.. EAASI Glossary Glossary ********** .. glossary:: Admin Admin users have the highest level of permissions in EAASI. They are responsible for user account management in their :term:`organization` and have a higher level of control over :term:`resources`. Admins also retain all the permissions/actions of :term:`Configuration Users` as well. Base A base is an :term:`environment` as initially created in EAASI. “Base” essentially refers to a starting point for configuration and can thus be highly contextual to a workflow, but it most frequently refers to an Environment where only a baseline operating system has been installed, without additional specific domain- or content-specific software dependencies (saving those specific dependencies for :term:`derivative` Environments). Base Environments will generally take up the most storage space in an instance. Computer Image A system disk image obtained by the user either from a pre-existing (outside of EAASI) virtual machine, or from the hard drive of a physical machine. Can nominally be imported into EAASI and used as an :term:`image` resource, but severe limitations discourage the use of Computer Images with EAASI in `v2021-10`. See :ref:`import-image`. Configuration User Configuration users have the lowest set of permissions in EAASI. They are able to configure or edit metadata for existing :term:`resources` and run environments, but can not interact access user account management features. Content Content are items from a digital collection; that is, digital information or works from institutional collections intended for representation (via :term:`software`) and interpretation by users (in an :term:`environment`). Within EAASI, the line between Software and Content (which may also be a piece of “software” in the general sense) is largely contextual and workflow related - a file or file-set is “Software” if it is intended to be used as a tool to accurately render and interact with software-dependent Content. A file or file-set is Content if it is the intended target of rendering. (It is assumed that Content may be subject to further access restrictions depending on digital collection practice at each :ref:`organization`.) Content Environment A "Content Environment" is a :term:`derivative` environment in which :term:`content` has been imported, saved, and/or installed into an existing environment. The intended use of a Content Environment is to provide access to digital/collection objects as they would have been rendered in their original (or a representative) computing environment. Content Environments are marked with the 'Content' label in the EAASI interface. Derivative Any configuration performed and saved on a :term:`base` environment in EAASI is captured and referred to as a derivative environment. Derivatives are stored as delta/diff files from the original base to conserve storage (see :term:`image`). Derivatives allow EAASI users to build off previous work without starting from scratch every time a new environment is needed. The derivative chain of any given environment can be traced via its Details page. Environment Environments are emulated computing systems - i.e., a combination of emulated hardware and software components. The goal of EAASI is to make it simple to create and run environments in a browser. Every environment must have at least two pieces: a :term:`hardware configuration` and bootable software. The latter could be stored in an :term:`object`, but in the vast majority of cases is an installed operating system stored on an :term:`image`. Hardware Configuration An :term:`environment’s` hardware configuration refers to the emulator configuration settings that replicate the hardware of a physical computer system. Within EAASI, these configurations are initially provided as templates, then saved as part of an :term:`environment's` metadata. Image A disk image representing and storing an :term:`environment's` system drive. Most Environments are a combination of a :term:`hardware configuration` and an :term:`image` containing a bootable operating system. EAASI images are stored in the `QCOW2 `_ file format. The "copy-on-write" functionality of the QCOW2 format enables the system of :term:`base` and :term:`derivative` Environments at the core of EAASI's workflows and storage efficiency. Object The collection of files that represent the materials used to transmit, install, and/or operate :term:`software` or :term:`content` in EAASI. This could be the disk image(s) of an installation CD or an archive file packaging software components together. Organization Since v2021.10, user accounts in an EAASI server can be arranged into arbitrary groups referred to as "organizations". :term:`Admin`-level users can only see and control other user accounts within their Organization. Resource A resource refers broadly to a usable entity in EAASI: an :term:`environment`, :term:`software`, or :term:`content`. It is the combination of an :term:`object` and any metadata necessary to render that object. Software Software refers to application and system software, including operating systems, commercial and open source software applications, device drivers, etc.