Network Client/Server Applications

Entrez

A networked version of NCBI's Entrez, CD-ROM system, called Network Entrez, is available for general use. With Network Entrez, databases residing at the NCBI are accessible by users at distant locations over the Internet.

To use the networked version, direct TCP/IP access to the Internet is a mandatory requirement; access to the Internet via another network, such as BITNET, is not sufficient.

For support of Network Entrez, NCBI requires that a local administrator be designated to install software and assist users. The designated administrator should contact the NCBI by e-mail to register the site.

To register, send the following information to: net-info@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Name

Affiliation

Postal address

E-mail address

Telephone number

IP addresses of the computers that will run the Entrez client software (all computers on a subnet may be denote as, for example, 130.14.25.*)

Network Entrez software is available for anonymous FTP from ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (130.14.25.1). Connect to NCBI to ftp the files; the software will not operate correctly until registration is completed. There is a README file in the same directory, which should be consulted before attempting installation and use. Network Entrez client programs are currently available for the following computer platforms:

• Macintosh (MacTCP)
• MS Windows (WinSock 1.1 compatible)
• Sun SparcStations
• SGI IRIX
• DEC VMS (Multinet/TGV, Wollongong and UCX)

Installation of the client software is the responsibility of the local network administrator. Questions, comments, and bug reports should be sent to: net-info@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

BLAST

The current Experimental BLAST Network Service is available for use from any computer connected to the Internet/NSFNet. Client interfaces are available for SunOS, SGI IRIX, or other UNIX platforms, Macintosh with MacTCP, DEC VMS with some flavors of TCP/IP driver support, and limited support for MS-DOS (but not MS-Windows). You can FTP to a computer at Harvard for various versions of the client software (user = BLAST, password = INTERNET). Before the client software will work, computer Internet addresses must be registered with the NCBI as described below.

Public domain, UNIX-compatible source code for the BLAST application programs is available from NCBI via FTP (user = anonymous; password = your e-mail address).

Requests to use the network service should be sent via e-mail to: blast-help@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

or, FAXed or mailed on institutional letterhead to:

Network BLAST Registration

National Center for Biotechnology Information

Building 38A, Room 8N805

Bethesda, MD 20894

FAX: (301)480-9241

In the request, please provide the following information:

• name, postal address, e-mail address, and telephone number of a designated computer system administrator(s) at your institution who will install the client software, field questions about the service, and inform the local community of pending changes to the service
• nature of the intended use of the service (e.g., general molecular biology or genome studies)
• approximate number of users
• estimated average number of searches that will be asked of the system per day or per week
• Internet address (e.g.,130.14.20.1) for each computer that will access the system must be provided (all computers on a subnet may be denoted as, for example, 130.14.25.*)
• description of the client computer hardware and operating systems would be helpful but is not required.

The Experimental BLAST Network Service that is now in place may be discontinued. The replacement service will use a new communications protocol that will render the current client software unworkable. The NCBI makes to representations about which computer systems will be supported by the new software, not its capabilities, but source code will be made publicly available for other institutions to port on their own initiative to any computer systems they choose.

When the date of discontinuance of the current experimental service is established, an informative message will be prominently displaced in the output from the experimental service for several weeks or months before shutting it down.

Rev. 01/12/95