Introduction

Chapter

Overview

The FSV-M3 is a dedicated file server that can be connected directly to a network. Because the FSV-M3 is preconfigured for use as a file server, minimal work is necessary to put it into operation. Can be managed through a Web browser (via the Web Administration Console) Operations (such as configuring individual settings, managing users and shares, shutting down the system, etc.) can be controlled remotely through a Web browser. Supports file sharing in Windows and UNIX environments Files can be shared among client computers running Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows Me, Windows XP Professional, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, UNIX, and Linux. Computers with different operating systems can be used to view and edit the same file. Also, you can limit user access to the server and set access permissions for each share.

Features and Functions

A Drive bay door latch Latch used to open and replace the hard drive. B Drive 0 (HDD 0) C Drive 1 (HDD 1) D Drive 2 (HDD 2) E Drive 3 (HDD 3) F Power indicator LED Lights up when the power is turned on. G Power button Lift the cover to access the switch that controls the power to the server. H Key holes Locks the drive using the supplied HDD tray keys. You can distinguish the locked position from the unlocked position by looking at the key hole, as illustrated here. HDD tray is locked HDD tray is unlocked
The drives are locked when the FSV-M3 is shipped from the factory. I Drive LED Lights up when the drive is accessed or in the standby mode.
A Cover fasteners Service cover fasteners. B Power supply connector Plug the provided power cord into this connector. C Fan Be careful not to block the fan's ventilation holes. If the ventilation holes are blocked, overheating could lead to fire or damage the unit. D LINK LED Lights up when the FSV-M3 is connected to a Gigabit hub. E ACT LED Lights up when network activity takes place. F RS232 serial connector Connector for a UPS device. G LAN connector (LAN 0, LAN 1) For connecting a 10 Base-T, 100 Base-TX, or 1000 Base-T network cable. H VGA console connector For maintenance purposes only. I PS/2 mouse connector For maintenance purposes only. J PS/2 keyboard connector For maintenance purposes only. K USB connectors For maintenance purposes only. L Power cord safety clip Used to prevent the power cord from disconnecting.

Enter the items below. User Name Enter a user name of up to 32 alphanumeric characters. For details about permissible characters, see Chapter 3, FSV-M3 Limitations (page 66).

Important

When registering users from Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me, be sure to enter the same user name as the user's Windows logon name. Full Name Enter the full name of the user using up to 49 alphanumeric characters. For details about permissible characters, see Chapter 3, FSV-M3 Limitations (page 66). Password Enter a user password of five or more alphanumeric characters. For details about permissible characters, see Chapter 3, FSV-M3 Limitations (page 66). Confirm Password Re-enter the same password.
Local users can change their own passwords. For details, see Changing the User Password (page 19). Grant admin rights Select this check box if you want to grant this user administrative rights to the server.
Users to whom you grant administrative rights have access to all the functions of the FSV-M3 and can perform all the operations explained in this document. Exercise care before granting administrative rights to a user.
Click the Submit button. This uploads the new user registration data to the Users page on the server.
Changing the User Password
Users can change their own passwords.
Start the browser on a computer. Enter http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/ in the Address or Location box (where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the IP address of the server). The FSV-M3 Top Page appears.
Click Change User Password. The Change User Password page appears.
In the User Name box, enter the name of a registered user. In the Current Password box, enter the current password. In the New Password box, enter a new password of five or more alphanumeric characters. For details about permissible characters, see Chapter 3, FSV-M3 Limitations (page 66).
In the Confirm Password box, re-enter the new password. Click the Submit button. A message appears indicating that settings are complete.

Creating Shares

Users can create shares on the server using the FSV-M3 Administration Console. Users can create files and folders in the shares they create. There are two ways of creating shares. Manual share creation The system administrator can create shares manually with the FSV-M3 Administration Console. Automatic share creation The system creates a default share for each user when the user accesses a specific URL through a Web browser. The shares created this way belong to their specific users, but use the default permissions defined by the system administrator. For details about the automatic creation of shares, see Automatic Share Creation (page 22).

