This memo provides information to the Grid community regarding the specification of Grid Database Services. The specification is presently a draft for discussion. It does not define any standards or technical recommendations. Distribution is unlimited.

Data management systems are central to many applications across multiple domains, and play a significant role in many others. Web services provide implementation neutral facilities for describing, invoking and orchestrating collections of networked resources. The Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA) extends Web Services with consistent interfaces for creating, managing and exchanging information among Grid Services, which are dynamic computational artefacts cast as Web Services. Both Web and Grid service communities stand to benefit from the provision of consistent, agreed service interfaces to database management systems. Such interfaces must support the description and use of database systems using Web Service standards, taking account of the design conventions and mandatory features of Grid Services. This document presents a specification for a collection of Grid Database Services. The proposal is presented for discussion within the Global Grid Forum (GGF) Database Access and Integration Services (DAIS) Working Group, in the hope that it will evolve into a formal standard for Grid Database Services. There are several respects in which the current proposal is incomplete, but it is hoped that the material included is sufficient to allow an informed discussion to take place concerning both its form and substance.