[CESG] CESG-P-2019-12-008 Approval to release CCSDS 650.0-P-2.1, Reference Model for an Open Archival Information System (OAIS) (Pink Book, Issue 2.1) for CCSDS Agency review
CCSDS Secretariat
thomas.gannett at tgannett.net
Tue Sep 8 19:07:10 UTC 2020
Dear CESG Members,
Conditions for approval of CCSDS 650.0-P-2.1, Reference Model for an
Open Archival Information System (OAIS) (Pink Book, Issue 2.1) have
been disposed to the satisfaction of the AD(s) who voted to approve
with conditions. The Secretariat will now proceed with CMC polling to
authorize release for Agency review.
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From: MOIMS-DAI <moims-dai-bounces at mailman.ccsds.org> on behalf of Shames,
Peter M (US 312B) via MOIMS-DAI <moims-dai at mailman.ccsds.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2020 7:34 PM
To: david at giaretta.org
Cc: Shames, Peter M (US 312B); 'MOIMS-Data Archive Interoperability'
Subject: Re: [Moims-dai] [EXTERNAL] RE: CESG conditions on your OAIS Reference
Model, CCSDS 650.0-P-2.0
Attachments: Untitled attachment 00007.txt
Hi David,
You are quite welcome. I am really glad we have come to a mutually satisfactory conclusion and that
you feel that this process resulted in significant improvements to the document. That is precisely the
outcome I was hoping for.
Best regards, Peter
From: David Giaretta <david at giaretta.org>
Date: Tuesday, September 1, 2020 at 2:23 PM
To: Peter Shames <peter.m.shames at jpl.nasa.gov>
Cc: 'MOIMS-Data Archive Interoperability' <moims-dai at mailman.ccsds.org>
Subject: RE: [Moims-dai] [EXTERNAL] RE: CESG conditions on your OAIS Reference
Model, CCSDS 650.0-P-2.0
Thanks Peter, some significant improvements have been made to the document.
Ive updated the definition in the version with all the other changes you made and will send it to
the CCSDS Editor to fix the formatting and then on to the CCSDS Management Council.
Regards
..David
From: MOIMS-DAI <moims-dai-bounces at mailman.ccsds.org> On Behalf Of Shames, Peter M
(US 312B) via MOIMS-DAI
Sent: 01 September 2020 17:02
To: david at giaretta.org
Cc: Shames, Peter M (US 312B) <peter.m.shames at jpl.nasa.gov>; 'MOIMS-Data Archive
Interoperability' <moims-dai at mailman.ccsds.org>
Subject: Re: [Moims-dai] [EXTERNAL] RE: CESG conditions on your OAIS Reference Model, CCSDS
650.0-P-2.0
Dear David,
Thanks for taking the time to carefully analyze this and for bringing your definition of an OAIS
into line with best current practice.
I can accept your revised definition. It appears to be well aligned with what your intent is and
also with common practice.
Proceed.
Thanks, Peter
From: David Giaretta <david at giaretta.org>
Date: Tuesday, September 1, 2020 at 7:45 AM
To: Peter Shames <peter.m.shames at jpl.nasa.gov>
Cc: 'MOIMS-Data Archive Interoperability' <moims-dai at mailman.ccsds.org>
Subject: RE: [Moims-dai] [EXTERNAL] RE: CESG conditions on your OAIS
Reference Model, CCSDS 650.0-P-2.0
Dear Peter
Thank you for agreeing, although reluctantly, to forward the OAIS document to CMC
leading to formal agency review.
Im providing a few clarifications that hopefully will ease your reluctance.
Yes I can confirm that DAI has accepted your other suggested changes.
The only point of contention is the definition of an OAIS. I think the issue is that as a
Magenta Book, OAIS provides
normative, controlling guidance rather than purely descriptive
material (CCSDS A02.1-Y-4)
and so it is not simply describing an IT system. Thanks to your other comments we have
made the normative parts of the document much clearer.
