RADAR software release (version 1.3)

From 29.11.2018 a new RADAR version (1.3) is available. In addition to technical system optimizations, version 1.3 offers you the following new functions and improvements:

New Function: Metadata Standard Values at Contract Level

In order to simplify the metadata description of datasets, it has already been possible to predefine default values at the workspace level (e.g. for institution, publisher, license, rights holder, etc.). This function is now also available at the contract level and can be accessed by RADAR administrators via the "Contract > Information" page.
The application of metadata standard values has also been optimized: As soon as metadata standard values have been defined, they are now automatically applied to each newly uploaded data package. This eliminates the need to click the "Use [Workspace] Default" button.
Please note:

• Default values at workspace level always take precedence over those at contract level.
• If the metadata values for a data package differ from the standard values, these can still be edited individually by the data provider.

New function: Branding

RADAR can now be moderately adapted to the corporate design of the user institution. As the first branding option, the RADAR logo can be replaced by your own logo. Furthermore, a link to an institutional website (e.g. to contact persons in the library or in the research data management department) can be defined, allowing RADAR users quick access to this internal resource. The new "Branding" function is available to RADAR administrators through the "Contract > Information" page. The introduction of further branding options is planned for future RADAR releases.
Please note: For a maximum integration of RADAR into existing own infrastructures and workflows the RADAR API can be used and a tailor-made user interface implemented.

New function: Data integrity check during data upload

When uploading research data, the data provider can now optionally request a check for data integrity (MD5 hash value). The data provider can choose between 2 options:

• automatic calculation of the checksum (MD5) locally via browser or
• manual input after external determination of the checksum (MD5).

In both cases, the checksum is compared to the MD5 hash value calculated by the server after the upload. This ensures that possible data transmission errors can be detected and corrected by a new upload.

New data format (.tar) in the permanent archive storage

When data is archived or published, a dataset is created from the files (research and metadata) in the temporary memory, including their directory structure. This is now transferred as a TAR file (.tar) to the permanent archive storage of the data centres involved (SCC/KIT, Karlsruhe and ZIH, Dresden) and stored there.
The .tar format is a standard format for data archiving on tape (.tar like "tape archiver"). It offers the possibility to write files and directories of the research dataset sequentially into a single dataset. TAR files are not compressed and can be unpacked with standard packing programs (e.g. 7-Zip).   
All datasets previously stored in RADAR are converted from ZIP to TAR format.

We hope that the new functions are an improvement for you and would be happy to answer any questions you may have at info [at] radar-service.eu (info[at]radar-service[dot]eu).