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Platform requirements

Hardware and software requirements

Minimum and recommended specifications for on-site servers and reading workstations, plus the DICOM and HL7 documents your integration team will ask for

Before you start

General requirements

This page sets out the minimum and recommended hardware, software and network requirements for Lifetrack PACS — for an on-site server where one is deployed, and for the workstations that read from it. The usual bottlenecks are RAM, CPU speed and disk transfer rate.

Hardware must meet the minimum specification or better. Lifetrack's warranty, service and support provisions do not apply where the minimum specification is not met. We strongly recommend meeting or exceeding the recommended specification.

Choosing a server

Size the on-site server against three things:

  • Number of concurrent users
  • Volume of cases
  • Required level of redundancy
Not sure which fits? Ask us

On-site servers

Server hardware and software

Three reference configurations, from a rack unit for tertiary hospitals down to a NUC for imaging centres

On-site server — standard rack unit

Recommended for most tertiary-level hospitals

ComponentMinimumRecommended
Form factor
  • Rack unit
  • Standard 2U form-factor server case
  • Rack unit
  • Standard 2U form-factor server case
Processor
  • Intel Skylake quad-core i7
  • Intel 4-core Xeon, at least 3.2 GHz
Memory
  • 16 GB RAM
  • 32 GB RAM
Power and UPS
  • Redundant 500 W 2U power supply
  • Hot-swappable power supply
  • Smart UPS
  • Redundant 500 W 2U power supply
  • Separate 2000 W smart UPS
  • Hot-swappable power supply
Graphics
  • On-board graphics
  • On-board graphics
Storage
  • Motherboard with RAID controller supporting RAID 1 / 5 / 6 / 10
  • 2 identical HDDs of at least 1 TB for a RAID 1 archive (4 drives for RAID 6 strongly recommended)*
  • Motherboard with RAID controller supporting RAID 1 / 5 / 6 / 10
  • 2 identical HDDs of at least 1 TB for a RAID 1 archive (4 or more drives for RAID 6 strongly recommended)*
Network
  • Gigabit Ethernet LAN — 2 ports
  • Gigabit Ethernet LAN — 2 ports
Operating system
  • Ubuntu Server (latest stable release)
  • 128 GB SSD for the OS
  • Ubuntu Server (latest stable release)
  • 2 × 128 GB SSD for the OS (mirrored)

* Drive size varies with the number of modalities, the volume of studies stored and how long studies need to be kept.

On-site server — standard tower unit

Recommended for most primary- to secondary-level hospitals and selected diagnostic imaging facilities

ComponentMinimumRecommended
Form factor
  • Tower unit
  • Tower unit
Processor
  • Intel Skylake quad-core i7
  • Intel Skylake quad-core i7 or better
Memory
  • 16 GB RAM
  • 32 GB RAM
Power and UPS
  • 500 W redundant power supply
  • Hot-swappable power supply (if possible)
  • Smart UPS
  • 500 W redundant power supply
  • Hot-swappable power supply (if possible)
  • Separate 2000 W smart UPS
Graphics
  • On-board graphics
  • On-board graphics
Storage
  • Motherboard with RAID controller supporting RAID 1 / 5 / 6 / 10
  • 2 identical HDDs of at least 1 TB for a RAID 1 archive (4 drives for RAID 6 strongly recommended)*
  • Motherboard with RAID controller supporting RAID 1 / 5 / 6 / 10
  • 2 identical HDDs of at least 1 TB for a RAID 1 archive (4 or more drives for RAID 6 strongly recommended)*
Network
  • Gigabit Ethernet LAN — 2 ports
  • Gigabit Ethernet LAN — 2 ports
Operating system
  • Ubuntu Server (latest stable release)
  • 128 GB SSD for the OS
  • Ubuntu Server (latest stable release)
  • 128 GB SSD for the OS

* Drive size varies with the number of modalities, the volume of studies stored and how long studies need to be kept.

On-site server — NUC

Recommended for most diagnostic imaging facilities

ComponentMinimumRecommended
Form factor
  • NUC platform
  • NUC platform
Processor
  • Intel 8th-generation NUC (e.g. NUC8i3BEH)
  • Intel i3-8109U
  • Intel HD 520 / SO-DIMM DDR4 / mSATA SSD / 2.5″ HDD
  • HDMI / Mini DisplayPort, USB 3.0, Wi-Fi, gigabit LAN, power adapter
  • Intel i7 (latest generation)
  • Intel HD 520 / SO-DIMM DDR4 / mSATA SSD / 2.5″ HDD
  • HDMI / Mini DisplayPort, USB 3.0, Wi-Fi, gigabit LAN, power adapter
Memory
  • 16 GB RAM
  • 32 GB RAM
Graphics
  • On-board graphics
  • On-board graphics
Storage
  • 125 GB SSD for the software
  • RAID 6 (NAS) for the archive*
  • 125 GB SSD for the software
  • RAID 6 (NAS) for the archive*
Operating system
  • Ubuntu Server (latest stable release)
  • Ubuntu Server (latest stable release)
Power and UPS
  • 500 W redundant power supply
  • Smart UPS
  • 500 W redundant power supply
  • Smart UPS

* Drive size varies with the number of modalities, the volume of studies stored and how long studies need to be kept.

