The metadata portal serves to create, store, search and visualize information on availability, location and characteristics of a spatial data set, cartographic products and associated documents available inside the enterprise or in its remote servers, as well as to quickly acquire any data of interest to PC. This portal can be implemented either inside one enterprise or on the global basis.

Metadata can be used to trace and get access to the following information recourses:

• Spatial data sets stored in a digitalized form in geodatabases (satellite images, vector, image layers, documentation, etc.);
• Open data sources available in outside organization servers (Landsat satellite imagery coverage, SRTM digital terrain model, Google recourses, etc.);
• Fee-based data sources (e.g., catalog of satellite images and cartographic information provided by Sovzond, etc.).

The metadata components depend on requirements to the system as a whole and usually include the following set of parameters:

• Name and general description of the information recourse;
• Information on data actuality;
• Information recourse owner;
• Information recourse location (storage place);
• Geographic reference of the recourse coverage area;
• Information category in terms of information security and source availability;
• Information required to carry out formalized keyword searching.

These metadata components ensure searching of required spatial data and associated documentation at geographically-distributed servers in one window mode using pre-determined set of parameters:

• By isolated words in headings/descriptions of recourses;
• Formalized keyword search;
• Using spatial parameters (hitting/crossing of recourse extent with the specified range).

Based on the search results the user is provided with the information on the required set of spatial data for the inquired territory in two versions:

• As a list of entries (names of information recourses) with the possibility to scroll the available information (metadata) on each selected recourse;
• On the electronic location map displaying the borders of coverage areas (extents) of the selected information recourses; this option should provide connection of mapped elements and elements enlisted among the names of selected recourses.

Portal creation is a relatively new trend among GIS integrators. However, this trend arouses much interest. The main reason for this interest is that GIS technologies are widely spread in our country. In large geographically dispersed institutions there is a need for effective data search at the affiliated servers despite internal corporate standards, classification systems and rigid data structure. Besides, data documenting through metadata creation is one of the main stages of spatial data infrastructure deployment, which is currently a national issue for our country.

Sovzond offers services for creating metadata portals:

• Development of a logical model, ideoglossaries and classification systems;
• Creating metadata profiles;
• Development of acquisition, storage and publishing of metadata of spatial data sets;
• Creating of metadata portal: system of searching, metadata visualization of availability, location and parameters of geodata sets.