Vector NTI
From GSAF
Vector NTI is commercial software by Invitrogen. The University of Nebraska purchases pools of licenses for researchers to use at no cost to them. (Commercial licenses are around $4800 each.) Only version 11 is supported. All previous versions of Vector NTI have been discontinued by Invitrogren.
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Installation and User Guide
You can download Vector NTI 11 from Invitrogen for free, install it, enter our dynamic license information, and you're all set. If you prefer for us to do this for you, or have any questions or problems please contact us and we will be happy to assist you.
You can download the Installation and User Guides for Vector NTI 11 from
the following links:
| Installation Guide
| User Guide
Note: For instructions to backup and restore vector NTI databases and customizations from an older vector NTI to vector NTI 11,
refer to pages 24-25 on the Installation Guide.
Dynamic License Server (DLS)
Our DLS currently only works from UNO and UNMC IP addresses (firewall). Other interested institutions should contact us.
Instructions to point to the v11 DLS:
- Go to: Start-> All Programs -> Invitrogen -> Vector NTI Advance 11 -> License Manager.
- Select the 'Applications' tab in the License Manager window.
- If any programs say 'Demo mode', switch them to 'Dynamic License'.
- Click on the 'Dynamic' button at the bottom of the window.
- Fill in the Name, Organization, Phone number, E-mail address.
- Type the following URL in the URL of DLS section:
http://vntidls.ist.unomaha.edu/DLS/vntidls.cgi- Our DLS currently only works from UNO and UNMC IP addresses (firewall). Other interested institutions should contact us.
- Click on the 'Internet Connection Settings' and make sure the 'Direct connection' radio button is selected. Then press 'OK'.
- Click on the 'Test Connection...' button and press the 'Connect' button in the 'Dynamic licenses server connection tester' window. You should see CONNECTION OK.
- Close the 'Dynamic licenses server connection tester' window.
- Press 'Apply' button in the License Manager window and close it.
- Open Vector NTI. (Start-> All Programs -> Invitrogen -> Vector NTI Advance 11 -> Vector NTI.) You should now find a blinking green check mark in the lower right-hand corner of the application.
- All done! You have full access now. The only tools that are not provided by our DLS are Vector Xpression and Vector PathBlazer.
Troubleshooting: If you have static license settings that refuse to go away: In the static page, type unregister in the "License #" field and hit Apply. This should allow you to switch all applications to "Dynamic license".
For Macintosh
- One UNMC researcher runs the Windows version of VNTI 11 on an Intel Mac running VMWare Fusion, a Windows emulator that runs on OS X. --Jhannah 15:53, 2 April 2009 (CDT)
- You may be able to find a copy of VNTI 7.1 for Mac, but it only supports OS X 10.3 which became obsolete early in 2006. We don't know of anyone using it. --Jhannah 12:52, 19 May 2008 (CDT)
Sharing Data
According to Invitrogen, if you only have the default install of Vector NTI 11 there is no safe way to share a single "database" between multiple computers. So, each user needs to keep their own data on their own PC, and transfer data manually to colleagues.
Over the years, some users of Vector NTI have created a "local database" on a shared network drive, hoping to share data that way. But Invitrogen warns that the VNTI application is not designed to handle that use correctly. Users may find themselves locked out of the application, or worse yet they may corrupt the entire database if multiple PCs all try to alter a single molecule simultaneously.
Invitrogen sells two products that provide safe ways to collaborate. The University of Nebraska has not purchased either of these products:
Vector NTI Workgroup
For a few thousand dollars (custom quote) to purchase Workgroup licenses, the "shared database" button which is built into Vector NTI 11 becomes usable. "Shared database" and "Workgroup" refer to the same feature.
Workgroup is a simplistic, non-versioned central datastore for molecules, analysis results, and all other VNTI data. Molecules can be dragged out of the shared database into the local database of a specific user, modified, and then dragged back to the shared database for other collaborators to use.
Change history and author information for each molecule is not stored. There can be only one molecule with a single name, and anyone who copies a molecule of that name into the shared database is permanently and irreversibly overwriting that molecule. There is no tracking of users, or permissions, or permission groups. Workgroup supports no complex security schemes of any sort.
LabShare 3.0 for Vector NTI
LabShare is a high-power, heavyweight data collaboration tool that requires professional Oracle database administration staff support. Licensing is much more expensive than Workgroup. LabShare is fully versioned, meaning that every change to every molecule is tracked in history forever, along with date/time and author stamping. So users have access to full histories of all of their lab's data.
Complex permission schemes are supported: multiple labs with multiple PIs can set up whatever read/write or read-only permissions they desire for individual users or groups of users. ("I want to share Project X with these 20 people who work in these 3 remote labs, but Project Y can be viewed by my staff only, and only I can change data therein.")
Getting Help
Please contact us for support. We like to be the contact point for all Vector NTI issues so we can best support everyone in the University of Nebraska system.
If that fails for some reason, here is the most recent Invitrogen contact information we have:
Vector NTI technical support:
bioinfosupport(at)invitrogen(dot)com 800-955-6288 x67990 Specifically, Louisa x68674 has been very helpful.
Account manager:
Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:53:36 -0800 From: Zaragoza, Mica <mica(dot)zaragoza(at)invitrogen(dot)com> To: Jay Hannah <jay(at)jays(dot)net> Subject: Re: [406] Vector NTI 10.3.1 licensing Hello Jay, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself; My name is Mica Zaragoza and I will be the Invitrogen/Life Technologies Representative replacing Angela Dorman and Tim McClain in the State of Nebraska. Currently, my office is located out of Lincoln, NE allowing me to frequent the greater Omaha metro area. ... Please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns, or general feedback you wish to provide. All inquiries are welcome! Best Regards, Mica Zaragoza Associate Account Manager Invitrogen / Life Technologies Remote - Lincoln, Nebraska 5791 Van Allen Way Carlsbad, CA 92008 Ph: (402) 304-9158 E: Mica(dot)Zaragoza(at)invitrogen(dot)com Web: www.Invitrogen.com
Additional contact information moved to the protected KLAB wiki, at their request.
