The platform, as it will be gradually developed and deployed in several iterations, will consist of the following components:

• Three interfaces towards the users are provided:
  • The Web Portal provides access to the different applications, data and related documentation via a simple Web browser.
  • Web Services, according to standardised or widely used interfaces, are provided to invoke MEP services directly by 3rd-party applications.
  • Remote desktop access and Secure Shell (SSH) allow users to access the Virtual Research Environment, where they can develop-test-deploy applications on the platform. 
• Several applications, provided by both VITO and different users, are deployed on the platform and accessible via the different user interfaces.
• The Hortonworks Hadoop distribution and several related tools are used to build a scalable processing and data analytics platform, with access to the complete data archive on the platform.
• OpenStack is used as private cloud middleware where the MEP applications will be deployed, as well as pre-configured Virtual Machines allowing users to work on the platform.
• A Data Manager component manages and caches data on the platform, accessible to the users via NFS or HDFS. The Data Manager component interfaces with the VITO Product Distribution Facility and as well with 3rd-party catalogues via standardised interfaces.
• The Product Distribution Facility (http://www.vito-eodata.be) provides the data discovery and access service on the data archive available on the platform.