The technique that was implemented for this project still remains unique on the Internet . A commercial product has recently been developed with similar features but does not provide several of the most basic functions of this site like the ability to download a useable portion of data, and panning across the entire library. Performance of the site is excellent . A user of the site from a shared 56KB line can browse the entire library, at different zoom levels, pan across tiles and download small data sets with good performance. Under ordinary loads a user on a T1 level Internet connection will experience significantly better performance, and will likely not notice a delay in response that can be attributed to a server burden.
Reliability is high .
The configuration of the site does not rely on any developing or untested devices that would render it unstable. There has been no significant, unplanned downtime since the start of the public serving. The technique is open, expandable, and very manageable . They are modularly designed and can be extended by an experienced programmer. Very intuitive and interesting to use .