Welch Allyn Connex and Acuity Network Installation Best Practices Installation Guide

Welch Allyn Acuity Network installation
Best practices
ii Welch Allyn Network installation
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Contents
1 - Introduction .............................................1
2 - Acuity ..................................................3
iii
Welch Allyn Acuity overview ........................................1
Implementation...................................................3
Best practices ....................................................3
LAN/WLAN requirements .......................................4
Aruba LAN/WLAN requirements ..................................5
Cisco LAN/WLAN requirements ..................................7
WLAN Controller requirements ...................................9
Aruba controller requirements ...................................10
Cisco controller requirements ...................................12
Validation ......................................................14
iv Contents Welch Allyn Network installation
1

Introduction

Welch Allyn Acuity overview

Welch Allyn connected workstations, servers and patient monitors utilize standards based communications protocols including, but not limited to, 802.3 for wired Ethernet and
802.11a/b/g for wireless. This guide specifies the requirements and recommendations needed to successfully complete and maintain a Welch Allyn patient monitoring system in your wireless or wired network.
Implementation and maintenance of a stable and usable integrated network is the sole responsibility of the customer.
Although ultimately your responsibility, Welch Allyn recommends that you conduct a hazards analysis per IEC 80001 to determine if any issues exist that should be mitigated to ensure your patients safety.
2 Introduction Welch Allyn Network installation
2

Acuity

Implementation

Welch Allyn has split the best practices into two groupings to bring transparency in making the changes necessary for success. Some items that are included in an individual group may only function correctly if corresponding changes are made in one or both groups. This inter-dependence makes implementation a company-wide undertaking. If the clinical staff manages the Acuity system and is responsible for its use and maintenance, increased communication of the changes made by the IT staff that may impact the Acuity system and the network is recommended.
To ensure the Acuity system operates as intended, the network must meet latency, coverage, jitter, and other network requirements described in this document and the directions for use. Typically, data flows via UDP/TCP from the medical device to an Access Point (AP), through the Health Delivery Organization’s (HDO’s) layer-3 network to the wireless controller, through HDO’s layer-3 network to an Acuity server. A successful site validation is the final step in ensuring the system is ready for implementation.
In all additions and changes to the hospital physical environment or the network environment, verify coverage and proper system operation continue to meet the requirements indicated in this document and the directions for use. Conduct a hazard­analysis per IEC 80001 to determine if issues exist that should be mitigated to ensure patient safety and to continue compliance with recommendations in this document.
While these settings should not pose a risk to any currently installed systems, it is in your best interest to fully review and understand the implications when making these changes. The Welch Allyn support team and local wireless systems engineer are valuable assets throughout this process.

