Medical University of South Carolina
Content
IBM Systems and Technology Case Study
Healthcare
Medical University of South Carolina
Alleviating performance problems with IBM System x and BladeCenter solutions
Overview
The need
In its ongoing commitment to delivering highly reliable IT services, MUSC needed to make a number of IT infrastructure investments—with a view to both improving IT performance and reducing costs.
The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) started in 1824 as a small private medical school in Charleston. Since then, it has grown into a top public health sciences center, with a 700-bed teaching hospital (MUSC Health) and a comprehensive academic institution that trains students in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dental medicine and other disciplines. The university graduates more than 2,500 healthcare professionals each year. MUSC Health is highly regarded in a number of medical specialties, including neurosciences, cancer care, transplants, digestive disorders, pediatric medicine, cardiovascular care, musculoskeletal disorders and respiratory medicine. The institution was named one of “America’s Best Hospitals” in 2009 by U.S. News & World Report. The IT department of the organization is equally impressive, supporting approximately 15,000 students, faculty and staff, and providing the IT services required to support more than one million patient encounters each year. “We’re here to serve the medical community, and the end result of what we do is patient care.” says Jack Hoffman, team leader for UNIX systems at MUSC. “If the IT systems aren’t doing their jobs, that means the medical staff can’t do their jobs. That’s how we look at it.”
The solution
MUSC implemented IBM System x® 3850 X5 and IBM BladeCenter® HX5 servers with efficient Intel® Xeon® processors across multiple clinical environments, while also migrating from UNIX-based systems to Linux.
The benefit
The IBM solution eliminates a clinical and financial transaction backlog, supports better patient care through real-time information access, and accommodates massive growth while reducing costs.
Alleviating performance headaches
As part of the organization’s ongoing commitment to delivering highly reliable IT services, MUSC recently made a number of IT infrastructure investments—with a view to both improving IT performance and reducing costs. Hoffman says these projects started on the UNIX side of the data center with the deployment of a more robust server infrastructure to support MUSC’s massive Cloverleaf implementation.
IBM Systems and Technology Case Study
Healthcare
“For us to be able to have better technology and have it at a better price—you can’t get any better than that.”
—Jack Hoffman, team leader for UNIX systems, Medical University of South Carolina
“Cloverleaf is basically a traffic cop for financial and clinical transactions, from patient registration and billing to lab work,” Hoffman explains. “This single environment handles all those transactions, interfacing with Oasis, Epic, McKesson, Practice Partner and Keene. Over the course of the day, it’s taking hundreds of thousands of transactions.” MUSC had been running Cloverleaf on a handful of UNIX-based systems but was plagued with ongoing performance problems. Hoffman says the systems were running at 99 percent utilization around the clock, but transactions were still backing up by the thousands. It was a major problem for Hoffman’s team, which couldn’t add new interfaces or otherwise grow the system without further impact to system performance. Upgrading the existing hardware seemed like the smoothest course of action initially. Says Hoffman, “We were looking to replace those machines with some larger UNIX-based systems, but what we discovered is those systems were not suitable for the single-thread architecture of the Cloverleaf application.” At this point, Hoffman’s team began researching infrastructure alternatives that would alleviate the transaction backlog.
Making the move to Linux on System x
MUSC evaluated IBM, Dell, HP and others, visiting briefing centers and running demo equipment onsite before deciding on the IBM System x 3850 X5 platform. Working with IBM Premier Business Partner Dynamix Group, MUSC procured two x3850 X5 servers, delivered with energy-efficient Intel Xeon processors. In the process of implementing those servers, MUSC migrated from the UNIX operating system to Linux. “The performance we got out of those two boxes was incredible,” Hoffman reports. “Our utilization went from 99 percent to about 2 percent.” And Hoffman says the transaction backlog has disappeared, leaving the door wide open for expansion. “This environment is going to continue to grow,” he says, “but we’re confident that we’ve got what we need for the next three to five years.”
Extending the success of System x
Shortly after migrating the Cloverleaf application to System x, MUSC embarked on a second project to refresh the McKesson server environment, which supports in-patient applications. Based on the performance results the team saw from the x3850 X5 in the Cloverleaf environment, MUSC implemented nine additional x3850 X5 systems running in multiple Oracle RAC clusters to support McKesson—also with Intel® Xeon® processors.
2
IBM Systems and Technology Case Study
Healthcare
Solution components
Hardware
● ● ● ● ● ●
IBM System x® 3850 X5 IBM BladeCenter® HX5 IBM System Storage® DS8300 IBM XIV® Storage System IBM Storwize® V7000 Intel® Xeon® processors
“We were really pleased with what we saw out of the IBM X-Architecture®. And we were really happy with the price point that we were getting. Being a state institution, budget is important. For us to be able to have better technology and have it at a better price—you can’t get any better than that.” Hoffman says his team was impressed with how smoothly the System x implementations went, as well as with the rapid rate of acquisition. “Implementation was fairly simple—we did it ourselves,” he says. “And the acquisition process was very quick. I’ve noticed that IBM can deliver things faster than other vendors can.”
