Introduction to iRODS and Data Management

 

Quick Overview of iRODS and data management   •   iRODS Fact Sheet

iRODS Documentation  •  iRODS Publications (ppt, papers, books, etc.)

iRODS, the Integrated Rule-Oriented Data System, is open source software that helps people manage large collections of digital data distributed across multiple sites running diverse infrastructure.

Mature: IRODS reflects more than 12 years of user-driven research and production experience, and contains well-tested core generic capabilities needed by all data management applications.

Versatile and Configurable: Most applications have specific needs, and iRODS can be configured for a wide range of uses.

  1. Data Grid or “intelligent cloud” configurations let projects build and share large collections of distributed data, e.g. Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI); Temporal Dynamics of Learning Center (TDLC); Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST); Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC); High Performance Computing, TeraGrid, NASA Center for Computational Sciences (NCCS). See more use cases.

  2. Preservation Environment configurations implement Trusted Repositories for long-term preservation, e.g. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Transcontinental Persistent Archives Prototype (TPAP); Distributed Custodial Archival Preservation Environments (DCAPE).

  3. Digital Library configurations allow large-scale publication e.g. French National Library.

  4. These uses are not mutually exclusive and can be implemented in mixed ways.

Rule Engine: The key to iRODS flexibility is the Rule Engine that can configure each system in different ways by implementing included Policies and Rules. IRODS can be further customized by new user-defined Policies and Rules without modifying any core code.  

Automation: iRODS Rule Engine allows automation of all data management tasks, making it feasible to manage data collections from as small as a personal laptop to as large as petabytes of data in hundreds of millions of files distributed around the globe. More than 4 petabytes of data currently managed worldwide.

Workflows: Rules can define distributed workflows that implement analysis, visualization, and other task in research projects, or archival workflows for long-term preservation from appraisal to access.


Links to more information:

  1. •  iRODS Fact Sheet 2 pg. PDF

  2. •  Brief Overview of IRODS

  3. •  iRODS Uses

  4. •  Acknowledging iRODS

  5. •  Data Intensive Cyberinfrastructure Foundation Mission Statement


Links to technical information in iRODS wiki:

  1. • iRODS development website, wiki

  2. • iRODS Documentation

  3. • iRODS Publications and Presentations

  4. • RODS Online Tutorial

  5. • iRODS Development Information - release notes, extensions, wish list, roadmap, contributors