Intro to FDSA
The Federated & Distributed Data Sharing Appliance (FDSA) is an integral component within the AD Workbench product suite that provides a foundation for secure data sharing and collaboration, empowering the research community by unlocking access to previously unreachable datasets. The Linux based system facilitates interoperability across platforms, especially in scenarios where direct data sharing is not feasible. Data owners can add their dataset metadata to the AD Workbench, allowing Workbench users to request access to discover, select, and perform remote federated analysis on a wide variety of protected datasets.
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Two Levels of Sharing
FDSA supports two distinct levels of data sharing, allowing data contributors to choose the level that best fits their governance and privacy requirements.
Level | What researchers see/access | Where analysis happens | Privacy & use case |
Distributed Sharing (L1) | Record-level data in an airlocked workspace | In a secure, airlocked analysis environment | Enables more detailed analysis while keeping data in a controlled, quarantined space. |
Federated Sharing (L2) | Only derived data and results in the workspace | At the data source, on record-level data | Record-level data never leaves the source; results are aggregated and anonymized after a rigorous quarantine process. |
Versatile Deployment Options
FDSA is optimized for flexible deployment, making it easy to align with your organization’s technical and regulatory environment.
Aspect | Options | What it means for you |
Hosting Environment | Cloud or on-premise | Deploy FDSA on any major cloud provider, or on-premise if you require direct control for compliance or policy. |
Network Accessibility | Intranet or internet | Restrict access to internal networks for heightened security, or configure FDSA for secure public internet access. |
Infrastructure Fit | Tailored to your infrastructure | FDSA can be deployed and managed to match your existing setup, without tying you to a specific provider or stack. |