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So I just bought a new dell server. T710 Tower Chassis for Up to 8 3.5-In HD (3Gbps) & Intel 56XX Procs, No Operating System. It has 5 HD, raid 5. My cousin installed a program called vmware (apparently FREE?!) and virtualized my old physical server (a process called 'P2V' which stand for physical to virtual). Now this virtual server is running and I turned the old sever is turned off. The new "virtual" server is up an running. My network is working as usual. I can't tell the difference from yesterday to today. My cousin, who used to work for the evil empire (microsoft) asked me several questions:
1. Which is the best operating server system for AC, windows server 2003 or 2008? Apparently he can change the operating system at will. I ask no questions.
2. Is it true that AC will not work is a domain server. I was told this was the case by AC support and is the reason I have not updated to the latest version 6.0x (and the impetus to buying a new server). I currently run 5.029 in a 2003 windows server. If so, he will move the domain server to a new virtual machine and make an AC only virtual server.
3. 64 vx 32 bit? 2003 vs 2008? Honestly I really don't know what these numbers mean, in the real world. I keep looking behind my shoulders for Morpheus with a blue pill.

Anyone has any experience with wmware? I tell you,I am impressed. He "virtualized" my server (old dell 2003 windows server with 500 gig of memory) in 2 hours (using a gigabit connection) and started the served within an hour. The matrix did not even show a glitch. Its as if nothing ever happened. However, now I can make copies of the server on the go, stop, duplicate server, make mirrors, make copies on the go, increase or decrease partition at will, etc. Downtime is minimal. I am still a little numb / in shock from the whole process.

My IT support, also my son who has a business as IT support to small MD offices, is a VMWARE enthusiast.
He has virtualization of many of our workstations, and is in process of doing so for the server we have to upgrade for more memory (going to 64 bit OS).
AC support has been let's say unenthusiastic about either virtualization or terminal servers.

VM is cool. I virtualized an old Win 2K machine with an archival immunization program and can run it at the front desk when we need to grab information. I know you can do servers, but I will leave that to the big dogs. I'll stay on the porch on that one.

What server? Depends on what you want to do. It can be run peer to peer without a server or 2003,2008, or 2011. If you have a small office, Server Essentials 2011 may be all you need. That's what I run in one of my offices.

But if it works, why change it, I would guess you are running 2003, and it works. Don't change for the sake of the numbers. What's it going to do for you? Not quite sure of what AC central told you but see below.

Not quite sure of your second question. Yes, AC can be run ON a domain server. It is not the server itself (that's the 2003, ect.) but rather just a program that runs on the same. V6 runs much the same as V5, server or not.

It wasn't Morpheus behind you, it was Mr. Anderson.

Wendell, I called AC GSA with S . . . l . . . o . . . w loading of Imported Items.
They said "More Memory" (like Tim the Tool Man "More Power")
That means 64 bit OS as we've maxed out our 32 Bit Win 2000 Server.
We'll upgrade to SBS essentials and 16Gb, and vitualize that.
At present our exam rooms are thin client boxes hosted by a Win7 box (64 bit, 16 Gb) as an app server.

More memory is never a bad thing (except perhaps for your pocketbook) but is there anyone out there who had problems with slow opening of imported items that was fixed with a memory increase? I wonder if this is something that the GA's suggest based on experience or merely hope...

Would be interested to hear how it works for you, Roger.

Thank you, I'm hoping we see some solution as well. Literally a patient with 350 imported items or so took 45 seconds (on my primary workstation ) just list them upon clicking the imported items tab.
And for some reason amazing charts is insisting upon using QuickTime to view the result which takes 3 to 5 seconds for each item. I understand that amazing charts is using the browser capability in order to display the image of the imported items, and I can't for the life of me figure out how to change the default viewer for the browser (I have changed the default viewer for all other applications)
I just loaded that patient using my hot rod machine (Windows 7 64-bit with 16 GB of memory and core I-7, and in the items opened in the Windows fax viewer rather than in QuickTime.
So hopefully the memory on the server will help us.
Interestingly enough I had dictated part of this post directly into the IE window. I opened up log me in in order to test the speed of the imported items tab using my I-7 (took 25 seconds to display the list) and when I came back to finish dictating this note I got the EMR restriction from Dragon and my microphone turned off.
So Dragon won't even let me dictate into the amazing charts user bulletin board!

Really? Tough to believe. Then again, they really should list what they support. I can understand virtualization, but I think terminal servers lends itself to AC very well.

Roger, I don't claim to fully understand how this works (though I did finally get Excel spreadsheets to open appropriately in the viewer). I know you don't want the docs to open in Quick Time; the Win fax viewer is not your preference either, right? I assume these are pdf's. (If not, what are they)? If so, go to control panel...default programs...set associations, and make sure that pdf's are opened by Adobe Reader. If that doesn't work, as a last resort you might uninstall Quick Time and see how they open.

On the other issue: I can always use Dragon to dictate via logmein to AC, or locally into IE. Sometimes if the focus shifts back and forth (as you did) Dragon detects AC and shuts down.

Jon, What is interesting is that I had amazing charts open in a logmein window and could dictate into it without difficulty. However when I switched over to Internet Explorer to dictate a reply on the bulletin board DragonDictate shuts down the microphone.

In regards to the terminal server specifically was told by AC support they did not support terminal server which is a little frustrating because as you note it is very well suited to to use the terminal server.

Oh By the Way I'm dictating this in DragonPad as this new post results in the shutdown of the microphone by Dragon as well.

A friend once told me: Just becuase you're not paranoid doesn't mean they really aren't out to get you. Maybe Nuance has heard my cries of frustration about "Medical" Dragon???

