Reproduced, with permission, from:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 1993. Master Directory User's Guide, ed. J. Shipe. Greenbelt, MD: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center.
Introduction to the IDN
The International Directory Network (IDN) is an international effort for expediting information on available data sets to researchers and other users. The IDN is sponsored by the Committee on Earth Observations Satellites (CEOS) as a service to both the Earth science and space science communities. There are three coordinating nodes of the IDN, for the American, Asian, and European continents, each maintaining a complete copy of the Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). The American coordinating node is operated by NASA's National Space Science Data Center, located at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, in the United States. The European coordinating node is operated by the European Space Agency (ESA) at the Earthnet Programme Office (ESA/ESRlN) facilities in Frascati, Italy. The Asian coordinating node is operated by the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) in Hatoyama, Japan. Automatic transfer of database content takes place between these three sites every two weeks. This assures that data set descriptions and supplementary information can be obtained from various parts of the world, and exchanged with other areas. This process helps expand the base of information available to researchers throughout the world.
Each coordinating node has affiliated directories that cooperate with it. These nodes, known as cooperating nodes, provide a path for researchers within the country or area to participate in the IDN. Cooperating nodes are not required to maintain exact duplicates of the GCMD but some, such as the CCRS (Canadian Centre for Remote Sensing, Ottawa, Canada) have elected to do so.
Cooperating nodes for the American node include the Canadian Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS) in Canada; the Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), the U.S. Geological Survey, Earth Science Data Directory (USGS ESDD), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Earth Science Data Directory (NOAA NESDD) in the United States.
Cooperating nodes for the European node include the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), in Toulouse, France; the German Remote Sensing Data Center (DLR/DFD) in Munich, Germany; the Italian Antarctica Database System (South Pole Directory) in Rome, Italy; the Center for Geophysics World Data Center A in Moscow, Russia; and the Defense Research Agency (DRA) and the National Remote Sensing Center (NRSC), collectively, in the United Kingdom.
The cooperating node for Asia is the Japan Information Center of Science and Technology (JICST), in Tokyo, Japan.
To access the American coordinating node in the US:
NSI/DECnet
$SET HOST NSSDCA Usename: NODIS Choose Option 1 from the NODIS Menu or: $SET HOST 15548 Usename: NODIS Choose Option 1 from the NODIS MenuInternet $telnet nssdca.gsc.nasa.gov or: $telnet 128.183.36.23 Username: NODIS Choose Option 1 from the NODIS Menu
Via Direct Dial Set modem to 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit For 300, 1200 or 2400 baud, dial 301-286-9000 For 9600 baud, dial 301-286-4000 or FTS 888-4000 At system prompt "Enter Number" you enter "MD" At system prompt "Call Complete" you enter <CR> Username: NODIS Choose Option 1 from the NODIS Menu
To access the European coordinating node in Italy:
NSI/DECnet
$SET HOST EPOCAT Usename: ESAPID or: $SET HOST 29628 Username: ESAPIDInternet $telnet 192.106.252.160 Usename: ESAPID
Via Direct Dial: Set modem to 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, 300, 1200, or 2400 baud Dial +39 6 9417336
Packet Exchange Switch Public Data Networks (PSPDN):
The Network User Address (NUA) of the ESA IDN for international calls is: 02222650014761
However, in most ESA member states users can also access the ESA IDN by calling within their country (at local charge) the following numbers:
To access the Asian coordinating node in Japan:
NSI/DECnet
$SET HOST NSAEOC Username: NASDADIR or: $SET HOST 41950 Username: NASDADIRInternet: $telnet 133.56.72.1 Username: NASDADIR
Packet Exchange Network: (DDX-P, Venus-P DTE Number 44014437216, 4437216 in Japan) Username: NASDADIR
Via Direct Dial: Set modem to 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, XON/OFF Dial 81-492-94-6400 (0492-96-6400 in Japan) 1200-9600 bps (DEC Kanji)
For more information on the International Directory Network, please contact:
Ms. Janis Shipe 301-513-1688 NSI/DECnet > NCF::SHIPE 15548::SHIPE internet > shipe@nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov
