The DFC federation hub is based on the open source iRODS software distribution, which is available from the iRODS wiki. The iRODS software can be installed on Unix, Mac, and Windows operating systems. Collections may be managed that reside in Unix file systems, Mac file systems, Windows file systems, cloud storage, tape archival storage systems, databases, and web sites.
Each national consortia provides additional technologies that are specific to a science and engineering domain. These include:
- User interfaces
- Web services
- Data manipulation services
- Discovery catalogs
- Ontology servers
- Data repositorie
Generic software technologies are integrated with the DFC federation hub to enable application of domain services within a remote storage system. Examples include:
- Integration of HDF5 data access libraries with iRODS to support remote data subsetting
- Integration of netCDF data access libraries with iRODS to support remote data subsetting
- Development of soft links to access data sets residing within CUAHSI repositories
- Integration of web services through micro-services to automate their application within iRODS controlled workflows