You say that
* policies and procedures are strictly ancillary to the use of the system, but
useful to the organization,
o But OAIS, as a Magenta Book, provides normative controlling guidance,
and is not just a description of an IT system. The policies and procedures
could be viewed as the equivalent of the software of an IT system.
* Systems may store, transfer, and manipulate information, but they are not
that information.
o But the system needs information (as a raw material) to help to decide
what to do with the information it is storing, transferring, manipulating
etc. This is surely true of all systems, whether that information is in
database tables or configuration files etc which are clearly separate
from hardware and software. I will edit the Wikipedia definitions to
include this.
* Systems are systems
o But there are different types of systems and in particular not all systems
are purely IT systems. We are defining an OAIS. Wikipedia defines many
types of systems and we can easily add to that list. Of course there is
already a Wikipedia article about OAIS which uses the current
definition. We can update this in due course so that Wikipedia
continues to be accurate.
We can eliminate the Wikipedia definition you propose of an information and computer
science system since OAIS is not just an IT system.
The third definition you provide, from CCSDS 910.2-G-1, is for what is termed a real
system, rather than a general definition. That GB does not provide a general definition
of system.
The second definition, which originated in one of your SEA documents, is much closer to
what we intended. I believe that our definition comes very close to that definition as
can be seen in the analysis below, comparing to the proposed definition of an OAIS
which is below the table:
CCSDS 311.0-M-1
OAIS definition below
A set of elements
yes
(people,
yes staff of the organisation
products [hardware and software],
yes- hardware and software
facilities,
Implicit in hardware and software
equipment,
Implicit in hardware
material, and
yes - Information as a raw material
processes [automated as well as manual procedures])
yes processes and procedures
that are related and
yes- since we are describing an
OAIS
whose behavior satisfies customer and/or operational
needs.
yes to preserve information
Going back to the definition you proposed on 18 August and making updates in red to
be
1) consistent with CCSDS 311.0-M-1 see table above to include people,
processes, procedures and material (in the form of information)
2) consistent with the definition you provide of Policy A policy is a statement of
intent, and is implemented as a procedure
3) correct the reference to the mandatory responsibilities and make it a NOTE
we have
Open Archival Information System (OAIS): An Archive system consisting of
hardware, software, information and policy based processes and procedures,
developed put in place and operated by an organization and its staff. The
organization has accepted the responsibility to preserve information and make
it available for a Designated Community. The organisation may be part of a
larger organisation. The system meets a set of mandatory responsibilities, as
defined in section 4, that allows an OAIS Archive to be distinguished from other
uses of the term archive. The term Open in OAIS is used to imply that this
Recommended Practice and future related Recommended Practices and
standards are developed in open forums, and it does not imply that access to
the Archive is unrestricted.
NOTE - The set of mandatory responsibilities an OAIS Archive must
perform are defined in section 3.2
The role of the organisation, procedures etc are prominent because they are important,
although, as the table shows, this is entirely consistent with the CCSDS Glossary
definition you propose.
If this is OK with you then we will update the MB.
..David
From: MOIMS-DAI <moims-dai-bounces at mailman.ccsds.org> On Behalf Of Shames,
Peter M (US 312B) via MOIMS-DAI
Sent: 27 August 2020 00:34
To: david at giaretta.org
Cc: Shames, Peter M (US 312B) <peter.m.shames at jpl.nasa.gov>; 'MOIMS-Data Archive
Interoperability' <moims-dai at mailman.ccsds.org>
Subject: Re: [Moims-dai] [EXTERNAL] RE: CESG conditions on your OAIS Reference
Model, CCSDS 650.0-P-2.0
Dear David, et al,
In general, while I could accept what you propose I would do it rather reluctantly, and
for the following reasons:
1) In Wikipedia, that font of all knowledge, system, in information and computer
science, is define like this: "system is a hardware system, software system, or
combination, which has components as its structure and observable inter-
process communications as its behavior."
