Earthdata is NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) web presence and Earth science data portal. The Earthdata website integrates EOSDIS systems to offer current and engaging content and is building capabilities to support an active and immersive user experience. The website uses a custom-built content management system (CMS) called "Conduit" that is supported by capabilities to track bugs, control configurations, manage user privileges, address user issues, and interact with users.

Configuration Control and Testing

All software developed for Earthdata is submitted to a version control repository (Git-based) and tested prior moving to production systems. Integration begins behind the firewall in a Development Integration Test (DIT) environment, where code developed by projects is tested alongside functionality developed by other projects. After testing is confirmed, features are moved from the DIT environment to a Systems Integration and Testing (SIT) environment, where regression testing is performed. Features are then moved from the SIT environment to a User Acceptance Testing (UAT) environment, allowing for testing by selected end users. Once the release candidate is successfully tested in UAT, it is then moved into the Production environment.

Development, Design and Integration Support

The Earthdata team provides support for projects being integrated into the website and is the primary interface for addressing integration issues between Earthdata and other components of EOSDIS. The Earthdata team will also help developers during their development and design phases to identify and leverage best practices for Earthdata integration. The Earthdata team has experts in graphic design, development, security and system/database administration. Contact Earthdata Support for more information.

Earthdata Code Collaborative

The Earthdata Code Collaborative (ECC) provides a GIT-based platform to host and collaborate on development of tools, services, or service endpoints. This service is available to EOSDIS-affiliated developers and Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs). ECC provides versioning and code control via a GIT repository with Atlassian Bitbucket integration. Similar to “Github”, Bitbucket provides “clone”, “fork”, and “pull request” capabilities to ECC. Additionally, all projects within ECC can use Jira for issue tracking and Confluence to manage a project-specific wiki. By unifying powerful tools within a sleek and simple user-interface, ECC facilitates discovery and collaboration on tools and services across EOSDIS and with other partners. Users must have a valid Earthdata Login to participate.

Earthdata Wiki

The Earthdata Wiki is a collection of tools that allow users and projects to communicate and collaborate within a host of common workspaces. The Earthdata Wiki runs on the popular platform called “Confluence” (by Atlassian) and has many options for customization of a wiki space and use of various macros and plugins available. Users wanting to contribute must have a valid Earthdata Login to participate.

Issue Tracking and Feature Enhancements

Earthdata Issue Management uses the issue and bug tracker software called “Jira” (by Atlassian) to track software bugs, issues and feature enhancements. Projects being incorporated into Earthdata are provided profiles for developers and managers to facilitate interaction among the different projects. If a project has an issue with systems, networks or any other Earthdata component, this is the location to submit a ticket, enhancement request, and to track progress as the request is resolved. Accounts for Jira are limited to NASA-affiliated users directly developing or contributing to Earthdata capabilities and content. Users must have a valid Earthdata Login for access.

Requirements Collection and Management

The Earthdata Requirements Management System uses the requirements management solution called “Jama” to track software bugs, issues and feature enhancements. Access to Jama is limited to NASA-affiliated users directly developing or contributing to Earthdata capabilities and content. Users must have a valid Earthdata Login for access. Jama combines requirements management, test management, and enterprise collaboration to provide connectivity between development teams and business stakeholders so everyone across an organization has instant and comprehensive insight.

Continuous Integration

Earthdata Continuous Integration uses the Atlassian solution called “Bamboo” for connecting issues, commits, test results, and deploys so that the entire picture is available to the entire project team.

Access to Bamboo is limited to NASA-affiliated users directly developing or contributing to Earthdata capabilities and content. Users must have a valid Earthdata Login for access.

Code Repository

The Earthdata Code Repository uses the Atlassian solution called “Bitbucket” as a Github style code repository within the safety of our firewall. Bitbucket provides “clone”, “fork”, and “pull request” capabilities to make administration (adding users and group, and delegating fine-grained permissions) and management tasks (staying up-to-date with all of a team's branches) easy.

Access to Bitbucket is limited to NASA-affiliated users directly developing or contributing to Earthdata capabilities and content. Users must have a valid Earthdata Login for access.

Operations & User Support

The Earthdata website team provide operational and end-user support for the Earthdata website. The Earthdata website team will work to ensure that operational and end-user questions and issues are addressed by the appropriate team. The Earthdata website team will also work to ensure that planned or unplanned outages of EOSDIS systems are reported in a timely and accurate fashion.

User Management

EOSDIS uses the Earthdata Login to provide a simple, enterprise-level mechanism for user registration and user profile management for all users accessing data at the DAACs. The information provided by users when they register for Earthdata Login helps NASA better understand how our data are being used and the diverse needs of multiple user communities. This helps us prioritize improvements in data discovery, access, and usability. Registration also allows us to inform users with pertinent information such as the availability of new or updated data products, or data quality issues. In the future, it will allow for new value-added features and customized services resulting in a better user experience.

User Support Tool

EOSDIS maintains a centralized User Support Tool (UST) that is used to manage and resolve user requests throughout EOSDIS. Users can submit requests via a web form, or via email to a centralized user support tool. Once the request enters the tool, it is routed to the specific department within EOSDIS that is best suited to handle the request. Staff within that department then interacts directly with the user via email to resolve the user’s request. As new capabilities are added to Earthdata additional departments can be added.

Last Updated