Andrew N. Shrosbree wrote:
> What I find appealing is that when the user needs the image, they establish a 
> direct peer-to-peer connection that does not have to go through an 
> intermediary 
> gateway.

Sure, but the "alternative" model we have just been discussing involves
direct P2P connections - no middleman, no tollbooth. That's the whole
point. The only bits of centralised infrastructure which are required
are a PKI and an associated directory service for Web services. and even
both of these can be run in a distributed or federated fashion.

Tim C

> Tim Churches wrote:
>> Andrew N. Shrosbree <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>>   
>>> Gavan,
>>>
>>> Your question regarding whether it is appropriate to use a US-centric 
>>> radiology model is very pertinent. The IHE model is, IMO, excellent for 
>>> handling the kind of huge blocks of data inherent in the retrieval of 
>>> images. Having only a 'manifest' stored centrally makes the process 
>>> extremely efficient. 
>>>     
>>
>> In what way does having a central "manifest" make the process extremely, or 
>> even more efficient? The actual (large) image files still need to be sent or 
>> retreived from provider to client (or v-v). The only difference is that in 
>> the IHE model the recipient polls the central "manifest" Web service to see 
>> if anything is waiting to be picked up by it, whereas in the direct Web 
>> service model which we have been discussing, the sender tries to send 
>> directly to the recipient and if the recicient is not contactable, teh 
>> sender tries again later and/or takes alternative action (eg if the 
>> information is urgent).
>>
>> As has been discussed, the overhead of resending iff (if and only if) a 
>> recipient Web service is offline is not likely to be any more than the 
>> overhead of everyone having to constantly poll a central "manifest" service 
>> or clearinghouse. Plus it avoids the very significant central point of 
>> failure which a "manifest" service represents. And as Gavin points out, the 
>> IHE model of a central manifest doesn't help when more complex interactions 
>> between Web services are involved, rather than just "Here's Mrs Blogg's 
>> chest xray".
>>
>> Tim C
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