Double-click Entire Network. For Windows 2000, click Entire Contents, then click Microsoft Windows Network. The workgroup to which the FSV-M3 is assigned appears. If a new workgroup has been set, it may take some time before the workgroup appears. If the workgroup does not appear, proceed to step 4.
When the workgroup or server does not appear, search for it using the following procedure. (1) Click the Start button, then click Search - For Files or Folders. (2) In the Search for other items column, click Computers. (3) Enter the host name of the server in the Computer Name box, then click Search Now. The host name of the server can be checked from the FSV-M3 Administration Console or in the Control Panel. (4) If the server is found, proceed to step 6. If the server does not appear, proceed to step 5.
Proceed as follows if the above is unsuccessful. (1) Double-click My Computer on the desktop. (2) In the Address bar of the My Computer window, enter two backslashes (\\) followed by the host name of the server. (Example) \\fsvm3 (3) Press the Enter key of your keyboard. (4) If the server is found, proceed to step 6. If the server does not appear, click Network - Windows on the FSV-M3 Administration Console, and confirm that the parameters are suitable for your network environment.
Double-click the server. (1) The user name and password input dialog box appears (with Windows Me, the password input dialog box appears). Enter the user name and password created with the FSV-M3 Administration Console. (This dialog box may not always appear.) When the password is authenticated, the registered shares (folders) appear. (2) Double-click the desired share (folder). The folders and files stored in the share appear.
If the user was not created with the FSV-M3 Administration Console, password authentication fails. Furthermore, when you access the server through Windows Me and the logon name differs from the user name created with the FSV-M3 Administration Console, password authentication also fails. If the parameters in Network - Windows on the FSV-M3 Administration Console are not suitable for your network environment, password authentication fails.
Access from Windows XP Professional
Click the Start button, then click Search. Under What do you want to search for?, click Computers or people. (1) Click A computer on the network. (2) Enter the host name of the server in Computer name, and then click Search. You can find the host name of the server on the FSV-M3 Administration Console. If the server is found, proceed to step 4.
Proceed as follows if the above is unsuccessful. (1) Click the Start button, then click My Computer. (2) In the Address bar of the My Computer window, enter two backslashes (\\) followed by the host name of the server. (Example) \\fsvm3 (3) Press the Enter key of your keyboard. (4) If the server is found, proceed to step 4. If the server does not appear, click Network - Windows on the FSV-M3 Administration Console, and confirm that the parameters are suitable for your network environment.

When hard drive fails You are notified when a hard disk malfunctions. When RAID group rebuilds You are notified when the RAID group rebuilds. When RAID group is full You are notified when the user data of RAID group reaches 100%. When RAID reconfiguration completes You are notified when the reconfiguration of a RAID is complete. When hardware monitor abnormal You are notified when the hardware monitor is behaving abnormally. When UPS power failed or restored You are notified when UPS is connected and it detects a power failure and when the power is restored after a power failure.
Click the Submit button. A message appears indicating that the settings are complete. Click OK.
When all the necessary settings are completed in the Alerts page, click Send Test Alert to send an alert and SNMP trap test.

Software Update

Use this item to install software updates with new features or software patches.
Never install or update software other than that distributed by Sony for the FSV-M3. Installing or updating other software may destroy data or damage the system. Before you update the software, make sure that no users are currently accessing the server. You can check for active users with Current Users on the Status menu. If any users are found, instruct them to disconnect from the server. Operation of the server is not assured if the update is not installed from a Sony package file.
Copy the package file (distributed by Sony) to the hard disk of the computer.
Enter a copy destination that does not contain any of the following characters in the Software File box of the screen in step 2. Hyphens -, underscores _, or position markers (in Windows, \ and :). (Example) C:\Windows\temp
Download the package file from the StorStation Web site (http://www.sony.co.jp/en/Products/storagesolution/)
On the FSV-M3 Administration Console, click System - Software Update. The Software Update page appears.
Click Browse and specify the package file copied to the hard disk of the computer in step 1, then click Open. Click the Update button. When the confirmation message appears, click OK. The software update process starts. Do not perform any operations until the update is complete. When the update is complete, a message appears indicating that the update was completed successfully. Some software display a message that prompt you to restart the system. In this case, restart the system by following the instructions of the message.