Best practices

Welch Allyn has identified the following required network settings that improve performance of Acuity systems and Welch Allyn patient monitoring devices. The Performance impact column summarizes the network behavior that may be seen if the best practice is not followed.
The settings in these tables require the expertise of an IT Department or consultant with a similar knowledge base. Each of these recommendations has been reviewed by Welch Allyn to insure minimal impact on existing networks. Settings listed in these tables may affect wired and wireless communications and based on testing should not pose a risk to installed security policies.
You are ultimately responsible for the functionality of the network. Review each of these changes and make sure to backup the current settings before making changes.
4 Acuity Welch Allyn Network installation
LAN/WLAN requirements
Each of the following tables reflects a different equipment manufacturer. To skip directly to the table created for the manufacturer of your equipment, click on one of the following links:
“Aruba LAN/WLAN requirements” on page 5
“Cisco LAN/WLAN requirements” on page 7
Best practices Acuity 5
Aruba LAN/WLAN requirements
Best practice Affected types Without best practice
Bandwidth17% Proportional Bandwidth allocation for APs and
Welch Allyn virtual APs/Packet-Shaping.
Certificates For out of box operation use Welch Allyn certificates and RADIUS Servers.
Wireless Increased probability of dropped patient data
packets on busy wireless networks.
Wired, wireless Welch Allyn will be unable to debug system issues
such as monitors unable to connect to Acuity. Hospital is responsible for debugging connectivity issues at installation and throughout system life.
Critical IT support On a Shared or Customer Installed network, the customer shall provide 24/7, mission-critical support for their network
Data rates
• a band -- 6Mbps required
Interference Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) 15dB Wireless High noise level causes dropped packets.
Jitter Packet-to-Packet jitter shall be 400ms. Wired, wireless Dropped packets, data loss and dropped
Labeling Welch Allyn VLAN ports should be clearly marked on the
physical switches.
Network latency Round-trip peak network latency between Acuity Central station and its patient monitor 800ms.
Packet transport Packets should be passed through switches and routers in cut-through mode, or hardware based switching, not store­and-forward-only mode (applicable to older switches/hubs).
Power redundancy All network equipment used for patient monitoring shall have a redundant power supply and emergency power.
Priority Welch Allyn data should have priority over other data. Welch Allyn data is configured for 802.11e Access Category Voice.
QoS Hardware Quality of Service (QoS) support should be configured to map 802.11e QoS bits to a hard-wired tag.
Wired, wireless Possible extended downtime if network support
cannot be reached.
Wireless Vital signs monitors will not connect.
connections.
Wired, wireless Harder to debug system issues. Mixing of IT and
patient data could result in loss of data due to broadcast storms.
Wired, wireless Dropped packets and data loss.
Wired Dropped packets and data loss.
Wired, wireless Data loss and downtime due to power outages.
Wired, wireless Mixing of IT and patient data priority may result in
lost data.
Wired Increased probability of dropped patient data
packets on busy wireless networks.
RADIUS server When using EAP authentication, the controller must be configured to communicate with low-latency RADIUS servers. Unreliable communication with a RADIUS server, even in the presence of a secondary RADIUS server, seriously impedes performance.
Redundancy Redundant coverage in patient areas (i.e. patient rooms) where patients are likely to be unattended. Labs and Transport areas require only single coverage but redundant coverage is recommended.
Roaming across subnets Keep the Welch Allyn wireless VLAN/ SSID flat (no roaming across subnets).
Rules/Firewall Use separate rules and roles for Welch Allyn patient data and other IT data. Rules and roles should be identified using Welch Allyn specific names.
Separate VLAN Keep Welch Allyn patient monitors on their own VLAN and SSID.
Wired, Wireless Dropped packets, data loss, and dropped
connections.
Wireless Prevents the loss of data due to a single AP failure.
Wireless Success for roaming across subnets depends on the
hospital’s Layer-3 network. Hospital is responsible for validation of proper roaming across subnets.
Wireless IT changes to the Aruba controller that
inadvertently affect Welch Allyn patient monitoring are more likely. Patient data subject to issues on wired network such as broadcast storms. Shorter battery life for patient monitors.
Wired, wireless IT changes to the Aruba controller that
inadvertently affect patient monitoring are more likely. Patient data subject to issues on wired network such as broadcast storms. Shorter battery life for patient monitors.
6 Acuity Welch Allyn Network installation
Best practice Affected types Without best practice
Signal strength First wireless signal: RSSI Value
-65dBm for (802.11a APs set to 25mW). Second wireless signal:
Wireless Dropped packets and loss of connectivity due to
poor wireless coverage.
RSSI Value -70dBm for (802.11a APs set to 25mW).
