN for the seismic community, CEOP for the climate community, and WIS (WMO) for the weather community. Thus the Interoperability Process Pilot Project (IP3) was born.
The first stage of the IP3 was to identify for each of these four systems (GBIF, FDSN, CEOP and WIS) the components, their existing interfaces and the standards and protocols behind them, and then to record the information that would be contained in the proposed registries: components, services and interoperability. The next step was to develop use case scenarios, addressing realistic SBA needs, that would require interoperability between two or more of these systems. This provides an end-to-end test of the Interoperability Process. Eventually, the fruits of this effort would be made available to the community in a beta version and possibly demonstrated at the GEO Plenary in November 2007.
This document (read here) provides details on the Interoperability Process Pilot Projects, including a proposed timeline. It identifies the individuals who have agreed to coordinate the work within each of the systems. This presentation introduces the IP3 scenarios. The IP3 scenarios (read here) are guaranteed to be fully compliant with the GEOSS interoperability process because they are designed around, and are helping to refine, that process. Details of the scenarios will be posted to this site as they evolve.
Architecture and Data Committee GEO Tasks for 2007
The Architecture and Data Committee (ADC) is leading a broad range of Architecture and Data tasks for GEO. These include creation of the information system infrastructure (registries, portal and clearinghouse) and cross-cutting tasks in sensors and measurement systems. A list of these tasks and the task descriptions are provided here for reference.
If I were asked to create a GEOSS architecture, where would I start?