Top Questions
How easy is Sentient to deploy?
How does it map to the specific needs of the groups that we might serve?
What is the learning curve like for a new user?
How does Sentient technology access data?
How scalable is Sentient software?
What infrastructure does Sentient software support?
What is the real time performance like?
What standards does Sentient software support?
How unique is Sentient technology?
What domain-specific tools does Sentient technology support?
What is the role for developers in the Sentient architecture?

Software specifications
Do I need all Sentient components?
What are the General Requirements?
What are the Product Requirements?

How easy is Sentient to deploy?
Our strength in this area is one of our key differentiators. Sentient’s initial and total cost-of-ownership is low. Learning curves are low and the time needed to deploy, maintain and use is kept to a minimum compared to comparable systems. A roll-out at Berlex Biosciences that integrated 4 lab instruments and 10 users was installed, up and running in about two hours!

No programming required! Enterprise deployments can be made easy by choosing bundled packages in which Sentient enterprise software is delivered pre-installed on recommended hardware. To deploy Sentient, you simply configure your own user, group, role settings for access and security, or use your existing user identification and security via LDAP. Integrating files is as easy as dragging to a folder. Mapping to databases are configuration tasks.

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How does it map to the specific needs of the groups that we might serve?
Our software distinguishes between Environments (e.g. Legal, Clinical, Pre-clinical), Groups (e.g. Internal, Client, Research Partner), User levels (for data security within groups) and Roles (read-only, etc.). You may define your own Environments and Groups – data access, queries and application functionality may be limited according to these distinctions.

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What is the learning curve like for a new user?
Example users range through IT administrator, research or regulatory power users, management and regular operational users. Though learning curves are different for different roles, Sentient’s is designed to allow for short, easy to get up to speed implementation. In fact, most users such as managers and general users will not require any formal training and experience virtually no learning curve at all. IT admin and power users have thanked us for making their jobs much easier.

For example, an informatics customer tasked with creating complex SQL for his users used to spend 3- 5 hours a week addressing his users’ special query requests. After two 4 hour learning days, he now spends about an hour a month extending the core query capabilities that Sentient provides his users. This saves him time AND improves his user’s experience – no more waiting for IT to create special queries!

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How does Sentient technology access data?
The Sentient query tools provide easy to use, configurable interfaces that allow the user to query their own relational databases, public data sources and the Sentient enterprise data repository from a web browser or desktop client.

• Control applications and instruments using macros or web services (SOA / WSDL) to access data with no human intervention required;


• Extract and load proprietary “legacy” file formats for full interoperability without altering the original data;
• Connect to existing databases and
• Apply complex SQL (SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, Access and other ODBC compatible) through a user-friendly search GUI, with no SQL programming required.

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How scalable is Sentient software?
Sentient applies the strengths of Microsoft Internet Information Server and ASP.NET at the application level to provide scalability in the application layer and Microsoft SQL server or the Oracle database system for high volume data storage. Partnerships with Microsoft and the Oracle Corporation ensure that Sentient’s technology takes advantage in the latest advances in internet and database scalability technology. By applying best-in-class technology for industry scale applications, Sentient can handle thousands of simultaneous users with data storage in the terabytes range. Additional scale-up architecture and testing is in process at Microsoft’s Technology Center in Mountain View, CA.

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What infrastructure does Sentient software support?
Web-based Sentient products (Web Query, Process Manager) can be accessed by users on Windows, Apple, Unix, Linux and other internet-compatible operating systems using either Internet Explorer or Firefox. Sentient desktop and enterprise server products (Data Manager, Knowledge Explorer) run on Windows operating systems. Sentient can utilize Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL or a built-in personal database for its data store while Sentient query tools can map to almost any RDBMS for data retrieval and import.

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What is the real time performance like?
Since we use an industry benchmark (IIS/ASP.NET 2.0) server framework for our web applications, scalability and performance is excellent for multiple user environments. Sentient technology offers advantages for scalability in high content environments, particularly by giving very efficient browsing, searching and access to image libraries. Servers and middleware for data import and structuring in high throughput, automated lab instrument type environments require dedicated hardware to handle heavy data streams. Ask us for recommended hardware specs to meet your high-throughput and automation needs.

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What standards does Sentient software support?
Sentient supports data import, export and interaction in the users’ choice of data models, including; relational, Excel, delimited text, and XML – including PSI-ML, N3, Resnet, and RDF XML; and applies SOAP, WSDL and COM standards for web services and extended interoperability. Sentient also handles diverse data definition standards, such as HL-7, C-DISC, MIAME, GO, DAS, TIGR, BioGrid, IntAct, HMDB and others.

