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Syncing data from instruments

Copying files off an instrument PC by hand is where most lab data management dies. datalab offers two routes around it, and which you have depends on your deployment.

Remote filesystems

Your administrator can configure directories — local paths, network shares, or hosts reachable over SSH — that appear inside datalab as browsable trees.

assets/screenshots/remote-directory-tree.png — the remote filesystem browser with an instrument directory expanded.

  • Browsing a configured remote
  • Attaching a remote file to an item
  • Refreshing a stale listing
  • Re-syncing a file that has changed since it was attached

Ask for the directory you actually use

Remotes are configured server-side. If your instrument's output directory is not listed, that is a request to your administrator, not something you can add yourself.

Beholder

Beholder watches instrument output directories and pushes new files into datalab as they appear.

See also Experimental features — unification of the remote filesystem and Beholder approaches is on the roadmap.