Beamline>>Remote Access
Remote Access
BioNSRRC provides an enviroment that allows users to screen crystals and collect data from remote locations, remotely process data and solve structures using the computers at BioNSRRC, and work effectively with geographically dispersed collaborators.
►What is Remote Access?
1. Users mail-in their crystals
2. Beamline staff places sample cassettes/pucks into robotic system
3. Users can set up and monitor the data collection and data processing procedure remotely
►Benefits of using Remote Access
1. Saves time, money on airline tickets, hotels, etc.
2. Enables collaboration between worldwide researchers
3. Feasible for experienced users (specialists)
►Tools for Remote Access
| 1. Sample Database: |
To store information pertaining to samples mounted in SSRL cassettes or Unipuck. |
| 2. Remote Desktop: |
To provide users with a complete computational environment for controlling and monitoring experiments, processing data, and solving structures from anywhere in the world. Blu-Ice and data processing programs run on the user home computer as if the user was at the beamline. |
| 3. Web-Ice: |
A browser-based software for remote monitoring, image viewing and analysis, autoindexing and strategy calculation. |
►Introduction to Web-Ice
►Videos of beamline automation
►Lectures of Remote Crystallography Workshop (2014.12.2~3)
►How to proceed
| 1. |
You must have available beamtime. Check your beamtime here. |
| 2. |
First time remote users should arrange a practice run before their scheduled beamtime. |
| 3. |
Read the manual (Set up at Home) carefully for detailed instructions. |
| 4. |
Download and install the free NX client software. |
| 5. |
Contact anyone of the beamline managers two weeks in advance of scheduled beamtime to make sure the SAM is available, provide your contact information (preferably a cell phone) and remote IP address during the experiment, and arrange a remote practice run with the beamline manager. |
| 6. |
After you pass the practice run, read the manual (Sample Preparation and Shipping) carefully for detailed instructions. |
| 7. |
Download spreadsheet template for cassette or puck. |
| 8. |
Modify the file name according to the file name template: |
| |
{container_type}_{beamline}_{beamtime start time: yyyy/mm/dd/hh}_{user name}.xls |
| |
For example: puck_13C_2010052609_mary.xls, cassette_13B_2010110317_john.xls. |
| 9. |
Load sample pins (Hampton magnetic CrystalCap is recommended) into cassette or puck, and edit the spreadsheet accordingly. |
| 10. |
Upload your spreadsheet at least one weak ahead of your beamtime. If the upload failed, check the format of your file and upload again. Check here for more details. |
| 11. |
Put the cassettes or pucks into shipping dewar, and Fedex or carry it to NSRRC one day ahead of your beamtime (make sure the arrival time is office hour, otherwise there will be no manager available to handle your dewar). |
| 12. |
Fill out the Experiment Safety Approval Form and send it back to the NSRRC User Administration Office. Remember to select YES for the “Safety concerns and precautions” option and write down “Remote access” as an explanation. |
| 13. |
The support staff will load the cassettes or pucks into SAM dewar, and you will be informed about the cassette/puck positions in the dewar. |
| 14. |
Now you can start screening crystal or collecting data using Blu-Ice locally or remotely. |
| 15. |
If you need any help from the beamline staff during your experiments, please determine the support staff for your experiment by consulting the support schedule. Staff contact information is available in the getting help page. |
►Acknowledgement
The Stanford Automatic Mounter (SAM), Blu-Ice/DCSS, Web-Ice, and Remote Access Tools are developed by the Macromolecular Crystallography (MX) Group at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory. We appriciate MX group very much for the technical transfer.