The Nesstar Server is built as an extension to a normal web server.

As well as providing all the usual facilities for publishing web content, this server provides the ability to publish statistical information that can be searched, browsed, analysed and downloaded by your users. This is done either by using a standard web browser using Nesstar WebView.

The World Wide Web (WWW) has become the preferred tool for the distribution of any kind of digital information. Initially designed to provide efficient access to simple textual documents, the WWW has since been extended to support properly typeset documents, images, sounds, video, etc.

Accordingly, the Nesstar software suite provides a way to make statistical data as easy to publish, locate, access and protect from unauthorised access, as is text. Through this process, statistical knowledge is made more accessible. This includes the combination of metadata, data and derived information (reports, papers, secondary analyses etc.) that make statistics meaningful.

The Nesstar product represents a system of software architecture that makes it easy to create, locate, access and operate remotely on metadata and corresponding data. At the same time it does this while maintaining a high level of compatibility with the WWW. This is an attempt at creating a Data Web; an extension of the WWW geared towards data and based on widely adopted data description standards.

The Nesstar system is designed to fit into wider data input and output environments. Figure 1 illustrates how it can take input from a number of resources, link to numerous supporting services and then link seamlessly to a wider data management environment.

Figure 1

The demands of recognised systems such as the Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) and open source initiatives like JBOSS are a key component of the Nesstar Suite of products. This makes the process of using Nesstar products and making data available via the WWW a fully integrated and standardised operation.

Nesstar Publisher is part of this process and can be used to mount data and accompanying metadata on a Nesstar server. Access to these resources can then be free and universal, or can be limited to authorised users in accordance with the wishes of the data publisher. These materials are then ready to be used and explored using Nesstar WebView.