ADASS BoF: Distributed operations in astronomy

[Mcglynn, Thomas A. (GSFC-6601)]

Dear Colleagues,

At this year's ADASS I'm trying to set up a BoF to discuss how we can 
manage tools that use resources at multiple centers to be effective and 
robust.  While many (most?) of these might use VO standards, the focus 
isn't to be on the standards that are being implemented, but on dealing 
with the purely operational issues:  Are these services up?  What's 
their reliability? Who do I contact if they are down?  Is there a mirror 
site? How do I tell my users that my service is fine but they can't do 
what they want because someone else's is down? Can I notify people in 
advance if there's to be a scheduled outage?  What do I do if someone 
else's service is adversely affecting my web site?  ...

The Apps group focus is on the integration of VO standards within our 
applications. VO-based applications are generally distributed so that 
these operational issues are particularly likely to arise.  As we 
continue to develop tools that use remote services as integral elements, 
some framework for working as a community to 'manage' these dependencies 
is becoming essential.

I don't claim to have solutions to these issues, but I'm hoping at the 
BoF that we can begin a community-wide discussion and see where it leads.

Currently the BoF is scheduled for Wednesday at ADASS in Calgary.  If 
you are interested and plan to attend ADASS please join the discussion. 
  If you aren't able to attend, please send me your thoughts and ideas 
to throw into the mix.  Hope to see you in Calgary or hear from you in 
e-mail.

     Regards,
     Tom McGlynn
     NASA/HEASARC