New server recommendation and thread naming length

[John Parker]

I am new to interfaces (have the responsibility now due to a co-worker out on medical) and we are moving from McKesson Star to McKesson Paragon.  I have to setup a new server to handle the new interfaces and was wondering if there are any best practices regarding setting up processes, thread naming (is there a maximum naming length) and such.  

Also, any recommendations on how to best learn tcl as it applies to Cloverleaf would be greatly appreciated.  I have been through the first Cloverleaf class but I feel like it taught me just enough to be really dangerous.

I am planning to run Linux and Cloverleaf 5.8.

Thanks in advance for your recommendations.  Also, if there is anyone out there who is running Cloverleaf with McKesson Paragon and would be willing to share your experiences and recommendations, please let me know.

Thanks again for this resource.  I have learned much just reading the posts and replies.

John Parker

Interfaces

Oconee Medical Center

Seneca, SC

john.parker@oconeemed.org

Topic

[Max Drown (Infor)]

John, are you planning to take level 2? I would recommend it ASAP.

We generally suggest that you name all of the objects in Cloverleaf with all lowercase letters and use underscores for spaces. Keep thread names under 15 characters. Use brief process names. Name inbound threads with a fr_ prefix and outbound threads with a to_ prefix. These are not hard and fast rules, be generally make things easier to work with in Cloverleaf.

Group threads into processes depends a lot on the number of threads and what the threads are actually doing. In ADT sites, I tend to group threads to about 10 per process. I like to separate trouble-maker threads into their own processes (like threads that have to be changed or bounce a lot). I usually move threads that have a lot of overhead into their own processes. I like to keep pairs of threads together when possible (1 to 1 interfaces). Etc.

It’s important to remember that a process does not have to be bounced when protocol properties are changed (ex. port numbers). In ADT sites, I will usually put all of the outbounds into one process because outbound threads don’t have a lot of overhead and don’t change that often.

To learn Tcl, you can do some tutorials available on the web and read through the Welch Tcl book. I learned Tcl mostly be reading through and writing my own code. This forum is a good place to ask specific questions about Tcl and Cloverleaf objects. Also, we (Infor) offer a Tcl class.

Feel free to ask more question. The more specific your question, the more likely you will be to get a helpful response. 🙂

-- Max Drown (Infor)

[John Parker]

Max,

Thank you so much for your reply.  How much tcl do I need to know to take the Level 2 class?  Right now with our Paragon project in full swing and our former interface person on long-term medical leave there is no time for me to be away so I will have to study on my own until next Spring.

I have the new server spun up and the OS installed (RHEL 5.4).  The hospital wants it on a VM so it is on VMWare ESX.  I am ready to install Cloverleaf 5.8 for Redhat (we are a McKesson shop and I have their Cloverleaf).  Are there any specific things I need to think about before installation that will make life easier down the road?

[Jeff Dinsmore]

John,

We also have McKesson’s Pathways Interface Manager (their McKesson-branded Cloverleaf), but there’s very little difference between that and “normal” Cloverleaf.

We’re just getting started on a Paragon implementation. I’ve worked with Paragon in the past and have a solid handle on Tcl, so if you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

This forum is an excellent resource and you can get a wealth of Tcl info on the web – including the Tcl Developer’s Exchange http://www.tcl.tk

Jeff Dinsmore
Chesapeake Regional Healthcare

[Max Drown (Infor)]

John, a pretty good knowledge of Tcl fundamentals is helpful for taking full advantage of the Level 2 class. There are some good tutorials online to help you prepare. And, of course, studying your existing Tcl code in Cloverleaf would be helpful, too.

Cloverleaf on a VM should work the same as any other certified hardware as long as you follow the minimum and recommended hardware settings. One thing to keep in mind when working on a VM is that since Cloverleaf is *very* I/O intensive, it needs to have its own, dedicated connection to the SAN.

-- Max Drown (Infor)

[Sergey Sevastyanov]

John,

I know this thread is a few months old but I reply anyway.

We use McKesson Paragon since the winter of 2009. We use standard Cloverleaf (not McKesson brand) 5.7 running on Win 2003 server.

Feel free to ask your questions, hopefully I will know the answers 🙂

[Brandon Grudt]

John,

If you’re still around, I am curious about how things went with your switch to Paragon.  Our Paragon threads are handled by McKesson, I have very limited access to resolve issues with them.  I just point my IB and OB threads accordingly and McKesson takes care of the rest.  Are you planning on using HPF as well?  

I actually started my position at the same time you did, but the Paragon infrastructure was already in place.  I haven’t had any problems with McKesson yet (it’s the smaller vendors who are hard to motivate).  I am curious how you feel about the switch.

Brandon

[Author]

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