Frequently asked questions on EDAS
What is the charge for the service?The data is provided for free during at least 2010. However, you need to develop your own program behind the client software in order to use the data. And if you decide to set-up a private point to point line, you will need to bear the costs.Top Is it accessible to everybody?In principle yes, but each application is treated individually taking into account the indicated purpose and other circumstances, mainly the available bandwidth. Please refer to the Conditions of use for more details.Top Can I connect over Internet?Yes. However, this connection is provided on best-effort basis (no latency and data integrity guarantee), which is good enough for data preview, testing, development, but not good enough for commercial exploitation (EDAS data is, in principle, a continuous real-time data stream). You should refrain from being connected 24/7 via Internet as there is limited bandwidth. However, you can set up a direct line for better performance (see below).Top May I set-up a private line to the server?Yes. Note that if you decide to set-up a private line the costs are borne by yourself.Top What types of point-to-point lines or circuits are recommended / supported? (MPLS, ADSL, SDSL, FR, leased lines...)EDAS users should contact his preferred telecommunications provider to ask for available alternatives that can be analysed by the EDAS support team on a case by case basis.In case a connection needs to cover several countries, it will most probably require the participation of several service providers. The important delay and bandwidth to be agreed upon by the customer and its line provider is from the customer's premises to the EDAS Servers. The minimum requirements for a point-to-point connection to EDAS are:
Does the client require a connection with a fixed IP address?An IP address is required to identify a determined Client Software (CS) trying to get a connection to EDAS. If the IP address seen by EDAS from which the data packages originated by the CS is different to the configured one for that specific CS the connection will not be established.If the computer where the CS is running belongs to a network (N1) where the IP address is dynamically assigned (usually by DHCP), the IP address to be configured in order to identify the CS should be the external and fixed one of the device used by N1 to get access to Internet. Also the NAT capabilities should be properly configured inside N1 to enable the correct routing of data packages between the computer where the CS is running and the device granting access to Internet. Top Will it work behind NAT on the client side?Yes, it works providing that the NAT is properly configured for the corresponding IP addresses and ports.An example of NAT rules as it would work for an IPTABLES – Linux-based firewall is similar to this: # Source NAT for masqueranding internal Client IP Addresses $IPTABLES –t nat –A POSTROUTING –o -s -j SNAT --to-source # Destination NAT for masqueranding external Client Addressing to the internal environment $IPTABLES –t nat –A PREROUTING –p udp –d --dport -j DNAT --to-destination Top Does it work behind a proxy on the client side?No, the EDAS client software does not support connections through proxy servers.Top What is the Client Software provided by you actually doing?The Client Software enables the connection to the EDAS server and ensures a controlled flow of the EDAS data.Top What is the output of the Client Software provided with the data?After the connection of the Client Software (CS) to the EDAS server, the data flow will be delivered from CS to Service Provider (SP) software which is the program to be developed by the customer in order to use the data. The connection between CS and SP will be performed over a TCP connection.The connection handling process can be summarised in the following steps:
The content of the EDAS frames will depend on the Service Level agreed and it is extensively explained in "Interface from Cl. Software to Srv. Provider" chapter of the Client Software User Manual. Top SW requirements for running the Client SoftwareIn order to install and use the Client Software, the following configuration items must be available:
Top Client bandwidth requirementsMinimum throughput or Commited Information Rate (CIR) equals to 600 Kbits/sec for SL0 messages or 300 Kbits/sec for SL1 messages.Top I am a student, can I have access to the data?Yes, but your application is always subject to approval. You have to provide your school's data in the application form.Top I am a private individual, can I have access to the data?Yes, but your application is always subject to approval.Top Is the EDAS data valuable outside Europe?The value of the EDAS data will depend on the purpose for which it will be used. For example, applications running outside of Europe and performing analysis of GPS data around the world could find the EDAS data valuable.Top What is the impact of data transfer latency on the value of the data?Data packets containing the information provided by EDAS leave the EDAS Platform server side with an average delay of 70ms. The delay of the time required to transfer the data between the EDAS Platform and the Client Software has to be added. However the exact impact of the total latency on the value of the data can not be specified because it fully depends on how the data is used. Latencies of 1 second or even longer are acceptable for our current users.Top How can I verify that the Client Software is working properly?When running the Client Software, its operation can be checked by analysing log information as it is described in "Client Software Execution" chapter of the Client Software User Manual.Top May I have an offline sample of the data? (data stream capture)This is available in the download area. UDP PacketsPlease be aware that for the reception of the EDAS data you will need to configure your firewall or PC to receive UDP packets. This may be considered a security risk. It is a good practice to separate such an experimental network or PC from your main production system How to restore CRC32In order to restore the CRC32 correctly, it should be taken into account the following: |