Personally, I am a Hyper-V person myself. But I digress. Allow me to fill in a bit here if I may:

1. Which is the best operating server system for AC, windows server 2003 or 2008? Apparently he can change the operating system at will. I ask no questions.

Go with Windows Server 2008 R2. Windows Server 2003 is running out of support.


2. Is it true that AC will not work is a domain server. I was told this was the case by AC support and is the reason I have not updated to the latest version 6.0x (and the impetus to buying a new server). I currently run 5.029 in a 2003 windows server. If so, he will move the domain server to a new virtual machine and make an AC only virtual server.

Yes, you should be fine.

3. 64 vx 32 bit? 2003 vs 2008? Honestly I really don't know what these numbers mean, in the real world. I keep looking behind my shoulders for Morpheus with a blue pill.

If you go Windows Server 2008 R2, you have no choice but to go 64-bit as there is no 32-bit version of that OS. AC will run fine on it.

4. Is it true Microsoft is an evil empire that must be destroyed at all costs?

No. MS is a good company that makes good products. While even I do have some hang-ups with them, their technology is second to none.

JamesNT

2008 since 2003 really isn't supported by M.S. or won't be much longer.



I am currently running AC 6.1.2 on my domain server and there is no problem.




64 bit totally works fine in AC.
the practical advantage of 64-bit is that it allows you to have much more RAM. Instead of the 4GB maximum in a 32-bit machine, you can have seemingly unlimited amounts.

For example here are some RAM limits to different 64bit O.S.
Windows 7 Professional, 192 GB
Windows 7 Home Basic, 8 GB
Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise, 2 TB
Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard, 32 GB

see the full article on RAM limits here

I would say the higher the version the better. So, 2011. Make that Small Business Server.

The server core is server 2008R2 in SBS 2011, but you do get Exchange 2010 and Sharepoint 2010. (Getting those separately might set you back a couple grand...) I remember getting it less than a month after it was released to OEM distributors. It was well worth the wait. Especially considering it's less than 100 dollars more than Server 2008R2.

@Sandeep, yes the core of SBS 2011 is 2008R2. I separated it from 2008 only because of Essentials.

For a small office, I have not found the need for Sharepoint or Exchange. Bert might argue with me on that one.

You can get Essentials for < $400 on Amazon, almost 1/2 the cost of SBS, but no Exchange or Sharepoint.

I'm not sure what you're saying here. Server 2008 R2 is the core for all SBS 2011 products including SBS Essentials. Unless you're just trying to indicate there are different editions of the server Operating System.


Having your own email solution (Exchange) has many benefits. That was the primary reason I opted for SBS 2011 Standard. Sharepoint was a nice plus. I can see how it would be useful, but I tend to avoid the web browser. But, that's just me.

Essentials is definitely a plus over Windows 7 as your "Main" Computer Operating system. Much more secure locally and on the net.

In a small office with 3-5 people email is not needed over that built into AC.

Apparently there is a free version of sharepoint you can get and even run on Win 7 and may be of some use, but I have not played with it yet. May be something to play with for the future.

I had forgotten that the entire line of SBS was upgraded to 2011, not just Essentials and Storage. While the underpinnings are 2008R2, the dashboard and such is upgraded.

For a smaller office as above Essentials does the basics at 1/2 the cost of SBS regular. Another option would be Window Home Server but it does not have a domain controller.

Secure messaging in office can be quite useful. Outlook Web Access (you don't have to buy Microsoft Office for every computer nor do you have to keep them in sync). I know a lot of people just install the same license (cd key) on all of their computers. That's illegal. So you get some savings there if you deploy in conjunction with Open Office. Or you can just create a mailbox for an external user and send them emails this way. Email doesn't go to another mail server. It stays local and the person accessing his or her account would be doing so over an SSL encrypted connection. You can get Exchange Hosted Encryption as well for $2/month per user. This will allow you to email patients with confidential data. Furthermore, it seems more professional to have your own domain name and email. While I do agree it's not essential for AC, it definitely has benefits even in a small office. Being able to manage mail box size, creating user accounts, backing up mail boxes, HIPAA. You can't store health information on google accounts/gmail. Shared calendars, contacts, etc. Integration with mobile devices. I can go on and on.

Although it's not necessary, Exchange is a valuable asset, at least to us. I'm aware of the cost difference, but, considering what you get for 400 dollars more, it's a very good deal. (Bear in mind, Exchange and SharePoint alone are over 2 grand). I'd definitely avoid Windows Home Server. I consider SBS 2011 Essentials to be an upgrade of Windows Foundation Server rather than SBS 2008. (The new SBS Essentials runs circles around Foundation Server). SBS 2011 Standard is the equivalent upgrade to SBS 2008 Standard. That said, SBS Essentials is a great OS if you have no need for Exchange or SharePoint.

Thank you all for your responses. I will pass it on to my IT friend. Sounds like 64bit 2008 or higher is the way to go. BTW, the reason I decided to buy new server is that I tried to upgrade to 6.0 a while back. The program loaded fine but when I tried to use the database tuner, it got hung up as it could not create a backup of the database. I went back and it was only then that I noticed that the amazing backup program had been giving errors for several weeks saying the backup failed. I had not selected the option to get notified... I called support and the short story is that after trying to about 2 hours they asked me "is this a domain server" I said yes and he said: sorry we do not support domain servers and told me to move AC to one of the client computers, which did not make sense to me. Since I virtualized the server now I am able to do a backup so I plan to upgrade this weekend after making a snapshot of the server, just in case. I will let you guys know how it goes.