Principle 3: WIS 2.0 prioritizes use of public telecommunications networks (i.e. Internet) when publishing digital resources
- Xiaoxia Chen
BENEFITS:
Publishing digital resources on the Internet enables the meteorological community to retrieve or interact with those resources - it is unlikely that most of the community would be permitted to join managed networks such as Area Meteorological Data Communications Networks (AMDCN) employed by NMHS for data exchange with guaranteed service levels.
Internet connections are significantly cheaper than the same bandwidth delivered through a managed networks.
GISCs remain responsible for managing the telecommunications network(s) used in their Area of Responsibility (AoR) and for communication between GISCs - the Area Meteorological Data Communications Network (AMDCN) and WIS Core Network respectively[2]. In many locations, the Internet is now reliable enough for safety-critical applications - provided that those applications are built to be fault-tolerant. However, GISCs may deem that it is necessary to complement Internet connectivity with a high-performance managed network to meet program-specific service level requirements (e.g. warnings shall be transmitted end-to-end within WIS within two minutes [3]). The specification of the AMDCN (managed network vs. Internet) is a responsibility of the GISC, taking into account reliability, security, availability, cost/use ratio and capabilities at DCPCs and NCs.
Currently, WIS is primarily concerned with data[4] as traditionally exchanged via the GTS. A major issue with this data-centric approach is that often it is unclear to users how they might access (i.e. download or otherwise interact with) data that is of interest to them. In line with industry practice, WIS 2.0 recognizes that users, whether humans or software systems, will always interact with data published using WIS through some form of Web service. Web services cover a broad range of functions - to download data for local use, to request routine delivery of data, to view or display data, or invoke some other function.
[1] As stated in the Manual on the GTS (WMO-No. 386) Attachment II-15, Internet connections may already be used within the GTS
[2] Refer to the Manual on WIS (WMO-No. 1060) Part III. Functions of WIS: §3.5.3 Exchange information with other GISCs, §3.5.7 Data network connectivity of a GISC, and §3.5.8 Coordinate telecommunications in GISC area
[3] Refer to the Manual on WIS (WMO-No. 1060) Part IV. WIS Technical Specifications: §4.4 WIS-TECHSPEC-3
[4] The term 'data' is used loosely here to cover everything from products to information to data