SNMP read-only access Welch Allyn servers (Acuity systems) shall have SNMP read-only access to Aruba controllers to log performance data and generate alerts.
Wired, wireless Limited ability to proactively respond to system
issues. Debugging by Welch Allyn Remote Technical may not be possible. Extended troubleshooting times.
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) STP should be turned off for the
Wired, wireless Dropped connections. Welch Allyn specific VLAN/SSID. Use resilient links (spanning port fast) for all wired interfaces connected to continuous monitors, wireless controllers, or Welch Allyn Servers.
Mismatched connections Connections between gigabit and FastEthernet interfaces should be avoided. If these interfaces are
Wired Unreliable network connection, severely affected
appliances connected through the interface. configured, use them for light traffic only, and do not rely on auto­negotiation. Ensure that you configure speed and duplex settings to 100Mbps and Full Duplex.
Connection speed All Acuity systems must be connected to the
Wired Dropped packets, data loss.
network using the same Ethernet speed.
UDP broadcast forwarding Allow UDP broadcasts on ports 7711-
Wired Connections cannot be established.
7720 from Welch Allyn VLAN to the Acuity Central station.
Wired connection Interconnects between all switches and all Aruba WLAN controllers with gigabit Ethernet.
1. The 7% bandwidth allocation will support up to 20 connected Welch Allyn patient monitors per AP. If no Welch Allyn patient monitors are associated with the AP the bandwidth is free to be used by other devices.
Wired With only 100Mbs connections dropped packets
and data loss can occur.
Best practices Acuity 7
Cisco LAN/WLAN requirements
Best practice Affected types Without best practice
Authentication/Encryption WPA2-PSK- AES Only
Wireless Other encryption methods not supported. No
connectivity.
Data rates
• a band -- 6Mbps required
Interference Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) 15dB Wireless High noise level causes dropped packets.
Jitter Packet-to-Packet jitter shall be 400ms. Wired, wireless Dropped packets, data loss and dropped connections.
Labeling Welch Allyn VLAN ports should be clearly marked on the
physical switches.
Network latency Round-trip peak network latency between Acuity Central station and its patient monitor 800ms.
Packet transport Packets should be passed through switches and routers in cut-through mode, or hardware based switching, not store-and-forward-only mode. (Applicable to older switches/hubs).
Power redundancy All network equipment used for patient monitoring shall have a redundant power supply and emergency power.
Priority Welch Allyn data should have priority over other data. Welch Allyn data is configured for 802.11e Access Category Voice.
QoS Hardware Quality of Service (QoS) support should be configured to map 802.11e QoS bits to a hard-wired tag.
Redundancy Redundant coverage in patient areas (i.e. patient rooms) where patients are likely to be unattended. Labs and Transport areas require only single coverage but redundant coverage is recommended.
Wireless Vital signs monitors will not connect.
Wired, wireless Harder to debug system issues. Mixing of IT and
patient data could result in loss of data due to broadcast storms.
Wired, wireless Dropped packets and data loss.
Wired Dropped packets and data loss.
Wired, wireless Data loss and downtime due to power outages.
Wired, wireless Mixing of IT and patient data priority may result in lost
data.
Wired Increased probability of dropped patient data packets
on busy wireless networks.
Wireless Prevents the loss of data due to a single AP failure.
Roaming across subnets Keep the Welch Allyn wireless VLAN/ SSID flat (no roaming across subnets).
Rules/Firewall Use separate rules and roles for Welch Allyn patient data and other IT data. Rules and roles should be identified using Welch Allyn specific names.
Separate VLAN Keep Welch Allyn patient monitors on their own WLAN, SSID, and VLAN.
Signal strength First wireless signal: RSSI Value -65dBm for (802.11a APs set to 25mW). Second wireless signal: RSSI Value -70dBm for (802.11a APs set to 25mW).
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) STP should be turned off for the Welch Allyn specific VLAN/SSID. Use resilient links (spanning port fast) for all wired interfaces connected to continuous monitors, wireless controllers, or Welch Allyn Servers.
Mismatched connections Connections between gigabit and FastEthernet interfaces should be avoided. If these interfaces are configured, use them for light traffic only, and do not rely on auto­negotiation. Ensure that you configure speed and duplex settings to 100Mbps and Full Duplex.
Wireless Success for roaming across subnets depends on the
hospital’s Layer-3 network. Hospital is responsible for validation of proper roaming across subnets.
Wireless IT changes to the Cisco controller that inadvertently
affect patient monitoring are more likely. Patient data subject to issues on wired network such as broadcast storms. Shorter battery life for patient monitors.
Wired, wireless IT changes to the Cisco controller that inadvertently
affect patient monitoring are more likely. Patient data subject to issues on wired network such as broadcast storms. Shorter battery life for patient monitors.
Wireless Dropped packets and loss of connectivity due to poor
