Updated EAASI Training Module: "Emulation Environments"

EAASI Research Alliance
1

This updated Training Module series introduces important concepts in emulation and key features of the EAASI platform. These modules are intended to supplement the EAASI User Handbook, opening the design and functionality of the platform to wider feedback and discussion among members of the EAASI Research Alliance and the Software Preservation Network, particularly in regard to the EAASI Product Roadmap.

Each module contains: a slideshow presenting a core piece of platform functionality and its relationship to EAASI development goals and use cases; a set of questions for practitioners to discuss and/or reflect; and recommended resources from the EAASI team for further exploration of the topic. Modules are intended to stand on their own but be easily adaptable to an in-person or virtual workshop session.

This module has been adapted from an equivalent resource originally developed in Phase 2 (July 2020 - June 2022) of the “Scaling Emulation-as-a-Service Infrastructure” grant program funded by the Mellon and Sloan foundations. It has been modified to reflect updated branding and supported use cases for the EAASI platform. Screenshots of the EAASI platform are used for illustration purposes and have been taken over a wide range of development and version history; they may not 100% reflect currently-supported functionality.

Please feel free to share, remix and re-use these modules as appropriate within your member organization (and within the bounds of the CC-BY-NC-SA license)!

Emulation Environments

During this module, participants will learn about:

  • Why does the EAASI team refer to emulation and computing “environments”?
  • What is an EAASI “Environment” resource?
  • What sort of details do we need to describe and maintain environments?

Questions for Discussion/Reflection

  • In this module, we mention a number of different examples of metadata one might need or want to describe computer hardware. Can you think of a category we missed?
  • Think of a piece of software or an application you commonly used 1) 20 years ago, 2) 10 years ago, 3) 5 years ago. Would you be able to recreate or access each of those applications today? Why or why not?
  • If you work for a collecting institution - does your organization have a policy guiding use, re-use, or collection of computer hardware? If so, who writes and maintains that policy? Does it have any relation to policies guiding acquisition and maintenance of digital collections?

Recommended Resources