Welch Allyn Connex and Acuity Network Installation Best Practices , User Manual - Installation Guide - Manual (Page 9)

Best practices Acuity 5
Aruba LAN/WLAN requirements
Best practice Affected types Without best practice
Bandwidth 1 7% Proportional Bandwidth allocation for APs and
Welch Allyn virtual APs/Packet-Shaping.
Wireless Increased probability of dropped patient data
packets on busy wireless networks.
Certificates For out of box operation use Welch Allyn certificates and
RADIUS Servers. Wired, wireless Welch Allyn will be unable to debug system issues
such as monitors unable to connect to Acuity.
Hospital is responsible for debugging connectivity
issues at installation and throughout system life.
Critical IT support On a Shared or Customer Installed network, the
customer shall provide 24/7, mission-critical support for their network Wired, wireless Possible extended downtime if network support
cannot be reached.
Data rates
•
a band -- 6Mbps required
Wireless Vital signs monitors will not connect.
Interference Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)
15dB
Wireless High noise level causes dropped packets.
Jitter Packet-to-Packet jitter shall be
 400ms.
Wired, wireless Dropped packets, data loss and dropped
connections.
Labeling Welch Allyn VLAN ports should be clearly marked on the
physical switches. Wired, wireless Harder to debug system issues. Mixing of IT and
patient data could result in loss of data due to
broadcast storms.
Network latency Round-trip peak network latency between Acuity
Central station and its patient monitor
800ms.
Wired, wireless Dropped packets and data loss.
Packet transport Packets should be passed through switches and
routers in cut-through mode, or hardware based switching, not store-
and-forward-only mode (applicable to older switches/hubs). Wired Dropped packets and data loss.
Power redundancy All network equipment used for patient
monitoring shall have a redundant power supply and emergency
power. Wired, wireless Data loss and downtime due to power outages.
Priority Welch Allyn data should have priority over other data. Welch
Allyn data is configured for 802.11e Access Category Voice. Wired, wireless Mixing of IT and patient data priority may result in
lost data.
QoS Hardware Quality of Service (QoS) support should be configured
to map 802.11e QoS bits to a hard-wired tag. Wired Increased probability of dropped patient data
packets on busy wireless networks.
RADIUS server When using EAP authentication, the controller must
be configured to communicate with low-latency RADIUS servers.
Unreliable communication with a RADIUS server, even in the presence
of a secondary RADIUS server, seriously impedes performance. Wired, Wireless Dropped packets, data loss, and dropped
connections.
Redundancy Redundant coverage in patient areas (i.e. patient rooms)
where patients are likely to be unattended. Labs and Transport areas
require only single coverage but redundant coverage is recommended. Wireless Prevents the loss of data due to a single AP failure.
Roaming across subnets Keep the Welch Allyn wireless VLAN/
SSID flat (no roaming across subnets). Wireless Success for roaming across subnets depends on the
hospital’s Layer-3 network. Hospital is responsible
for validation of proper roaming across subnets.
Rules/Firewall Use separate rules and roles for Welch Allyn patient
data and other IT data. Rules and roles should be identified using
Welch Allyn specific names. Wireless IT changes to the Aruba controller that
inadvertently affect Welch Allyn patient monitoring
are more likely. Patient data subject to issues on
wired network such as broadcast storms. Shorter
battery life for patient monitors.
Separate VLAN Keep Welch Allyn patient monitors on their own
VLAN and SSID. Wired, wireless IT changes to the Aruba controller that
inadvertently affect patient monitoring are more
likely. Patient data subject to issues on wired
network such as broadcast storms. Shorter battery
life for patient monitors.