STARLIMS System. Architecture Overview. Table of Contents

Transcription

1 The STARLIMS system architecture is well designed and intricate. Understanding the installation and configuration options one has, as well as any pre-requisites and dependencies, are critical to the success of your STARLIMS Project. This document is designed to provide a visual, high-level overview of the STARLIMS system. This includes an examination of its hardware and software architecture and the database platform. It also provides information concerning managing the system s interactions and dependencies within Microsoft File Servers and workstations collocated in a Microsoft Active Directory network. Some of the pre-requisite considerations that will be discussed address issues that STARLIMS developers often encounter when interacting with a new environment and it is important that your organization be aware of these in order to streamline your STARLIMS installation/configuration process. Table of Contents Overall Microsoft Windows/Active Directory Environment Figure 1 - Active Directory Environment Database Server Component Figure 2 - Database Server Component Windows File Server Environment Figure 3 - File Server Environment Client Workstation Environment Figure Client Workstation Environment Internet Information Services (IIS) Figure 5 - IIS STARLIMS Configuration Utility Figure 6 - STARLIMS Configuration Utility Connection String Setup Figure 7 - Configuration Utility - Connection String Setup Database Architecture Figure 8 - STARLIMS RDBMS Database Server Structure Figure 9 - Database Structure - Dictionary Figure 10 - Database Structure - Database Application Configuration - Workstation Setup Figure 11 - Client Configuration - Workstation Setup... page 11 Figure 12 - Workstation Setup - Method 1 Figure 13 - Workstation Setup - Method 2 - Step 1 Figure 14 - Workstation Setup - Method 2 - Step 2 Figure 15 - Workstation Setup - Method 2 - Step 3 1

2 Overall Microsoft Windows/Active Directory Environment Figure 1 - Active Directory Environment STARLIMS is a Windows-based application which operates in a Windows Active Directory Network environment, although other virtualized environments are supported (Citrix, VM s, etc.) for connectivity by the associated Client workstations. The above diagram is a generalized view of how the system interrelates within a non-complex network. 2

3 Database Server Component Figure 2 - Database Server Component The data-environment of the STARLIMS system may be hosted on either the MSSQL or Oracle RDBMS systems, but in some older versions of STARLIMS, SQL-configuration of the underlying STARLIMS development-environment (i.e. SSL server scripts and datasources) is highly-dependent on the chosen system, and coding syntax must be taken into consideration. Later versions of STARLIMS automatically adapt to the SQL environment being used. 3

4 Windows File Server Environment Figure 3 - File Server Environment STARLIMS instances are hosted/operate under an Internet Information Services (IIS) instance on the Windows File Server, and all STARLIMS-related system files are installed under the typical c:\inetpub folder on the host machine. 4

5 Client Workstation environment Figure 4 - Client Workstation Environment Client workstations are connected to the STARLIMS instance(s) via either a direct LAN connection through a router-system, or may alternatively be connected to the host instance via Citric connections 1. 1 Citrix connections are rarely-used and required a Citrix administrator to configure some elements of functionality related to serial-port usage (i.e. bar-code readers, instrument interfaces, etc.) 5

6 Mentioned earlier, the STARLIMS architecture is hosted by Internet Information Services (IIS) on the designated STARLIMS File Server, but the STARLIMS Configuration Utility is used to administer any STARLIMS instances - typically DEV, TESTING, VALIDATION, PRODUCTION, and sometimes TRAINING (shown below). Figure 5 - IIS 6

7 STARLIMS Configuration Utility Figure 6 - STARLIMS Configuration Utility 7

8 STARLIMS Configuration Utility Figure 7 - Configuration Utility - Connection String Setup 8

9 Database Architecture - Database Server Figure 8 - STARLIMS RDBMS Database Server Structure Either MSSQL or Oracles RDBMS systems may host the STARLIMS system databases (DATA and DICT). DICT houses all STARLIMS system-related data used for screen forms, XML, Table-definitions, Client Scripts, SSL scripts, Datasources, Images, Reports, etc. DATA houses all static and dynamic LIMS-configuration-related data 9

10 Database Architecture - Dictionary Figure 9 - Database Structure - Dictionary 10

11 Database Architecture - Dictionary Figure 10 - Database Structure - Database 11

12 Database Architecture - Dictionary Figure 11 - Client Configuration - Workstation Setup Client workstations must be connected and logged into the Windows Local Area Domain in order to successfully complete the setup process. There are two methods to execute an initial workstation setup (see next section). 12

13 Application Configuration - Workstation Setup Figure 12 - Workstation setup - Method 1 13

14 Application Configuration - Workstation Setup Figure 13 - Workstation Setup Method 2 - Step 1 After launching the STARLIMS instance from the browser, if the workstations has not been configured for use correctly, the STARLIMS instance will navigate the user to the configuration web page, and will be presented with the ability to run the.net Framework configuration script (see Figure 13 - Workstation Setup - Method 2 - Step 1). Users must have Admin privileges on the local workstation (designated via the Active Directory administrator) to run the script successfully to completion. 14

15 Application Configuration - Workstation Setup Figure 14 - Workstation - Method 2 - Step 2 The website URL must be added to the Trusted Site repository in Internet Explorer. 15

16 Application Configuration - Workstation Setup Figure 15 - Workstation Setup - Method 2 - Step 3 Turn off IE s pop-up blocker for all STARLIMS URLs. 16

17 Application Configuration - Workstation Setup Figure 16 - Workstation Setup - Method 2 - Step 4 Create desktop icons for any desired instances. 17