2001 LTER Site Flash

KNZ

Brent L. Brock

The Konza Prairie LTER site took delivery on a server for its WWW site (http://www.konza.ksu.edu). This purchase was made through NSF support. The WWW continues to be the primary outlet for the data files of the Konza Prairie LTER program. Our goals are to have all documented LTER data on-line as soon as possible and to make them available to outside investigators without restrictions. The new Windows 2000 Server offers several enhancements and cost savings over the old Unix-based WWW server. These enhancements include a RAID 5 disk array for improved data protection and reliability, capability of 200-mps connection using network load balancing, support for html data compression for greater access speed, improved administration and content capabilities, and elimination of fees incurred through contractual agreements for Unix administration. In addition, ESRI’s ArcIMS Internet mapping software has been installed providing interactive access to Konza’s GIS database. This promises to be a very useful resource with further development.

The Konza Prairie LTER data management program has migrated to a distributed architecture system. This migration reduced vulnerability to catastrophic hardware failures while reducing repair costs by utilizing less expensive hardware compared with large central servers. Data management is currently distributed across 4 computers: Novell application/file server, Windows 2000 WWW server, Windows 2000 GIS/Remote Sensing workstation, Windows 2000 weather data server. These systems are integrated across a network but failure of any component does not affect services provided by the others. Additionally, each system employs either a data striping (RAID) or disk mirroring scheme to safeguard data integrity and provide uninterrupted service in the event of a hard drive failure. This new architecture improves the robustness and assurance of accessibility of Konza LTER data.

Work continues on the Konza Prairie Schoolyard LTER database initiative. Jin-cheng Gao and Hong Wang were hired to complete the development of interactive datasets for K-12 education through an NSF funded grant. These datasets are designed to allow Web-based data entry, query, analysis and graphing of data collected by students at KPBS. These datasets can also be compared with companion datasets adapted from the Konza LTER data library through a Web-based interface. The Konza Schoolyard LTER has also teamed with partners in Nebraska on a regional data visualization project designed to provide Web-based access and graphing for research and education for multiple datasets across multiple research sites and scientific disciplines.

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