The DICOM network is the data network connecting DICOM-compliant devices within a medical institution or department. Normally, the DICOM network is a standard Local Area Network (LAN). Hence, the typical network interface of DICOM-compliant devices is a common Ethernet interface. This makes it particularly convenient to connect common PCs with dedicated DICOM-compliant software to a DICOM network.

The performance and safety of a DICOM network are quite critical, considering the kind and volume of data which are transferred through it. In fact, these data may include large and numerous diagnostic images, patient and exam information, diagnostic reports, etc.
For this reason, many medical institutions choose to build a dedicated, isolated and high-performance network as their DICOM network, separating it from the usual internal Local Area Network used for instance to exchange administrative data and files.