wireless coverage.
Wired, wireless Dropped connections.
Wired Unreliable network connection, severely affected
appliances connected through the interface.
8 Acuity Welch Allyn Network installation
Best practice Affected types Without best practice
Connection speed All Acuity systems must be connected to the
network using the same Ethernet speed.
Wired Dropped packets, data loss.
UDP broadcast forwarding Allow UDP broadcasts on ports 7711-7720 from Welch Allyn VLAN to the Acuity Central station.
Wired connection Interconnects between all switches and all Cisco WLAN controllers with gigabit Ethernet.
Wired Connections cannot be established.
Wired With only 100Mbs connections dropped packets and
data loss can occur.
Best practices Acuity 9
WLAN Controller requirements
Welch Allyn has identified the following requirements specific to a network and Acuity implementation.
While many of these settings involve changes to the controllers themselves, some may involve the wired infrastructure.
Each of the following tables reflects a different equipment manufacturer. To skip directly to the table created for the manufacturer of your equipment, click on one of the following links:
“Aruba controller requirements” on page 10
“Cisco controller requirements” on page 12
10 Acuity Welch Allyn Network installation
Aruba controller requirements
Best practice Affected types Without best practice
Advanced Radio Management (ARM) settings:
• Power save aware scan = enabled.
• VOIP aware = enabled
• Scan interval = 180 seconds
Authentication/Encryption EAP-TLS,
Channel advertisement Advertise
(Broadcast SSID).
1
WPA2-PSK Wireless Other encryption methods not supported. No connectivity.
802.11h capability
Wireless APs perform ARM scanning at the time when PSP clients
are scheduled to send data, resulting in lost data.
Wireless Decreased number of 802.11a channels available. If APs
are on channels that require 802.11h capability, they will not be available to patient monitors, resulting in RF coverage holes.
Channel Switch Announcement (CSA) Disable. Wireless When CSA is enabled, data loss when changing channels
Client Match Disable Wireless Increased probability of disconnects and roams in busy
Controller redundancy Aruba controller hardware should
include controller redundancy, either one to one or one to many (1:1 or N:1).
Data Keep using a Stateful Firewall. Acuity rules, policies, and roles should be separated from rules, policies, and rules used for other IT data.
Fast roaming/multi-association Disabled. Wireless Dropped packets during patient monitor movement.
Firmware version Use
Aruba Operating System:
• 3.2.0.1-WA1
• 3.3.1.19
• 3.3.2.10
• 3.3.2.18
Supported hardware versions Wireless Using non-validated hardware may cause data loss.
• 800
• 2400
• 5000
• 6000
• SC1
• SC2
• 620
• 650
• 3200
• 3400
• 3600
Opportunistic Key Caching (OKC) Enabled. Wireless Dropped packets during patient monitor movement.
patient telemetry data and general IT data separated
Welch Allyn-validated versions of the
• 5.0.3.3
• 6.1.2.7
• 6.2.1.2
• 6.3.1.6
• 7200
• MK3(5000)
• MK3(6000)
• AP60
• AP61
• AP65
• AP70*
• AP92
• AP105
• AP125
• AP135
Wireless Failure of a non-redundant controller would cause the
Wired, wireless IT changes to the firewall policies that inadvertently
Wireless Using a non-validated version of firmware may induce
may
occur.
regions of network.
entire system to fail.
affect patient monitoring are more likely. Patient data subject to issues on wired network such as broadcast storms. Shorter battery life for patient monitors.
data loss.
*AP70 only validated for versions prior to 5.0.3.3
Quality of Service (QOS) Wireless/Wired Welch Allyn patient data with AC_VO (Access Category Voice).
1. Aruba 6.2 and later: adjustable via CLI only, see rf armprofile command.
LAN shall support
Wired, wireless Increased data loss for patient data.
Best practices Acuity 11
Best practice Affected types Without best practice
Security Use
monitors:
• IP access-list session WelchAllyn_ACL
• any host 255.255.255.255 udp 7711 7720 permit queue high tos
• any alias Acuity-servers udp 1001 65535 permit queue high tos
• user alias Acuity-servers any permit disable-scanning
• any svc-icmp permit
• any svc-dns permit
• any svc-dhcp permit
• any svc-http permit
• any svc-ntp permit
• any tcp 5650 permit queue high
• any tcp 5680 permit queue high
• any tcp 5695 permit queue high
the following ACL for Welch Allyn patient
56 dot1p-priority 7
56 dot1p-priority 7
Wireless Failure for monitor to establish session with Acuity
server,
increased data loss for patient data.
SSID Configuration Avoid
802.11b/g radios of an AP.
SSID/Radio settings
• Radio Beacon Interval set to =100 msec
• DTIM set to 10
• a band Only
• Enable short preamble
• 6Mbps Data rate mandatory
• Forward UDP ports 7711 -7720
• Radio High throughput enabled (disabled)
• Interval between Identity Requests = 3
• Quiet Period after Failure Authentication=3
• WPA-key-period 2000
• Disable channel 165
User role Assign value. Set the class attribute on the RADIUS server to the string that is the role assigned; Welch Allyn patient monitors.
VoIP traffic Limit open connections per AP.
Wireless Multimedia (WMM) Enabled. Wireless Patient Monitors will disconnect during movement.
WLAN Optimization Aruba
• Controller CPU utilization <50%
• Radio channel utilization <40%
• Number of SSIDs per AP 4
• Number of clients per AP 30
