The DIAKO Ev. Diakoniekrankenhaus GmbH is unifying its IT infrastructure. Server-based computing and thin clients of local hero IGEL Technology increase availability and data security with lower aggregate costs.

With a market of over 100,000 denizens, DIAKO is the central supply hospital in West Bremen, Germany. The academic teaching hospital of the University of Göttingen contains 446 beds in seven departments together with an oncology day clinic and dialysis branch. The approximately 1000 DIAKO employees care for about 35,000 patients per year, 16,000 of which are inpatients and partial inpatients and 19,000 of which are out-patients. DIAKO implemented a fundamental quality management and improvement process within the context of a structured selfevaluation over the course of two years. The preliminary exclusive KTQ quality seal awards the health center in West Bremen as the first non-profit / private hospital within the region and the second in the state.


More quality and security with less cost

In a snapshot, internal quality management also gave DIAKO’s IT processes a shot in the arm. High on the list was the unification of the IT infrastructure with the goal of decreasing administration and support costs. In the year 2000, the existing client-server network moved its server-based computing architecture. The Citrix MetaFrame running on Windows 2000 was implemented as the application server system. Since 2002, old workplace PCs have been gradually replaced by Linux-based thin clients from the local manufacturer IGEL Technology. 'The server-based computing principle implemented with Citrix MetaFrame software convinced us from the beginning. Through the central management that is now possible, we could administer all workplaces from one location and saved valuable time and resources,' explained Georg Reimann, IT manager at DIAKO. 'But the full potential first made itself known with the thin client migration. The deployed Linux-based IGEL thin clients are essentially more open and allow us to appropriately further develop our requirements. These characteristics guarantee us long-term coverage of our investment.' According to Mr. Reimann, additional reasons for the selection of the local Bremen manufacturer were the short coordination and decision-making processes as well as a good price-performance ratio. 'The central management of applications and end units as well as the essentially lower electricity costs in comparison to PCs effectively decrease total IT costs of the clinic today. An IGEL-132 Smart simply uses one tenth of the energy that the average workplace PC requires. User training costs do not apply. The existing employee desktops are the same as those before the migration.

The introduction of server-based computing at DIAKO is also a step towards more data security. Centrally located files are easier to protect against loss and data theft. Local storage alternatives no longer exist. The IGEL clients have no drives, and with this offer no physical interface for unauthorized software installations. Viruses and other malicious code cannot be spread into the network from a thin client since it simply exchanges display and routing code with the application server.


New application possibilities

Today DIAKO operates almost 120 thin clients of the types IGEL-132 LX Smart and IGEL-316 LX Compact.

All units use a Linux-based operating system. The data exchange occurs via Citrix standard protocol ICA Version 8.x. With the help of the prevalent communication protocol, employees access the centrally located office and hospital applications such as the hospital information systems (Krankenhaus- Informations-System (KIS)). The convenient access to the existing UNIX server makes possible an application server established in the year 2000. This has the advantage of not requiring users to open their own session in order to use the host application in question.

The extensive configuration alternatives of IGEL units further save DIAKO from the acquisition and maintenance of print servers. Most of the 300 printers on site are connected directly to the clients and can be activated from every desired workplace. 'By simultaneously using our IGEL clients as a print box, our employees can move about much more freely. They simply send the print job in advance to the next workspace.' Mr. Reimann recognizes an additional use within the new configuration freedom. 'General hygiene regulations forbid the situating of computers at ground level. PCs with tower units always lead to constraints in the medical environment. On the other hand, we can house thin clients at workplaces without a problem.'

Indeed, most of the old workplace computers have already been scrapped; however, for particularly computational-intensive applications, the IT manager will deploy PCs, for example, at CAD locations. Some secretaries also still use PCs since they are dependent on CD drives. In the foreseeable future, however, these individual areas should also be equipped with lowmaintenance thin client solutions.


Innovative management

Since the beginning of the first project in year 2000, DIAKO has invested approximately 220,000 Euro in new IT. 'The migration to thin clients begun in 2002 promises a fast return on investment. Thanks to the high efficiency of the whole system using the IGEL client, we could afford 30 additional IT workplaces without additional costs.' This leap of efficiency is essentially supported by the IGEL manufacturerspecific administration tool, according to Mr. Reimann.

'The powerful IGEL Remote Management Suite helps us to further streamline administrative processes. All configuration settings are now carried out conveniently and efficiently.' The IGEL Remote Management Suite consists of three parts. A central SQL database contains all profile-based client settings. By means of a Java-based and therefore platform-comprehensive management console, configuration changes are made in the database and then communicated to the connected clients via the Remote Manager Server.

Every client is identified with its MAC address (network card ID). Also connected with this is a unique authentication of the unit in the network. In order to additionally expedite administration, the client pool can be further divided into groups and subgroups, which in turn can be assigned global or individual settings profiles. 'The corresponding thin client configurations are directly automated to the respective groups according to the physical connection,' explains Mr. Reimann. 'As soon as the user activates his client again, the respective current settings become active.

Cumbersome individual configurations at individual workplaces are therefore completely omitted.' DIAKO-specific changes or other unit firmware updates are similarly centrally initiated by the IT team using the IGEL Remote Management Suite. For the user, the update executes completely unnoticed, e.g., overnight or at the earliest point in time.


Custom-made migration

Like other hospitals, DIAKO would also like to gradually increase its IGEL thin client assets. Of particular interest to Mr. Reimann and his team is the new generation of XP-embedded clients. With the expanded function spectrum, medical history data allows itself to be recorded and processed per voice recording. The IT manager has already nominated DIAKO as a beta tester. 'With IGEL as a partner, we have set the course for a secure and economic future. With our thin client architecture, we can flexibly customize the respective technical alternatives to the respective requirements and vary the tempo of the migration according to the budget.'


www.igel.com