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Case Studies

Delivering a Stable, Reliable Network 24/7

Middlesex Hospital, like most hospitals and healthcare networks, operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Network downtime is simply not acceptable as it could impede the quality of patient care. According to Mike Grous, a Senior Systems Engineer at Middlesex Hospital, “A stable, reliable network is a critical component of ensuring that Middlesex Hospital is able to deliver quality services and care as it is the infrastructure that supports our communications, data, and healthcare and administrative solutions. With PathSolutions, I have total network visibility all the time and am able to ensure that my network is running smoothly.”

It’s All About Total Network Visibility

“With PathSolutions, I have total network visibility all the time and am able to ensure that my network is running smoothly.”

—Mike Grous
Senior Systems Engineer
Middlesex Hospital

Mike Grous was looking for a network performance management solution that could give him a complete view of his network. “I wanted to be able to see my entire network at any point in time and then be able to pinpoint any interface errors as well as easily monitor utilization rates. Our network must be available 24/7. We cannot afford any downtime so continuous network monitoring of the network itself as well as being able to support peak utilization activity is critical,” said Grous.

Grous evaluated PathSolutions’ network performance management solutions as well as others, and felt that PathSolutions more than satisfied his requirements. “It was so easy to install and deploy,” said Grous. “It mapped out all my devices in a very short amount of time. I was then able to take that map, make changes, and then keep those changes. Once that was done, it was very easy to maintain as my network changed.”

About TotalView’s Network Weather Report

TotalView’s Network Weather report is a quick and easy way to determine how your network is performing on a daily basis. It provides information on your network’s errors, performance, and administration. Based on the utilization rate you set, it will display the interfaces that are experiencing a higher utilization rate, including error rates and peak daily utilization. It will also display a number of “top tens,” including the top ten interfaces with the most errors, top ten interfaces with the highest daily percentage transmission, and the top ten interfaces with the highest daily received percentage.

Using The Weather (Report) to Plan Out the Day

Grous starts his day with a review of TotalView’s Weather Report. “This report tells me all I need to know about what’s going on with the network. It tells me the network issues I need to look at, what I might want to do to fix them, as well as error rates and peak utilization usage. In fact, it often steers me in a different direction for resolving a network problem. Now, I probably would come to the same conclusion eventually but with PathSolutions, I can save hours or days of trouble-shooting time,” said Grous.

Bottom Line — Operating in Proactive Instead of Reactive Mode

By the very nature of the services and care they provide, hospitals simply cannot afford downtime. For Grous, the challenge is to deliver a stable network no matter the performance that is needed. “For most IT or IS organizations operating in an environment like ours, I would bet that they are constantly in reactive mode. PathSolutions enables us to operate in a proactive mode. I am able to address issues before they become problems, to understand and plan for peak utilization, and to make network changes or additions based on usage rates and capacity. With PathSolutions, I can ensure a reliable and optimally performing network all the time,” said Grous.

About Middlesex Hospital

Middlesex Hospital, recognized as one of the “Most Improved Wired Hospitals in 2010” by Hospitals and Health Networks, is a not-for-profit patient-focused health network where state-of-the-art technology is combined with an uncommon level of personal concern for patients and families. For over 100 years, its resources have been focused entirely on the health needs and priorities of the residents of the communities in Greater Middlesex County. Middlesex Hospital operates more than 30 inpatient, outpatient, primary care and emergency facilities throughout Greater Middlesex County. It has nearly 350 active physicians on its medical staff representing every major specialty.

Challenge:

Monitoring and managing a network that supports 1 primary site-hospital and 21 offsite locations, comprising more than 12,000 network ports (which includes more than 2,500 PCs and 400 servers), and supporting more than 3,500 end users.

Solution:

PathSolutions VoIP Monitor (now TotalView for VoIP Networks)

Result:

Continuous monitoring, fast issue identification and resolution, optimal network performance.