• Controller memory utilization 20Mb
• Average RSSI of all clients -67
• AP Received packet error rate 50%.
user role based on the RADIUS server class
VoIP traffic on 802.11a to no more than three
duplicate SSID on the 802.11a and
recommends the following:
dBm
Wireless Client devices may roam from the 802.11a radio on an AP
Wireless Loss of connection and data, patient monitor will not
Wireless Patient monitors not assigned to a role. Unable to
Wireless Having more than three connections per AP has the
Hardware, wireless
to the 802.11b/g radio rapidly, creating loss of data.
connect.
connect to Acuity server.
potential to increase patient data loss.
When network performance is outside recommended parameters,
potential loss or corruption of data.
12 Acuity Welch Allyn Network installation
Cisco controller requirements
Best practice Affected types Without best practice
Channel advertisement Advertise 802.11h capability
(Broadcast SSID).
Wireless Decreased number of 802.11a channels available. If APs
are on channels that require 802.11h capability, they will not be available to patient monitors, resulting in RF coverage holes.
Channel Switch Announcement (CSA) Disable. Wireless When CSA is enabled, data loss when changing channels
Controller
General (GUI)
• Broadcast Forwarding = Enabled
Interfaces:
• Welch Allyn VLAN Interface
DHCP Information
• Primary DHCP Server = Primary Acuity IP address
• Secondary DHCP Server = Secondary Acuity IP address
Advanced
• Spanning Tree = Disabled
• *DHCP Proxy = Enabled (default)
Controller (CLI)
• EAPOL Key timeout: change default 1000 to 3000 by using the following command: config advanced eap eapol-key­timeout 3000
Data Keep patient telemetry data and general IT data separated using a Stateful Firewall. Acuity rules, policies, and roles should be separated from rules, policies, and rules used for other IT data.
Firmware version Use Welch-Allyn validated versions of the Cisco Operating System:
• 6.0.202.0
• 7.0.116.0
• 7.0.220.0
• 7.2.110.0
• 7.4.110.0
• 8.0.100.0
Hardware supported
• Controller: 4400 series, WiSM1 and 5500 series, WiSM2
• Access Point: AP1230ag, AP1131ag, AP1240ag, AP1142n, 1252n, AP 3502, AP 3702
Radio Resource Manager (RRM) Settings Enabled (default)
• Customers should ensure AP transmit power and channelization is optimized on VLANs used by Acuity.
• Cisco recommends enabling RRM. Optimal range should be 11 – 17 dBm.
Wireless Loss of connection and data.
Wired, wireless IT changes to the firewall policies that inadvertently
Wireless Using non-validated firmware may cause data loss.
Wired, wireless Using non-validated hardware may cause data loss.
Wired, wireless Increased data loss for patient data.
may occur.
*DHCP Proxy enabled (default) causes the Welch Allyn device service screen DHCP address to display the virtual port address of the controller instead of the IP address of the DHCP server (no impact to performance).
affect patient monitoring are more likely. Patient data subject to issues on wired network such as broadcast storms. Shorter battery life for patient monitors.
SSID Configuration Avoid duplicate SSID on the 802.11a and
802.11b/g radios of an AP.
Note This is not Cisco-specific. This is a general wireless guideline.
Wireless Client devices may roam from the 802.11a radio on an AP
to the 802.11b/g radio rapidly, creating loss of data.
Best practices Acuity 13
Best practice Affected types Without best practice
SSID/WLAN settings
Security:
• Layer 2 Security = WPA+WPA2
WPA+WPA2 Parameters:
• WPA Policy = Disabled
• WPA2 Policy = Enabled
• WPA2 Encryption = AES
• Auth Key Mgmt = PSK
Quality of Service (QOS)
• Platinum (voice)
Wireless Multimedia (WMM):
• WMM Policy = Required
• 7920 AP CAC = Disabled
• 7920 Client CAC = Disabled
Advanced:
• Allow AAA Override = Disabled
• Coverage Hole Detection = Enabled
• Enable Session Timeout = Disabled
• Aironet IE = Disabled
• Diagnostic Channel = Disabled
• Override Interface ACL IPv4 = None IPv6 = None
• P2P Blocking Action = Disabled
• Client Exclusion = Disabled
• Maximum Allowed Clients = 0
• Static IP Tunneling = Disabled
• Wi-Fi Direct Clients Policy = Disabled
• Maximum Allowed Clients per AP Radio = 200
• Passive Client = Disabled
• Client Profiling = Disabled
• Media Session Snooping = Disabled
Wireless Loss of connection and data.
Off Channel Scanning Defer:
• Scan Defer Priority = Enable only 6 and 7
• Scan Defer Time (msecs) = 2000
DHCP:
• DHCP Server (Override) = Disabled
• DHCP Addr. Assignment (Required) = Disabled
Management Frame Protection (MFP) = Disabled
DTIM Period (in beacon intervals):
• 802.11a/n (1-255) = 10
• NAC = Disabled
Load Balancing and Band Select:
• Client Load Balancing = Disabled
• Client Band Select = Disabled
VoIP traffic Limit VoIP traffic on 802.11a to no more than three open connections per AP.
Wireless Having more than three connections per AP has the
potential to increase patient data loss.
14 Acuity Welch Allyn Network installation
Best practice Affected types Without best practice
WLAN Optimization Cisco recommends the following:
• Controller CPU utilization <50%
• Radio channel utilization <33%
• Number of clients per AP 25
• Controller memory utilization <70%
• Average RSSI of all clients -67
• AP Received packet error rate <10%.
dBm
Hardware, wireless
When network performance is outside recommended parameters,
potential loss or corruption of data.

