P088; Presented in Canberra, 27th March, 2008GR000: Presented in Fremantle on 20th October, 2008
GAIA RESOURCES
Experiences in mobilizing biodiversity data – the story of
HermesLite
Tim Carpenter and Piers Higgs
INTRODUCTION
• Motivation
• HermesLite• Overview• Architecture• Implementation
• Implementation at the WA Museum
• Issues
• Directions
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
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
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.
HERMESLITE
Internal Collection Database
External Database
HermesLite
Retrieval mode
HermesLite
Receive & Store mode
XML
MapServer
TAPIRLink
HTTPS
Architecture
Internal ServerExternal Server
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)
HERMESLITE
Implementation - Data Retrieval
• Configurationvia a simple properties filewithvariables
HERMESLITE
Implementation - Data Storage
• Extend HermesLite classes to process received rows againstchosen dataformat or standard
HERMESLITE
Implementation
• This can represent a considerable organisational change in the way data is delivered
• Be prepared to guide your organisation through this process
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
EXAMPLE
Western Australian Museum
• Production went live on 11th October, 2008• Data services are IP restricted to OZCAM only
WAM Collection Database
Bureau Database
HermesLite
Retrieval mode
HermesLite
Receive & Store mode
XML
MapServer
TAPIRLink
HTTPS
WAM ServerGaia Resource Bureau Server
ISSUES
Two main issues struck during implementation:
• “Social Engineering”
• Life Sciences IDentifier (LSID) resolution
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
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
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
DIRECTIONS
Collection Database
Bureau Database
HermesLite
Retrieval mode
HermesLite
Receive & Store mode
MapServer
TAPIRLink
Bureau Server
Collection Database
HermesLite
Retrieval mode
SFTP
TAPIRLink
TAPIR XML
Collection Database
CSV
SFTP
HTT
PS
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
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