Software
●
● ●
IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Oracle
A prescription for better patient care
Over the years, MUSC has been no stranger to IBM. The organization recently migrated its VMware environment from a competitor to the IBM BladeCenter HX5 platform. The solution supports a burgeoning virtualization infrastructure, with more than 600 virtual machines currently in production and more added every day. MUSC also runs IBM Power Systems™ and a wide range of IBM storage solutions, including IBM System Storage® DS8300, IBM SAN Volume Controller, IBM XIV® Storage System, and IBM Storwize® V7000. For Hoffman, being able to rely on IBM boils down to one benefit: “We can do the things that we’re supposed to do. We can get the transactions done in a timely manner. Our point of care is faster because of the performance of these systems, which means that our physicians and nurses are more successful at their jobs, which means that patient care is better. That’s really all that matters to us.”
Business Partner
●
Dynamix Group
For more information
To learn more, contact your IBM representative or IBM Business Partner, or visit us at: ibm.com/systems/x For more information about Medical University of South Carolina, visit:
www.muschealth.com
For more information about Dynamix Group, Inc., visit:
www.dynamixgroup.com
3
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2012 IBM Systems and Technology Group Route 100 Somers, New York 10589 Produced in the United States of America January 2012 IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, BladeCenter, System Storage, System x, Storwize, and XIV, are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at “Copyright and trademark information” at ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml Intel, the Intel logo and Xeon are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States, other countries, or both. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries. This document is current as of the initial date of publication and may be changed by IBM at any time. Not all offerings are available in every country in which IBM operates. The client examples cited are presented for illustrative purposes only. Actual performance results may vary depending on specific configurations and operating conditions. It is the user’s responsibility to evaluate and verify the operation of any other products or programs with IBM products and programs. THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND ANY WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF NON-INFRINGEMENT. IBM products are warranted according to the terms and conditions of the agreements under which they are provided. Actual available storage capacity may be reported for both uncompressed and compressed data and will vary and may be less than stated.
Please Recycle
XSC03111-USEN-00
Healthcare
Medical University of South Carolina
Alleviating performance problems with IBM System x and BladeCenter solutions
Overview
The need
In its ongoing commitment to delivering highly reliable IT services, MUSC needed to make a number of IT infrastructure investments—with a view to both improving IT performance and reducing costs.
The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) started in 1824 as a small private medical school in Charleston. Since then, it has grown into a top public health sciences center, with a 700-bed teaching hospital (MUSC Health) and a comprehensive academic institution that trains students in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dental medicine and other disciplines. The university graduates more than 2,500 healthcare professionals each year. MUSC Health is highly regarded in a number of medical specialties, including neurosciences, cancer care, transplants, digestive disorders, pediatric medicine, cardiovascular care, musculoskeletal disorders and respiratory medicine. The institution was named one of “America’s Best Hospitals” in 2009 by U.S. News & World Report. The IT department of the organization is equally impressive, supporting approximately 15,000 students, faculty and staff, and providing the IT services required to support more than one million patient encounters each year. “We’re here to serve the medical community, and the end result of what we do is patient care.” says Jack Hoffman, team leader for UNIX systems at MUSC. “If the IT systems aren’t doing their jobs, that means the medical staff can’t do their jobs. That’s how we look at it.”
The solution
MUSC implemented IBM System x® 3850 X5 and IBM BladeCenter® HX5 servers with efficient Intel® Xeon® processors across multiple clinical environments, while also migrating from UNIX-based systems to Linux.
The benefit
The IBM solution eliminates a clinical and financial transaction backlog, supports better patient care through real-time information access, and accommodates massive growth while reducing costs.
Alleviating performance headaches
As part of the organization’s ongoing commitment to delivering highly reliable IT services, MUSC recently made a number of IT infrastructure investments—with a view to both improving IT performance and reducing costs. Hoffman says these projects started on the UNIX side of the data center with the deployment of a more robust server infrastructure to support MUSC’s massive Cloverleaf implementation.
IBM Systems and Technology Case Study
Healthcare
“For us to be able to have better technology and have it at a better price—you can’t get any better than that.”
