LOCKSS project world map and user interface demo

[Ann Okerson <ann.okerson@yale.edu>]

Of great interest to readers of this list and beyond.  The moderators.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 12:03:38 -0800
From: Victoria Reich <vreich@stanford.edu>
Subject: LOCKSS project world map and user interface demo

Dear LOCKSS Colleagues -

Attached is a short description and update of the LOCKSS project.  Please
feel free to forward this to other library email lists and colleagues.

The LOCKSS world map is an easy way for you to check the status of your
LOCKSS cache as it takes part in the various protocol tests.  A demo of
the user interface is also on the LOCKSS web site - we hope this makes it
easier for you to explain LOCKSS to your colleagues.

As always, let us know if you have questions or concerns.

Best, Vicky
----------------------------------------

LOCKSS: Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe
Stanford Releases LOCKSS Project User Interface and Participant Map

Palo Alto, CA January 12, 2002.

Stanford University Libraries has released two new resources as part of
its LOCKSS digital preservation project <http://lockss.stanford.edu/>. One
of them is a demo of the user interface to be used by libraries
participating in the LOCKSS system. The other is an interactive online
world map showing the status of the 60 test caches at 46 libraries
worldwide.  LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe), provides a strategy
for long-term preservation by systematically caching content in a
self-correcting P2P network.

This project, midway through the beta testing of the LOCKSS software,
enables libraries to maintain high integrity persistent caches of
electronic journal content to which they have subscribed.  Using a
decentralized, peer-to-peer network of like holdings at other
participating libraries, the LOCKSS system assures that libraries can
retain indefinite access to subscribed journal issues, even if the
publisher's online site goes down -even if the publisher goes out of
business. This addresses one of the fundamental barriers to the acceptance
of online journals on the part of libraries, namely, the issue of assuring
long-term access to content.

The demo of the user interface, available at
<http://lockss1.stanford.edu/uidemo/> shows the administrative tools
participating libraries will use to control and monitor their local cache.
Its features include:

� Journal Status, which reports the current condition of the local copy of
each cached journal and when it was last updated, as well as the number of
copies the installation can detect among all the LOCKSS caches. If
problems are detected, the local copy will fix itself by comparing itself
to other copies on the network. No action is required.

� Journal Setup, which allows the library to determine often the system
crawls the publisher's web site for new content and sets values for when
to email the library's system administrator about such things as
insufficient other caches detected or that it can no longer find the
publisher's web site.

� Journal Access Control, which determines which IP address ranges are
authorized to use the local cache.

This user interface includes significant improvements over previous
versions and is the result of consulting with and feedback from some of
the early sites.

The world map, at:
<http://sul-lockss18.stanford.edu:8080/GlobalCacheMonitor> displays
information about the success of packet data transmission, by journal, for
each participating beta test library and relative "reputation" data
(regarding the integrity of previously transmitted data). The map may be
viewed at a global level or zoomed in to continent-wide. This tool applies
to the beta test network only, as in the eventual production system, there
will not be a central agent that "knows" every installation of a journal
cache; this is a critical security feature to prevent tampering or
censorship.

The current beta test configuration includes 60 caches at 46 libraries and
two scholarly journals. The system has been in continuous operation for
over six months. The fault-tolerance of the system has been amply
demonstrated: two beta caches suffered catastrophic disk failures. Both
were able to restart with new, empty disks and recover their content
automatically.

Numerous publishers have expressed strong support for the LOCKSS project.
They are particularly happy that the system shows the potential to
preserve digital materials now, with current publishing systems. No new
standards or infrastructure is required. The cost of entry is low, the
payoffs promise to be high.

For a list of beta test libraries and publishers endorsing the LOCKSS
project and caching solution, see
<http://lockss.stanford.edu/projectstatus.htm>

The LOCKSS project is supported by grants from the Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Contact: Vicky Reich, (650) 725-1134, vreich@stanford.edu

~end~