CHAPTER 11
PCS Server and Archive
The PACS central node, the engine of the PACS, has two major components: the PACS server and the archive. The former, consisting of the hardware and software architecture, directs the data flow in the entire PACS by using interprocess communication among the major processes. The latter provides a hierarchical image storage management system for short-, medium-, and long-term image archiving. Figure 11.1 shows how this chapter corresponds to the contents of Part II. Figure 11.2 shows the position of the PACS server in the PACS data flow.
Section 11.1 describes the design concept and implementation strategy of the PACS central node, Section 11.2 presents functions of the PACS server and archive, and Section 11.3 discusses the server and archive system operation. Section 11.4 shows the design of the PACS server and archive using DICOM technology, and Section 11.5 shows the server and archive basic hardware and software. Section 11.6 explains the concept of backup archive server and disaster data recovery.
11.1 IMAGE MANAGEMENT DESIGN CONCEPT
Two major aspects should be considered in the design of the PACS image management and storage system: data integrity, which promises no loss of images once they are received by the PACS from the imaging systems, and system efficiency, which minimizes access time of images at the display workstations (WSs). In this chapter we only discuss the DICOM-compliant PACS server and image archive serve (archive).
11.1.1 ...
