Isite is recommended for relatively small and stable collections of metadata for either the UNIX or NT platforms where metadata collections or data systems do not already exist. Sites with larger collections, changeable metadata, or an interest in alternative sollutions should examine the alternatives described below.
Isite software
The Isite software creates a server process on a networked server that can respond to queries against full-text , spatial terms, temporal terms, and text fields within metadata documents. If you are interested in setting up a Clearinghouse server, you can download this software as described below for your Clearinghouse server.
Compusult MetaManager Toolkit
If your site manages large quantities of data and metadata where relational databases are either in place or desired for metadata management, then Compusult, Ltd. of Canada has commercial offerings that allow metadata storage in Access, SQLServer, or Oracle and include an FGDC-compliant Z39.50 server. Visit the Compusult site at http://www.compusult.nf.ca for more information.
If your site is interested in supporting metadata to support FGDC, GILS and other metadata formats, are interested in a commercial grade metadata repository or in the use of commercial (non-database) search engines or crawlers such as Fulcrum or AltaVista, please consult with Blue Angel Technologies. Their MetaStar Suite provides end-to-end support for metadata collection, indexing, and presentation via Z39.50. See their website at http://www.blueangeltech.com for more information.
ArcIMS Metadata Service
ArcIMS provides the mechanism for hosting a Metadata Service, allowing clients to publish to the service as well as search its contents. In addition to creating and authoring metadata in ArcCatalog, now you can use ArcCatalog to publish metadata to an ArcIMS Metadata Service. The published metadata documents are stored in ArcSDE. Additionally, the ArcIMS Z39.50 Connector makes your metadata available to any Z39.50 client application, such as the NSDI Clearinghouse. For more information see: ArcIMS
Intergraph GeoConnect Metadata Management Server
The GeoConnect product provides a publishing and search facility for metadata created with their SMMS metadata management product. The metadata is stored in a relational database and is exposed via Z39.50 as a compatible NSDI Clearinghouse Node. This product thus makes local collections of metadata web- and Clearinghouse-accessible. For more information see: http://www.intergraph.com/gis/smms/
The following information is geared towards the Isite package only. If you acquire one of the commercial solutions above, commercial support is available from the companies listed.
Platforms for Isite
The Isite software, as modified by CNIDR for use in Clearinghouse (GEO), is available from the FGDC in compiled binary form. You should not need to recompile the software to make it work at your site unless your platform is unsupported.
Installation
The distribution is compressed file that contains documentation and software. The bin subdirectory contains the executables which may be copied into a command directory (e.g. /usr/local/bin) or be set in the UNIX or Windows 'PATH' environment variable). To see if software is installed on your system, type: "Iindex" at the UNIX or DOS prompt. It should send back command line usage options.
The following executables are provided with the FGDC Isite distribution. These commands should be accessible to the metadata server administrator:
- Iindex - indexes metadata entries
- Isearch - provides local search test
- zclient - provides command-line query of remote or local Z39.50 service
- izclient - interactive Z39.50 client using ANSI terminal mode
- zserver - the Z39.50 server process
- zping - checks the availability of a given (remote) Z39.50 service