diff --git a/descriptor.xml b/descriptor.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..898cc5f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/descriptor.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+<assembly
+	xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/plugins/maven-assembly-plugin/assembly/1.1.0"
+	xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
+	xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/plugins/maven-assembly-plugin/assembly/1.1.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/assembly-1.1.0.xsd">
+	<id>servicearchive</id>
+	<formats>
+		<format>tar.gz</format>
+	</formats>
+	<baseDirectory>/</baseDirectory>
+	<fileSets>
+		<fileSet>
+			<directory>${distroDirectory}</directory>
+			<outputDirectory>/</outputDirectory>
+			<useDefaultExcludes>true</useDefaultExcludes>
+			<includes>
+				<include>changelog.xml</include>
+				<include>profile.xml</include>
+			</includes>
+			<fileMode>755</fileMode>
+			<filtered>true</filtered>
+		</fileSet>
+	</fileSets>
+	<files>
+		<file>
+			<source>target/${build.finalName}.${project.packaging}</source>
+			<outputDirectory>/${artifactId}</outputDirectory>
+		</file>
+	</files>
+</assembly>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/distro/LICENSE b/distro/LICENSE
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2d9616a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/distro/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+${gcube.license}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/distro/README b/distro/README
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6c12ffd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/distro/README
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+The gCube System - ${name}
+--------------------------------------------------
+ 
+${description}
+ 
+ 
+${gcube.description}
+ 
+${gcube.funding}
+ 
+ 
+Version
+--------------------------------------------------
+ 
+${version} (${buildDate})
+ 
+Please see the file named "changelog.xml" in this directory for the release notes.
+ 
+ 
+Authors
+--------------------------------------------------
+ 
+* Massimiliano Assante (massimiliano.assante-AT-isti.cnr.it), Istituto di Scienza e Tecnologie dell'Informazione "A. Faedo" - CNR, Pisa (Italy).
+* Costantino Perciante (costantino.perciante-AT-isti.cnr.it), Istituto di Scienza e Tecnologie dell'Informazione "A. Faedo" - CNR, Pisa (Italy).
+ 
+ 
+Maintainers
+-----------
+ 
+* Massimiliano Assante (massimiliano.assante-AT-isti.cnr.it), Istituto di Scienza e Tecnologie dell'Informazione "A. Faedo" - CNR, Pisa (Italy).
+* Costantino Perciante (costantino.perciante-AT-isti.cnr.it), Istituto di Scienza e Tecnologie dell'Informazione "A. Faedo" - CNR, Pisa (Italy).
+ 
+Download information
+--------------------------------------------------
+ 
+Source code is available from SVN: 
+    ${scm.url}
+ 
+Binaries can be downloaded from the gCube website: 
+   ${gcube.website}
+ 
+ 
+Installation
+--------------------------------------------------
+ 
+Installation documentation is available on-line in the gCube Wiki:
+    ${gcube.wikiRoot}/
+ 
+ 
+Documentation 
+--------------------------------------------------
+ 
+Documentation is available on-line in the gCube Wiki:
+    ${gcube.wikiRoot}/
+    ${gcube.wikiRoot}/
+ 
+Support 
+--------------------------------------------------
+ 
+Bugs and support requests can be reported in the gCube issue tracking tool:
+    ${gcube.issueTracking}
+ 
+ 
+Licensing
+--------------------------------------------------
+ 
+This software is licensed under the terms you may find in the file named "LICENSE" in this directory.
diff --git a/distro/profile.xml b/distro/profile.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4a741ef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/distro/profile.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<Resource xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
+	<ID></ID>
+	<Type>Library</Type>
+	<Profile>
+		<Description>${description}</Description>
+		<Class>Portal</Class>
+		<Name>${artifactId}</Name>
+		<Version>${version}</Version>
+		<Packages>
+			<Software>
+				<Name>${artifactId}</Name>
+				<Version>${version}</Version>
+				<MavenCoordinates>
+					<groupId>${groupId}</groupId>
+					<artifactId>${artifactId}</artifactId>
+					<version>${version}</version>
+				</MavenCoordinates>
+				<Files>
+					<File>${build.finalName}.jar</File>
+				</Files>
+			</Software>
+		</Packages>
+	</Profile>
+</Resource>