Icon for Switchboard

DICOM Message Routing & Dynamic Tag Morphing

Switchboard has reached end-of-life and is no longer supported. Its functionality has been replaced by Compass Direct.

Switchboard transparently monitors, logs, filters, and converts DICOM datasets during DICOM network communications, serving as a multi-purpose DICOM bridge. Switchboard provides the ultimate ease in PACS administration, and is the ideal solution for network or PACS administrators, developers, field service engineers, migration specialists, or anyone responsible for integrating DICOM devices.

Real-time & hassle free DICOM routing, filtering and monitoring

  • Functions as an intermediate node between a DICOM client and server.
  • Runs on Windows or Linux.
  • Routes, monitors, logs, filters, and converts DICOM datasets during DICOM network communications.
  • Makes PACS administration easier.

How can Switchboard solve your DICOM connectivity problems?

  • Selects just the transactions of interest
  • Gives you flexible filtering choices for all SOPs
  • Provides dynamic, real‐time control
  • Supports DICOM compression syntaxes
  • Available as an affordable, easy-to-use, software=only solution
  • Has a convenient web-based interface
  • Features optional Priority Support
  • And much more…
Switchboard is an in‐line, network‐switching system that maps DICOM associations to remote devices using configurable mapping rules.

Routing, Filtering and Monitoring Options

Switchboard supports powerful monitoring, logging, filtering, and conversion functionality in a variety of ways, including:

  • Alter DICOM message elements in real‐time, “fixing” selected DIMSE messages, using configurable filters.
  • Route DICOM Messages and select filter sets based on hostname or AE Titles by using custom mapping rules.
  • Record all dataset modifications in the appropriate DICOM Sequence, all automatically.
  • Add, delete, or modify DICOM elements on the fly.
  • Regular expression matching filters select and alter dataset elements in complex ways.
  • Look up modifications to apply from a text‐based list.
  • Alter the transfer syntax encoding to provide capabilities not supported by one host, e.g., convert a dataset from ELE to JPEG‐lossless compression.
  • Capture all messages by actively participating in the DICOM association – all completely immune to packet dropping.
  • Monitor what you need – just the connection of interest.
  • Control and monitor remotely using web‐based GUIs.
  • Re‐package PDUs into different sizes, if required.
  • Configure your log verbosity:  association setup, ACSE PDUs, DIMSE reads/writes, PDU contents ‐ summary or a full hexadecimal byte dump ‐ and TCP/IP transactions.
  • Dual modes:  Transparent vs. Filtering with logging.
  • Display associations and network activity in real‐time.

Switchboard runs on dedicated hardware or a virtual machine.

The latest release is Version .

System Requirements

  • Intel i5 or i7 Processor (x64) or better
  • 8 GB RAM (min.)
  • 500 GB HD (min.)
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2012, Windows 7
  • Linux 64-bit with GCC 4.9.3 support
  • Java 1.8 x64
  • Due to the threaded architecture of Switchboard, additional CPUs or CPU cores should provide increased bandwidth in the context of multiple concurrent associations
  • Note that performance varies depending on level of network traffic, so sometimes less powerful systems are sufficient or more powerful systems are required.

Compatibility

Support for Switchboard has been discontinued. Similar functionality is available using the Compass Direct product.

Switchboard Clients

What Clients are Saying

"Compass and Switchboard really gave us the flexibility to meet business objectives we would not have been able to reach without."
Deane BaldwinMedical Info Tech Manager, Mercy Medical Center