What are the core system and hosting requirements of the Open Data Inititative?
--For those involved in the end user data creation creativity, please ignore this thread as the system is operational therefore this thread does not affect you-- If KICBT could respond, it would be help establish some parameters of this project. As a matter of national interest to all Kenyan Software Developer Companies, Telcos, ISPs and Data Centre Operators, please provide the requirements. The project also seems a very interesting study for the University Level Students in Computer Sciences. These are some of the basic questions I can think of: 1) How is the Data captured at local level i.e Is it a manual or automated process? 2) Is the data a push type or pull type of sevice? 3) What data formats does the Govt data provide? 4) What are the data visualization requirements? 5) Is each Ministry provided a module or template that allows for uniform data collections? 6) What were the bandwidth, system location, electricity, security, system security and redundancy requirements for a public hosted system? 7) How is the data integrity and accuracy ensured or what check mechanisms ensure data reliability? 8) What are the financial performances required to fulfill the project continuty? 9) In keeping with the large display Mobile and the 7inch screen devices ( such as iPad and the rest ), what requirements are placed on the core system? Thank you.
While we await the requirements from KICTB as being "Open Data" too ... :-) This is very basic a translation of what happens at the moment, many will know this but for those catching up on why having the data locally is too important in the long term. *- The OpenData Server is in the US.* a) When a Kenyan clicks on the maps or visualized data on the site, the * request* on the internet browser is sent out via the device. b) The request leaves the Telco or ISP network, lands at the fiber gateway in Mombasa. It no longer becomes our responsibility to guarantee that the request will continue on its destination. The request will arrive in e.g. Fujairah ( Dubai ). From here, it it sent across global communication highways, across the Atlantic Ocean until it finds the server on another continent. c) The server responds back to the request = The request is for a a graphic display or a map. Here you go! I'm sending the Page and Image that Matches your request. d) The *response* travels all the way back, now it is a much bigger file than the request. So back onto the Atlantic Ocean, Dubai, Mombasa and finally in Kenya and onto your internet browser e) As an end user, the information has been served in a timely manner. Sometimes there will be errors, keeping in mind that many other users may also be requesting the same information. In the communications world, the above data travel is torture and unacceptable, unless it cannot be avoided in extreme circumstances. With every click for request for information, the eventual buildup of many requests and large responses in amounts of data. Within the first 12 months of the site being in operation, the traffic will keep building up. And each time the data displays such as graphs grow with various data sets, the more intensive the whole process. Given the advances in technilogy, not many will notice what is happening. However, for Mobile and iTab developers, in the long term this will become critical as the display application will hang up or show signs of "freezing" until a response is gotten. So why do we care? I'll just mention the basic communication aspects as an overview. If we had the Server Data locally, e.g. I'm sure Telcos like Safaricom would look at the cost of local traffic versus international traffic as the data demands grew because the data is graphic intensive and not just small text files. Infact, any traffic within Kenyan networks would be treated at cheaper costs. To put this across to Telcos, a simple hypothetical cost analysis. Local Networks 10Mbit cost = Ksh 30,000/- while International Networks 10Mbit = Ksh 400,000/- It costs the ISPs, Network Operators almost 10 times more to handle international traffic and these costs are passed onto Kenyans. The other advantage of keeping traffic local is the real broadband response times that will drastically improve thus the grahical data which will open with a click of a button. I'll ask the Network Operators or specialists to comment on costs or corrections. Thank you.
--My final contribute for this thread-- Earlier we looked at the basic importance of traffic issues. Going further, why do we care and should the core system and data ownership bother us? We can always buy an off the shelf product from many vendors as we have done since independence. We can install, customize the functions and deploy within a very short time. And so can millions across the developing world and we become part of the global cycle where we no longer can think or act for ourselves. A cycle and a system that will ensure our capacity to produce scientists, engineers and talented people that can create is destroyed for generations to come. Ever wonder what happened to the best students who scored the highest marks nationally? Did they eventually become successful entreprenuer retailers of goods or services? I bet you they did. Their measure of success is that of surviving in such an environment. Possibly a few made it to some board levels and will be pushing paper work and boardroom presentations/speeches for years to come. Paper work and words that is not at all connected to patents or achievements. Creativity ( or Innovation ) is very much part of each and every person. We need policies, finances, platforms and awareness that encourage people to think. To think of creating systems or processes that will have positive national impacts, that will create improvements on technologies or systems or processes that will have tailored results and cater for more localised funtionality. For thousands of years we are farming generations yet we still have not found a better way to till the land or create better productivity, so images of starving people is still around us. To add insult to generations of the farming knowledge, even in these times we are being taught how to farm better. We know how to import a tractor but we never created a better tractor with more funtionality. Developing countries governments need to wake up and stop being collaborators of an international system or global policies that will always ensure we are at a disadvantage. International investments are very very welcome but we also need parallel programs that ensure our goals and targets are met. So each time we think of importing a product or solution, we are taking away the chance to create thinkers, scientists, engineers, intelligent people who may develop the next generation solutions to our problems. We cannot change many generations of decades old mentality of the consumers import and fix the problem, this has always applied. And there are many supporters of this situation. But eventually we will need to make a start somewhere, somehow. In closing, I'd like to ask this : How does one take water, computerized controlled pressure jets and lights to create something that adds value to a country's image? Am sure many kenyans will be BLANK because creativity was never part of our national policies! :-) Burj Dubai Khalifa Fountain 'Time to Say Goodbye' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6-jgoqC4FQ&feature=related Thank you.