RAID Group

Change the RAID configuration. By default, the RAID level is RAID 5, which means that all four hard disks are viewed as one big storage area. If you want the system to view the hard disks as two storage areas, change the setting to RAID 1.
When you change the RAID configuration, all the user data on the server are deleted. Automatic share creation is also deactivated. If you want to reactivate automatic share creation, click Storage - Share and reactivate the function. For details about this procedure, see Chapter 2, Automatic Share Creation (page 22).
On the FSV-M3 Administration Console, click Storage - RAID Group. The RAID Group page appears.
Click Change RAID Configuration. The Change RAID Configuration page appears.
Click the Continue button.
The following page appears.
Enter the administrator password, and then click the Continue button. The following page appears.
Select RAID 1, and then click the Continue button. A confirmation message appears. Click Yes. All the data on the server is deleted and settings are reset. Resetting may take up to one hour.
It is also possible to change the RAID configuration from RAID 1 to RAID 5. Doing so also deletes all the user data on the server.
Create and delete shares, as well as configuring access settings. There are two methods for creating shares. Manual share creation The system administrator can create shares manually with the FSV-M3 Administration Console. Automatic share creation The system creates a default share for users when they access a specific URL through a Web browser and pass user authentication. The shares created this way belong to their specific users, but use the default permissions defined by the system administrator.
On the FSV-M3 Administration Console, click Storage - Share. The Share page appears.
Select the RAID group the share that you want to create.
The RAID group name varies depending on the RAID configuration as follows. If the RAID configuration is RAID 5 (default), only one RAID group name appears. This name is VOLUME. If the RAID configuration is RAID 1, two RAID group names appear. These names are VOLUME 0 and VOLUME 1. For details about changing the RAID group configuration, see RAID Group (page 47).

When you delete a share, all the files that it contains are also deleted. Before deleting a share, make sure that there are no users accessing the share or files in the share.
In the Share page, click Delete Share(s). The Delete Shares page appears.
Select the check boxes of the shares that you want to delete. Click the Delete Share(s) button. The following page appears.
Click the Delete Share(s) button. The changes are reflected in the Share page.

User Quotas

Control the maximum amount of disk space of each user.
When enabling or recalculating user quotas in this menu, the more user data and registered users, the longer the operations take.

Configuring User Quotas

On the FSV-M3 Administration Console, click Storage - User Quotas. The User Quotas page appears.
If the Quota Status is DISABLED, click the volume where you want to activate the user quotas. If the Quota Status is ENABLED, proceed to step 5. The following page appears.
Click the Enable button. The following page appears.
Click the Continue button. The User Quotas page reappears and the Quota Status is now ENABLED.
Click the volume where you want to activate the user quotas.
To verify the amount of disk space currently used by each user, click the Recalculate button. The result is indicated in the In Use column. (If there are many users or disk usage is high, this may take some time.)
Specify the maximum disk space that you want to allocate to each authorized user.
If you do not want to specify a user quota for a specific user, specify 0 in the box.
Click the Submit button. The settings are reflected in the User Quotas page.

Disabling User Quotas

In the User Quotas page, click the volume where you want to disable user quotas. The following page appears.
Click the Disable button. A confirmation message appears.
Click the Continue button. The User Quotas page reappears and the Quota Status is now DISABLED.

Security Menu

Use the Security menu to manage users and shares. This Security menu consists of the following items. Share Folders Used to manage share security. Users Used to register and delete users.

Share Folders

Setting Share Folder Security
On the FSV-M3 Administration Console, click Security - Share Folders. The Share Folders page appears.

Users can change their own passwords. See Changing the User Password (page 19) in Chapter 2, Basic Use. Grant admin rights Select this check box if you want to grant this user administrative rights to the server.
Click the Submit button. The modified settings are reflected in the Users page.