—Jack Hoffman, team leader for UNIX systems, Medical University of South Carolina
“Cloverleaf is basically a traffic cop for financial and clinical transactions, from patient registration and billing to lab work,” Hoffman explains. “This single environment handles all those transactions, interfacing with Oasis, Epic, McKesson, Practice Partner and Keene. Over the course of the day, it’s taking hundreds of thousands of transactions.” MUSC had been running Cloverleaf on a handful of UNIX-based systems but was plagued with ongoing performance problems. Hoffman says the systems were running at 99 percent utilization around the clock, but transactions were still backing up by the thousands. It was a major problem for Hoffman’s team, which couldn’t add new interfaces or otherwise grow the system without further impact to system performance. Upgrading the existing hardware seemed like the smoothest course of action initially. Says Hoffman, “We were looking to replace those machines with some larger UNIX-based systems, but what we discovered is those systems were not suitable for the single-thread architecture of the Cloverleaf application.” At this point, Hoffman’s team began researching infrastructure alternatives that would alleviate the transaction backlog.
Making the move to Linux on System x
MUSC evaluated IBM, Dell, HP and others, visiting briefing centers and running demo equipment onsite before deciding on the IBM System x 3850 X5 platform. Working with IBM Premier Business Partner Dynamix Group, MUSC procured two x3850 X5 servers, delivered with energy-efficient Intel Xeon processors. In the process of implementing those servers, MUSC migrated from the UNIX operating system to Linux. “The performance we got out of those two boxes was incredible,” Hoffman reports. “Our utilization went from 99 percent to about 2 percent.” And Hoffman says the transaction backlog has disappeared, leaving the door wide open for expansion. “This environment is going to continue to grow,” he says, “but we’re confident that we’ve got what we need for the next three to five years.”
Extending the success of System x
Shortly after migrating the Cloverleaf application to System x, MUSC embarked on a second project to refresh the McKesson server environment, which supports in-patient applications. Based on the performance results the team saw from the x3850 X5 in the Cloverleaf environment, MUSC implemented nine additional x3850 X5 systems running in multiple Oracle RAC clusters to support McKesson—also with Intel® Xeon® processors.
2
IBM Systems and Technology Case Study
Healthcare
Solution components
Hardware
● ● ● ● ● ●
IBM System x® 3850 X5 IBM BladeCenter® HX5 IBM System Storage® DS8300 IBM XIV® Storage System IBM Storwize® V7000 Intel® Xeon® processors
“We were really pleased with what we saw out of the IBM X-Architecture®. And we were really happy with the price point that we were getting. Being a state institution, budget is important. For us to be able to have better technology and have it at a better price—you can’t get any better than that.” Hoffman says his team was impressed with how smoothly the System x implementations went, as well as with the rapid rate of acquisition. “Implementation was fairly simple—we did it ourselves,” he says. “And the acquisition process was very quick. I’ve noticed that IBM can deliver things faster than other vendors can.”
Software
●
● ●
IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Oracle
A prescription for better patient care
Over the years, MUSC has been no stranger to IBM. The organization recently migrated its VMware environment from a competitor to the IBM BladeCenter HX5 platform. The solution supports a burgeoning virtualization infrastructure, with more than 600 virtual machines currently in production and more added every day. MUSC also runs IBM Power Systems™ and a wide range of IBM storage solutions, including IBM System Storage® DS8300, IBM SAN Volume Controller, IBM XIV® Storage System, and IBM Storwize® V7000. For Hoffman, being able to rely on IBM boils down to one benefit: “We can do the things that we’re supposed to do. We can get the transactions done in a timely manner. Our point of care is faster because of the performance of these systems, which means that our physicians and nurses are more successful at their jobs, which means that patient care is better. That’s really all that matters to us.”
Business Partner
●
Dynamix Group
For more information
To learn more, contact your IBM representative or IBM Business Partner, or visit us at: ibm.com/systems/x For more information about Medical University of South Carolina, visit:
www.muschealth.com
For more information about Dynamix Group, Inc., visit:
www.dynamixgroup.com
3
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2012 IBM Systems and Technology Group Route 100 Somers, New York 10589 Produced in the United States of America January 2012 IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, BladeCenter, System Storage, System x, Storwize, and XIV, are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at “Copyright and trademark information” at ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml Intel, the Intel logo and Xeon are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States, other countries, or both. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries. This document is current as of the initial date of publication and may be changed by IBM at any time. Not all offerings are available in every country in which IBM operates. The client examples cited are presented for illustrative purposes only. Actual performance results may vary depending on specific configurations and operating conditions. It is the user’s responsibility to evaluate and verify the operation of any other products or programs with IBM products and programs. THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND ANY WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF NON-INFRINGEMENT. IBM products are warranted according to the terms and conditions of the agreements under which they are provided. Actual available storage capacity may be reported for both uncompressed and compressed data and will vary and may be less than stated.
Please Recycle
XSC03111-USEN-00
