Dataspace Connectors and Adaptors

This submodule aims at providing connectivity to international and, in particular, European data ecosystems. In the first release, we focus exclusively on connection to Data Spaces according to the Dataspace Protocol by IDSA and Eclipse Foundation.

EDC-based Dataspace Connector for Publishing Data from S3 Backends

We have built a demonstrator setup which showcases file transfer between a provider and a consumer using the Eclipse Dataspace Connector (EDC). The transfer uses Amazon S3-compatible storage backends (e.g., MinIO).

This illustrates how data from an S3 deployment within EXA4MIND Platform can be shared with a data space. The functionality can accordingly be added to any EXA4MIND/EDD Platform instance. The current setup is a starting point for integrating additional policies, authentication, or catalog services.

What is a Dataspace Connector

The Dataspace Connector is a secure gateway for sharing data and services within a dataspace. It allows data owners to define and enforce usage policies, ensuring that data is accessed only under agreed conditions. The connector also records data provenance, making it possible to track where data originated and how it has been used. This provides both control and transparency while enabling seamless data exchange between participants.

Scope of Demonstrator Setup

In this demonstrator, two connectors are deployed—one acting as the provider and one as the consumer. Data is transferred between two S3-compatible storage systems, demonstrating how a dataspace can expose datasets to external participants via a shared data catalog.

The files and the setup instructions are provided with our stack of software presented as part of the EXA4MIND project and will be made public soon.

Disclaimer

The demonstrator setup per se is intended for testing and further development towards production scenarios as required. It is derived from the official Eclipse EDC sample.