general options¶

  -h    --help


          print this help text and exit


        --version


          print version information and exit


        --arguments


          print expanded command line arguments


  -q    --quiet


          quiet mode, print no warnings and errors


  -v    --verbose


          verbose mode, print processing details


  -d    --debug


          debug mode, print debug information


  -ll   --log-level  [l]evel: string constant


          (fatal, error, warn, info, debug, trace)


          use level l for the logger


  -lc   --log-config  [f]ilename: string


          use config file f for the logger


  +v    --verbose-pc


          show presentation contexts in verbose mode

network options¶

association negotiation profile from configuration file:


  -xf   --config-file  [f]ilename, [p]rofile: string


          use profile p from configuration file f
application entity title:


  -uca  --use-called-aetitle


          always respond with called AE title (default)


  -aet  --aetitle  [a]etitle: string


          set my AE title and check called AE title
other network options:


  -ta   --acse-timeout  [s]econds: integer (default: 30)


          timeout for ACSE messages


  -td   --dimse-timeout  [s]econds: integer (default: unlimited)


          timeout for DIMSE messages


  -pdu  --max-pdu  [n]umber of bytes: integer (4096..131072)


          set max receive pdu to n bytes (default: 16384)


  -dhl  --disable-host-lookup  disable hostname lookup

transport layer security (TLS) options¶

transport protocol stack:


  -tls  --disable-tls


          use normal TCP/IP connection (default)


  +tls  --enable-tls  [p]rivate key file, [c]ertificate file: string


          use authenticated secure TLS connection
private key password (only with --enable-tls):


  +ps   --std-passwd


          prompt user to type password on stdin (default)


  +pw   --use-passwd  [p]assword: string


          use specified password


  -pw   --null-passwd


          use empty string as password
key and certificate file format:


  -pem  --pem-keys


          read keys and certificates as PEM file (default)


  -der  --der-keys


          read keys and certificates as DER file
certification authority:


  +cf   --add-cert-file  [f]ilename: string


          add certificate file to list of certificates


  +cd   --add-cert-dir  [d]irectory: string


          add certificates in d to list of certificates


  +crl  --add-crl-file  [f]ilename: string


          add certificate revocation list file


          (implies --enable-crl-vfy)


  +crv  --enable-crl-vfy


          enable leaf CRL verification


  +cra  --enable-crl-all


          enable full chain CRL verification
security profile:


  +pg   --profile-8996


          BCP 195 RFC 8996 TLS Profile (default)


  +pm   --profile-8996-mod


          Modified BCP 195 RFC 8996 TLS Profile


          # only available if underlying TLS library supports


          # all TLS features required for this profile


  +py   --profile-bcp195-nd


          Non-downgrading BCP 195 TLS Profile (retired)


  +px   --profile-bcp195


          BCP 195 TLS Profile (retired)


  +pz   --profile-bcp195-ex


          Extended BCP 195 TLS Profile (retired)


  +pb   --profile-basic


          Basic TLS Secure Transport Connection Profile (retired)


          # only available if underlying TLS library supports 3DES


  +pa   --profile-aes


          AES TLS Secure Transport Connection Profile (retired)


  +pn   --profile-null


          Authenticated unencrypted communication


          (retired, was used in IHE ATNA)
ciphersuite:


  +cc   --list-ciphers


          show list of supported TLS ciphersuites and exit


  +cs   --cipher  [c]iphersuite name: string


          add ciphersuite to list of negotiated suites


  +dp   --dhparam  [f]ilename: string


          read DH parameters for DH/DSS ciphersuites
server name indication:


        --no-sni


          do not use SNI (default)


        --expect-sni  [s]erver name: string


          expect requests for server name s
pseudo random generator:


  +rs   --seed  [f]ilename: string


          seed random generator with contents of f


  +ws   --write-seed


          write back modified seed (only with --seed)


  +wf   --write-seed-file  [f]ilename: string (only with --seed)


          write modified seed to file f
peer authentication:


  -rc   --require-peer-cert


          verify peer certificate, fail if absent (default)


  -vc   --verify-peer-cert


          verify peer certificate if present


  -ic   --ignore-peer-cert


          don't verify peer certificate

output options¶

general:


  -od   --output-directory  [d]irectory: string (default: '.')


          write received objects to existing directory d
subdirectory generation:


  -s    --no-subdir


          do not generate any subdirectories (default)


  +ssd  --series-date-subdir


          generate subdirectories from series date
filename generation:


  +fd   --default-filenames


          generate filename from instance UID (default)


