Hospital Uses OmniSwitch to Add Bandwidth, Security to Network
Xylan Switches Provide Latest Technologies to One of the Nation's 'Top 100' Hospitals
CALABASAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 23, 1999--Xylan Corp. (Nasdaq:XYLN - news) Tuesday announced that Lancaster Health Alliance, Lancaster, Pa., has chosen the OmniSwitch to provide the increased network bandwidth and security required to keep its data center running at peak performance. The new network will support more than 2,500 users spread over 13 sites.
The OmniSwitch was chosen in order to upgrade Lancaster's shared token ring and Ethernet network to a distributed, fully switched environment that employs up-to-date networking technologies and preserves the original network technology investment.
''Our goals were to provide greater bandwidth to the users and at the same time move from a shared environment to a switched environment,'' said Ernie Thompson, manager of networking services and support for Lancaster Health Alliance. ''We felt we needed the fully switched infrastructure in place to prepare for the bandwidth-intensive applications of the future.''
''Xylan switches provide an excellent blend of flexibility and scalability,'' said Alan Amrod, director of North American strategic markets for health and education for Xylan. ''And, they satisfy a wide range of requirements, such as a high-capacity, high-availability ATM backbone that will easily extend to the desktop for Lancaster's future applications, such as cardiology.''
The Network
Lancaster's three-campus, 2,700 user network consists of a main data center at Lancaster General Hospital that feeds 13 remote sites over a 30-mile area; two of these are other hospitals within the Alliance, and the remainder consist of a variety of off-site clinics, laboratories and physician office practices.
Most of its original token ring network has now been upgraded, using approximately three dozen Xylan OmniSwitches, to a fully switched solution, employing an ATM OC-3c backbone with Fast Ethernet running to the servers and Ethernet running to the desktop.
''One of the great features of the OmniSwitch is that we have the ability to provide token ring, ATM and Ethernet in the same box,'' Thompson said.
Bandwidth Allocation a Top Priority
Lancaster's physicians, nurses and administrative staff access patient information such as medical records, charts, lab results, admissions and discharges on a daily basis using the Xylan network. In addition to these daily operations, the network needed to be able to handle bandwidth-intensive applications, such as the ADAC Nuclear Imaging System and a planned Picture Archive Communication System (PACS).
With the Xylan network in place, health-care workers can send ultrasound images via the network. And, using the OmniSwitch's powerful policy-based network segmentation capabilities, the network can isolate image traffic from the normal backbone traffic, keeping the network running at peak functionality.
Scalability a Factor for the Future
The OmniSwitch's modular, chassis-based solution can accommodate almost every networking technology in a single platform, providing for easy future upgrades, and equally as important, protecting Lancaster's investment in legacy technologies. Additionally, it can scale from 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps to switched ATM, an important feature for network managers at Lancaster.
Scalability is also a key factor in Lancaster's Y2K compliance efforts. It is currently in the process of replacing its patient accounting management system, which was not Y2K-compliant, with the Shared Medical System software. The OmniSwitch's flexible, any-to-any connectivity capability provides a seamless interface with this, and other, industry-specific management systems.
Security a Key Concern
Lancaster is also looking to the future with Xylan security features. Lancaster is keenly aware of the impending security requirements set forth in the draft proposal of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
''With Xylan's integrated firewalls and user authentication features we already feel we have a head start on creating a secure network environment,'' says Thompson. ''But if we need to, for HIPAA requirements, the OmniSwitch provides us the flexibility to provide port-level authentication. Users can be authenticated right at the OmniSwitch port, before they ever get into the network operating system or onto the backbone.''
''Xylan has developed leadership products that can help healthcare organizations implement security in an effort to comply with HIPAA, while still providing a high degree of mobility critical in healthcare today'' said Amrod.
About Lancaster General
Lancaster General Hospital, keystone of the Lancaster Health Alliance, was named one of the nation's top-performing hospitals in 1997 and 1998. A nine-story building covering one city block, the 493-bed Lancaster General is one of the five busiest hospitals in all of Pennsylvania. They process over 27,000 admissions, 43,000 emergency room visits, 15,000 inpatient procedures, and 400,000 outpatient procedures annually.
About Xylan
Xylan is one of the fastest-growing internetworking companies in history. Its networks are used by many of the world's largest governments, corporations, and service providers. In the enterprise, Xylan's networks are so powerful that they allow a user to bypass an entire generation of network change. They combine ease of management, high performance, and easy integration with existing equipment and software.
For service providers, Xylan builds equipment for high-speed multi-service VPNs. Xylan's solutions integrate broad connectivity options, advanced software for partitioning and security, and any-to-any switching. Xylan helps service providers build profitable networks.
Xylan's products combine LAN switching, ATM switching, layer-three switching, and wide area switching, and are distinguished by advanced architectures and chip designs. Xylan's Switched Network Services takes switching to the next step: a comprehensive set of services that offers integrated directory-enabled networking, IP address management, user authentication, IP firewalls, quality of service, and routing and switching of multicast data. More information about Xylan and its products is available at xylan.com.
This news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results. Readers are referred to the documents filed by Xylan with the SEC, including the company's most recent report on Form 10-K and 10-Q, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.
Note to Editors: Xylan and OmniSwitch are trademarks of Xylan Corporation registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
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Contact:
Xylan Corp., Calabasas
Gina Rollo, 818/878-4835, gina.rollo@xylan.com |
