Failure of a PACS archive server could cripple an entire PACS operation. Last year we demonstrated that it was possible to design a fault-tolerant (FT) server with 99.999% uptime. The FT design was based on a triple modular redundancy with a simple majority vote to automatically detect and mask a faulty module. The purpose of this presentation is to report on its continuous developments in integrating with external mass storage devices, and to delineate laboratory failover experiments. An FT PACS Simulator with generic PACS software has been used in the experiment. To simulate a PACS clinical operation, image examinations are transmitted continuously from the modality simulator to the DICOM gateway and then to the FT PACS server and workstations. The hardware failures in network, FT server module, disk, RAID, and DLT are manually induced to observe the failover recovery of the FT PACS to resume its normal data flow. We then test and evaluate the FT PACS server in its reliability, functionality, and performance.
The operational reliability of the picture archiving and communication system (PACS) server in a filmless hospital environment is always a major concern because server failure could cripple the entire PACS operation. A simple, low-cost, continuous-availability (CA) PACS archive server was designed and developed. The server makes use of a triple modular redundancy (TMR) system with a simple majority voting logic that automatically identifies a faulty module and removes it from service. The remaining two modules continue normal operation with no adverse effects on data flow or system performance. In addition, the server is integrated with two external mass storage devices for short- and long-term storage. Evaluation and testing of the server were conducted with laboratory experiments in which hardware failures were simulated to observe recovery time and the resumption of normal data flow. The server provides maximum uptime (99.999%) for end users while ensuring the transactional integrity of all clinical PACS data. Hardware failure has only minimal impact on performance, with no interruption of clinical data flow or loss of data. As hospital PACS become more widespread, the need for CA PACS solutions will increase. A TMR CA PACS archive server can reliably help achieve CA in this setting.
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