  +fu   --unique-filenames


          generate unique filename based on new UID


  +fsu  --short-unique-names


          generate short pseudo-random unique filename


  +fst  --system-time-names


          generate filename from current system time


  -fe   --filename-extension  [e]xtension: string (default: none)


          append e to all generated filenames
storage mode:


  -B    --normal


          allow implicit format conversions (default)


  +B    --bit-preserving


          write dataset exactly as received


        --ignore


          ignore dataset, receive but do not store it

Typical Usage¶

A typical use case of dcmrecv is to receive SOP instances that are sent from a storage SCU and save them as DICOM files. The following command does exactly this:

dcmrecv --verbose <port> --config-file storescp.cfg default

If you prefer some automatically created subdirectory structure, shorter file names and the extension '.dcm' for all DICOM files, use the following command:

dcmrecv -v -xf storescp.cfg default <port> --series-date-subdir


                                           --short-unique-names


                                           --filename-extension .dcm

In case of very large SOP instances or if the dataset should be written exactly as received (e.g. for debugging purposes), the 'bit preserving mode' could be used:

dcmrecv -v -xf storescp.cfg default <port> --bit-preserving

The received datasets are always stored as DICOM files with the same Transfer Syntax as used for the network transmission.

DICOM Conformance¶

Basically, the dcmrecv application supports all Storage SOP Classes as an SCP, including private ones. This requires, however, that a corresponding association negotiation profile is loaded from a configuration file. The format and semantics of this configuration file are documented in asconfig.txt.

By default, that means if no association negotiation profile is loaded, dcmrecv only supports the Verification SOP Class as an SCP (with default transfer syntax, i.e. Implicit VR Little Endian).

In the future, there might be additional options that allow for specifying the list of supported Presentation Contexts (i.e. combination of SOP Class and Transfer Syntaxes) directly, i.e. without loading a configuration file.

Subdirectory Generation¶

The option --series-date-subdir allows for generating subdirectories (below the specified output directory) based on the value of the data element Series Date (0008,0021) from the received DICOM dataset. If this value could be retrieved from the dataset and is valid (i.e. consists of a valid DICOM date field), the subdirectory structure is as follows:

<output-directory>/data/<year>/<month>/<day>/<filename>

If the Series Date (0008,0021) cannot be retrieved or is invalid, the current system date is used for the following subdirectory structure:

<output-directory>/undef/<year><month><day>/<filename>

In both cases, <year> consists of 4 decimal digits and <month> as well as <day> of 2 decimal digits.

Filename Generation¶

By default, the filenames for storing the received DICOM datasets are generated according to the following scheme:

<short-modality-prefix>.<sop-instance-uid><filename-extension>

If the same SOP instance is received twice, a warning message is reported and the existing file is overwritten.

The option --unique-filenames makes sure that each received DICOM dataset is stored as a separate file, i.e. no files should ever be overwritten. This is done by using a newly created unique identifier (UID) for each generated filename (and the infix '.X' in order to avoid conflicts with real SOP Instance UID values). The naming scheme for this option is as follows:

<short-modality-prefix>.X.<unique-identifier><filename-extension>

When option --short-unique-names is used, the filenames are generated by some pseudo-random name generator, which also makes sure that there are no conflicts (i.e. existing files are not overwritten). This is the naming scheme:

<short-modality-prefix>_<pseudo-random-name><filename-extension>

With <pseudo-random-name> consisting of 16 digits in hexadecimal notation.

Finally, option --system-time-names allows for generating filenames based on the current system time:

<date><time>.<short-modality-prefix><filename-extension>

With <date> consisting of '<year><month><day>' and <time> of '<hour><minute><second>.<micro-second>'. Please note that this scheme could result in naming conflicts if the resolution of the system time is not sufficiently high (i.e. does not support microseconds).

Limitations¶

Please note that option --bit-preserving cannot be used together with option --series-date-subdir since the received dataset is stored directly to file and the value of the Series Date (0008,0021) is, therefore, not available before the file has been created.

general¶

EXITCODE_NO_ERROR                         0
EXITCODE_COMMANDLINE_SYNTAX_ERROR         1

input file errors¶

EXITCODE_CANNOT_READ_INPUT_FILE          20 (*)

output file errors¶

EXITCODE_CANNOT_WRITE_OUTPUT_FILE        40 (*)
EXITCODE_INVALID_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY        45

network errors¶

EXITCODE_CANNOT_INITIALIZE_NETWORK       60 (*)
EXITCODE_CANNOT_START_SCP_AND_LISTEN     64
EXITCODE_INVALID_ASSOCIATION_CONFIG      66
EXITCODE_CANNOT_CREATE_TRANSPORT_LAYER   71

(*) Actually, these codes are currently not used by dcmrecv but serve as a placeholder for the corresponding group of exit codes.