The LDMS Storage Hierarchy

LDMS Storage is a flexible tool for assigning aliquots to storage locations and keeping track of them. Storage works on the concepts of containers and levels, and represents the real-life physical arrangement of storage at your laboratory.

LDMS distinguishes between a storage unit's configuration and a named storage unit. For example, you might have dozens of boxes of a certain type, then there is a specific box of that type called "Box 3, Specimens For Testing". This distinction between the types of units and specific, named units allows you to define the type of unit once, then reuse it. This applies to all storage units, from the biggest freezers to small boxes.

The three types of storage units in LDMS (from biggest to smallest) are freezer, level, and container. LDMS organizes these units in a tree structure, such that a freezer holds levels, levels hold more levels or containers, and containers hold individual aliquots.

Figure: An example storage hierarchy. This example shows the different type of storage units in LDMS and the corresponding visual representation.



Figure: The Storage Tree In LDMS. LDMS organizes the three types of units (freezers, levels, and containers), as a tree.



In LDMS, creating a storage system is a three part process.

  1. Define the configurations for your storage—that is, you need to create templates and rules for storage containers, levels, and freezers.

  2. Create the named storage units—that is, tell LDMS how the configurations you created are setup in your real-life storage.

  3. Add specimens to storage containers.