mDIS online

(deprecated)

mDIS Web Sites

Web-based versions of mDIS can be accessed at the locations shown in the table below

The mDIS software is still under active development. The websites mentioned below demonstrate the latest code. They show mDIS with its newest features added.

These websites are not production systems. Instead, they serve as a reference, enabling stakeholders to have a quick look.

Sign-in is required.

Purpose	Instance Name	Content	Address	Version	Hosted by / Platform	VirtualBox 6.1 file
ICDP GRIND Project Namibia	GRIND Expedition DIS	real-world data	data.icdp-online.org/mdis/grind ⬛ 🔑	2.1.0 (2021), from data.icdp	ICDP/Docker	No VirtualBox .ova image available
ICDP BVDP Project (Bushveld) South Africa	bushveld Curation DIS	testing data	data.icdp-online.org/mdis/bushveld/ ⬛ 🔑	2.0.1 (2020-12-14), master + FB-knb-docker-cust	ICDP / Docker	No VirtualBox .ova image available
ICDP BASE Project (Moodies Group) South Africa	base Curation DIS	data	data.icdp-online.org/mdis/base/ ⬛ 🔑	2.0.1 (2021-07), some customizations	ICDP/Docker	No VirtualBox .ova image available

Click on a symbol to open:
⬛ - mDIS Dashboard. 🔑 - Database Administration page. - 🔓 - Insecure Site (no https). - 🚧 - development-instance, ICDP only.

Abbreviations:

• .ova - VirtualBox image (see below).
• ICDP - International Continental Scientific Drilling Program.

VirtualBox Instructions

Before the fieldwork starts, properly configured VirtualBox-based versions of mDIS will be created and shipped to project participants. These finalized VirtualBox-based mDIS instances will run on computers that are typically offline, in remote areas, or in research labs and core repositories.

VirtualBox - Current Status

Using a VirtualBox instance, you can avoid having your changes overwritten; and advanced visualization tools (mentioned below) are only available in the VirtualBox versions of mDIS, not in any online version.

However, VirtualBox-based mDIS instances are not finalized.

For Developers and IT Professionals

Developers can download any VirtualBox instances to take a closer look at the source code or to perform advanced tasks such as remote debugging the source code in a running instance.

Lots of post-installation tasks are required.

• At this time (September 2020), VirtualBox instances are usable, although they are not completely set up and configured. VM instances still require quite a few post-installation tasks that must be carried out manually. For example, customizing the graphical desktop.
• This is so because recently we have added a lot of software features. These need to be "activated," or administrators need to "opt in" to use them in a meaningful, productive way. (We are working on completing the automated setup).
• Upgrade your VirtualBox software to v6.1.6+; otherwise, the Shared Clipboard might not work properly.
• The advanced visualization tools mentioned above are "PSICAT" for creating lithological profiles and "Corelyzer" for plotting full-resolution core scans. Type psicat or corelyzer on a command line to start them.

Logging in

Use your mDIS credentials when asked for your password. They are the same for both initiating the download and for logging into the mDIS dashboard.

Import the .ova file with your VirtualBox Manager app. Start up the newly imported VirtualBox instance.

Optional: For logging into the VirtualBox guest operating system (the login screen of the graphical desktop of Ubuntu Linux 18.04 or 20.04), use username "vagrant," password "vagrant." SSH login also works on port 2222.

VirtualBox-based mDIS in your browser

To log into the mDIS web application, you do not need to log into Ubuntu's graphical desktop. It is sufficient to just start up the VirtualBox instance. Then, on the host computer, start a web browser and open this web page: http://localhost:8888. (Inside the VirtualBox, just use http://localhost.)

Optional, advanced: To get rid of the "8888," you need to change a setting: the "Port Forwarding" rule in the Ubuntu guest: choose Settings / Network / Tab "Adapter 1" (in the VirtualBox Manager application). Your operating system might croak a bit, though. Restart the guest VM.

Check your Shared Folder setting

We build the Ubuntu Linux virtual machines on Linux. Therefore, the default shared folder mapping is:

/var/tmp/upload on the Host is shared with /var/tmp/upload on the Guest.

Both are Unix/Linux paths.

By default, MySQL backups go into the subfolder /var/tmp/upload/backup/mysql.

If you run VirtualBox on Microsoft Windows or on a Mac, you need to change the Shared Folder setting on the Host to a different folder. VirtualBox will warn you about this. (We cannot anticipate how you prefer these paths to be configured, by default, on your Windows PCs or your Mac.)

Notes

.ova Files: Images of virtual machines are distributed as VirtualBox .ova files. This is a container format similar to .zip or .tar files.

The contents of the virtual machines and the respective website (mentioned in the table above) are similar but not exactly identical. The .ova files lag behind the releases of new online mDIS instances, typically for a few days.

Recommended mode of mDIS operation

Currently, mDIS is under active software development. Use the online mDIS versions to experiment freely.

Download and import a VirtualBox image (the .ova file) for working with your own datasets that you would like to persist longer, for any reason. Using VirtualBox, you can also have a closer look at the source code of mDIS. It is also easier to debug PHP and Vue files when you work with a VirtualBox running on localhost. However, for productive work, we recommend using the above-mentioned online instances. - We know pre-emption can be very annoying.

Contribute to mDIS development

If you have developed some feature (tables, forms, uploaded files, customizations) that you want to keep permanently in mDIS, please notify us. Then we will make it part of the codebase and the default setup.