5.0 Using MyEarthAdmin
The MyEarthAdmin application performs two main functions: administration of the Spatial Search Engine (SSE) and of the Ingest Engine (IE). The interface is simple to use, and should be checked prior to using the MyEarth application. The MyEarth application requires both Apache 2 and MySQL servers to be running on the localhost, and the start up and shut down of these servers is achieved with the MyEarthAdmin tool, using the SSE pane. Conversely, the IE pane allows users to ingest data files and their associated browse images into the Archive, with a record being created in the database at the time of ingest.
The entire ingest process takes less than a few seconds, depending on the file sizes, and the Archive folder will contain the resultant files and their associated metadata and XML files.
Working with SSE (Spatial Search Engine)
The SSE is the powerhouse of the MyEarth Search and Retrieval tool. It performs spatial queries, in response to the user search requests, generated using the search forms.
The Apache2 server is dedicated for use by the MyEarth tool and resides on localhost, port 80. It there are any other web services running on this port, they must first be disabled, before using the MyEarth tool. Similarly, the MySQL database server is dedicated to support of MyEarth, and provides SQL query and retrieval capability for the tool. The MySQL database has the potential to hold millions of data records, dependent on the available processing power and disk space available on the localhost. The Archive will need to be sized according the storage requirements of the data holdings. It is the users responsibility to ensure that adequate space is available to support the requirements for MyEarth usage.
Figure 14 MyEarthAdmin Tool with Spatial Search Engine Pane visible. SSE pane shows button to Start/Stop the dedicated Apache2 server (top) and anther button Start/Stop the dedicated MySQL server (bottom). Note the available Data Types are shown in the Data Type column (left).
Working with IE (Ingest Engine)
The IE actually performs the ingest of the two key files: data set and associated browse image. The data set, need not be a file which may be displayed in the Virtual Earth Visualization Environment, but it needs to have spatial characteristics associated with it. Both data types suitable for ingest into the MyEarth archive: HDF4 and ESRI shapefiles meet these requirements. The associated browse file should be a compressed JPEG, GIF, TIFF, or Portable Network Graphics (PNG) image file.
When the files are available from a folder visible to local host, then the user may enter the absolute filename, to include full path name, and the filename for both data file and browse file. Alternatively, a file open panel will appear if the {...} button is pressed, to the right of each text box. Navigate to the directory, and choose the file from a file list, then select OK.
