Agilent OpenLab CDS Deployment in the Cloud

Significance of the Topic

Cloud-based deployment of laboratory information management systems has become a critical enabler for modern analytical workflows. By migrating Agilent’s OpenLab CDS to Infrastructure-as-a-Service platforms, organizations benefit from reduced capital expenditure, centralized IT maintenance, and scalable performance. This shift supports global collaboration, flexible resource allocation, and a move from on-premises datacenter operations to operating expense models.

Objectives and Study Overview

The primary goal of the document is to guide laboratory and IT teams through the process of migrating OpenLab CDS to major cloud providers: Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. It outlines supported configurations, network connectivity options, and recommended infrastructure designs to ensure reliable performance and maintain compliance in regulated environments.

Methodology and Instrumentation

The authors evaluated multiple Agilent software components and cloud services across AWS and Azure. Supported elements include:

• OpenLab CDS with OpenLab ECM XT
• AWS services: EC2 instances, S3 storage, RDS (PostgreSQL only), Storage Gateway
• Azure services: Virtual Machines, Azure File Storage, managed SQL Server on VM

Connectivity methods were assessed through traditional VPN and dedicated private links. Hybrid deployment models were tested where critical components like the Agilent Instrument Controller (AIC) remain on-premises.

Main Results and Discussion

Testing demonstrated that network performance strongly influences application responsiveness. Key findings include:

• Recommended bandwidth of 1 Gbps between on-premises and cloud, yielding ~45 Mbps throughput with latency up to 80 ms.
• Within cloud environments, inter-VM latency under 10 ms and zero packet loss ensure smooth data transfers.
• Elastic Network Adapters (ENA) on AWS significantly improve throughput and reduce host CPU load for multi-vCPU instances.

Agilent verified that AWS RDS supports OpenLab CDS only with PostgreSQL, and that Azure SQL managed instances are not supported. Hybrid Azure Active Directory integration is limited to mixed on-premises LDAP configurations.

Benefits and Practical Applications

Migrating OpenLab CDS to the cloud delivers:

• Operational cost flexibility by converting capital purchases into subscription-style expenses.
• Simplified maintenance as routine infrastructure tasks are managed by cloud providers.
• Enhanced disaster recovery and failover capabilities via redundant VM instances or workstations.
• Scalable compute and storage to accommodate data-intensive analytical tasks.

Laboratories operating under strict compliance can deploy dedicated development, QA, and production environments in isolated virtual networks.

Future Trends and Opportunities

Emerging developments that will further optimize cloud-based chromatography data systems include:

• Automation and AI-powered data processing pipelines to accelerate result interpretation.
• Edge computing for near-instrument pre-processing, reducing data transfer loads.
• Integration with Internet of Things (IoT) sensors for real-time monitoring of instrument health.
• Federated cloud architectures enabling seamless collaboration across global sites.

Conclusion

Cloud deployment of OpenLab CDS offers laboratories a path to agile, cost-effective, and scalable informatics infrastructure. By following recommended network, compute, and storage configurations, organizations can achieve reliable performance and compliance while leveraging the operational advantages of AWS and Azure platforms.

References

• Agilent Technologies. OpenLab CDS Deployment in the Cloud. Technical Overview, June 2021.