Hardware and Software Specifications

Server

  • Microsoft Windows Server  2008  or 2008 R2 64 bit operating system – SBS 2008 or SBS 2011 both supported
  • IIS installed and running and ‘Dynamic Content Compression’ not installed
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2005, 2008 or 2008 R2 with named instance ‘STAT’ (Express Edition not supported)
  • Microsoft .NET 4.0
  • WCF enabled
  • Regional Settings set to ‘English (Australia)’
  • 16Gb RAM minimum
  • System performance is most affected by disk sub-system performance. Multi disk RAID systems like RAID 10 will give better performance.
  • Hard disk capacity required for data conversion: minimum 4 x existing database size
  • Broadband Internet access
  • The servers time zone along with the actual date and time must be set correctly
  • Distributed Transaction Co-ordinator service set to auto start and be running
  • The network should be configured with a domain and all servers and workstations  running Stat must be joined to the  same domain
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package (x86)

Server specifications (CPU, Memory, Hard Disk etc.) will vary depending on the number of workstations in use, other programs that you might be running and number of patients.  Servers with a single CPU (e.g. Intel Core i7) will be acceptable for smaller practices , however for larger practices servers running multiple CPUs, each with multiple cores (e.g. Intel Xeon) may be required.

Some editions of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and 2008 only support a certain CPU configuration; this must be taken into account when determining server specifications. Please discuss these issues with an appropriate hardware and network supplier.

A minimum of RAID 1 with 2 disks would be suggested for smaller sites, however RAID 10 with 4 or more disks would enhance performance . For larger practices a minimum of RAID 10 with 4 or more disks would be required to achieve suitable performance.   This allows for data redundancy and fault tolerance as well as performance.

Microsoft Word required under certain circumstances, please refer to Data Conversion section in this document.

 

Stat Backup

Stat utilises two Microsoft SQL Server databases to store all of its data.

  • Typically Stat uses a named instance of SQL Server called ‘STAT’
  • Typically Stat uses two databases, one called ‘Stat’ and the other called ‘StatClinical’

The databases are contained in seven files on the file system.  The names and locations of these files are configurable and depend on the setup of the server.
Typically they all exist in the folder:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.{x}\MSSQL\Data\
where {x} is a number starting at 1.  If the ‘STAT’ instance of SQL Server is the only one on the server then the folder would be:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Data\
The seven files are typically called:

  • Stat.mdf
  • Stat_1.ndf
  • Stat_2.ndf
  • Stat_3.ndf
  • Stat_4.ldf
  • StatClinical.mdf
  • StatClinical_1.ldf

Stat does not have an inbuilt backup solution.  An appropriate backup solution needs to be used that will allow all the data in the Stat databases to be backed up.
The preferred way to backup this data is by using a SQL Server compatible backup solution (e.g. Symantec Backup Exec with SQL Server Backup Agent).
It is important that whoever is given the task of setting up the backup of your system be proficient with SQL Server backup techniques so as to avoid data loss in the event of a problem that requires the database to be restored from the backup.
It is also important that the Microsoft SQL server transaction logs be appropriately backed up and appropriately truncated otherwise they will grow to consume all available disk space.

NB: By default Microsoft SQL Servers transaction logs are not truncated automatically.  If left unchecked these transaction logs will eventually consume all available disk space. It is therefore imperative that appropriate action is taken to address transaction log size eg. by means of SQL maintenance plans.

Workstations

  • Microsoft Windows Vista SP2 Business, Ultimate; or Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate
  • Microsoft .NET 4.0
  • Regional Settings set to ‘English (Australia)’
  • Intel Core i3 or better CPU
  • 4Gb RAM recommended
  • 1920×1080 recommended.  Note that both the video card and display must support this resolution.  (1280×1024 minimum resolution)
  • Large fonts not supported  (default Windows fonts required)
  • Broadband Internet access
  • No ODBC or mapped drives/UNC paths required to the server; workstations connect using Web Services via HTTP
  • The workstation time zone along with the actual date and time must be set correctly
  • Workstations should be set to synchronise time with the server periodically (e.g. as part of a user log on script)
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package (x86)
  • Microsoft POS for .Net V 1.1.2 available from http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=5355

Remote Connectivity

Stat requires RDC access to the server and all workstations. This can be provided either as a direct RDC connection or via an RDC gateway.  (VPN Connections are not suitable)

Remote Desktop Service Server (Terminal Server)

Stat is designed to allow it to run in a Microsoft Windows RDS Server environment.  This capability can be used to allow access to the Stat application over lower speed networks than would be possible otherwise.  This may be useful in allowing doctors and staff to access the Stat application from other locations.
In order to provide remote support, Stat Health Systems (Aust) requires RDC (RDP) access. If your site uses RDS  please be aware that we will require one remote access CAL to be available at the time of remote access.

Printers

There are numerous brands and models of printers on the market – only a small number have been tested by Stat at this stage.
For the Doctor’s desk – an efficient and small laser printer for scripts, request and letters is important.  Alternatively a larger printer with multiple paper trays (e.g. for script, pathology and plain paper) may be preferred.  Hewlett-Packard has a large number of business laser printers, including printers in this category.
For reception – a heavy duty, fast and reliable printer is recommended.  Hewlett-Packard has a large range of business laser printers.

Label Printer

Stat supports the Dymo LabelWriter 450 series label printer.

Scanner

Stat will provide basic scanning functions when used with any TWAIN compliant scanner.
The Canon DR-2510C will be able to access more advanced scanning functionality in the future and is a high speed, multiple page document scanner.

Card Swipe

Supplied by Magtek – Centurion 21073062

Medical Device Software

CardioView- Version: 5.0
WinSpiro Pro- Version: 3.6.3

Data Conversion

Please Note:  Conversion of your data will be undertaken on your existing server.  The time to run a conversion is heavily influenced by the speed of your server (CPU, RAM, Hard disk).

If converting documents created using Microsoft Word you will require a complete copy of Microsoft Word 2007 or Microsoft Word 2010 on the Server where the conversion will be run. Microsoft Word 2010 Starter Edition is not supported.

NB:This hardware specification is continually revised and updated to ensure the Stat application performance continues to be optimised.