Autocad data over VPN/Remote Desktop

[jamiew2ULKB]

So the Autocad users are having some issues working over the VPN in our office using remote desktop. I decided to test some things since I wasn't having any issues with Revit.

I connected to the VPN from home and used remote desktop to log into my workstation like normal. Then I did zoom/pan commands for 10-15 seconds in 3 different programs. Then I looked at the data passage on my home computer to see how much data it had to download to work remote.

The findings were interesting. Bluebeam PDF capped out at around 5 meg, Revit didn't even use 1 meg and zoom/pan in AutoCAD capped out around 22 meg. Again, this is all over remote desktop through our VPN. We're all using our personal computers to remote into our workstations.

My question is, has anyone run into this? Is there a way to control this within AutoCAD? It seems strange Revit is so efficient at sending data over vpn/remote desktop and AutoCAD is not.

[sophia_lee]

Hi @jamiew2ULKB, 

Thanks for your inquiry. 

I understand your concern and we are sorry to hear that. However, if the connectivity is not steady through network, there are not much things we can help. What we can recommend to do is a bandwidth testing on the home network first. 
 
Here is AKN article for Bandwidth Requirements for Revit Server, and this is also applicable for AutoCAD as well, so please have a look for your reference.  

• https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/revit-products/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2018/EN... 

 
I would also recommend to disable the system visual effects for Windows so it runs faster with AutoCAD. 

• disable system visual effects to boost performance on Windows 10 
• Disable visual effects in Windows 10 
• Turn off antivirus program or add Autodesk folders in the exclusion list. 

 
 
For AutoCAD side, if those XREFs(external references) are in the server location, it takes time to search and REGEN the drawing frequently. Try to change system variables to '0' to reduce the loading time.

• XLOADCTL = 0 
• DEMANDLOAD = 0 (this command is available in express tool, so please load it from control panel)   

 
Additionally, if she can work on Classic user interface without ribbon, it would be also help on the speed a bit. 

Hope this is helpful. please Accept as solution if this helps to answer your question. Thank you, 

[rkmcswain]

@sophia_lee 

@jamiew2ULKB is comparing Revit to AutoCAD. I presume his/her tests were conducted with everything else being the same, hence the question of why AutoCAD transmits so much more data than Revit. 

Internet connectivity isn’t going to have much to do with it, since as mentioned earlier, everything else other than the app itself, is the same. 

Disabling visual effects is a good idea, since every changed pixel has to be transmitted across the VPN. Limiting the number of changed pixels should help.

Regarding Xrefs – Not sure how that is going to help. All of the processing, file loading, etc., is being done in the office where the PC and the data resides. It wouldn’t matter if there were zero xrefs or 40 xrefs, you’re still only transmitting changed pixels across the VPN using RDP. 

Lastly, DEMANDLOAD has nothing to do with Express Tools, it’s a system variable. 

Cheers.

[dgorsman]

Personal recommendation (and I acknowledge it might not be something you can do) is to have users run AutoCAD locally and use the VPN connection for only low bandwidth functions such as licensing.  Look into EDMS programs like Vault and Projectwise that can handle XREFs - it's a one-time hit to download them rather than constantly pushing data back and forth.  What is considered low bandwidth varies by company e.g. some can get away with keeping block libraries online, others need to use a 'refresh local copy at startup' paradigm, others may get away with a static local copy with periodic manual refreshes.  Some use third party add-ons which have pathed data which requires it to be online only.

[rkmcswain]

@dgorsman wrote:

Personal recommendation (and I acknowledge it might not be something you can do) is to have users run AutoCAD locally and use the VPN connection for only low bandwidth functions such as licensing. 

@dgorsman - are we understanding this differently?

@jamiew2ULKB said "I connected to the VPN from home and used remote desktop to log into my workstation like normal.", which I take that to mean the PC doing all the work and the data are in the same building (or at least on the same LAN) and the only thing being transmitted across the VPN is the pixels and keyboard/mouse actions.

[jamiew2ULKB]

Yes, we connect to our office using a VPN connection on our personal computers. Then we use the remote desktop connection app on our personal computers to connect to our workstations in the office. The workstations upload data to our home computers over the remote desktop app to create an image on our home computers that emulates the one at work.

The workstations at work are doing all of the work and then sending the visual data and keystrokes over the internet. our workstations at work run all of the files I tested incredibly well. I suspect it's the 22 meg upload rate on autocad zoom and pan that is causing issues. In order for my home computer to download 22 meg of data to complete the zoom/pan in Autocad, it has to come from somewhere and that is our office from my workstation. 22 meg upload would cap out our allotment at the office for upload rates. I don't think the fact that the Autocad commands executed by me at home that required 22 meg is the same as our upload cap at the office.

[rkmcswain]

@jamiew2ULKB - Is that "Killer Control Center" something I can download and test with to check it on my end under similar conditions?

[pendean]

is this a sudden new problem, or are you all just now starting the VPN/WFH experience?
AFAIK there is nothing you can do about what data amount AutoCAD transfers back and forth: what else is running at home and at the office in the background?

[jamiew2ULKB]

Not sure if the Killer Control Center will work without a killer network adapter.

You might try a popular one from Solar Winds. https://www.solarwinds.com/free-tools/real-time-bandwidth-monitor

And no not a sudden problem, but honestly none of us were working from home before March. And it was noticeable from day one. I just decided to see how much data was actually going through when using various programs one night after seeing our IT manager getting nailed with emails from all of our AutoCAD users about the same thing.

[dgorsman]

---

@rkmcswain wrote:

@dgorsman wrote:

Personal recommendation (and I acknowledge it might not be something you can do) is to have users run AutoCAD locally and use the VPN connection for only low bandwidth functions such as licensing. 

@dgorsman - are we understanding this differently?

@jamiew2ULKB said "I connected to the VPN from home and used remote desktop to log into my workstation like normal.", which I take that to mean the PC doing all the work and the data are in the same building (or at least on the same LAN) and the only thing being transmitted across the VPN is the pixels and keyboard/mouse actions.

---

I've used remote desktop with AutoCAD, and even inside the network (not on a remote computer over VPN) it was tolerable at best.  Hence the recommendation to run AutoCAD locally i.e. on the remote computer, cutting out the in-office computer entirely, and use the VPN to access resources that have to be online (which may simply be updating a local mirror through Offline Files).  Which I've also done, with much better performance.  Naturally that may not be an immediate option for the OP, but should be something they can look into for better performance. 

[rkmcswain]

At one time after the rush to work from home (WFH) started in March, we had hundreds of people WFH and a large % of them doing CAD. Working directly over the VPN was and is not an option for the vast majority. The unknown variable being the user's home internet quality/speed.

We recommend for all of our users to RDP into their machine that is sitting at the office. This ensures that the processing power and the data are in the same building/LAN. Sending pixels across a sketchy internet connection is always going to be a better experience for the user, as compared to loading an 8MB drawing with fifteen 5MB xrefs (as an example).