@saughtry @ABELLAA @dgauerDED75
We were (and still are when folks don't play right) having the read-only issue you described. We (with 85% confidence) know what causes it. Autodesk will not (probably cannot) address it.
- Our data is stored using the DFS (distributed file system) Windows storage system.
- Important note: DFS storage is explicitly unsupported by Autodesk.
- You may not be using DFS, but you could be using storage systems that aren't actual Windows network shares, but simulated shares on something like a small business NAS system or a large scale Linux server farm. This is also not supported by Autodesk.
- DFS caching servers in offices at various geographic locations reach out to a central server from time-to-time to get file updates. The central server then receives updates from the caching servers on a similar schedule.
- When Bob in Timbuktu opens a file, he creates a lock and .dwl file set for a given DWG on the local server.
- Bob's lock and new .dwl files won't be reported to the central server until the scheduled sync time.
- When Alice in Chicago opens the same file direct from the central server before the sync, Bob's lock isn't reported yet and his dwls don't exist from her point of view.
- Alice starts working thinking she's all good.
- Cue the sync. At random (could be determinate, but don't have enough data), the storage algorithm decides that either Alice or Bob has the lock. Let's pick Alice.
- Now Bob sees his drawing go Read Only.
- Since this is the fifth time this week, Bob chucks his chair through a fourth story window, triggering a massive insurance claim against the firm.
What's worse is that some DREF and XREF sync/reload operations seem to put a temporary, short-lived lock on DWGs - we're not 100% sure there. On top of that many of the DWG files are 20MB - 80 MB, so the syncs are unnaturally slow. Now imagine ten techs in five different offices trying to annotate sheets.
A large-scale solution that works is expensive. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) connected directly to the central server. Fortunately, we had VDI already in the works for different use cases. Now it's mainly used by Civil designers. It's still a clunky solution because of limited storage for user accounts on the VDI fabric (the storage hardware is very, very fast, but very, very expensive at that tech level).
For small to medium firms a shelving unit next to the server full of desktop or laptop workstations + VPN + Windows built-in RDP (Remote Desktop) will also do the trick, but after many users need it, the maintenance costs shoot up. Chrome Remote Desktop can also work in a pinch.
Because ACC promises a better experience on paper, we sat down with an ACC expert from one of the bigger Autodesk consulting firms to get a demo. Everything broke during the demo. Files were showing up in ACC, but not being synced other workstations, saved files on local workstations wouldn't sync to the clould, part catalog storage isn't supported, (b/c ACC explicitly disallows storage of .html files), Desktop Connector crashed, etc. A-desk is making improvements, and I hope that soon we can switch over to a full ACC workflow, just not now.
