VistA Administration

Note: This page may be outdated and expresses multiple opinions that are not the current opinion held by much of the current VistA community. (This page is undergoing current revision.)

Planning

What operating systems can a VistA server run on? The VA has historically run it on VMS. The Open Source community runs VistA on Linux with GT.M, and proprietary versions often run on Microsoft Windows with Caché. The Indian Health Service runs RPMS on Microsoft Windows with Caché.

• Ubuntu -- one of the mostly widely used Linux operating systems worldwide.

• Red Hat/Fedora -- Red Hat is a Fortune 500 enterprise Linux distribution (and the mostly widely used in business). Fedora is the community edition of Red Hat.

• CentOS -- a derivative of Red Hat, it is a popular Linux operating system for use with VistA.

• OpenSolaris zones OpenSolaris is an open source release of high-end Unix server software from Sun. Solaris zones function as simple but elegant virtual machines.

Installation standardization

There is an effort to make installations in various Linux and other *nix filesystems adhere to a consistent folder schema. Here is info on the original proposed specifications. This specification continues to evolve with time, as the standardization project continues.

Server modules

• Linux Active Directory How-To Information on how to use Microsoft Active Directory for Linux authentication.

Installing VistA

For a discussion of the issues involved, here are some slide shows presented at VistA Community Meetings about the process of installing a VistA system at a particular site:

• Jack Shaffer and Matt King MD at 16th VistA Community Meeting, Jan. 10-13, 2008, Midland, Texas

• File:Revolution.ppt

When you are ready to install VistA, you have a number of choices.

• Software Downloads provides a fairly current (Jan 2010) comparison of options.
• Installation Overview is mostly of historical interest.

Setup VistA

Configuration is probably the most arduous and expensive step. It never ends.

• Intracare Implementation Log follows I. Valdes MD as he installs VistA with the help of Hardhats

Maintaining VistA

• Drug File~ gives some basic links on this essential part of VistA
• Pharmacy Issues provides more technical detail

Restoring VistA

Your system either has already crashed or it will eventually.

• Restoring a VistA installation