Managing CAD profile/support files for multi office/multi state company

[Nathan_Tigner]

Hello All,

We currently have 12 offices in 10 states in the United States. We utilize a panzura server to keep all offices on the same network and a vpn for anytime someone is out of the office. At any point in time 20% of CAD user may be out of the office. 

We have primarily Architects and Civil Engineers, so we use AutoCAD (for cad projects) and Civil 3D.

We have 2 profiles, one for Arch and one for Civil, that everyone uses. Those profiles are in the target for CAD/C3D and will always be used when they start up.

All of our support files, stored in those profile, are pointing to folders on our panzura server, so you have to be connected to the network before starting CAD/C3D for all support files to be linked. 

Everything works perfectly when connected directly to the network in the offices. Quick and painless. 

However, when over the vpn, CAD/C3D is often slow and unresponsive. I believe this is due to having to pull the information from the server over the vpn that is often bogged down. Tool palettes (of which we have many), are slow to load and pull information. Hatching is slower from extra patterns we store on the network. Even text can be slower to place because of extra fonts we have linked. 

What I am looking for is a solution to the work from home problem. I want CAD/C3D to be as responsive as it is in the office and I believe there are only 2 ways to do that, but I'm here hoping for other solutions.

I believe we would need to do 1 of the following:

1. Store support files on the hard drive of each computer and have some way of updating the files when connected to the network. So, let's say after a day of working from home, when you come back to the office any support files that have been modified will automatically be overwritten on the hdd of the computer. Keeping everything up to date.

2. Store all support files in the cloud (no clue which service would be best). That would eliminate the need to pull the files over the vpn and would be directly related to the speed of the user's internet connection. Obviously, it wouldn't help someone not connected to the internet like option 1 would, but that is mostly a non-factor in our current environment. That also would involve installing some software on every machine. Not the end of the world. 

I was curious what other people are doing in similar situations? Maybe there are options I'm not thinking about, or downfalls to my options that didn't occur to me?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

[Valentin_CAD]

@Nathan_Tigner ,

For reference:

• Options for using Autodesk software when working remotely
• Launching and opening drawing files over a VPN takes long time in Civil 3D
• Slow performance over VPN connection with Design Data in a network location

[dmfrazier]

"1. Store support files on the hard drive of each computer and have some way of updating the files when connected to the network. So, let's say after a day of working from home, when you come back to the office any support files that have been modified will automatically be overwritten on the hdd of the computer. Keeping everything up to date."

FWIW, we use essentially Option 1 here. However, most of our WFH workers are full-time WFH, so there is no "when you come back". The file syncing/updating is done via a RoboCopy batch routine kicked off at Windows startup by a Scheduled Task, which runs fairly quickly over the VPN.

[paullimapa]

Implement Try Autodesk Docs

or

Allow staff working outside the office to remote directly into their own office computers (Chrome Remote Desktop, VPN and etc) and then it'll be as if they're actually working on their own office computers.

I wrote about this awhile back here:

AUGIWorld by AUGI, Inc. - Issuu

[Kevin.Spear]

As others have said, bringing the files local to the laptop OR bringing the person to the office machine (via VPN & Remote Desktop) are your two choices. 

If doing the option to bring everything to the laptop, that would mean the CAD resources would be copied during login Or use a cloud drive. That would also mean the project files would be in a cloud platform so those would also be edited locally. This option does not depend on a fast internet connection as files are copied to the laptop for use/editing. The internet connection only affects the syncing of these files. I am uncertain about Onedrive, but Autodesk docs does have an offline mode when no internet is available; like when out on a remote job site.

If you're doing the option where the person is connecting to the office machine via VPN/RDP, then you don't have anything to change really. Occasionally, you may get lag or blurry resolution when the internet connection is slow. But this option does require an internet connection to function all day.

Which option is better? Using a cloud to store and then consume resources/projects on the remote laptop will give you the most flexibility and best performance. If you have typical ACAD resources, Docs will work fine to store there. However, pipe catalogs are not currently supported in Docs (mainly because there are web and database files in the catalog). It is on the roadmap to support all ACAD/C3D/Plant3D/etc needed resources in Docs.

The next question is usually what to do with existing projects as new projects would be easy to just start in Docs. There is a DWG Migration tool that will upload a single project and fix any referencing (XREF/DREF) issues on upload. Some folks choose to only do new projects in Docs and leave existing projects where they are. 

I know there is a cost to storage for onedrive/sharepoint. But it may be peanuts compared to what you pay for file servers in your office. Also, Docs is included if you have AEC Collection license and has unlimited projects and storage. For anyone who creates or consumes Data References, you will also need an additional license called BIM Collaborate Pro. 

Anyway... my 2 cents.