Microscope Digital Image Acquisition Solutions

Quartz Taipan

Introducing Taipan!

Low Cost of Ownership Server Appliance for Laboratory Data Storage and Communication

Today's world moves at a lightning pace and researchers have to be flexible, mobile and have results available at a moment's notice. Images are becoming the backbone of many research projects and image data must be safely archived and readily accessible from almost any location. You need a system that can match the requirements of safe data storage with easy set up and widespread availability.

That system is our new Taipan Server Appliance for the laboratory of today. Our system is designed to capture data from almost any digital imaging instrument. With Taipan as the central archive for your laboratory, your data is only a network or Internet connection away. The Taipan Server Appliance combines low cost of ownership, simple installation, large storage capacity and completely secure data accessibility via the LAN or through the Internet.

SAVE IT, SECURE IT, SHARE IT & Taipan is the right system for your busy laboratory.

What is Taipan?

Taipan is a unique combination of hardware and software—a server appliance—engineered specifically to meet the data storage and communications of small and medium-sized laboratories.

Low Cost of Ownership

Expressly designed NOT to require professional IT support, Taipan is easy to set up and manage. Just provide a power connection, a network connection and follow the on-screen instructions.

Taipan can communicate simultaneously with up to 10 instruments or client computers. The number of users that can connect through a web browser is not restricted. There are no "Client Access Licenses" to purchase, or keep track of, when you want to expand.

The standard Taipan system includes a 1 Terabyte RAID array that allows you to store 750 Gigabytes of user data—that's more than 900,000 SEM images at 1,024 by 768 resolution.

Taipan’s system status is constantly monitored by internal software. If an issue requires your attention, you will be sent a status e-mail by the system. System status can also be viewed on the system's built-in display.

Management functions, such as adding new users, are carried out through easy-to-use web pages.

Reliability & Security

Taipan is carefully constructed with premium components to help to ensure years of trouble-free service.

Taipan includes a RAID 5 disk system that provides increased reliability by storing your data on multiple drives. If a hard drive fails, your data will still be available to you on the remaining drives.

Because it is an "embedded system", if you cycle the power on your Taipan server, the operating system will be restored to the state in which it was delivered from the factory. In the unlikely event that a virus penetrates the system, it can probably be cleared out simply by cycling the power. Of course, all of your user data remains intact when the power is cycled.

Should it ever be necessary, complete reconstruction of the operating system is done simply by inserting a recovery disk and cycling the power.

Access to the system is controlled by user names and passwords and access to individual files and records can be controlled on a user-by-user basis protecting your data against unauthorized viewing and manipulation.

The optional Data Security Package includes a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) to guard against power failures, a portable USB hard drive that allows you to keep off-premises back-ups and a hardware firewall to provide additional protection against incursions from the Internet.

Taipan server management

Taipan was designed to minimize the administrative burden. The system administrator interacts with the system either through the built-in touch-screen display or via web pages.

Initial Set-up

Upon installation, Taipan’s built in display will request that you specify the network settings for your installation—you can specify either a fixed IP address or that DHCP will be used. Following entry of the network settings, you will be asked to connect to the Taipan server from a web browser in which you will be guided through the set-up wizard. The set-up wizard asks you to specify such details as the administrator’s password and the current local time.

Status Display

At any time, the current system status can be viewed on the front panel display.

Adding Users

One of the main roles of the system administrator is to permit new users to access the system. New users can request access to the system simply by going to the Request Access web page. On this page, the new user will be asked to enter the relevant information and an e-mail will be sent to the administrator indicating that the request has been made. The administrator then need only go to a web page in order to approve or deny the request.

Back-Ups

Another important role of the Administrator is to make periodic back-ups of the system and to store those back-ups off-premises in case of fire, theft or other disaster. The Taipan software allows the Administrator to schedule automatic back-ups of the system or back-ups can be made on demand by the Administrator via the front panel.

Burning CDs or DVDs

The Taipan system includes a built-in DVD writer. Data from recent jobs can be easily recorded to CD or DVD through front-panel functions.

Managing Old Data

Despite the huge storage capacity of the Taipan server, there may come a point when you want to remove old data. Management functions are provided to delete data according to a specified date range.