Central Database

This section contains details about the GOCDB, the central database used for storing the mesh metadata of the Science Mesh project.

Overview

All metadata of the Science Mesh is stored in a central database, which is part of the Central Component. This data includes information about every participating site and its various services.

To manage this data, an instance of the GOCDB is used. The GOCDB is a grid configuration database developed by EGI. Below you will find a brief overview of how to gain access to the Science Mesh GOCDB instance, as well as where the information regarding your site can be found. The GOCDB also comes with detailed documentation.

To register a Science Mesh site, you first need to get access to the database and create a record for your Site there. As registration requires human approval, you are advised to do this step first. In the later stage of the deployment, Site endpoints will configured (both in the Site’s IOP as well as in the Central Database). Here we describe the first part, i.e. gaining access and registering a site.

Gaining access

The central database is available through a web interface.

Note: Account registration is only available after your site has been added to the mesh by the Science Mesh administrator.

In order to access the GOCDB, you first need to register a Science Mesh Site Administrator Account. You will be presented a simple form where you can create your account:

The various fields should be self-explanatory. The most important one is the Science Mesh Operator field; choose your institution/company here.

After creating your account, you can log in to the account panel. In this panel, which you can see below, click on the Request GOCDB access button. A form will appear where you can send the request, including comments on why you need access, to the Science Mesh administration.

A Science Mesh administrator will review your request and eventually grant you access to the central GOCDB instance. Use your main account credentials to log in.

Requesting administrative rights for your sites

The entry page of the GOCDB will look something like this:

By default, you will only be able to view the mesh metadata but won’t be able to modify anything. To gain write permissions for your data, follow these steps:

1. Under Browse, click on NGIs; please note that an operator is called NGI in GOCDB
2. Click on the entry for your operator
3. Scroll down until you find the Users box
4. Click on Request role:
   

5. From the roles drop-down menu, select NGI Operations Manager:
   

6. After submitting, a Science Mesh administrator will review your request and grant you write access to your data

Keeping your data up-to-date

It is your obligation as a site administrator to keep the information stored in the central database up to date. This mainly concerns the general sites’ information that can be found under Browse > Site, as well as your sites’ services that can be found under Browse > Services.

When updating your data, it is absolutely necessary to keep the overall structure of your metadata as-is. This means that you MAY NOT add or remove site or service properties; you may modify them to match your actual data, of course. The same holds true for additional service endpoints.

For more details about the data stored in the database and what all these properties and service endpoints mean, we provide a detailed description of its structure.