Unix operating system users have several options for decompression. Each Primary Custodian's data page will link to the Clearinghouse where common instructions and file utilities can be found. Users visiting the Clearinghouse web site or a Primary Custodian's site should be able to browse information about the Cooperative and its members as well as metadata about the Primary Custodians' data holdings. Therefore, links between the Clearinghouse and the Primary Custodians' web sites should be included. Passwords will only be required to download data.
Security remains an issue to be more effectively resolved.
The goals are to ensure appropriate security while providing access to data for authorized members of the Cooperative without undue complexity. The current model requires a user name and password at each Primary Custodian site. In the initial implementation, each member will receive a username and password from the Office for Technology at the time they sign the Data Sharing Agreement. This username and password will allow data to be downloaded from all primary custodians' web sites. The potential use of digital certificates is promising, but this area of security will require additional research.