CPAS CPAS Network & Connectivity 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which transport layer protocol does DICOM rely on for reliable image data transmission over hospital networks?
- UDP
- TCP (Correct answer)
- ICMP
- HTTP
Correct answer: TCP
DICOM uses TCP because it provides reliable, ordered, error-checked delivery of data packets essential for intact medical image transmission.
Question 2: What minimum network bandwidth is generally recommended for transmitting uncompressed CT images efficiently in a PACS environment?
- 1 Mbps
- 10 Mbps
- 100 Mbps (Correct answer)
- 1 Kbps
Correct answer: 100 Mbps
A minimum of 100 Mbps is typically recommended to handle the large file sizes of uncompressed CT studies without unacceptable delays for radiologists.
Question 3: In PACS networking, what does QoS (Quality of Service) primarily accomplish?
- Compresses images automatically
- Prioritizes medical imaging traffic over lower-priority data (Correct answer)
- Encrypts DICOM data in transit
- Manages PACS user authentication
Correct answer: Prioritizes medical imaging traffic over lower-priority data
QoS policies prioritize DICOM and PACS traffic on the network so imaging data is not delayed by lower-priority activity such as email or web browsing.
Question 4: Which network topology is most commonly used in hospital PACS deployments for ease of troubleshooting and scalability?
- Bus
- Ring
- Mesh
- Star (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Star
Star topology connects all devices to a central switch, making it easy to isolate failures and add new PACS nodes without disrupting the entire network.
Question 5: What does VLAN stand for and why is it used in PACS network design?
- Virtual LAN — isolates PACS traffic for security and performance (Correct answer)
- Virtual Link — connects two remote PACS sites via WAN
- Verified LAN — validates each DICOM packet
- Volume LAN — stores large DICOM file archives
Correct answer: Virtual LAN — isolates PACS traffic for security and performance
VLANs (Virtual Local Area Networks) logically segment network traffic so PACS imaging data is isolated from general hospital traffic, improving both security and performance.
Question 6: Which 10 Gbps networking standard is most commonly deployed in PACS data center backbone connections?
- Fast Ethernet (100BASE-TX)
- Gigabit Ethernet (1000BASE-T)
- 10GbE (10GBASE-T or 10GBASE-SR) (Correct answer)
- Token Ring (16 Mbps)
Correct answer: 10GbE (10GBASE-T or 10GBASE-SR)
10GbE provides the high-bandwidth backbone needed to support simultaneous large image transfers from multiple modalities in a busy imaging department.
CPAS CPAS Network & Connectivity 1
Which transport layer protocol does DICOM rely on for reliable image data transmission over hospital networks?