Validation

The validation process begins immediately following the Acuity System installation. Many of the criteria used to ascertain the stability and usability of the installed system have been covered previously in this document. Testing of these criteria involve the use of a laptop utilizing AirMagnet Surveyor Pro and an 802.11a wireless card. The basic testing requirements are listed in the table below. This testing is standard across all installed
802.11a systems installed by Welch Allyn.
Criterion Measures Requirement
Device connectivity A patient monitor needs to be attached to the
during signal testing to ensure
system dropout does not occur in edge conditions.
The patient monitor should remain connected without any extended gaps of greater than 4 seconds and should not completely disconnect from the network at any time during the test.
First signal strength The received signal strength of the nearest AP RSSI -65dBm
Network up-time Amount of time the network transporting
Packet latency Round-trip peak network latency between
Packet-to-packet jitter Jitter times between packets Packet-to-Packet 400ms
Second signal strength The received signal strength of the next
Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) The difference between the received signal
UDP broadcast The ability to communicate with the central
patient
data is available during any 24 hour
period
Acuity
Central station and its patient monitors
AP
closest
strength and the detectable noise floor
Acuity monitoring station and patient monitoring devices
Up-time 99.9% over a 24 hour period
Latency should be 800ms
RSSI -70dBm
15dB
UDP Broadcasts between ports 7711­7720 should be in pass-through mode rather than store-and-forward mode
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