Polar Data Management Based on Cloud Technology

IDIPOS, that stands for Italian Database Infrastructure for Polar Observation Sciences, has been conceived to realize a feasibility study on infrastructure devoted to management of data coming from Polar areas. This framework adopted a modular approach identifying two main parts: the first one defines main components of infrastructure, and, the latter selects possible cloud solutions to manage and organize these components. The main purpose is the creation of a scalable and flexible infrastructure for the exchange of scientific data from various application fields. The envisaged infrastructure is based on the cutting-edge technology of the Community Cloud Infrastructure for an aggregation and federation of resources, to optimize the use of hardware. The infrastructure is composed of: a central node, several nodes distributed in Italy, interconnection between other systems realized in Polar areas. This paper aims to investigate cloud solution, and explore the key factors which may influence cloud adoption in the project such as scalability, flexibility and expandability. In particular, main cloud aspects addressed are related to data storage, data management, data analysis, infrastructure federation following recommendations from the Cloud Expert Group to allow sharing information in scientific communities.