In most cases, integration of Sentient software does not require the exchange of application program interfaces (APIs) or adherence to a specific standard initiative. Sentient transforms your “legacy” data into standards-based persistence and export formats. Data transformation for standards interoperability using Sentient does not alter the original data.

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How unique is Sentient technology?
Sentient offers unique technology (US Patent #6,988,109) that transforms diverse data into standards-based formats, delivers improved scalability and access to high-content data, and allows users to identify and capture the specific data and relationships that matter to solve specific critical issues.

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What domain-specific tools does Sentient technology support?
Because Sentient specializes in integration of 3rd party applications, instruments and data types to a common framework, the list of domain-specific tools and data that Sentient supports is open. Examples include: research instruments by ABI, Agilent, Caliper and others; analytics and visualization tools by Matlab, Spotfire, Partek and R; knowledge-base tools including Ariadne, IntAct, BioGrid, HMDB; Chem and bio-informatics tools by CambridgeSoft, MDL, Rosetta and others; document and data management tools by Microsoft (e.g. Office, Sharepoint, SQL Server), Agilent (Enterprise Content Manager) and others. As a member of Microsoft’s Bio-IT Alliance, IO Informatics has had the opportunity to interact with partners to assure broad support of domain-specific tools. Please see Partners for examples, and ask about specific tools of interest to you.

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What is the role for developers in the Sentient architecture?
Sentient supports SOA/WSDL for development interaction. Our products are component-based and each may act as stand-alone components to plug in to your framework. Alternatively, our C# / web applications make an ideal application framework to plug in your tools as part of an integrated services bus.

We’re also very happy to offer consulting for your developers or to take a role in meeting your custom needs.

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Do I need all Sentient components?
Sentient desktop and server-based products work together or as stand-alone components, depending on your business case. All products can be used individually or in any combination, and can be configured to fit exactly your demands. Components can be added as required.

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What are the General Requirements?

What do I need to access Sentient web applications?

• To access Sentient web application, you need either Internet Explorer or Firefox web browser on any internet-compatible operating system. No further install is necessary

What do I need to install Sentient technology?

• Sentient desktop software and web applications install on Windows operating systems.

32 bit Windows environment supported operating systems:

• Windows 2000 Home, Professional with service pack 2 or higher (5.0.2195 or higher)
• Windows XP Home, Professional
• Windows Server 2003

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What are the Product Requirements?

Sentient Data Manager

Minimum hardware requirements:

• Pentium IV, 800 MHz CPU (>1 GHz recommended)
• 512 MB RAM (1 GB recommended)
• 24-bit capable graphics card, minimum resolution 1024x768 (analyzer or imager integra-tion requires serial or parallel port, USB or full Firewire IEEE1394 compliance for high speed data transfer; additional 24 MB RAM for real time Firewire connections)
  
• Ethernet 10/100 card for LAN integration
• Internet (dial-up/DSL modem or LAN card) or WAN connection for global access

Hard disk space requirement:

• Sentient Data Manager: 10-15 MB (depending on software configuration)
• Sentient Analysis Modules: 5-10 MB per module
• Documentation (PDF-format), tutorial images and demonstration data: 150 MB
• Local intrapool/User cache: 200 MB (1 GB recommended)

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Sentient Web Suite

Server requirements:

• Windows XP/2000/Server 2003
• SQL Server 2000/2005
• .NET Framework 2.0
• Internet Information Service(IIS)
• 1 GB RAM (2 GB Recommended)

Hard disk space requirement:

• Sentient Web Query: 100 MB for server
• Sentient Process Manager: 500 MB
• Documentation (PDF-format): 10 MB
• SQL Server: please see manufacturer's specifications

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Sentient Knowledge Explorer

32 bit Windows environment supported operating systems:

• Windows 2000 Home, Professional with service pack 2 or higher (5.0.2195 or higher)
• Windows XP Home, Professional
• Windows VISTA
• .NET framework 2.0

Minimum hardware requirements:

• Pentium IV, 800 MHz CPU (>1 GHz recommended)
• 1 GB RAM (2 GB recommended)
• 24-bit capable graphics card, minimum resolution 1024x768
• For collaborative use: Network card
• For public database access: Internet access

Hard disk space requirement:

• Sentient Knowledge Explorer: 20 MB
• Documentation (PDF-format): 2 MB

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