An Application Entity (AE) is a local or remote DICOM service. In an image archival system, common DICOM services include storage and query/retrieve. Devices (local or remote imaging equipment or computers) may support one or more services, and one or more service roles. Roles define a device as a service class user (SCU) or a service class provider (SCP). A SCU role is typically associated with a client action. A SCP role is typically associated with a server action.

The Configuration tab of the DICOM Network Services utility allows you to create and modify Application Entities. You will typically define entities in conjunction with the following tasks:

• Configuring Your System to Receive Files
• Defining a Machine to Be Queried

The Configuration tab of the DICOM Network Services utility provides the ability to check machine availability and start and stop the Storage SCP service. See the following for details:

• Returning Connection Status with Echo
• Managing the Storage SCP Service