DCCDMAP

DCCDMAP, or Data-Centric Cloud Data Mapping and Access Protocol, is an open-standard framework and reference implementation designed to describe, locate, and access data assets across distributed cloud environments. It provides a common data model and a mapping protocol that enables interoperability among data catalogs, governance tools, and analytics platforms in multi-cloud and edge contexts. The project aims to reduce data silos and facilitate cross-organizational data sharing while maintaining security and provenance.

The architecture comprises three layers: a Data Container Model (DCM) that describes datasets, containers, streams, and their metadata; a Data Mapping and Access Protocol (DMAP) that enables discovery, schema alignment, and access control; and a governance layer with policy rules and lineage tracking. The metadata is stored in a graph-based store using a standard ontology for data provenance. Connectivity modules provide adapters to major cloud storage services, on-premises systems, and data lake catalogs. The system exposes RESTful APIs and supports query capabilities for metadata retrieval and lineage tracing.

Development and governance are community-driven and open source, governed by the DCCDMAP Foundation with contributions from academia and industry. It uses semantic versioning and maintains compatibility through adapters and plugins.

Applications include data catalog interoperability, cross-cloud analytics, data governance, regulatory compliance, and data lineage tracing in data mesh and enterprise architectures. The project is noted for enabling interoperability while facing challenges related to performance at scale and the complexity of mapping diverse data models. It is used in research data sharing projects and in some enterprise data platforms as part of data mesh strategies.