If you are working in a group with multiple users who wish to make use of QIAGEN CLC Genomics Workbench analysis tools on a central machine, it is possible for members of your group to:

1. share access to a single Genomics Workbench using a network license via remote desktop on the central machine
or
2. connect to a Genomics Server running on the central machine from a local Genomics Workbench such as from the user's own laptop or a desktop computer.

• Job Queue
• Multiple Users
• Data Access and Permissions
• Efficient Hardware Usage
• Scripting and Automation

Job Queue

The Genomics Server allows for a large number of jobs to be submitted to it. Each job submitted will be placed in a queue and executed when the available job slot is available.

The Workbench, however, will not queue jobs, but will run them immediately, without regard for other concurrent processes or available resources. 

Example scenario: Network license for the Workbench used by five separate users that choose to each runs a large de novo analysis on the central machine through a remote desktop protocol.

Each of those analyses will try to use all memory as well as other hardware resources of that machine because the Workbench is designed to consider a single user on a single machine.

As a result, all jobs are launched as they are submitted. If simultaneously running analyses are large, it is very likely that the Genomics Workbench will crash with an out of memory error caused by resource competition.

Alternatively, if 5 de novo assembly jobs are submitted to the Genomics Server, they will be queued such that each will run one at a time or only one job will run per execution node. More information about the queue can be found 
http://resources.qiagenbioinformatics.com/manuals/clcgenomicsserver/current/admin/index.php?manual=Queue.html
 

Multiple Users

There are other benefits of the Genomics Server, especially if you are running a service. It is designed with the idea of multiple users, in a way that the Workbench is not.

This includes the authentication system, the audit log, the ability to have installed Workflows that are available for all users, and the ability to control who has the rights to run certain tools or has the access to certain data folders.

For example if your analysis needs do not include de novo assembly, access to all but the de novo assembly tools on the server can be setup.
 

Data Access and Permissions

The data access and permission configurations for the Genomics Server are described in: 
https://resources.qiagenbioinformatics.com/manuals/clcserver/current/admin/index.php?manual=Access_privileges_permissions.html

You can always configure the data file access and permissions (in .clc format) through filesystem or sharing security policy. They both overwrite the application level access control configurations.

The application level configurations for data access can only be configured within the Genomics Server.

The Workbench, as described above, has a single user design and does not allow for the in-program data file access and permission settings.

If you have a centralized data sharing servers, then having the Genomics Server will be advantageous in terms of managing the CLC data through the application level settings.

 

Efficient Hardware Usage

Scripting and Automation