Figure 2

Software Architecture. iLAP features a typical three-tier architecture and can hence be divided into a presentation tier, business tier and a persistence tier (from left to right). The presentation tier is formed by a graphical user interface, accessed using a web browser. The following business layer is protected by a security layer, which enforces user authentication and authorization. After access is granted, the security layer passes the user requests to the business layer, which is mainly responsible for guiding the user through the laboratory workflow. This layer also coordinates all background tasks like automatic surveying of analysis jobs on a computing cluster or synchronizing/exchanging data with further downstream applications. (e.g. OMERO (open microscopy environment) image server). Finally, the persistence layer interacts with the relational database.