XDMS is the web based data management component of the ARCHER suite of e-research infrastructure tools, and sits on top of ARCHER’s Research Repository. It promotes good data management practises and provides researchers with data access, data deposit, data export, curation facilities, search and discovery services, and the ability to associate persistent identifiers with datasets.

XDMS provides two levels of metadata support: a generic core metadata profile, applicable across disciplines, using the CCLRC Scientific Metadata Model; and a domain-specific metadata profile, which is user-configurable, and editable by the ARCHER Metadata Editor. Metadata associated with the various levels within the CCLRC metadata hierarchy, including discipline-specific metadata, can be searched and browsed, enabling researchers to easily locate objects and collections. XDMS provides support for the deposition of research data, and can automatically extract a datafile’s metadata from its header and associate it with the deposited datafile. Due to connection timeout issues inherent in all web browsers, ingestion of large quantities of research data via HTTP is not practical, and deposition of multiple datafiles is better handled by ARCHER’s desktop client data management component HERMES.

XDMS can export research data in both native file format and packaged into a METS format, in readiness for ingestion into a publication repository. Publication repositories are where data is made available to a general audience rather than the collaboration group, with a guarantee of long-term persistence. These are typically provided by institutionally supported repositories, and use technologies such as Fedora and Dspace rather than SRB; so packaging is necessary for transferring the data across. As with deposition, exporting large quantities of research data is better handled by HERMES.

XDMS allows persistent identifiers to be generated for research datasets (using Handle technology), enabling researchers to easily share references to their Datasets with selected colleagues. XDMS also supports authentication by MyProxy and Shibboleth, enabling federated user access. This facilitates sharing of data with colleagues at other institutions within the same or peered authentication federations. As research is increasingly team-based and international this easy sharing is essential.