Deleting Local Set Users

In the Users page, click Delete Users. The Delete User page appears.
Click the user that you want to delete. Click the Delete button. A confirmation message appears. Click the Delete button. A message indicating that the deletion is complete appears. Click Return. The results are reflected in the Users page.
Only local users can be removed. Users from a Windows PDC domain are not maintained locally. Also, any files or folders created by a user are not removed from the system.

Status Menu

Use the Status menu to view system information, access the list of users currently accessing the server, logon history, and event logs. The Status menu consists of following items: System Used to view overall system and hardware status. Disk Usage Used to view disk usage. Current Users Used to view users currently logged on to the server. Login History Used to view user logon history. Event Log Used to view logged system events.

System

View the host name, status of the network card, internal temperature of the server, status of the fan, etc.
On the FSV-M3 Administration Console, click Status - System. The System page appears.

Disk Usage

View the RAID level per volume, as well as remaining disk space and status.
On the FSV-M3 Administration Console, click Status - Disk Usage. The Disk Usage page appears.

Current Users

View the users currently logged on to the server. Before proceeding with the following procedure make sure that there are no users performing the following operations. Modifying or deleting shares. Modifying RAID configuration. Performing shutdown or reboot procedures. Interrupting or restarting services. Upgrading the system version. Etc.
On the FSV-M3 Administration Console, click Status - Current Users. The Current Users page appears.
You can modify the display of this page to suit your needs. Click the display method that you want. All Login Types Click to display all the users currently accessing the server. HTTP Only Click to display only the users accessing the server through a Web browser. CIFS Only Click to display only the users accessing the server through Windows. FTP Only Click to display only the users accessing the server through FTP. NFS Only Click to display only the users accessing the server through NFS.

The RAID reconfiguration is complete
[$serial] RAID $hostname: RAID CONFIGURATION CONFIGURATION CHANGED HAS BEEN CHANGED TO OPTION 1 - RAID5 $vol ready $hostname: RAID CONFIGURATION HAS BEEN CHANGED TO OPTION 2 - RAID1 $vol ready
The hardware monitor has detected an anomaly
[$serial] Hardware abnormal
$hostname: CPU temperature is $temp (higher than threshold 70"C) $hostname: $fan speed is abnormal
A UPS interruption [$serial] UPS and power Power failed restoration were detected [$serial] UPS Power restored
UPS connected to Server "$hostname"was power failure at $date UPS connected to Server "$hostname"was power restore at $date
[$serial] UPS low battery
UPS connected to Notifies you that Server the UPS's batteries "$hostname"has are failing. been in low battery since $date $hostname: This is Test message. alert event test mail

[$serial] test alert

$serial represents the products serial number. $hostname represents the servers host name. $hdd represents the hard disk number (HDD0 to HDD3). $partition represents the name of a partition. $vol represents the name of a RAID volume (VOLUME, VOLUME0, or VOLUME1). $fan represents the fan number. $date represents the date.

SNMP Traps Table

When SNMP traps are activated in System - Alert, you are notified of the events that you selected. Events are as follows.
Event The server restarts A hard disk is malfunctioning Trap type Specific Message 1 type (Variable Biding) enterprise 12020 Specific enterprise 13010 Specific [$serial] Reboot [$serial] HDD FAULTY ALERT Message 2 (Variable Biding) $hostname system will be reboot $hostname: The following HDD partition has been set faulty: $hdd & $partition Explanation Notifies you that the server restarts. Notifies you of a hard disk malfunction.
A RAID group is being rebuilt
enterprise 14010 Specific
[$serial] RAID GROUP REBUIDS ALERT
$hostname: The Notifies you that a following RAID RAID group is Group is rebuilding: being rebuilt. $vol $hostname: The following RAID Group has completed rebuilding: $vol Notifies you that the RAID group rebuild is complete.
A RAID group is completely full The RAID reconfiguration is complete
enterprise 15010 Specific
$hostname: The following RAID Group is close to full: $volume $hostname: RAID CONFIGURATION HAS BEEN CHANGED TO OPTION 1 - RAID5 $vol ready $hostname: RAID CONFIGURATION HAS BEEN CHANGED TO OPTION 2 - RAID1 $vol ready

