Shared Content on network

[milan_blom]

I would like to place the Shared Content folder on the network and point every user to that folder using "modify Shared Content folder" in Spec Editor.

I have also placed our custom catalogs in this folder. This way everyone uses the same content when editing specs. Furthermore, the nozzles are taken from the shared content, so using custom nozzles, this seems the way to go.

However, placing the Shared Content on the network introduces some annoying side effects:

• Opening a project takes about 1-2 minutes before you can work
• Changing between specs is very slow

We just moved to a new office building, with GB LAN, so that should not be the problem.

Our support company talked to Autodesk about this and they came up with 2 solutions.

1. Switching of dynamic tool palettes. This is not a solution. We work in varoious projects with various specs. Switching of dynamic tool palettes is asking for trouble and errors in my opinion
2. Not putting the Shared Content on the network. This is even less of a solution. This kind of defeats the purpose of having a shared content folder at all. When working in a multi user environment you want to be sure everone is working with the same data, else it's bound to go wrong somewhere.

Does any of you have experience with this and possibly a solution? If Autodesk is listening in, please reconsider this and come up with a better solution to place shared content on the network.

[TomislavGolubovic]

You could have a faulty switch in the LAN somewhere, you can get the IT department to trace which switch it is. That might help with the speed issue.

You could also have a master copy of the Shared Content on the network, and write a dos batch file to copy these files to everyones local machine first, then it would start Plant3d.

[milan_blom]

Thank you for your reply.

We have tested the networkspeed and it's ok. Furthermore, our support company tested this on their own network, with the same issue.

Given the reaction from Autodesk through our support company, this seems to be an issue, else they would have suggested the same as you I think.

Using a master copy on the network and distributing that is the option we are looking into now, but in my opinion this is more of a workaround.

It seems to me Plant is performing some action on the shared content that is taking too much time. Maybe this can be optimized somehow.

[dsmeisle]

Which SQL are you using?  You may need to upgrade from the express version if you have not done so already. 

[ted.moberg]

We are experiencing the same issue here. Exactly

[TomislavGolubovic]

Have you tried purging the local cache?

[d.galvin]

Same problem with our system using network drive - initial loading of specs or changing to new spec causes a long pause.  Aditionally, the dynamic tool palettes have to be disabled or Plant 3D 2013 takes 7-8minutes to initially load and then runs slow.  Has anybody else had this issue with dynamic tool palettes and has it been "rectified" in 2014? 

[milan_blom]

The workaround we adopted is the following:

• We placed the shared content on the C: drive
• We placed a 'master' copy on the network
• Our ICT guys wrote a script using robocopy to synchronise the master folder with the local folder
• I placed a startup item on each PC which initiates thist script, syncing the master folder to the C: drive

The user can also initiate this by hand if needed.

It's a sync action, so the first time it takes a while, but when up to date, it takes only a few seconds on startup.

This works fine for now, but I would like to see a beter solution from Autodesk.

[Layout-Bob]

Same problem here.

The script workaround works fine, but then when upgrading to next version the script will have to be modified to include the new content folder location on the C: drive. Is this really how things should work in the year of 2016?

Which brings me on the topic on "forcing" us to reinstall every year when the few new functions could be integrated in an update of the software instead. But that is another story...

[mtchad]

We have been using the sync to C drive method for years and it works great.  We use it for Plant3D, CADworx libraries, and Vanilla AutoCAD custom menus, lisp routines etc.....  If you want optimal speed, which most CAD users do its the only way to go.  We have 5 offices in 4 different states with one server and working off the WAN is unbearable.  Plus we don't actually synchronize we echo, meaning the user cannot synchronize back to the master directory, so if a user messes something up on his C drive it doesn't infect the whole company.

[bill.rice]

Hi Milan,

 would it be possible to get a copy of the script you refer to in this message?

Maybe a little more detail of how its setup? 

thanks

Bill

[milan_blom]

Hi,

We're not using Robocopy anymore, but Microsoft Synctoy. Here you can setup a synchronise action between teh local folder and the network folder and have it run at boot time. Works fine. Synctoy can be downloaded for free. 

But at this moment we do not usie it anymore. We are working on a local LAN and it seems to work fine now, with the content used directly from the network share. Soemwhere along the way this issue was solved apparantly.

If you are working from home using a VPN or somthing, local content would still be the way to go.