[OSGeodata] Public Geodata Hosting: Large-scale Raster Hosting

[Chris Holmes]

I think it's definitely a worthwhile project.  Just the kind of data I'd 
like to see us help out.  I had a great conversation with a guy who's a 
planner for a pretty large corporation (though with do-gooder roots, as 
he started off working for a small planning organization which got 
bought by a bigger org, which got bought yet again).  His job is 
basically to find lots of spatial data for their projects and bring it 
all together for them to use.  Since it's the US most of it is freely 
available, and if there was an easy way for him to put it some 
repository, share it with others, he'd happily upload/submit the stuff 
he finds there.  And indeed he said it'd be a great benefit if such a 
place existed, since he spends his time looking for such things in the 
first place.

One of the things I feel strongly is that we just need to start making 
spatial data more available, and if there's value there then companies 
will start to make it easier to find.  So I think a great thing the 
geodata committee could do is help out anyone who wants to make geodata 
available.  From talking to John Graham, he seemed to have quite a few 
resources, past what's offered to OSGeo already, to host large amounts 
of data, especially of this sort.  So we should talk to him first, see 
if he's into the idea.  I believe bandwidth isn't really a concern for 
him as he's at a university?  And I imagine there might be others who 
could donate resources.  We have a couple servers at TOPP ready to stand 
up stuff (we're hosting WMS and WFS for TIGER of the whole US, soon 
should tidy it up and announce).

C

Christopher Schmidt wrote:
> I'm currently in a conversation with a representative of MassGIS about
> hosting of their 2005 orthophotos for the state of Massachusetts.
> Currently, these files are available from the MassGIS website in lossy
> MrSID format.
> 
> Among the concerns with putting up the newer data in the larger JPEG2000
> format is the bandwidth hit that MassGIS will suffer once these images
> go up. Any organization hosting gigabytes of interesting data probably 
> recognizes the problems inherent in the hosting -- namely, that you can
> quickly become a product of your own success.
> 
> As a result, MassGIS is currently seeking an organization to help mirror
> these files on a fast link for public consumption, at least for the
> first 6 months when interest in the photos will be at its peak.
> 
> Among the stated goals of the Public Geodata committee are:
> 
>  # Run a repository of open geodata
>  # Promote public access to state-collected geodata
>  # Promote the use of open geospatial formats
> 
> I think it's obvious how offering to help MassGIS with hosting of such a
> dataset would be an excellent demo and test case of any repository of
> open geodata. Granted, this information is not the typical form of
> 'geodata' that is lobbied for in this situation, as vector data can in
> many cases be used more effectively. However, large-scale sets of raster
> data are clearly not to be ignored.
> 
> Additionally, MassGIS licensing is very permissive -- only attribution
> is required, which makes it a case where it's high quality geodata that
> definitely falls under the umbrella of 'open'.
> 
> By working with MassGIS to host such a dataset, we can practice what we
> preach by helping to make access to the state-collected orthophotos more
> publicly visible.
> 
> Additionally, by helping alleviate the bandwidth concerns associated
> with more 'open' image format that is JPEG2000 over MrSID, the public
> geodata committee can demonstrate by example their ability to help
> promote more open formats. (Note that MrSID is still more broadly
> supported than JPEG2000, so publishing those files is absolutely
> appropriate for MassGIS to reach the most users -- but publishing MrSID
> is not, it seems, the more difficult part of the problem.)
> 
> Some ideas were bandied about about searching for hosting at local
> universities, etc., but I think this could be an interesting technical
> project for the public geodata committee to take on: a large-scale, well
> defined set of data with an enthusiastic governmental organization
> looking to help users. (Governments looking to help their constituents!
> excuse me while I faint!) However, the technical problems may be hard to
> solve: the data is 15GB in lossy MrSID, so storing lossless JPEG2000 may
> be quite a chore. The bandwidth might be much even for a non-MassGIS
> entity, etc. 
> 
> I'm looking to get a feel for other people's feeelings on this topic:
> how feasable is it? Is it a worthwhile project? And most importantly
> because I'm extemely impatient, what's the time frame on being able to
> set up resources for this type of thing?
> 
> Note: I do not speak for MassGIS -- I'm just acting as a go-between
> since I feel that it's easier to hear this from a member of the group
> than outside to start. :) 
> 

-- 
Chris Holmes
The Open Planning Project
http://topp.openplans.org
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