Notifies you that the user data of a RAID group has reached 100%. Notifies you that the RAID reconfiguration from RAID 1 to RAID 5 is complete. Notifies you that the RAID reconfiguration from RAID 5 to RAID 1 is complete. Notifies you that the CPU temperature exceeds 70C. Notifies you that a problem with the fan was detected.
enterprise 18010 Specific
[$serial] RAID CONFIGURATION CHANGED
enterprise 16010 Specific
Trap type Specific Message 1 type (Variable Biding) [$serial] UPS Power failed
Message 2 (Variable Biding) $hostname: UPS connected to Server was power failure at $date $hostname: UPS connected to Server was power restore at $date $hostname: UPS connected to Server has been in low battery since $date
Explanation Notifies you that UPS has detected a power interruption. Notifies you that UPS has detected that power was restored since a power interruption. Notifies you that the UPSs batteries are failing.
A UPS enterprise 20010 interruption and Specific power restoration were detected
[$serial] UPS Power restored
enterprise 9999 Specific Notes
$hostname: This is Test message. alert event test mail

Precautions

Please observe the following precautions when using the equipment. It is not possible to install any software into the equipment other than software supplied by Sony specifically for use with the equipment. Do not connect the server directly to the Internet, as illegal access may result. Take adequate care regarding the way the system is set up. Sony does not accept any liability for loss of user data resulting from equipment malfunction or user operations.

Troubleshooting

Before contacting a Sony Technical Center, please check the following items. Contact the Sony Support Center if the problem persists.
The server does not work.
Verify that the power switch is turned on. Verify that the power cable is connected correctly. Turn off the server by pressing the power switch. Restart the server. During the startup procedure, the server checks the file system. The length of this check varies depending on the amount of data on the server (in some extreme case, it can take as long as two hours).

The server cannot be accessed from a browser
Verify whether the network cable is connected correctly. Verify whether the LINK LED and ACT LED are lit. Verify whether the IP address entered on the browser is correct. The current IP address can be checked from FSV-Central for M3. Verify whether any other devices are using the same IP address as the server. Verify the network cable with other computers to make sure it is not faulty. Verify whether there is a problem with the connection between the network hub and the computer or server, or the hub connectors.
The server cannot be found on the network from Windows
Verify the server host name, then search for the computer again. If you configured the network or Windows settings using the FSV-M3 Administration Console, it might take some time for the settings to be applied. The host name can be checked on the FSV-M3 Administration Console (System - System Settings), for example.
A share on the server cannot be accessed from Windows
Verify the share access permissions. The share access permissions can be checked on the FSV-M3 Administration Console (Security - Share Folders). Verify whether the settings in Network - Windows (on the FSV-M3 Administration Console) are appropriately configured for the current network environment and operating system. When using Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me, verify whether the Windows logon name and the name registered in the server are the same. After registering a user, if you changed the settings with the FSV-M3 Administration Console, make sure that you set the user password again (even if it has not changed). Verify whether the user intending to access the server is registered. To authenticate the identity of users with the FSV-M3, registration is necessary. Verify whether there is a computer with the same name and IP address on your network.
A share cannot be mounted from UNIX/Linux
Verify whether the UNIX network service (NFS) is active on the server. The current state of the network service can be checked from the FSV-M3 Administration Console (Network - UNIX). Verify whether the share to be mounted is set to allow access from UNIX/ Linux. The share settings can be checked on the FSV-M3 Administration Console (Storage - Share). Verify whether the share to be mounted is in the correct location. For information on how to mount shares, see Access from UNIX/Linux (page 27) in Chapter 2, Basic Use.
The files cannot be stored in the server
Verify the free disk space of the server. Delete files that are no longer needed as soon as possible to create more disk space. The current free disk space can be checked from the FSV-M3 Administration Console (Status - Disk Usage). Verify the share access permissions and space limitation. The access permissions of the share can be checked in Security - Share Folder of the FSV-M3 Administration Console.
The actual size of the four hard disks is less than the specified size

