Bert,
Thanks for the many helpful suggestions. Perhaps I can clarify to benefit from any further fine tuning recommendations you or others might have regarding designing my network to decrease time / effort of managing it and updating it.
I try to keep things simple and keep costs to just what it takes to get the job done prudently. I run a small solo practice, low volume (225 visits per month, about 2 per hour, many slow elderly patients on lots of meds), and to control costs while waiting for the phone to ring, I am also the electrician, painter, toilet unclogger, and unfortunately the not-so-bright IT guy as well. This together with my wife's gracious participation as an unpaid manager holds overhead down with two other staffers, as has the low cost of AC. Through version 6.3.3 I have been lucky to get by adding random random budget computers as we grew to my 5 computer peer to peer network, which worked just fine at that pace. I'm hoping to learn enough to put together a serviceable network of replacement computers to meet V6.5's needs, and hopefully do things more efficiently than I have so I am not in the office after hours as much as I have been.
One of my biggest challenges is updating supporting general software (e.g. Windows, Java, Flash, Reader, OpenOffice, Antivirus). The challenge for me is to have some ability to restore the prior version if the update causes problems (taking the time creating a Windows Restore Point, or imaging the HD), avoiding business/appt hour interruptions caused when updating taking computers out of service (just rebooting and logging in to all the concurrent software [AC, Updox, OfficeAlly, webmail] can take 10 minutes), and having the time to test updates against starting all the software that runs concurrently for conflicts after hours before relying on it during patient care ? multiplied by 5 computers. Perhaps I am not doing it right, but my experience has been so dismal and disrupting, that I have adopted a not-so-safe policy of avoiding updates (except antivirus) until forced to, usually just before an AmazingCharts update. Setting automatic schedules after hours to juggle 5 computers to update 6 programs over a single internet connection has been problematical, particularly for those that require a human restart intervention when I am not there. Sometimes it seems updating or running one program (perhaps antivirus) causes changes in settings of others that result in pop-ups in mid day requesting permission to update something else that I previously set to never update. Perhaps 20% of the time after an update, the mileau of programs will not run together requiring debugging and generally adjusting settings that takes 15min to hours that can't be tolerated during business hours. As infrequently as I update Windows, updates not uncommonly take 8 hours requiring constant babysitting to iteratively run Windows Update, install, reboot, and repeat sometimes half a dozen times until all necessary updates are installed. Part of this may be my ATT DSL 1.45Mbps down/0.33Mbps up limitations. All users store files only on the Main Desktop Peer to Peer computer, and this doubles as the physician's office Desktop.
Hence, wondering if the following options would be more efficient:
1.) Since I need two mobile computers that have to be laptops to travel from room to room, make all clients laptops, buy one extra (or just use the home laptop), and rotate them one at a time out of service to update the various software at intervals. That way the updating laptop would not be interrupting business, except perhaps competing for internet bandwidth to download during business hours.
2.) Update one client laptop only, then mount its image to every other client laptop (I think this might be faster than redundantly downloading every update to every computer, and perhaps how schools with 100s of computers do it). Here is where I am uncertain of the Windows licensing requirements to do so, as my OS to date have came from the OEM, not Microsoft. I'm also uncertain if this would mess up the router connecting them all to the Main computer and printers by having them all look the same. Then I would only need to sweat updating the Main computer on weekends, when I could undo things if they conflicted outside of business hours.
3.) I would be willing to learn about servers if they would enable me to somehow ?push? an updated laptop image out to all the other laptops on the network without me needing to babysit each one one-by-one.
I like Bert's implementation of using his staff's time to update their own workstation software.
Regarding Bert's comment ?You can sit at a computer, using RDC and go around and install 10 computers with AC in less than 30 minutes? what does ?RDC? stands for? Personally, when I have done AC client installs from a single external Hard Drive walking around and babysitting the user interface, it has taken me several hours updating machines simultaneously, but perhaps I am doing it wrong.
I'm interested in learning any wisdom I might from how other practices on:
A.) your task work flow to implementing updates to supporting software (Windows, Java, Flash, Reader, Antivirus, office productivity ? word processor/spreadsheets).
B.) how you chose what type of computers to use in what roles for your office network.
Sincerely, Mike
