**Introduction**

#  1.1 Scope

This document is the deliverable # D7.5 – “Data Management Plan - Update” for
the EU H2020 (COMPET-5-2015–Space) project “ **A Gaia and Herschel Study of
the Density Distribution and Evolution of Young Massive Star Clusters** ”
(Grant Agreement Number: **687528** ), acronym: **StarFormMapper** (SFM)
project.

**2\. Description of Work**

WP 7, “Data Management and Curation”, is aimed at the provision of central
storage for data associated with the project, together with its public access.
In addition, the documentation and metadata required for full access will be
properly described.

#  2.1 Server Status Update

At the time of the last update to the Data Management Plan (hereafer DMP)
contained in the deliverable D7.5 (submitted in September 2018), our intention
was still to follow the scheme outlined in our initial DMP (deliverable D7.1).
That scheme outlined:

“ _The project has allowed for separate servers at the Leeds and Madrid nodes,
which are now fully installed and functional. These will provide backup to
each other.”_

The intention was that these two servers would serve any data gathered by the
project, as well as acting as the gateway to any online resources developed
during the project. We still intend that the servers will carry out the former
task. However, the success of Quasar as a company , and the development by
them of their DEAVI server/client architecture, and in particular its approval
as a suitable Added Value Interface to sit near to the actual ESA archives at
ESAC, somewhat negates the need for the latter. We will deal with this in
detail below. First, we consider the current state of the servers and outline
exactly what we will provide on them.

In the last period, we noted that:

_The Leeds "data repository/backup" is functioning but due to changes in IT
staffing and management is not yet available as an external facing resource.
We cannot at the moment give a specific timing for this to happen, as the
staff required to set it up are beyond our control, as are the specific
details as to how this will be provided._

The last review requested that we provide an appropriate backup plan in the
event that this situation did not improve. The approved scheme was that the
Leeds server be transferred to Cardiff, who would provide the capability to
install the sofware required to provide this external facing service. The
transfer has now occurred (though as with all things related to Leeds IT
currently, rather late since this occurred in early Sep 19) and the required
setup is underway.

It is still our intention to make publically available all data gathered for
the project, together with appropriate descriptions and metadata. We can now
be clearer about what these data encompass. First, all of the simulations
developed at Cardiff will be provided to the community through the web, using
a detailed front end that provides filtering according to type of simulation
and the initial parameters etc. Secondly, we have acquired data for the star
formation region NGC2264 with both the JVLA and CFHT. The first of these
datasets will be analysed before the end of the project and the reduced data
products made available from this server as well. The second of these datasets
is unlikely to be fully analysed but we will provide it “as is” at the project
completion, and update this in time afer the project end. We note that we
still promise to provide these data to the community as a resource until ten
years afer the project inception (see 2.3 below).

The Madrid servers are fully functional and have been providing simulation
data to the consortium for over a year now. These data are also now public, as
described in D3.4.

#  2.2 Archive Data Analysis Update

The Quasar servers are running the Docker s/w that allows us to interface with
their developing toolset. This is part of the final adopted access protocol
for the project which will eventually become public. Testing of this has
proved the basic methodology. It was our original intention that these
services would be provided through our own servers going forward. We no longer
feel that there is adequate time to do this with the server transferred to
Cardiff, as it will need to be set up again from scratch.

However, since our last update, Quasar have been successful in fully testing
and deploying their client/server architecture (described in deliverables WP
4.3, 4.4, 4.10 and 4.12), both locally to them but more impressively as an
add-on to ESA’s archive services through their GAVIP platform. In addition,
Quasar as a company have been successful in expanding, and have a much clearer
long term future than at the start of the project.

This therefore opens up the option of a new route to our goal of a server that
can be used to apply our sofware to the ESA archives.

  * First, Quasar are now able to commit themselves to being part of the long term data access solution, since the framework they have developed is used for other projects they are working on. 

  

  * Second, the success of the GAVIP trial allows for the possibility that the sofware can also be run there, nearer to the archive, which was one of our original goals. We cannot commit ESA to supporting GAVIP obviously, so our primary supported access will be through Quasar. 

  

We aim to demonstrate fully the state of both the GAVIP and Quasar service
before we submit the deliverable D7.2 which has been delayed due to the IT
issues at Leeds. Our intention is to submit this by the end of this calendar
year.

#  2.3 Fair Data Update

There are no changes to the availability, openness, re-use provisions or the
requirement for making data findable. The only modification is on the item:

_“In particular, the University of Leeds will commit to hosting the server
mentioned in Section 2 for a period of at least 10 years.”_

Obviously this requirement now devolves to Cardiff.

#  2.4 Data Security Update

Now that we have a feasible plan for supporting the server in Cardiff, longer
term viability for the servers at Quasar, and for deploying our algorithms
through GAVIP, we can be confident on the longer term data security. Both
Quasar SR and the University of Cardiff will now work together to ensure that
as a minimum first step the server transferred to Cardiff provides a backup
facility to the data stored in Madrid, whether simulation data, observational
data, or project records, sofware, webpages etc. This is within the control of
the project.