When using four hard disks with the FSV-M3 RAID configuration is performed, therefore the actual hard disk space that is available to users is slightly less that the specifications. The actual hard disk space available to users is: RAID 5: approx. 210 GB (FSV-M3/320) RAID 1: approx. 77 GB 2 (FSV-M3/320)

Specifications

Hardware
Hard disk drive 80 GB (FSV-M3/320) (4) User area RAID 5: approx. 210 GB (FSV-M3/320) RAID 1: approx. 77 GB 2 (FSV-M3/320) External connectors Ethernet 10 Base-T/100 Base-TX/1000 Base-T (RJ-45) (2) Operating environment Temperature: 5 to 35C Humidity: 20 to 80% (Avoid condensation) Rated Voltage AC 100-127/200-240 V (50/60 Hz) Rated Current 5.5 A/2.75 A External dimensions 440 (W) 43.5 (H) 564 (D) mm (excluding projections) 17.3 (W) 1.7 (H) 22.2 (D) in. Weight About 11.2 kg About 24.6 lb. Notice: Specifications and outward appearance of the FSV-M3 are subject to change without notice.
This product uses GPL/LGPL software. Users have the right to obtain, modify and to redistribute the source code. For details, refer to GPL/LGPL, supplied with the FSV-M3.

Glossary

10Base-T A UTP cable consisting of 4 pairs of two wires (8 conductors) each, twisted together into a single, unshielded set (i.e., the cable is not enclosed in a metallic mesh for blocking electromagnetic noise). Also referred to as a twisted pair cable, it is commonly used for connection in Ethernet-based local area networks. A cable of this type is capable of carrying unmodulated signal data at the rate of 10 megabits per second over distances of up to 100 meters (with the 10 Mbps base band system). 100Base-TX A UTP cable consisting of 4 pairs of two wires (8 conductors) each, twisted together into a single, unshielded set (i.e., the cable is not enclosed in a metallic mesh to block electromagnetic noise). This is referred to as a twisted pair cable, and 100Base-TX cables meet the Category 5 specifications for such cables. A cable of this type is capable of carrying unmodulated signal data at the rate of 100 megabits per second over distances of up to 100 meters (with a 100 Mbps base band system). It is used for connection to local area networks using fast Ethernet, which operate at speeds in excess of 10 Mbps (data transfer at the rate of 10 megabits per second). Capacity limit To limit the amount of disk space that a particular user can use. Also referred to as a quota or disk quota.

Adding local set users. 59 Administration Guide. 8 Administrator password.. 14 Alert... 33 Alerts table.. 67 Automatic share creation. 22, 51
Manual share creation. 20, 49 Modifying local set users. 61
UNIX.. 39 User password.. 19 User Quotas.. 55 User sets.. 16 Users.. 16, 59

Network menu.. 36

Online Help. 8
Verifying the status of a hard disk.. 43
Backup.. 29 Basic installation.. 9 Basic operations.. 11 Browser.. 11 Password.. 14, 19 Precautions.. 71 Prerequisite knowledge. 7
Windows.. 38 Windows Network Settings. 16 Windows set user.. 17
RAID group.. 47 Registering local set users. 17 Registering users. 16 Replacing a hard disk. 43 Restart. 28, 35
Configuring user quotas.. 55 Creating shares.. 20 Current Users.. 63
Data backup.. 29 Date and Time. 14, 32 Deleting local set users.. 62 Device.. 43 Disabling user quotas. 57 Disk Usage.. 63
Security menu.. 58 Setting share folder security. 58 Setup.. 10 Share.. 20, 24, 48 Share deletion. 54 Share folders.. 58 Share modification.. 53 Shutdown. 28, 35 Shutdown/Reboot.. 35 SNMP.. 42 SNMP traps table.. 69 Software update.. 34 Specifications. 73 status menu.. 62 Storage menu. 42 Storing files and folders in shares.. 24 System.. 63 System language. 15 System menu.. 31 System requirements.. 7 System Settings.. 31

Event Log.. 65

Features.. 5 FSV-Central for M3.. 9 FSV-M3 Administration Console 11, 30 FSV-M3 limitations.. 66 FSV-M3 Top Page.. 11 FTP.. 40 Functions.. 5

