Using Mascot Daemon: A Guide?

Mascot Daemon is a Microsoft Windows client application that automates the submission of data files to the Mascot server. It offers batch mode, allowing users to define an arbitrary group of files for searching immediately or at a pre-set time. Mascot Daemon communicates with the Mascot Server using HTTP over TCP/IP, even when installed on the same PC as Mascot Server. In exceptional circumstances, it can be used with Mascot Server 2.0, which requires updating the Mascot Server by downloading file updates from the Mascot support page.

In order to use Mascot Daemon, users must first verify that it is possible to connect to the Mascot server from the PC on which Mascot Daemon is to be installed. After installing Mascot Server, users can access help pages for installation, upgrade, or troubleshooting. This is ideal for interactive searches where users experiment with search parameters. For automated searches of batches of files, Mascot Daemon can be used.

To install Mascot Daemon, users should navigate to the directory where Daemon is installed in Windows Explorer and select (Admin) > Site > Admin Console. Under Configuration, they should specify the Mascot Server URL, the User and Password used to authenticate. An intensive 2-day course covering protein identification and characterization using Mascot is available.

Daemon can use Mascot Distiller as a data import filter to automate peak picking and quantitation. It also uses Mascot Server for sequence database searching.