Agenda for GWS-WG sessions at Beijing Interop meeting

Session 1: VOSpace 1.x

The VOSpace 1.x series are the SOAP-based VOSpace standards. VOSpace 1.0, which is at the WD stage, is for the flat, isolated space. VOSpace 1.1, for which the specification is under discussion by an experts group, adds container (directory) hierarchies and links between spaces; it approximates AstroGrid MySpace in function.

Three presentations (15 min each):

• Implementing VOSpace 1.x, what works and what don't - DaveMorris (PDF)
• ESO lessons learned from implementing VOSpace 1.0 with NGAS backend - PaulHarrison (PDF)
• Implementing VOSpace 1.0 without Axis - MatthewGraham (PPT)

Followed by discussion on changes required for 1.1.

Links :

• VOSpace home page
• VOSpace 1.0 specification
• VOSpace mailing list

Objective: decide where we are going with VOSpace 1.1

Actions:

• Test interoperability of VOSpace implementations at Astrogrid, Caltech and ESO by end of June
• VOSpace 1.1 has the following issues that need to be resolved:
  • Container level metadata - how to distinguish those that relate to the contents of the container through inheritance and those to the container itself
  • Generated names - vos://null does not work for containers so use ".auto" or "/" as an alternative
  • Typing of protocol and view parameters - these are currently designated as "string" but normal parameters are "URI"
  • ACL - although this forms part of a wider SSO context, should VOSpace have some notions of ACL control
  • Find - a equivalent to the Unix command is desired
• It was decided to defer manipulation of state, e.g. in an asynchronous data transfer, to a later version of VOSpace

Session 2: RESTful services

This session covers services to the REST paradigm, including particularly:

• UWS;
• extensions to DAL services for data staging;
• RESTful versions of VOSpace (which may appear as the VOSpace 2.x series).

Email discussions suggest that just about everybody prefers REST to SOAP and that all new standards for IVOA should be RESTful rather than SOAPy. If you disagree, then this is your best chance to put your point of view.

Talks:

• REST as a better web service paradigm - NormanGray (PDF)
• REST vs WS-* - MatthewGraham (PPT)
• Rest binding to UWS (including demonstration) - GuyRixon (PDF)
• Data staging techniques for DAL - DougTody (PPT)
• VOSpace-2.x, REST and WebDAV - PaulHarrison (PDF)

We shall be tight for time in this session, so please make your talks brief enough to allow time for discussion.

Objective: shared understanding of what REST means and how we can exploit it. But specifically, I want to find out how well UWS v0.3 fits with other, planned IVOA standards and to decide who will be the authors for the later, more-refined drafts of UWS.

Links:

• Description of REST paradigm
• UWS specification v0.3

Agreements and actions:

• Shared understanding of REST? More nearly, but there are still arguments about details. Maybe we should write a Note?
• RESTful services still more popular than SOAPy ones (one delegate in the meeting spoke in favour of SOAP)
• A RESTful VOSpace 2 is desirable (but VOSpace 1.x is still needed).
• Suggestion: WebDAV might be a basis for VOSpace 2, but only if VOSpace then works with non-VObs WebDAV clients; otherwise, we should just mine WebDAV for good ideas.
• UWS (REST binding) to be applied in DAL data-staging.
• GWS-WG and DAL-WG to jointly develop data-staging prototypes and use results to refine UWS.

Session 3: SSO and VOSI

Talks:

• The NVO Identity Services and Suppport for Secure Portals - RayPlante (PDF)
• Reference implementations for SSO components - GuyRixon (PDF)

Followed by a short open forum for any attendees to speak on their security work (no slides needed). Hopefully, we can get through the security part in the first half of the session.

Second half of session: what to do with VOSI. This naturally follows on from the discussions in Registry-WG about how to harvest rich metadata. If those discussions reach consensus, then we should be able to decide how VOSI should come out. If there is no consensus then we can't say anything sensible about VOSI and we can finish early.

Links:

• V1.0WD of the SSO-mechanism standard
• V0.26 of VOSI specification

Objective: plans for V1.0 WD of VOSI, dependent on outcomes in Registry-WG.

Agreements and actions:

• We have enough reference implementations of SSO to validate the authentication-methods standard, but not yet the delegation or community-service standards.
• Interop trials of authentication to begin ASAP.
• Authentication-methods 1.0 to go to PR as soon as results of interop trials are in.
• NVO prototypes for SSO with web browsers and Euro-VO prototypes for SSO with rich clients are complementary. Must make sure they remain compatible.
• VOSI v0.3 (with getCapabilities as agreed with DAL-WG) to become v1.0 WD.

-- GuyRixon - 18 May 2007