System Overview

The OMERO system is made up of several distinct parts. The design follows a standard client-server architecture. A single installation of an OMERO server (called OMERO.server) will usually be used for an entire laboratory or department.

This application provides access to image data (the binary pixel data), image metadata (associated data describing instrument settings, microscope configuration, image display and annotations, etc.). Administrators can choose to place all the server processes on the same machine, or on separate machines, depending on their particular needs and resources.

User access to the data is enabled through client applications that run on a user's desktop, laptop or handheld computer. These include:

• light-weight Web-based interfaces, which can be accessed from any computer with a standard Web browser, e.g., OMERO.web
• rich Java-based client applications providing more functionality than the Web interface, but must be installed separately on each client computer, e.g., OMERO Java clients.
• a full cross-platform API for access from 3rd party applications like ImageJ and VisBio
• Matlab bindings to facilitate sophisticated image processing and analysis using a bridge to OMERO