Vector NTI Express

General Information

Technologies must be operated and maintained in accordance with Federal and Department security and privacy policies and guidelines. More information on the proper use of the TRM can be found on the TRM Proper Use Tab/Section.

Website:	Go to site
Description:	Vector NTI Express is an integrated set of sequence analysis and design features that help users manage, view, analyze, transform, share, and publicize diverse types of molecular biology data. Vector NTI Express provides functionality for prescribed workflows to provide step-by-step instructions for projects. This software also features European Molecular Biology Open Software Suite (EMBOSS) algorithms for bioinformatics analysis. This technology utilizes the user`s local drive to save data.
Technology/Standard Usage Requirements:	Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.
Section 508 Information:	This technology has not been assessed by the Section 508 Office. The Implementer of this technology has the responsibility to ensure the version deployed is 508-compliant. Section 508 compliance may be reviewed by the Section 508 Office and appropriate remedial action required if necessary. For additional information or assistance regarding Section 508, please contact the Section 508 Office at Section508@va.gov.
Decision:	View Decisions

Decision Source:	TRM Mgmt Group
Decision Process:	One-VA TRM v19.2
Decision Date:	02/27/2019 at 08:09:55 UTC
Introduced By:	TRM Request
Vendor Name:	Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

Vendor Release Information

The Vendor Release table provides the known releases for the TRM Technology, obtained from the vendor (or from the release source).

Version	Release Date	Vendor Desupport Date
1.1	08/02/2012	12/31/2020
1.2	05/22/2014	12/31/2020
1.3		12/31/2020
1.4	02/13/2015	12/31/2020
1.6.x	06/13/2017	12/31/2020

Current Decision Matrix (02/19/2019)

Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.

The VA Decision Matrix displays the current and future VA IT position regarding different releases of a TRM entry. These decisions are based upon the best information available as of the most current date. The consumer of this information has the responsibility to consult the organizations responsible for the desktop, testing, and/or production environments to ensure that the target version of the technology will be supported. Any major.minor version that is not listed in the VA Decision Matrix is considered unapproved for use.

Legend:

White	Approved: The technology/standard has been approved for use.
Yellow	Approved w/Constraints: The technology/standard can be used within the specified constraints located below the decision matrix in the footnote[1] and on the General tab.
Gray	Unapproved: This technology or standard can be used only if a POA&M review is conducted and signed by the Authorizing Official Designated Representative (AODR) as designated by the Authorizing Official (AO) or designee and based upon a recommendation from the POA&M Compliance Enforcement, has been granted to the project team or organization that wishes to use the technology.
Orange	Divest: VA has decided to divest itself on the use of the technology/standard. As a result, all projects currently utilizing the technology/standard must plan to eliminate their use of the technology/standard. Additional information on when the entry is projected to become unapproved may be found on the Decision tab for the specific entry.
Black	Prohibited: The technology/standard is not (currently) permitted to be used under any circumstances.
Blue	Planning/Evaluation Constraint:The period of time this technology is currently being evaluated, reviewed, and tested in controlled environments. Use of this technology is strictly controlled and not available for use within the general population. If a customer would like to use this technology, please work with your local or Regional OI&T office and contact the appropriate evaluation office displayed in the notes below the decision matrix. The Local or Regional OI&T office should submit an inquiry to the TRM if they require further assistance or if the evaluating office is not listed in the notes below.

Release/Version Information:

VA decisions for specific versions may include a ‘.x’ wildcard, which denotes a decision that pertains to a range of multiple versions.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 7.x would cover any version of 7.(Anything) - 7.(Anything). However, a 7.4.x decision would cover any version of 7.4.(Anything), but would not cover any version of 7.5.x or 7.6.x on the TRM.

VA decisions for specific versions may include ‘+’ symbols; which denotes that the decision for the version specified also includes versions greater than what is specified but is not to exceed or affect previous decimal places.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 12.6.4+ would cover any version that is greater than 12.6.4, but would not exceed the .6 decimal ie: 12.6.401 is ok, 12.6.5 is ok, 12.6.9 is ok, however 12.7.0 or 13.0 is not.

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Release

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

1.2

Unapproved

1.3

Unapproved

1.4

Unapproved

1.6.x

Unapproved

Decision Constraints


[1]	This Technology is currently being evaluated, reviewed, and tested in controlled environments. Use of this technology is strictly controlled and not available for use within the general population.

[2]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is protected properly in accordance with VA Handbook 6500 and the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). Per VA Handbook 6500, FIPS 140-2 certified encryption must be used to protect and encrypt data in transit and at rest if Personally Identifiable Information/Protected Health Information/VA (PII/PHI/VA) sensitive information is involved. If FIPS 140-2 certified encryption in not used, additional mitigating controls must be documented in an approved System Security Plan (SSP). In addition, the technology must be implemented within the VA production network (not in a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)) unless the specific uses and instances of the technology are approved by the Enterprise Security Change Control Board (ESCCB). In these cases, Memorandum of Understanding and Interconnection Security Agreements (MOU/ISA), which detail the security requirements for users and systems that share information and resources outside of the VA production network must be included.

