As is, imgserv is accessing the metaserv db directly, via sqqlalchemy client, for fetching the data id(s) matching the image search query.  In the VO architecture, that should be done through the Simple Image Access(SIA) protocol. For now, TAP/ADQL per SIA specification would be the preferred  replacement in imgserv.

Pending: Identify the proper SIA service endpoint, either through 1) CADC /TAP 2) update metaserv to support SIA.