File Mirroring Scenario

Doug Moncur

doug.moncur@aiatsis.gov.au

What’s a mirror?

• Internet mirror is a way of faithfully copying an archive

• Robust copying techniques to ensure copy is a faithful copy

• Long history – designed to cope with poor communication lisks

Scenario

• AIATSIS holds a collection of material specific to a community

• Files have unique identifier

• Mirror collection to community

• ►Community gets data not front end

• ►Community needs to build own front end

Build own front end?

• Needs to either develop own interface

• Or use something like Dspace to build local archive using mirrored data

• ►Build machine at AIATSIS say, test mirroring, load data, ship to community

Benefits

• Data stays safe in central repository

• Community has local access

• Web based technology – can easily share data within knowledge centre

• Builds from public domain/open source software

• No licensing issues or costs

Extensions

• Community can add material to collection

• New material and data could be periodically mirrored back to central archive

• ►No need for local back up

• (Implications re communications and communication charges)

Inspiration

• Tim Hopkins, University of Kent in UK has been working on mirroring technology for years

• Responsible for development of original UK Higher Education Software archive (www.mirrorservice.org)

Inspiration continuedFrom an email …

The second thing we're going to look at is turning the complete miorror kitinto a turn-key package. Once that's done (and we're quite a way towards

it)any site can set up it's own mirror service and this opens up loads ofpossibilities as far as co-operative working is concerned. For example,mirrors could take copies from the nearest (geographically) available

sourcerather than the origin.

The bottom line as far as your project is concerned is that you could set up

distributed networks of mirrors and keep duplicate copies of the archive spread

across an arbitrary number of sites. In addition, the syatem would run oncheap hardware.

• Can build simple robust solution on cheap hardware!