Help.. 8

TCP/IP.. 36 Time.. 14 Troubleshooting.. 71
LED indicators.. 29 Local set user.. 16, 17, 59 Login History. 64

Sony Corporation

StorStation Web site http://www.sony.co.jp/en/Products/storagesolution/

Medical Imaging Network

Concept of the Sony Medical Imaging network

Target market

The demand for digital acquisition, management and electronic archiving of medical images and video clips is increasing rapidly. Started some years ago within the radiology and cardiology departments this technology has now emerged to specialisations like Gastro-Enterology, Bronchoscopy, Laparoscopy, Orthopaedics, Ophthalmology and Gynaecology. Backed by experience on product development, support and workflow knowledge in these areas, Sony will now introduce Networked technology as a logical evolution from video based systems.

Workflow

Looking at the Workflow of images and video clips within the targeted specialisations, we recognises several phases as there are the acquisition phase, the routing- and archiving phase and the retrieving/post-processinginterpretation phase. and Additionally
physicians will more and more use the possibility of sending images and video clips outside their conventional area of usage. Considering authorisation and security, patient data can be retrieved by physicians outside the hospital, or send to a specialist for second opinion. By using up-to-date communication technology a consultation can start supported by diagnostic quality images or video clips, audio and life videoconferencing images. This technology called Telemedicine is outside the scope of this paper, but is inseparably connected to the described proposal.

Building Blocks

Looking the different stages in the workflow we like to describe briefly the separate blocks like the acquisition equipment and the Routing- and archiving system.
P500MD DICOM Image Acquisition System Concept of this product is a DICOM compliant Image Acquisition box that will be added to existing video based systems. The main feature for the user is the simple operation. Crucial for medical images is that the

13.12.2002

Sony Business Europe
patient information is 100% reliable. Therefore this patient data is received over the network from the DICOM Worklist server in the hospital or by interpreting the HL7 data from the Hospital Information System (HIS/RIS).
The workflow is simple, Step one is to select the patient data Step two is to push a single button to grab images Step three is to send the DICOM images to the final destination, which can be a DICOM CD with simple viewer, the physicians PC or the system described below.
DICOM Satellite Server The Sony DICOM satellite Server can be fully integrated as Routerinto and the Archiving hospital System
environment with- or without existing PACS systems. By using this Satellite concept, workload and responsibility is taken away from the PACS System. If there is no PACS system in use, or for technical or political reasons it is preferred to have a standalone system, it is assured by the applied DICOM standard that later integration in PACS Systems can be easily done. The DICOM Satellite Server supports many DICOM SOP Classes as well as the most recent DICOM Web features. Because of the DICOM standard, valuable information such as procedure date, patients birth date, patient name and unique ID are always stored with each image or video clip. It contributes largely to the quality process in Healthcare, knowing the fact that 6-8% of the physical patient files is lost today.
Router part The Router is the part of the Satellite Server that is taking care of the routing of medical images or video clips and complies fully with the DICOM and HL7 standards. The Router accepts any DICOM image coming from Visible Light modalities like gastro-enterology, bronchoscopy, laparoscopy, orthopaedics, ophthalmology or gynaecology but also accompanying radiology or cardiology images like from MRI, CT or Ultrasound. It accepts still images as well as MPEG video clips images in colour or B&W, uncompressed or lossless or lossy compressed. Any DICOM compatible equipment can store or retrieve images from the archive by using the Router. Authorised users can have web access to images of the patients he or she is taking care of. The consultation can be at the patient or study level. Images can be visualised with thumbnails or full size images. If necessary the images or video clips can be send in diagnostic quality to the DICOM workstations. Remote access to the system can be fully secured by using the Routers capabilities. Additionally to control the manual access to images, the Router offers enhanced automatic routing features. DICOM Image sources are sending all the images to the Router. Depending on easily configurable filters, the images can be forwarded to other DICOM equipment like workstations, local servers, CD-R writers, the central PACS server or to the Sony Archiving system. Filters can be based on many DICOM header fields including modality, physician, and time. Because of the software interface between the Router and the Archiving System there is intelligent control of the archive. Depending on manual requests or newly added information about a certain patient, the Router can communicate with the Archive to reload old patient files. Deletion of files, in the case a patient has died or moved elsewhere, should be done in close co-ordination between the Hospital Information System (HIS), the Router and the Archive. But even deleted files can be recovered within some timeframe. The Router logs any event in XML encoded audit trail files compatible with IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise) Technical Framework. This makes it possible to use the Satellite Server in the process to improve the efficiency in workflow in the hospital by using the IHE Framework later onwards.

