The GEO ADC Standards and Interoperability Forum

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The GEO ADCStandards and Interoperability Forum

• Richard Ullman

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GEOSS Approach

• The purpose and design of the GEOSS architecture
  is centered on the goal of enabling and promoting
  synergy among diverse and independent systems
• Thus the emphasis in GEOSS on interoperability
• Interactions of contributed systems are confined
  to well-defined service interfaces
• Minimizes the impact to the component systems
  participating in GEOSS
• The goal is to define and record precisely what
  happens at these system interfaces
• It is important that these interactions take
  place according to well-defined standards,
  preferably open, international standards.

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Interoperability Process

• Underscoring the fundamental importance of
  interoperability in GEOSS, the first task in the
  first GEO Workplan in the Architecture category
  (Task AR-06-01) was to Establish and maintain a
  process for reaching interoperability
  arrangements,...
• Process for recognizing existing standards in use
  by GEOSS components, and promoting and
  encouraging their adoption by other participants
• helps extend and broaden whatever consensus has
  been achieved on common solutions.

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GEOSS Standards Registry

• The GEOSS Standards Registry is the reference
  database of interoperability arrangements for
  GEOSS
• Contains information on service types, access
  protocols, data formats, schemas, and other
  information necessary to access and utilize the
  resource
• Services registered in the Service Registry
  reference standards, or other interoperability
  Special Arrangements, registered in the
  Standards Registry

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The SIF

• Although GEO encourages the use of open
  international standards, GEOSS must also
  accommodate the use of non-standard practices
• So the Standards Registry also contains
  information on these non-standard practices, what
  are called special arrangements.
• The process for entering special arrangements
  into the Standards Registry is handled by the
  Standards and Interoperability Forum or SIF

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SIF Purpose and Goal

• The Standards and Interoperability Forum provides
  advice, expertise and impartial guidance on
  issues relating to standards and interoperability
  for GEOSS.
• The SIFs goal is to enable ever greater degrees
  of interoperability among GEOSS components
  through facilitation, technical analysis,
  advocacy and education

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SIF Objectives

• The primary function of the SIF is to address
  situations where GEOSS components cannot
  interoperate using one of the registered
  standards or other interoperability arrangements.
• The SIF will perform analyses and make
  recommendations to GEO Members and Participating
  Organizations that come to it for assistance with
  interoperability issues.
• The ADC will call upon the SIF to support
  consensus-seeking in matters of GEOSS
  interoperability.
• The SIF will support education and outreach to
  increase awareness of standards used in GEOSS.

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SIF Objectives - Continued

• The SIF will encourage the broader use of
  existing standards in recommending
  interoperability solutions for GEOSS, using
  formal international standards organizations as
  much as possible.
• Where appropriate, the SIF will identify gaps in
  current standards and promote the creation of
  standards through existing Standards Development
  Organizations to fill such gaps.
• The SIF will help to maintain content of the
  GEOSS Standards and Interoperability Registry
  which contains information on the
  interoperability arrangements employed among
  GEOSS components

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ToR Composition, Organization and Reporting

• The SIF will be composed of experts nominated by
  GEO Members and Participating Organizations. The
  SIF may also draw on subject matter experts
  globally to support its objectives and goals.
• To carry out its work most effectively, the SIF
  will form regional teams consisting of subject
  matter experts representing each (or most) of the
  societal benefit areas of GEOSS. The lead of each
  regional team will serve as the regional
  representative on the SIF.
• The SIF will organize itself and will work by
  consensus of its participants.
• The SIF will maintain a publicly-accessible data
  base of SIF actions and their status.
• The SIF will be reviewed by the ADC periodically.
  

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GEOSS Clearinghouse
GEOSS Component and Service Registries
Community Catalogs
Components Registry
Services Registry
Standards and Interoperability Forum
GEO Portal
GEOSS Contributor
GEOSS Components Services
GEOSS Standards and Interoperability Registry
Standards
Special Arrangements
Users
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Entry into Standards Registry

• Standards or special arrangements not already in
  the registry (i.e. not selectable from
  pre-populated lists during the service
  registration process) should be submitted to the
  SIF if the component contributor wishes to have
  that standard or special arrangement considered
  for inclusion in the special arrangements
  registry.

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GEOSS Registries
UDDI
ebRS
CSW
Web UI
Web UI
SRU
GEOSS Components
GEOSS Standards
GEOSS Special Arrangements
GEOSS Services
may become
reference
offer
expose
nominate
U.S.A.
IEEE
GEO Members and Participating Organizations
SIF
External Standards Bodies
Subject Matter Experts
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Standards and Interoperability Forum Process

• Request for Comments posted to SIF website.
• Announcement made to SIF list.
• Other discipline experts invited to comment..
• Consult component contributor.

Pre-evaluation
SIF receives proposed Interoperability Arrangement
Fail
Pass
Picklist in Services Register updated to include
new Interoperability Arrangement
Interoperability Arrangement entered in Special
Arrangements Register
Expert Review
Pass
Task Group formed
Fail
Work with contributor
Arrangement remains as metadata to registered
component service
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Criteria for Entry into Registry

• The proposed Interoperability Arrangement
  supports the GEOSS architecture principles in
  effect at the time of the proposal
• must be based on non-proprietary, open
  standards, and profiles must be specified when
  standards are not sufficiently specific.
• interoperability specification states exactly
  how the service and the data must be described
• The proposed Interoperability Arrangement is
  well-documented (in terms of semantics, syntax,
  service, security, internationalization)
• The proposed Interoperability Arrangement has
  support within at least one user community.
• The proposer asserts a commitment to maintaining,
  and making the proposed Interoperability
  Arrangement more interoperable, e.g. building
  gateways to other standards and arrangements
  already registered.
• The proposer asserts a commitment to provide
  additional information as necessary for
  implementation within the GEOSS context.
• The proposed Interoperability Arrangement is
  suitable for wider use within GEOSS

These criteria will be reviewed by the SIF for
possible revision
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SIF Activities to Date

• SIF CFP released, June
• 24 responses
• First meeting, July, Barcelona
• 13 in person 11 WebEx participants
• Discuss ToR
• Email list, ftp site, website established
• Second meeting, Aug, telecon
• 12 participants
• Agree on draft ToR
• Third meeting, Sept, D.C.
• 13 participants
• Discuss Ops procedures
• Proposed special arrangements evaluation

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Future Activities

• SIF outreach at ISO/TC211 Xian, China, end of
  October
• Presentation to ADC Co-Chair meeting in Cape Town
• Formation of Regional Teams

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Summary

• The SIF has been formed
• A ToR has been drafted and submitted to the ADC
  co-chairs
• Operating Procedures have been established
• Needs
• Identify Subject Matter Experts
• Enhance breadth of representation from GEO
  Members and Participating Organizations
• Identify leads for Regional Teams