1. Question n How will interoperability with other repositories be addressed, given that many other repositories are using a common tool suite (OWL, RDF, OAI- PMH, 11179 registry in RDF, etc.) that are not being actively employed in repository development? (other than, perhaps, RDF)?

2. Our General Approach n Our repository approach is based on standardizing APIs and services so that plug-in components can be cleanly and easily developed. n By standardizing on an API(i.e. JSR-170) and service-based approach (instead of a particular protocol and data format) we can develop tools which conform to a wide range of interchange formats and protocols. n Components can be build which search, access, retrieve, and map data and meta data to provide access needed to satisfy an interchange protocol.

3. NEES Central Repository Local Repository API OAI Gateway Collection X Software API OWL Gateway Collection Y Software Collection Z Data/MD Ingest Tools API Grid Services Solution Architecture Owl Access Protocol (TBD) OAI-PMH

4. Concerns n This is lower priority than the other major deliverables which we are working on: –Core technology –Model development –Data ingestion –Curation methods and software –Participation in federated indices n The first four are pre-requisites to the participation in federated indices.

5. Concerns (cont.) n Depending on the semantics of the repository and destination, there may be significant filtering and translation which must be encoded into in the gateway –Protocol translation –Semantic mapping n It is not necessarily difficult to perform these functions for a particular instance, but it is difficult to do this in general n As a result, it seems as though the best course of action is to identify a particular destination and develop the necessary gateway for that destination as a reference implementation

6. A Scenario n As an example, consider if the NEES Consortium was to start and online journal which required a subset of the central repository to be made available using OAI. n This would be a real requirement and be a driving factor for the development of the reference implementation.

7. Answer - Go Forward Plan n We will track this and add it to our “desired features” list and look for an opportunity to implement an appropriate data/metadata gateway n We will work through the data and meta data task force and the Consortium DSAC Committee to identify possible candidates for reference implementation when the time is right.