Workstations

Reading station and clinical workstation

The viewer runs in a Chromium-based browser, so the workstation requirement is mostly graphics, memory and monitors

Operating system

Lifetrack PACS is operating-system agnostic and runs on any system with a Chromium-based browser. For best performance, use the latest release.

Supported browsers

  • Google Chrome
  • Brave
  • Chromium-based Microsoft Edge
  • Chromium

Radiology reading station — standard

ComponentMinimumRecommended
Processor
  • Intel i7, 8th generation or later
  • Intel i7, 8th generation or later
Memory
  • 8 GB RAM
  • 16 GB RAM or more
Graphics
  • Discrete graphics card, 1 GB video RAM, DirectX 10 compatible, driving at least 2 monitors simultaneously
  • NVIDIA GTX 970 (or equivalent) or better — 1 GB video RAM, DirectX 10 compatible, driving at least 2 monitors simultaneously
Storage
  • 512 GB SSD (with at least 125 GB free)
  • 1 TB SSD or larger (with at least 500 GB free)
Browser
  • Google Chrome 64-bit
  • Google Chrome 64-bit
Operating system
  • Windows, macOS, Linux or Android
  • Windows, macOS, Linux or Android
Monitors
  • Dual 27″ QHD monitors (2560 × 1440), or
  • One 27″ QHD monitor and one 28″ 4K UHD monitor (3840 × 2160)
  • American College of Radiology (ACR) requirements: bit depth at least 8-bit; brightness at least 350 cd/m²; pixel pitch about 0.200–0.210 mm; aspect ratio 3:4 or 4:5
  • Dual 27″ QHD monitors (2560 × 1440), or
  • One 27″ QHD monitor and one 28″ 4K UHD monitor (3840 × 2160)
  • American College of Radiology (ACR) requirements: bit depth at least 8-bit; brightness at least 350 cd/m²; pixel pitch about 0.200–0.210 mm; aspect ratio 3:4 or 4:5

Radiology reading station — NUC

ComponentMinimumRecommended
Processor
  • Intel 8th-generation NUC (e.g. NUC8i7BEH)
  • Intel i7-8559U
  • Intel Iris Pro 655 / SO-DIMM DDR4 / mSATA SSD / 2.5″ HDD
  • HDMI / Mini DisplayPort / USB 3.0 / Wi-Fi / gigabit LAN / power adapter
  • Intel 8th-generation NUC (e.g. NUC8i7HNK Hades Canyon)
  • Intel Core i7-8809G
  • Radeon RX Vega M GL graphics, 4 GB HBM2, DDR4, 2 × M.2
Memory
  • 8 GB RAM
  • 16 GB RAM or more
Storage
  • 512 GB SSD (with at least 125 GB free)
  • 1 TB SSD or larger (with at least 500 GB free)
Monitors
  • Dual 27″ QHD monitors (2560 × 1440), or
  • One 27″ QHD monitor and one 28″ 4K UHD monitor (3840 × 2160)
  • American College of Radiology (ACR) requirements: bit depth at least 8-bit; brightness at least 350 cd/m²; pixel pitch about 0.200–0.210 mm; aspect ratio 3:4 or 4:5
  • Dual 27″ QHD monitors (2560 × 1440), or
  • One 27″ QHD monitor and one 28″ 4K UHD monitor (3840 × 2160)
  • American College of Radiology (ACR) requirements: bit depth at least 8-bit; brightness at least 350 cd/m²; pixel pitch about 0.200–0.210 mm; aspect ratio 3:4 or 4:5

Clinical and radiographer workstation

ComponentMinimum
Processor
  • Intel i5, 8th generation or later
Memory
  • 8 GB RAM
Storage
  • 500 GB SSD (with at least 250 GB free)
Accessories
  • CD writer
  • Printer

About these specifications

Taken from the System Requirements document, revision 10.0317 (17 March 2020). Hardware moves quickly — if you are specifying new equipment, check with us for the current recommendation before you buy.

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