Golden Helix’s VSWarehouse 3 is many things, but at its core are the principles of versatility and scalability. With decades in the next-generation sequencing (NGS) industry, the team at Golden Helix has seen firsthand both the depth and breadth of what clinicians and researchers in our field are capable of, and as we’ve tailored our tools to meet the needs of our clients, the ability to excel across evolving use cases has been core to our development philosophy. Hence, as the tools available to evaluate genomic data, both on the hardware and software side, have improved, so to has our software grown in its capabilities in tandem with the evolution of the space. A key component of that growth has been literal: the ability to scale solutions for users facing growing demand. Let’s break down exactly how VSWarehouse 3, an NGS powerhouse, lends itself to expanding genomic work in terms of user interface, underlying infrastructure, and supported resources, and how these components mesh together to facilitate seamless throughput ramp-up.
VSWarehouse 3 (VSW3) handles scaling in a manner that is as straightforward as it is dynamic. In short, VSW3 acts as a central interactive hub from whence users can run genomic workflows with the appropriate resources. The entire system is configurable, allowing organizations to add, upgrade, or prioritize storage and computational devices as the need arises. The experience is layered such that each user is only exposed to the part of the infrastructure relevant to his or her work. Let’s jump into these layers, and illustrate where each one fits into the scaling picture.
An accessible, streamlined user interface
NGS labs can expand their throughput in two main ways: by increasing their sample volume, and by expanding the breadth of data in a given sample (from gene panels to exomes and genomes). Careful design and implementation supports both directions naturally within VSW3. Let’s see how an analyst might interact with the tools available for increased throughput.
On the surface, VSW3 presents a clear and no-frills design that let’s users get right to work running workflows and analyzing data. Applications, Catalogs, and Workflows are front-and-center: users can directly access the basic tools needed to analyze genomic data.
Delving a layer deeper, we begin to see how scaling in the realm of data type is seamlessly supported. When running a new workflow, users are directly presented with configurable options for which data type they wish to run. These options can be configured on the backend by a bioinformatics or information technology team, and importantly present users running workflows with the top-level decision of accommodating a given data type without having to worry about the details of resource allocation.
Similarly, workflows can be configured to work with any kind of data input pattern-matching, allowing those running workflows to simply select a folder matching the input format and let VSW3’s scheduler fan out samples with the necessary resources allocated. Again, the specifics of the pattern-matching are fully configurable by the bioinformaticians implementing or designing the workflow — and our industry-leading support team is always available to assist at any infrastructure level.
These examples are by no means exhaustive (we’ve barely scratched the surface in terms of VSW3’s capabilities, and how scalability is built directly into the user experience), but illustrate the key principle of ease-of-use: VSW3 is not just powerful, but accessible. The top-level user is given access to all of the tools required to run everything from a single gene panel to an entire cohort of whole-genome samples, without being confronted with hardware specifications or scheduling software: all of this is handled natively by VSW3.
Seamless storage and computation upgrades
On the hardware side of things, VSW3 is just as configurable and user-friendly. This is where VSW3’s role as a dynamic hub really comes into play: the software is completely agnostic to the compute and storage hooked up to it. Organizations can deploy any number and type of storage and computational components, as well as seamlessly integrate new capacity: labs can start with VSW3 running natively on a single server, for instance, and add access to additional servers as volume increases and the need arises.
While local hardware is supported, users aren’t limited to it by any means: connecting to cloud computation and storage is just as easily integrated, and can be done in tandem with local resources. Paired with the ability to designate priority, users can quickly and easily build cost-effective solutions that accommodate all of their throughput.
Ready to invest in a scalable solution?
VSWarehouse 3 isn’t just the software solution: it’s all of the support that comes with it. Users are guided through every step of the installation and deployment process, as well as provided on-demand assistance with things like developing new workflows and adding additional resources, on top of access to clear and readable documentation delineating each of the use cases we discussed here, along with many more.
To explore both the software’s capabilities and our commitment to unmatched support, reach out to us today and set up an evaluation, and see how VSW3 can support your organization now and throughout your journey of scaling your solution.