[3]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[4]	If free trialware is utilized, the software must be purchased or removed at the end of the trial period.

[5]	Due to potential information security risks, cloud based technologies may not be used without an Enterprise Security Change Control Board (ESCCB) approval. This body is in part responsible for ensuring organizational information, Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI), and VA sensitive data are not compromised. (Ref: VA Directive 6004, VA Directive 6517, VA Directive 6513 and VA Directive 6102).

[6]	Due to potential information security risks, cloud based technologies may not be used without the approval of the VA Enterprise Cloud Services (ECS) Group. This body is in part responsible for ensuring organizational information, Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI), and VA sensitive data are not compromised. (Ref: VA Directive 6004, VA Directive 6517, VA Directive 6513 and VA Directive 6102).

[7]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[8]	Due to potential information security risks, cloud based technologies may not be used without the approval of the Enterprise Cloud Solution Office (ECSO). This body is in part responsible for ensuring organizational information, Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI), and VA sensitive data are not compromised. (Ref: VA Directive 6004, VA Directive 6517, VA Directive 6513 and VA Directive 6102).

[9]	Per the May 5th, 2015 memorandum from the VA Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) FIPS 140-2 Validate Full Disk Encryption (FOE) for Data at Rest in Database Management Systems (DBMS) and in accordance with Federal requirements and VA policy, database management must use Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 compliant encryption to protect the confidentiality and integrity of VA information at rest at the application level. If FIPS 140-2 encryption at the application level is not technically possible, FIPS 140-2 compliant full disk encryption (FOE) must be implemented on the hard drive where the DBMS resides. Appropriate access enforcement and physical security control must also be implemented. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500 and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards. It is the responsibility of the system owner to work with the local CIO (or designee) and Information Security Officer (ISO) to ensure that a compliant DBMS technology is selected and that if needed, mitigating controls are in place and documented in a System Security Plan (SSP).

[10]	Technology must remain patched and operated in accordance with Federal and Department security policies and guidelines in order to mitigate known and future security vulnerabilities.

Note:

At the time of writing, the most current version is 1.6.1 and was released on August 22, 2017.

References

The following reference(s) are associated with this entry:
Type	Name	Source	Description
There are no references identified for this entry.

Technology Components

Note: This list may not be complete. No component, listed or unlisted, may be used outside of the technology in which it is released. The usage decision for a component is found in the Decision and Decision Constraints.
Name	Description
Align X	Align X is a component used for generating multiple sequence alignments of proteins and nucleic acids.
BioAnnotator	BioAnnotator is a component used for protein motif mapping and annotation using Pfam, PROSITE, BLOCKS motif databases, and the physiochemical analyses of Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences.
ContigExpress	ContigExpress is a component used for assembling and editing sequencing fragments, either in the form of text sequences or chromatograms from automated sequencers, into longer contiguous sequences or contigs.
Database Explorer	Database Explorer is a component used for managing all the molecules, oligos, projects, and analysis results data.
GenomBench	GenomBench is a component used for viewing genome scale data located on distributed annotation server (DAS) systems.
Molecule Editor	The Molecule Editor component displays a graphical representation of a DNA or protein molecule, the molecule sequence, information about the molecule, and the results of any analysis performed on the molecule.
Vector NTI	Vector NTI is a component that allows sequence analysis, annotation, and illustration; restriction mapping; recombinant molecule design, including Gateway and Trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) cloning; in silico gel electrophoresis; synthetic biology workflows support, and data management.

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Domain Area	Category	Customer Guidance	Category Locked By ELT Date
Health Care Health Services	Specialty Services

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

macOS - Approved w/Constraints
Windows Client - Approved w/Constraints

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Runtime Dependencies:

Comparable Technologies:

Companion Technologies/Supported Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

This is a mature, well-documented technology.
There are no known Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) associated with this product at the time of writing.

Adoption Risks

This software has a free trial period, which carries the potential for the disruption of service delivery and inaccurate financial planning.
The vendor is stopping all support on December 31, 2020, and is not releasing any substitute technology.

Architectural Benefits

This technology is portable across multiple VA-approved platforms.

Architectural Risks

All operating systems that are compatible with this technology are unapproved at the time of writing.

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General Information

Vendor Release Information

Current Decision Matrix (02/19/2019)

Decision Constraints

References

Technology Components

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Runtime Dependencies:

Comparable Technologies:

Companion Technologies/Supported Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

Adoption Risks

Architectural Benefits

Architectural Risks

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General Information

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Current Decision Matrix (02/19/2019)

Decision Constraints

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Technology Components

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Runtime Dependencies:

Comparable Technologies:

Companion Technologies/Supported Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

Adoption Risks

Architectural Benefits

Architectural Risks

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