1.1 The Basics

This platform provides developers with an on-demand web portal to launch dataspace testbed environments and dataspace components in minutes. Without any cloud infrastructure experience, developers can access this self-serve portal to launch complex cloud infrastructure to host dataspace testbeds and components. The platform is setup to make managing cost and security effortless for developers, so that focus can remain on the development and testing of dataspaces.

Key platform terminologies

Dataspaces: A dataspace is digital infrastructure that enables data transactions between various users, based on governance framework defined within that dataspace. It is used for securely sharing restricted access data. In this platform, each deployed dataspace is a repeatable environment that come pre-configured with a templatable dataspace testbed or component. Each environment comes pre-installed with software packages required for the hosting and development of the chosen component.

Metadata Broker: The broker, or catalogue, acts as an intermediary that facilitates the discovery and connection of data providers and consumers within the dataspace. It helps participants find and access the datasets and services available, providing similar functionality to services like ARDC Research Data Australia (RDA), AODN, or the Australian Data Archive. In this platform, brokers can be configured and managed through the dashboard or API.

DAPS: The Dynamic Attribute Provisioning Service (DAPS) is the identity provider that manages authentication and verification of participants in the dataspace. It ensures that only trusted entities and authorised users can access and share data, thereby maintaining security and trust. In this platform, DAPS can be deployed as part of a testbed, and can be configured from the main dataspace dashboard settings.

Certificate Authority (CA): The Certificate Authority is responsible for issuing and managing digital certificates used to establish trust between dataspace components. In this platform, a local self-signing CA is used for development and testing purposes, allowing components to authenticate with each other within the testbed environment without requiring globally trusted certificates. The CA is managed automatically by the dataspace dashboard, but can be configured manually by developers if required.