Report for best practices on robust telecom/data transmission

Near-Real-Time (NRT) data transmission from distant observatory or sensor locations to data processing centre is a common feature shared by almost all ENVRIplus Research Infrastructures (RI) and is essential for rapid quality checking for the benefit of RI operators. NRT data transmission and quality control procedures are left to independent choices of the RIs responding to their specific needs and availability of infrastructural resources. However, a common approach to those NRT technologies would be extremely useful to coordinate response of RIs in case of environmental crisis.
This document summarizes some key technologies used for data transmission, their availability, capabilities (in terms of bandwidth) and associated costs. It analyses requirements of research infrastructures and gives a summary of RIs best practises with respect to data transmission. Guided by the ENVRI Reference Model, further, potential harmonisation and standardisation approaches are discussed und special consideration of available sensor metadata standards and data transmission formats. In addition, common near real time quality routines and algorithms are presented.
We will show in this deliverable that data transmission is not an easy task and hardly can be harmonized - in technical terms - across all ENVRIplus research infrastructures due to the diverse latency and bandwidth requirements and telecommunication availability e.g. at distant sites. However, emerging standards have a good potential to move the standardisation of data transmission and will move the standardisation level closer to the sensor which would in turn enable cross domain data processing services such as the identified common NRT quality control routines.