I started reading a discussion thread last week on AuntMinnie.com dealing with downtime during PACS software upgrades. While reading comment after comment, I’m thinking about how test servers are intended to minimize that downtime. Then it occurs to me that there are very few PACS systems out there with Test Servers. First of all they are expensive if they are configured to test more than a few modalities and more than a few display stations, Secondly, there are some PACS vendors that do not even offer a Test Server.
A properly configured Test Server will be configured to accept all of the modality inputs and have a small Directory database and sufficient local storage to accommodate the studies that are acquired during the testing. You don’t want to add test studies to the primary PACS database. It will have two network interfaces, so it can be used when the primary network in undergoing periodic scheduled maintenance. It will include a HIS/RIS interface component, so that functionality can be tested. It will include all of the display applications. In short, the real Test Server is as close to being a mirror of the production server’s interfaces and applications as you can make it. That’s the point of it being a Test Server. On the other hand, the vendors should realize that a Test Server is just that, a Test Server. Placing it in service once a year to test a new release does not warrant pricing the software anywhere near that of the production server.
Even though a true Test Server is configured as close to a Production Server as possible, that does not necessarily make it a back-up server. The Test Server is typically configured on a much smaller, less robust server platform than the Production Server. A Test Server configured with sufficient horsepower to be a Business Continuity Sever would be considerably more expensive. A true Test Server and a Business Continuity Server differ primarily in the server hardware. While the concept of a Business Continuity Server is very valid in parts of the country that are at greater risk for natural disasters, most facilities would consider it a luxury. The true Test Server however, should be a requisite in every system.