Installation & Licensing

[#1]

My system admin. and I are having a discussion. Currently we run a
standalone copy of AutoCad at each workstation. We do this primarily for
speed. The drawing files all reside on network servers (NT4.0) and they are
directly opened and worked on in those locations. I believe that we could
save a lot of money by using the Adlm. That way we wouldn't have to buy a
license for someone who only uses AutoCad a couple of times a month. She
maintains that the network traffic would decrease overall network
performance and cancel out any monetary gains. There are also the extra
complications with installing a system different from the one we are
familiar with. Does anyone have any input that may be germane to our
discussion?

-mjm

[#2]

Yes using the adlm will increase network traffic, but so slightly that I
doubt anyone would be able to tell. The adlm granting of licenses is
extremely lightweight when you compare it to opening drawing files across
the network. To use the adlm you will have to change the way that autocad
is installed (at least as far as I know). You will have to create a network
deployment to use the adlm. (It's really not that hard, see installation
manual for information).

The following is from a previous post by jerry milana (hope you don't mind
jerry)
"The license manager itself is passive. When AutoCAD is started it sends
packets out to find a license manager. Once a connection is established a
heart beat is established at the rate of one packet per minute from the
AutoCAD workstation to the AdLM server and one per minute from the AdLM
server to the workstation."

One thing to note (at least this is what I remember) is to go ahead and
specify the name of the adlm server for AutoCAD. Otherwise AutoCAD does a
broadcast to search for a license when it starts.

HTH

jason martin
frankfurt-short-bruza
michael montagne wrote in message <80fhvj$lt924@adesknews2.autodesk.com>...
>My system admin. and I are having a discussion. Currently we run a
>standalone copy of AutoCad at each workstation. We do this primarily for
>speed. The drawing files all reside on network servers (NT4.0) and they
are
>directly opened and worked on in those locations. I believe that we could
>save a lot of money by using the Adlm. That way we wouldn't have to buy a
>license for someone who only uses AutoCad a couple of times a month. She
>maintains that the network traffic would decrease overall network
>performance and cancel out any monetary gains. There are also the extra
>complications with installing a system different from the one we are
>familiar with. Does anyone have any input that may be germane to our
>discussion?
>
>-mjm
>
>

[#3]

Jason,

By all means, feel free to quote my posts!

To clarify the traffic issue, even the initial broadcast for a license manager
is very light weight and it occurs only at program startup, once the connection
is made between the AutoCAD session and the license manager, all packets are
confined.

For more information, you may want to take a look at
http://www.autodesk.com/support/solutions/14592.htm, which explains the
ACADSERVER variable. There is a lot more information available on AdLM at
http://www.autodesk.com/support/autocad/2000ni.htm and
http://www.autodesk.com/support/autocad/acad14ni.htm. The second URL is the R14
network document page, AutoCAD 2000 and R14 network issues are essentially the
same.

Jerry Milana,
Autodesk Product Support

Jason Martin wrote:

> Yes using the adlm will increase network traffic, but so slightly that I
> doubt anyone would be able to tell. The adlm granting of licenses is
> extremely lightweight when you compare it to opening drawing files across
> the network. To use the adlm you will have to change the way that autocad
> is installed (at least as far as I know). You will have to create a network
> deployment to use the adlm. (It's really not that hard, see installation
> manual for information).
>
> The following is from a previous post by jerry milana (hope you don't mind
> jerry)
> "The license manager itself is passive. When AutoCAD is started it sends
> packets out to find a license manager. Once a connection is established a
> heart beat is established at the rate of one packet per minute from the
> AutoCAD workstation to the AdLM server and one per minute from the AdLM
> server to the workstation."
>
> One thing to note (at least this is what I remember) is to go ahead and
> specify the name of the adlm server for AutoCAD. Otherwise AutoCAD does a
> broadcast to search for a license when it starts.
>
> HTH
>
> jason martin
> frankfurt-short-bruza
> michael montagne wrote in message <80fhvj$lt924@adesknews2.autodesk.com>...
> >My system admin. and I are having a discussion. Currently we run a
> >standalone copy of AutoCad at each workstation. We do this primarily for
> >speed. The drawing files all reside on network servers (NT4.0) and they
> are
> >directly opened and worked on in those locations. I believe that we could
> >save a lot of money by using the Adlm. That way we wouldn't have to buy a
> >license for someone who only uses AutoCad a couple of times a month. She
> >maintains that the network traffic would decrease overall network
> >performance and cancel out any monetary gains. There are also the extra
> >complications with installing a system different from the one we are
> >familiar with. Does anyone have any input that may be germane to our
> >discussion?
> >
> >-mjm
> >
> >

[#4]

When we upgraded from 12Dos to R14, our firm did go with networked licenses.
We are small, only 15 licenses, but ADLM has saved us 2-4 seats easily.
Initial ADLM Server setup has been a pain, but once it's running, it has
been little problem. You mention NT server, so you should be configured for
TCP/IP already. We have been using Novell and Win9x workstations - have
just got a few NT workstations and are having some problems in the
transition. ADLM traffic seems very lite - infact we run ADLM on an old
unused 486. All in all, it's been good for us.

Planning is really the key before implementing. There are some good tech
help if you dig deep into the site. You do have to convert your older
licenses and reinstall software at each workstation to use ADLM. If youre
planning to upgrade to 2000 or purchasing new seats is the best time to
start.

Good luck!