Reliability and Performance
Getting the fundamentals right.
Problems
From our perspective, the previously discussed setup is a disaster. Most dental practices we have visited for the first time have some form of this kind of installation. So what are the problems with it?
1. The "server" on reception is not a dedicated server. It is a workstation acting "as" a server. It is a single point of failure on the network, but is not in any way specified to be more resilient than any other machine. It is poorly backed up and maintained. The backup is unreliable and unverified. Everyone hates doing it because it takes time, and doesn't seem to work anyway. The network underperforms, because the server is acting, not only as a server, but a workstation as well. It is much more likely to suffer from accidental damage, interference, or data loss, as there is no Windows Domain, so all users log on to Windows as an administrative user, with full privileges to wreck all the computer settings at any time. Security and confidentiality is non-existent, as any passing staff member or indeed customer, could log onto the machine and access all the data. The server has 2 drives, one for the Operating System and one for the data. If the first drive fails, the "server" will need to be completely rebuilt. There is no spare on the premises ready to go, so the practice will need to wait for their hardware support. If the data drive fails, the practice will have to hope that last night's backup worked OK. In either scenario, the practice has no IT system for at least a day, possibly two. They have print-outs of the day's appointments, so they at least know who is coming in, but will have to catch up with the data entry later, when (and if) the system is restored.
2. The office machine has data on it that is not part of any backup routine. It is a vital part of the network, but is no better specified or resilient than any other machine. If it fails, accounts data may need to be re-entered from hard copy invoices etc, thousands of keystrokes and days of time. It is the only computer with Internet access. The practice management believe that this makes them immune from viruses throughout the network, however many viruses can jump across mapped network drives, and we have taken over the IT at dental practices where exactly this scenario has occurred. Only the office machine gets its Windows Updates, a vital part of maintaining a stable and secure system - all the other machines on the network are stuck in time and have never been updated - most don't even have XP Service Pack 2, making them extremely vulnerable to attack, and less reliable. The office machine has highly confidential information on it, such as staff salaries, which is not protected in any way, and is only patchily backed up.
3. The surgery machines are slow, but work OK. If one fails, the staff try to move into a spare surgery if there is one, or just cope and wait for their hardware support. The surgery machine that has the camera connected is not backed up at all. If it fails, all the images will be lost.
4. The x-ray machine that hosts the digital imaging is partly integrated into the practice management software, but the data store was never properly integrated into the backup routine. If it fails, all the digital images may be lost - a potential clinical disaster.
5. The machines are slow but everyone puts up with it. They do not realise that just the addition of a bit more ram, taking them beyond 256mb or 512mb RAM to 1GB RAM will make the systems much livelier, for very little extra cost.
6. The 10/100 hub is a bottleneck on the network - network backups are slow, and performance in the practice management software is slow.
This network is not properly configured for client/server computing. In a proper client/server environment, the server holds all the variable data, and the clients just run the applications. The server should be well specified, but the client machines just need to be good enough to run the applications you require. Client machines can be expected to fail - in a well designed client/server network, they can simply be replaced, have the applications reinstalled, and the user can be back online promptly.