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FEP - Format Use by an Archive - Template
 

Archives should describe their experience with the formats used to carry the information submitted to them, and with the formats used within the archive for management of the information. Archives play the key role in supporting long term preservation of, and access to, the information entrusted to their care for the benefit of their consumer communities. Their experience with formats in a preservation setting should offer valuable perspectives on format evolution issues.

Please fill in one template for each 'standard format', or type of format, used in the archive.


Identification Information

  • Author/Submitter Information
    • Name
    • Affiliation
    • Related Project (if appropriate)
    • Email Address
    • Telephone Number
  • Acronym or Name of Archive
  • Acronym or Name of Format

1. Archive Identification

(e.g., National Space Science Data Center or GSFC Distributed Active Archive Center) as per the draft ISO Standard Reference Model for an Open Archival Information System (OAIS), an archive is an organization that intends to preserve information for one or more designated communities.

1.1 Nature of Ingest Activity

Identify the nature of the information ingest activity using the following three cases:

  1. Data are typically pushed over a network on a producer (source) driven schedule and the archive must be prepared to receive it
  2. Data are typically received at the archive only after negotiating a detailed schedule with the producer (source)
  3. Archive experiences both cases A and B

1.2 Nature of User Community

Identify if the information held by the archive is intended to be independently usable by the designated community, or if the help of experts is expected to be required.

1.3 Nature of Archive

Identify if the archive itself is considered permanent, or if it is expected to hand some or all of its information to another archive at some point in the future.

2. Format (Format System) Identification

State how the format is typically identified, e.g., Common Data Format, version 2.6. List all versions used. Examples include FITS, HDF, CDF, NETCDF, PDS Labels, IDFS, SFDU Labels, etc. If there are multiple formats involved in a formatting system, identify each and give their roles within that formatting system - e.g., ODL in PDS Labels.

3. Format Selection Rationale

Identify what drove the usage of the format within the archive (e.g., submitted by data producer, required by archive for ingest, or for preservation storage, or for dissemination to consumers)

4. Roles of Format

Identify the roles for the format or the services to be provided by the format in the archive environment. For each role, describe the format's strengths and weaknesses from archival experience.

Example Roles:

  1. Submission of data to the archive
  2. Long term storage of data within the archive
  3. Management of data within the archive
  4. Dissemination of data from the archive
  5. Support of reprocessing

5. Data Structures Supported

Identify the types of data structures typically supported by the format in archival usage. (e.g., images, multi-dimensional tables, time series, spectra)

6. Support

Identify the types of support you have needed for this format. Identify who (person or organization) has provided the support.

7. Software

Identify the types of software the archive uses for handling the format. Briefly describe its functionality.

8. Desired Functions

What additional functionalities or characteristics would make the format more useful in your environment?

9. Other Comments

Wider Views

Formats Evolution Process (FEP) Discussion Forums Page
Formats Evolution Process (FEP) Home Page
NASA/Science Office of Standards and Technology (NOST) Home Page

URL: http://ssdoo.gsfc.nasa.gov/nost/fep/archive-template.html

A service of NOST at NSSDC.
Access statistics for this web are available.
Comments and suggestions are always welcome.

Author: Don Sawyer (Don.Sawyer@gsfc.nasa.gov) +1.301.286.2748
Curator: John Garrett (John.Garrett@gsfc.nasa.gov) +1.301.286.3575
NASA Official: Code 633.2 / Don Sawyer (Don.Sawyer@gsfc.nasa.gov) +1.301.286.2748
Last Revised: May 24, 1999, Don Sawyer (June 11, 1999, John Garrett)