Archiving part Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM) software provides maximum storage operating by automatically and efficiently managing the storage system. In close co-operation with the Router software, HSM matches choice of recording media with the way that data is used, for example depending on the status of the patient, still under treatment or released after finishing the procedures and last visitation.
The HSM Migration and Reloading function of the software has been designed to achieve maximum storage performance on an overall throughput basis by transferring files between hard disk array (RAID) and the tape based library. Moving a file from hard disk to tape library is called migration and restoring that file to the hard disk is called reloading. This process is controlled by the Router software and depends on the status of the patient in hospital workflow. The so-called Cache, consisting of an independent NAS file server, does the first level of storage. The Cache system, a kind of buffer, is taking care of the files that are in the transfer process between the library system and the users. The second level of the archive consists of a hard disk part, actually contains three huge hard disks in a socalled RAID configuration. This assures maximum reliability. Lost data because of a defective hard disk is nearly impossible. On this hard disk are all the files that need immediate availability. The third level is the tape based library system, a compact tape jukebox unit that contains 16 tapes with a total maximum capacity of 1.6 TeraByte (1600 GigaByte). The build-in barcode reader identified the loaded tapes. The Router software can anticipate on on-line availability of very old files that are outside the juke-box by sending an e-mail or SMS message to the archive operator on-duty to load a certain tape before the patient file has even been requested by the physicians. The fourth level of archiving, the deep archive, for files older than several years, will depend on the hospital policy and sometimes on local laws. Nowadays this archive is often outsourced to an external company and the files are then even physically stored outside the hospital. Other functions of the HSM software are the intelligent backup of the Cache and RAID Hard disks to the tape library and keeping control of the technical quality of the loaded tapes. If the quality of the tape is decreasing, an automatic back up will be made in the quiet periods of the system, mostly at night. Capacity of all the system components will be monitored continuously and an early warning will be given if capacity problems seem to appear in the near future.

Support

Developing and building this kind of systems is, from the technology point of view, not very difficult. Implementing networked imaging systems into the medical workflow and keeping them operational asks for more than just customised design and installation.
Precise analysis of the needs and expectations of all relevant users, and adapting the configuration to these needs is the first step. After the installation the training of medical staff and responsible engineers is of cause mandatory, but repeating these trainings annually avoid that primary knowledge of the system leaked away over time because of replaced staff. Clinical data of patients should be always available, but any hard- and software technology can stop working. Therefore support have to be available. Sony will provide telephone access to knowledgeable product specialists for advice on operation, issue management and act as first point of contact for support requests. The contact persons have the capability for English, German, Spanish, French and Italian languages. Another level of support is remote investigation and configuration of the supported system (Remote Diagnostics). A Loan Unit will be supplied to resolve hardware breakdowns where the problem cannot be resolved by telephone or remote diagnosis. All this will guarantee maximum availability of the clinical data over the depreciation period of the system.
Having described briefly the functionality of the complete solution, we like to list the main used components and some budgetary prices.

DICOM Satellite Server

Material Number DICOM Router Software SLX-0178 Server FSV-M3 Fileserver Prime Support Total System SRP 12,500.00 43,050.00 11,716.00 7,590.94 74,856.94

DICOM Workstation

Material Number VAIO PCV-LX2 DicomEye Viewer Query-Retrieve option Prime Support Total T2_SRP 2,350.00 790.00 520.00 234.24 3,894.24
If you are interested to discuss further about the concept of the Sony Medical Imaging Network, please contact your local Sony representative for medical solutions, send a e-mail to medical@sonybpe.com or call +270