Hi Aki, Thank you a million for supporting this discussion, it is encouraging to note that there are technical people out there who appreciate the need for data to come local and are also willing to put their reputations on the line. Many have taken my raising of this issue as a personal attach on some people, I am not attaching Mr. Kukubo or Dr. Ndemo but the offices they represent as was said by one american president "the buck stops here". Please treat my use of strong words as the effects of my frustration with what is going on in the industry. I have been in the IT field for over 22 years now and however we think that we are making progress in reality we are actually back peddling. I hope more of the wazee out there can give there 2 cents on the issues raised on this and other fora. Lets hope that the 2 GBps that KIXP is bragging about can be increased to equal or surpasses the total international bandwidth at which point we shall have moved beyond 1995 when Dr. Shem Ochuodho offered us internet services at 50/- per minute. (US 1/- was equivalent to Kes. 57/- today its 92/-) Keep listing. Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696 ________________________________ From: aki <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <[email protected]> Sent: Fri, 15 July, 2011 15:45:44 Subject: Re: [kictanet] What are the core system and hosting requirements of the Open Data Inititative? While we await the requirements from KICTB as being "Open Data" too ... :-) This is very basic a translation of what happens at the moment, many will know this but for those catching up on why having the data locally is too important in the long term. - The OpenData Server is in the US. a) When a Kenyan clicks on the maps or visualized data on the site, the request on the internet browser is sent out via the device. b) The request leaves the Telco or ISP network, lands at the fiber gateway in Mombasa. It no longer becomes our responsibility to guarantee that the request will continue on its destination. The request will arrive in e.g. Fujairah ( Dubai ). From here, it it sent across global communication highways, across the Atlantic Ocean until it finds the server on another continent. c) The server responds back to the request = The request is for a a graphic display or a map. Here you go! I'm sending the Page and Image that Matches your request. d) The response travels all the way back, now it is a much bigger file than the request. So back onto the Atlantic Ocean, Dubai, Mombasa and finally in Kenya and onto your internet browser e) As an end user, the information has been served in a timely manner. Sometimes there will be errors, keeping in mind that many other users may also be requesting the same information. In the communications world, the above data travel is torture and unacceptable, unless it cannot be avoided in extreme circumstances. With every click for request for information, the eventual buildup of many requests and large responses in amounts of data. Within the first 12 months of the site being in operation, the traffic will keep building up. And each time the data displays such as graphs grow with various data sets, the more intensive the whole process. Given the advances in technilogy, not many will notice what is happening. However, for Mobile and iTab developers, in the long term this will become critical as the display application will hang up or show signs of "freezing" until a response is gotten. So why do we care? I'll just mention the basic communication aspects as an overview. If we had the Server Data locally, e.g. I'm sure Telcos like Safaricom would look at the cost of local traffic versus international traffic as the data demands grew because the data is graphic intensive and not just small text files. Infact, any traffic within Kenyan networks would be treated at cheaper costs. To put this across to Telcos, a simple hypothetical cost analysis. Local Networks 10Mbit cost = Ksh 30,000/- while International Networks 10Mbit = Ksh 400,000/- It costs the ISPs, Network Operators almost 10 times more to handle international traffic and these costs are passed onto Kenyans. The other advantage of keeping traffic local is the real broadband response times that will drastically improve thus the grahical data which will open with a click of a button. I'll ask the Network Operators or specialists to comment on costs or corrections. Thank you.
participants (2)
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aki -
robert yawe