2) In the CCSDS glossary, that font of our corporate knowledge, system is defined
like this: (CCSDS 311.0-M-1) " A set of elements (people, products [hardware
and software], facilities, equipment, material, and processes [automated as well
as manual procedures]) that are related and whose behavior satisfies customer
and/or operational needs".
3) Or like this: (CCSDS 910.2-G-1) " A set of one or more computers, the associated
software, peripherals, terminals, human operators, physical processes,
information transfer means, etc., that forms an autonomous whole capable of
performing information processing and/or information transfer."
It is only these OAIS definitions that stray so far from the norm as to attempt to define
this particular kind of "system" as being first and foremost about "organizations", as in
the original definition, or now, about "policies, procedures, hardware, software, and
information." Systems are systems. Policies are organizational guidance about how
organizations carry out their tasks. Procedures are instructions about the steps
organizations are to follow in carrying out their tasks. Neither of these are the primary
elements of a system, they are strictly ancillary to the use of the system, but useful to
the organization. Likewise information, for that matter. Systems may store, transfer,
and manipulate information, but they are not that information.
Policy (Wikpedia): A policy is a deliberate system of principles to guide
decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent, and is
implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a
governance body within an organization.
Procedure (Wikipedia): a set of step-by-step instructions compiled by an
organization to help workers carry out complex routine operations.
As an instance of a particular kind of SYSTEM, please adopt a straightforward definition
of OAIS that does not convolve these other, separate, terms into the definition nor
make them the prominent features of the definition.
It's a quibble, but the addition of that phrase "but is not limited to" seems vague and to
add no value. It's rather like sticking ", etc" at the end of a sentence when you cannot
summon up another concrete item to add to a list. But in fact, placed as it is, it seems to
take away meaning from the very concrete definition that should follow it. Please
remove it.
I do not have any issue with the use of "put in place" (or "acquired", or "employed") nor
the reference to "staff", in the last sentence.
Is it safe to assume that the other changes I proposed have been adopted as proposed
or are there changes to these as well? Your note was unclear.
Thanks, Peter
From: David Giaretta <david at giaretta.org>
Date: Wednesday, August 26, 2020 at 4:22 AM
To: Peter Shames <peter.m.shames at jpl.nasa.gov>
Cc: 'MOIMS-Data Archive Interoperability' <moims-
dai at mailman.ccsds.org>
Subject: RE: [Moims-dai] [EXTERNAL] RE: CESG conditions on your OAIS
Reference Model, CCSDS 650.0-P-2.0
Dear Peter
The DAI WG reached consensus at yesterdays meeting to accept your proposals
but with a few changes to your proposed definition of OAIS Archive which we
think is a bit clearer.
The following shows our changes, with your text as the basis. A few words of
your text have been deleted (double strikeout) and additional words inserted
(red text).
Some points to explain the changes:
1) Add policies and information
2) To make it clear that the Archive organisation does not have to develop
the system itself we use the words put in place
3) In order to clean up the Glossary definition we move the the reference
to the section which specifies the mandatory responsibilities to a NOTE.
Open Archival Information System (OAIS): An Archive system consistsing of, but
is not limited to, policies, procedures, hardware, software, and information.
procedures The Archive system is developed put in place and operated by an
organization and its staff. The organization has accepted the responsibility to
preserve information and make it available for a Designated Community. The
organisation may be part of a larger organisation. The system An OAIS Archive
meets a set of mandatory responsibilities, as defined in section 4, that allows an
OAIS Archive to be distinguished from other uses of the term archive. The term
Open in OAIS is used to imply that this Recommended Practice and future
related Recommended Practices and standards are developed in open forums,
and it does not imply that access to the Archive is unrestricted.
NOTE - The set of mandatory responsibilities an OAIS Archive must
perform are defined in section 3.2
I hope you concur with this. We can then go forward with this improved version
of OAIS. Once again I want to thank you for suggesting many improvements.
