HSPnet - Support

Printer friendly version: Technical Specifications & User Requirements

HSPnet is a web-enabled system to improve coordination of student placements in all health sciences disciplines across a practice education jurisdiction (typically a province). Implementing HSPnet helps to improve communications, minimize handling of paper, reduce turnaround time, and enhance a jurisdiction’s ability to plan for and to build capacity for student placements.

As a web-enabled application, introducing HSPnet in an organization has negligible IT impact. User support is provided by the HSPnet Help Desk (via email or phone) and system requirements include only Internet Explorer, Adobe Reader, and an active email account.

This document provides information on system requirements to support organizations in assessing the IT impacts of HSPnet implementation and desktop requirements for individual user access.

Component	User System Requirements & Setup
Client Interface - HTML pages with significant use of JavaScript, DHTML and CSS. The application is designed for use within IE 5.5 or higher and has not been tested extensively on other browsers. SSL encryption (128-bit) is used on all pages and transmissions.	Internet Explorer version 5.5 or later with the following settings: Enable JavaScript Enable Session cookies (to maximize functioning of navigation menus) - see Note [1] Set Popup blocker (Windows XP SP2 )to "Medium" or HSPnet should be added to the "allowed" sites list - see Note [2]
Email Interface - HSPnet permits users to generate context-appropriate email through "mailto" links embedded throughout the application; no email automation (scripting) is performed.	Local email client such as Outlook, Outlook Express, or Lotus Notes. Internet Explorer must be set to use the correct email client under Tools / Internet Options / Programs.
Web Server - Windows 2003 Server running IIS version 6. All page generation is via ASP pages which use a COM DLL written in Visual Basic 6.0. The COM DLL communicates with the database using ADO.
Database Server - Windows 2003 Server running SQL Server 2000. All database operations are performed using SQL Server stored procedures.
Print Server - Windows 2003 Server running IIS version 6
Reporting - Uses Crystal Reports 9 and PDFPrepTool 2.35. Crystal Reports runs on the Print Server, communicating with the database using ADO. Reports are scheduled by HSPnet and run periodically using a scheduled EXE application, using Crystal Reports to generate a PDF file. Reports can be batched, resulting in several PDF files being combined into a single file using PDFPrepTool.	Adobe Reader Version 5.0 or later with the following settings: Allow sending PDF files as an email attachment (rather than sending as a link) May require adjustment to allow PDF files to be viewed within the browser

Our maintenance schedule has been recently revised to provide the following maintenance windows:

Weekly Maintenance Window - (1600 to 1700 hours each Friday in BC, later in other provinces - approx. 10 minutes/server)

Monthly Maintenance Window - (0900 to 1100 on a Sunday - server reboot and optional defrag utility)

In addition, HSPnet may be unavailable for up to 10 minutes on weekdays at 8:00 pm PST. This window is to accommodate minor fixes and enhancements and the service interruption should be unnoticeable to users.

NOTES:

[1] HSPnet uses cookies for the sole purpose of tracking which navigation menus are open during a session. If cookies are disabled, HSPnet will function properly but navigation menus will not "remember" their open/closed settings between screen refreshes.

[2] HSPnet will occasionally popup a secondary window, at the request of the user only (never automatically).