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Comment: |
Submitted on behalf of Frank Siebenlist
I'd like to share two use cases for the return of a alias-EPI a an alternative to returned referral resolver services:
* Two EPIs are independently generated for the same resource.
If we associate a resource with some bio-object, the it happens that two different researchers "name" the same object independently from each other.
When this is discovered, one needs the option to consolidate the metadata and policy "underneath" one of those EPIs to lessen the burden of
maintenance and to ensure consistency. A common solution is to assign a "master-EPI", and to let the other EPIs refer to that master-EPI when it
receives resolution requests.
* Moving metadata management to a different admin domain.
When a global naming system and global resolution frameworks are used, like DNS, HandleSystem or LSID, then the EPI's URI will include information
about the naming server, i.e. the "prefix". This prefix in the name is commonly mapped to a real, physical identifier service that is used to
administer the metadata/resolution bindings and such a server will be part of a certain admin domain. When the owner/administrator/PI of the
individual identifier binding moves/changes-jobs, she often wants to take the data-objects with her to the new admin domain as well as the ability to
administer the identifier bindings. Unless that user "owns" a whole prefix, the administration of the identifier has to remain at the original naming
server. This is often not an acceptable solution both for the naming server admin domain as well as the original identifier owner. A common solution
is to create a new EPI with a prefix that is maintained in the new admin-domain, and to use that for all the bindings/resolution information, and to
add to the original EPI a one-time referral to the new EPI.
The semantics for the referral fault is something like:
"The resolver service that was asked for the resolution was unable to provide the caller with the resolution information. However, the resolution
service has alternative information returned which the caller may optionally use to try to resolve."
It seems to me that returning a alias-EPI fits very well within the referral fault semantics. Furthermore, the processing of a returned alias-EPI
seems completely equivalent to the processing of the original EPI with some checks for looping and such.
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