Small and Smart Storage Boxes for LIMS

By Matthew Dublin

While there are a lot of high-end storage systems marketed to large-scale sequencing operations, it's not every day that you come by specially designed desktop storage units natively hosting scientific data management software for the individual researcher or small lab. BioTeam has hacked a few Drobo storage arrays to embed their own MiniLIMS software directly inside the array. This isn't a product that the BioTeam is offering, but it's an interesting example of successful hacking for research.

Getting LIMS to run as an application inside a storage array — a desktop-sized storage array — is worth taking a look at because, according to BioTeam, in the near future it's not inconceivable that such "smart storage" devices could replace PC-based laboratory instrument operating workstations.

"As storage units get smarter and more capable the need for a dedicated Windows PC attached to an instrument or Genome Sequencer becomes less important….Something like this seems attractive for single-instrument genomics environments or labs where dedicated research IT staff may not be easily available," they wrote on their blog.

The little storage box that could: