Data Access Tool Backend Documentation
Contributor documentation for the Data Access Tool (DAT) Backend.
The DAT backend is deployed to NSIDC’s Virtual Machine (VM) infrastructure via the Data Access Tool VM project.
The DAT Backend is composed of:
A Flask-based API provides endpoints that power the Data Access Tool UI. For example,
- The
/api/downloader-scriptendpoint provides thepython_script.pydownload script for data granules matching a user’s filters. - The
/api/get-links/endpoint that provides the getLinks service required for DAT integration with the NASA Earthdata Downloader.
- The
Docker compose configuration for the DAT backend, which includes nginx proxy server configuration.
Background
The Data Access Tool backend service is based on the hermes-api project at NSIDC, which provided a backend API for Data Access Tool data orders through an ECS-based system.
With ECS scheduled to be decommissioned in July 2026, this new backend service was developed to replace hermes.
This project provides some of the same functionality as hermes (e.g., the Python download script endpoint, /api/downloader-script), removes some functionality (e.g., ECS-based ordering and direct delivery to Google Drive), and adds one new key feature: support for the NASA Earthdata Download application.
This service went into production at NSIDC alongside the data-access-tool-ui v3.1.0 on April 16, 2025.
The Data Access Tool project has been referred to as “Everest” and “Hermes” at NSIDC. Generally speaking, “Hermes” refers to the legacy backend services that powered the DAT UI <3.1.0. “Everest” referred to the frontend UI. In practice, these terms were sometimes used interchangeably.