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B2HANDLE Documentation#

Service Description#

B2HANDLE is the main component of EUDAT’s suite of data management services focusing on the creation, management, and accessibility of Persistent Identifiers (PIDs). B2HANDLE includes a range of functions, such as managing identifier namespaces (called Handle prefixes), establishing policies and workflows, operating Handle servers, and providing technical services. It also offers a user-friendly Python library that simplifies interactions with Handle servers, including specific extensions tailored for EUDAT. For end-users, B2HANDLE operates mostly in the background, transparently to end-users, shielding them from the complexities of the underlying infrastructure. It’s designed to facilitate secure and efficient data management within a given infrastructure, ensuring that persistent identifiers are well-maintained and can be relied upon even as circumstances change.

Features#

  • Globally resolvable identifiers
  • Communities and organisations can obtain Handle Prefixes (ePIC, 21.######) for their own use (either host on your own OR EUDAT providers can do the work for you)
  • B2HANDLE supports a dedicated Handle record structure (a PID profile) for the safe data management within an infrastructure with a given topology.
  • B2HANDLE operates as a federation of EUDAT service providers based on policies
  • Ensures High resolution and high availability (PIDs are mirrored across multiple providers)
  • Handle records can be customised to community and organisational needs (for example include checksums and timestamps to ensure authenticity of the data objects)
  • Find the url, the resource that PID is pointing to. (Support for reverse look-ups of Handle records)
  • REST API for easy registration and minting of PIDs

Target Audience#

This documentation is targeted at Researchers, Communities, Organizations that want to use PIDs.

Contact#

Please contact us if you are missing any content or if you have general comments.

Last update: 08.08.2024