Regards
..David
From: MOIMS-DAI <moims-dai-bounces at mailman.ccsds.org> On Behalf Of
Shames, Peter M (US 312B) via MOIMS-DAI
Sent: 18 August 2020 18:56
To: david at giaretta.org
Cc: Shames, Peter M (US 312B) <peter.m.shames at jpl.nasa.gov>; MOIMS-DAI
List <moims-dai at mailman.ccsds.org>
Subject: Re: [Moims-dai] [EXTERNAL] RE: CESG conditions on your OAIS
Reference Model, CCSDS 650.0-P-2.0
Dear David, et al,
I'd like to thank you and your team for taking my suggestions seriously and for
working diligently to improve the clarity of the document. I am really glad that
you took this opportunity to make these long overdue changes. I suspect that
your community will also appreciate the changes.
I have read the document (a quick skim this time), and find that I agree with all
of the changes that you have made. The added clarity in use of terms and
diagrams helps a lot. I did find a few relatively minor items that I still wish to ask
that you fix. Instead of doing the usual "change this to that" PID format I just
made the proposed changes directly in the text, which I have attached with
Track Changes turned on. For transparency, I will tell you where to look:
Sec 1.1: fixed the definition of an OAIS to align with the usual notion of what a
"system" is:
An OAIS is an Archive system consisting of hardware, software, and
procedures developed and operated by an organization. The
organization has accepted the responsibility to preserve information
and make it available for a Designated Community. The organization
may be part of a larger organization.
Made the same change in sec 1.6.2 Terminology.
In other sections and sub-sections I added a clarifying sentences in the intro
paragraphs, of the general form: "This sub-section (or this entire section) is non-
normative.". I am concerned that without this sort of clarity the mix of
normative and non-normative materials in various sections can cause
confusion. I did not want it to be too intrusive, but I think we must be clear.
To take the "sting" out of this, in some sections I added an explanatory
sentence, like this one in Sec 4.2:
This entire subsection is informative, but provides useful abstractions
for understanding how an OAIS might be designed.
I hope that you and your team can accept these changes. If the answer is yes
you have my concurrence to go forward.
Thanks, Peter
From: David Giaretta <david at giaretta.org>
Date: Tuesday, August 18, 2020 at 9:07 AM
To: Peter Shames <peter.m.shames at jpl.nasa.gov>
Cc: MOIMS-DAI List <moims-dai at mailman.ccsds.org>
Subject: Re: [Moims-dai] [EXTERNAL] RE: CESG conditions on your
OAIS Reference Model, CCSDS 650.0-P-2.0
Dear Peter
Steve Hughes provided us with feedback following your discussion with
him. As a result we have taken an in-depth look at the conformance
sections, the definitions and discussion of Representation Information,
and in particular Semantic Information, and the discussion of
Representation Information Networks. I believe we have made
significant improvements to OAIS as a result. Some of the text dates
back to the original version of OAIS; it is only thanks to your insistence
that we were forced to recognize a number of weaknesses and sources
of confusion for readers.
The updated document is available at
https://cwe.ccsds.org/moims/docs/MOIMS-
DAI/Draft%20Documents/OAIS%20v3/650x0020_CESG_Aproval_Mod-
20200818.doc?Web=0
A short list of the changes are:
- The conformance section 1.4 has been clarified as you
suggested and the individual sections are clearly marked as
normative
- We checked the use of shall/must. One instance of must was
missing from a section marked as normative. We found we did
have some uses of must in informative sections, which we re-
phrased.
- Changed the name of Semantic Information to Semantic
Representation Information to avoid confusion with Semantic
networks etc. The definition has been clarified to
o Semantic Representation Information: The
Representation Information that further describes the
meaning of the Data Object, and its parts or elements,
beyond that provided by the Structure Representation
Information.
- There is a similar change for Structure Information to
Structure Representation Information, which is now defined
as
o Structure Representation Information: The
Representation Information that imparts information
about the arrangement of and the organization of the
parts or elements of the Data Object
- The explanation of Representation Information Networks has
been updated, with some new diagrams which we hope make
the concept very clear.
We hope that clears the way for progressing OAIS to the next stage.
Regards
..David
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