Davis: A generic interface for iRODS and SRB

The Storage Resource Broker (SRB), and its successor, the Integrated Rule-Oriented Data System (iRODS), are typical data grid software systems, which are widely exploited by researchers to store large data collections with associated metadata. On the other hand, the proprietary iRODS/SRB protocol results in limited support of high-quality and generic user interfaces. Although a few Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) and web interfaces have been developed for SRB and iRODS, they either have restricted functionality, or are customized for the needs of particular user groups. Moreover, they are not easy or straightforward to use, especially for basic users, which sometimes stops potential users from adapting iRODS/SRB as their storage solution. In order to tackle these shortcomings, Davis, a generic gateway to iRODS/SRB, has been developed, aiming to expand the use of iRODS/SRB to users with any level of computer skills, as well as making it easier to interface iRODS/SRB with other applications. Davis conforms to the open standard and broadly accepted WebDAV protocol, with additional features to facilitate HTTP access. This paper first investigates existing iRODS/SRB client tools, and then describes the approach of implementing Davis and its features, followed by some use cases to demonstrate the usefulness of a WebDAV interface to iRODS/SRB.