F. Genova, CDS Council meeting, 2004/09/9-101 Strategy

F. Genova, CDS Council meeting, 2004/09/9-10 1

Strategy

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• Main drivers of CDS activity

• The CDS role in the international and national landscape

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activities

• Reference, value-added servicesContents/software development/operations

Selected, validated, homogenized information from publications, catalogues, images + links

• Standards and generic tools

• Technological watch, R&T

• User and project support

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Reference, value-added services

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Services (1)

Different aspects• Building the contents

Selection, validation, homogenisation of information from many sources

• Building data management systems and user interfaces

• Keep up with scientific and technical evolution

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Services (2)

The basic CDS service to the communityA high impact activity

A long term, constantly evolving, very demanding activity which relies on experts (documentation, software, astronomers)

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The key for success

• A highly skilled and motivated team integrating astronomers, ‘documentalists’ and computer engineers

This implies in particular:• Careful integration of newcomers• Continuity in expertise essential: fill the holes

(departures and retirements) in advance• Maintain the quality and team spirit while the

team is renewed/growing

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Organization

• The most demanding task at CDS among many (strong operational pressure on individuals and difficult work)

• Not easy to homogenize long term activities (contents) with shorter term ones (projects)

• Distributed team (Strasbourg, Paris, astronomers in Montpellier, Toulouse)

• Take better into account the long term aspects– Specific ‘Bibliography’ team meetings– Encourage the staff to meet regularly to discuss difficult cases

(already done in Paris on a weekly basis)

• More generally, one need to revisit the CDS organigram

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In the short/medium term future:infrastructure

• Increase the local computing power to support– Multi-criteria queries to VizieR

– Image mosaicking in Aladin

– Image analysis tools (IDHA/MDA)

i.e. transport results and not data

2003-2004: test the usage of PC cluster for queries to large catalogues and image transformation functions

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In the short/medium term future:contents (1)

• New update methods with the new SIMBAD s/w• Still increase integration with journals

– Object tagging (A&A, also AAS), automated recognition of object names BUT quality must be preserved

• New tools for the CDS bibliography team (also for users!)– Aladin astrometric registration (X,Y coord.) and

centroide estimation (done)– Generalized Sesame (SIMBAD + VizieR - done)– Improve cross-id tool (‘raccord’)

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In the short/medium term future:contents (2)

VizieR and Aladin• Continue to implement large surveys and

reference image data sets in the local databases e.g SDSS– Efficient indexing– Better Metadata homogenization– More functionalities available (compression,

mosaicking)

• Improve access to distributed, heterogeneous data, taking advantage of VO development

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In the short/medium term future:functionalities (1)

Beyond query by position: ‘VO-type queries’• Multi-criteria searches in large surveys

A R&T project: Indexing, usage of a PC cluster

• Data selection, transformation (semantics)– UCD1+ in VizieR– Filters– Data model (e.g. hierarchical view of data sets)

• Cross-match in VizieR & Aladin (incl. very large data sets)

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In the short/medium term future:functionalities (2)

More tools, integrated and ‘collaborating’

• Integrated table visualisation toolContinue collaboration with the Indian VO team

(Pune)

• Links to external, useful toolsExtApp in Aladin

e.g. Sextractor, image analysis tools (IDHA/MDA), …

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New functionalities

• Identifiy new desirable functionnalities by evaluating science needs (anticipate new large projects, demos, VO projects RSCs), e.g.– Spectral Energy Distribution

– ‘Multiview Aladin’

– HEALPIX in Aladin for cosmologists

– Collaboration with IMCCE

– More generally time dimension

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Interoperability standards and tools for the VO

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• VO projects

• Interoperability standards and tools for the VO

• CDS role in the VO

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The Virtual Observatory

« an enabling and coordinating entity to foster the development of tools, protocols, and collaborations necessary to realize the full scientific potential of astronomical databases in the coming decade »

NVO White Paper, June 2000

Science driven

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International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA)

Roadmap

Definition of interoperability standards (WGs)

Demonstrations

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Action Spécifique Observatoire Virtuel France (1)

• Created by INSU in 2004 with support from CNES

• Role:– Coordinate French participation to the IVO– Contact point for European projects– Contact point with IT community– Covers astronomy, space plasma physics, studies of the

Sun and planets

• Deals only with the thin ‘interoperability’ layer

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OV France (2)

http://www.france-ov.org

ovfrance@astro.u-strasbg.fr

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AS OV France Scientific Council

(national programs and GDRs)

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CDS role in OV France

• FG chairs the Scientific Council

• 2004 AO (‘triggering money for travel): 1/3 of projects seek CDS support

• Tutorial (October 2004): in Strasbourg, all teachers except 2 from CDS

• Can support very interesting actions: collaboration with IMCCE

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Virtual Observatory projects with CDS participation (2001-2004)

Astronomical Virtual ObservatoryThe European VO projectRTD, Access to Large Scale FacilitiesESO, ESA-ECF, AstroGRID, CDS, Terapix, Jodrell (2001-2004)

ClassX Classifying the High Energy UniverseNASA AISRP projectHEASARC, STScI, CDS (2001-2004)

Also: Aladin in VO demos

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The future in Europe

• Euro VO: a MOU between partners at the national level– Facility Centre (mainly ESO, ESA)

– Data Centre Alliance (F. Genova in charge)

– VO Technical Centre

• European Commission (FP6) money for networking (from OPTICON and RadioNet) and for VO TC (VO-TECH project, A. Lawrence)

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IT ‘national’ projects

Action Concertée Incitative GRID (2001), MD (2003)Globalisation des Ressources Informatiques et des DonnéesMasses de Données

Multidisciplinary actions (IT, applications)

• An occasion to settle the links with LSIITIDHA (+ QUB, Terapix, LAM), MDA

(+LORIA, IRIT)(cf. tomorrow morning’s talk)

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Interoperability

Access to distributed, heterogeneous informationUsers

• Where is the data of interest for me?

• How can I get data from this (these) service(s)?

• How can I use the data I retrieve?

Service managers

• How can I use information from another service?

• How can another data provider use my information?

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Name resolver

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The CDS GLU

Générateur de Liens Uniformes

• Resource dictionary (shared, distributed, hierarchical name space, clone management…)

• Resolver: symbolic name > URL

• An early prototype with many of the required functionalities

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CDS actions in interoperability

• In charge of the ‘Interoperability’ Work Area of AVO

• Proposed and managed the ‘Interoperability’ WG in OPTICON FP5(immediately open to international participation)

• Very active in IVOA Interoperability WGs(cf S. Derriere/M. Louys talk)

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CDS role in AVO

• Work Area 2 Interoperability– Major role in science demos, based on the Aladin VO

portal (Jan. 2003, Jul. 2003, Jan. 2004)

– hierarchical view/browsing of data, filters, cross-match tool

– Standards: UCDs

– New data sets (GOODS, MACHO, better links to ISO, XMM)

– Web Services for the major CDS services

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OPTICON meeting Strasbourg 2002 Garching 2002

IVOA Interopmeetings Boston 2002 Cambridge UK 2003 Strasbourg 2003 Cambridge US 2004 Pune 2004

IVOA standards

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CDS role in the VO (1)

• CDS services are one major VO hubCDS provides VALIDATED, reference information, tools

and links

• VO is good for CDS services!– Easier links from/to distributed services– More users through VO tools– New ideas for VO-driven functionalitiescf implementation of AVO developed functionalities in

Aladin– New collaborations (e.g. VO India)

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CDS role in VO (2)

• VO is science driven

• CDS Science staff is and will be very active in the definition of VO science drivers (AVO SWG, VO Science Reference Mission, Euro VO actions in that domain)

• Major expertise in supporting users

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CDS role in VO (3)

• Major expertise in the definition of interoperability standards and tools, and very active leadership of/participation to IVOA WGs, IVOA activities, and relevant Euro VO/VO TECH activities

• Participation to IVOA Board and organisation of IVOA meetings

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CDS role in VO (3)

• Euro-VO– VO FC: user support– DCA: lead by F. Genova– VO TECH: R&D project (FP6)

• Several domains: infrastructure, tools, intelligent resource discovery, data exploration

• CDS will lead Intelligent resource discovery (ontologies, Semantic Web) and participate to all

• In particular: work on Interoperablity standards and attention paid to science requirements in all domains

• OV France major expertise and data centre

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IVO: a new tool for scientists

‘First Science Demo’ of the AVO project, January 2004

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Research & Technology actions

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R&T actions at CDS

• R&T with operational goals: tests on technologies or methods which could be used in the services

• Often through student trainings• Close collaboration with IT labs• Maintained in spite of the

operational/project pressure (more than 10% of time of key staff)

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R&T actions at CDS

• Staying at the forefront of technologies and methods is critical for long term presence of CDS at the proper technical level and for keeping the services at the leading edge

• New technologies implementation not too early, not too late! E.g. XML, Java

• Decision after assessment and ‘strategic’ discussion about the discipline technical context

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Collaboration with IT

• A long term tradition of collaboration with LSIIT and IRIT

• Can now be officialized in the French STIC programs Actions Concertées Incitatives

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User support

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• Support to users, projects (this morning’s talk) and developers

• CNRS Schools

• OV France tutorial

• Participation to/organization of Colloquia– ADASS (2003)– LISA (2002)

• Student trainings

• Teaching at Université Louis Pasteur

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Develop science usage

• Demos• On-line tutorials• In-house science use

– By CDS and Observatory staff– By visitors

• A program to help users on complex usage (short visits) is very desirable but requires

more scientists in house