Working Remotely

[Anonymous]

I've been lucky to be an essential employee during the pandemic, but occasionally I do need to work from home.

The problem is, its been painful. Extremely painful.

It doesn't  matter if I borrow a license or not. C3D is just painfully sloooooow.

Bring up the XREF window, MOVE, Layers, Properties, BLOCKS (that one hurts), basic AutoCAD commands take FOREVER to complete. I am just glad to date its been basic stuff and I haven't had to run some corridors, grading or C3D commands.

SAVE or SAVE AS, takes 5 minutes, minimum.

Basically, 15 minutes of work can take up to 30-45 minutes just waiting.

I can't bill that time.

I realize most is based on internet speeds. I live in the mountains, high-speed internet is not available. I have to use cell phone hotspot to connect VPN to work servers. I used to have DSL ($100/mo. for 10Mbps down/ 1Mbps up, you read that right, never saw those speeds), but my  current cell data has much faster speeds.

I usually download the files and save to my hard drive, perform the work, then save back to network.

This is still slow, and I'm not talking about down/up load speeds.

I am working on a Dell Precision 7750 laptop

XEON 10th gen @ 2.4GHz

32 GB Ram

1 TB SSD Raid

NVIDIA Quattro RTX 4000

Autodesk AECC 2020

Like I said, save and work on files locally, borrow license (or not) it is painfully slow.

disabling autosave helps, but only in instances when it was trying to autosave and perform a command.

How can I improve ACAD speed so that I can work efficiently and quickly?

I am having nightmares of running DOS AutoCAD on a 486,...

[jroot]

Is the Dell laptop you are working on at home the same machine you use in the office? Or are you using your personal laptop from home to VPN in?  If it's the same machine but way slower at home it must be the internet connection like you say.  But even then, working on dwg's locally shouldn't slow you down.  

[Anonymous]

It's the same laptop

[jroot]

It seems like C3D should be the same speed as if you are at the office if you truly have everything saved locally so that there is nothing it needs to "look to the server" for  (including XREF'd dwgs).  When you start up C3D it probably looks to a server location for profiles, settings, CUI's, plotstyles, fonts, LISP, etc.  all this would need to reside on your laptop if you want to be independent of the Internet connection.

[rl_jackson]

I would have to agree with @jroot , if C3D is looking for a bunch of files over a internet connection, that's going to really kill things, speed wise. I even have a specific directory set up that has all the company relate standards mentioned in a folder that gets copied to the local system even in the office, and C3D is pointed to the locale folder on the C: drive.

[AllenJessup]

I agree also. Make sure that anything Civil 3D might need is local. Also. I found that I improved my speed by not relying on WiFi. I got a long cable and ran it from the router.

[Anonymous]

I have a desktop folder that CAD links to during power outages.

When I work at home, that's where CAD should be directed.

Cable to internet won't work. I don't have internet. Cell phone hotspot only.

DSL was too expensive for much slower speed 

I'll double check to make sure it's being directed correctly when not directly wired to network like at work.

I do know the plot files are not linked. I wasn't worried about that when I originally set it up. No power can't plot.

[Civil3DReminders_com]

I would suggest using Remote Desktop if you have access to a computer at the office. Then run Civil 3D on the computer in the office. This way you only have to view the computer instead of having to transfer drawings across the network. This is the method I use regularly and it works great. It even allows you to use multiple monitors.

Another option is to set up a virtual machine (VM) on a network that provides that service. One example is Amazon Workspaces. This allows you to create a computer instance and then use it instead. https://aws.amazon.com/workspaces/ I have one set up and it runs about $11/month, but I don't use it as much so your costs would be a bit higher. The benefit is getting fast access to download/upload files. 

There are also remote software products available from Google, TeamViewer, and others. This requires a second computer.

[neilyj666]

I used RDC during the early days of lockdown but I found it very patchy. Sometimes I could work for hours with no issue but mainly it kept freezing when using Civil so I had to close and restart the connection - sometimes every few minutes.

[Domziman]

Another Thing to think about is the VPN access. For example I have a 200mb/s Line and as soon as I connect to my works servers thru a VPN my internet speeds drop to 20 Mb's, and when I disconnect from the VPN my speed goes back to normal, I don't know why the VPN causes a huge drop in internet speed.

[rl_jackson]

@Domziman VPN uses a tunneling protocal, this is what makes it a private network. Which then relies on the bandwidth allocated to the "tunnel". This also means that the tunnel doesn't get the full range. It could be that your office allocates a certain bandwidth for VPN while still providing bandwidth in-office for other task.

[Anonymous]

reading comprehension,.....

No Internet. Period.

Mobile Hotspot Only, and ONLY for down/upload of project files.

So remote desktop or virtual machine is useless.

I went through the File Paths under OPTIONS.

Cannot have more than one path for Templates or QNEW so I cant save a path to the C:\User\Me\Desktop\Power_Outage Folder

I added another saved path for the plotters settings. I didn't have those files saved to my desktop. Originally I created that folder for when working on the backup generator. Plotters use too much juice so they are not powered via generators. Working remotely I still won't be plotting but I added them anyways just in case.

The Support File Search Path and Working Support File Search Path was missing a desktop link for my Custom Linetypes. I added the path.

I Use the Tool Palette for blocks. I created a DWG that has all my commonly used blocks dumped in (Palette_Blocks.DWG). Then I made a new Palette tab that I linked those blocks too. It works well and I don't have to use the INSERT command then browse to the block. I have that palette block file saved on my desktop but I did not make an actual copy of the blocks themselves.

Could that be an issue? The Tool Palette looks for the block saved in the Palette_Block.DWG. If the path for both the block and the DWG changed, would that cause a issue?

Would I have to create a separate Tool Palette Tab for working remotely linking the Palette_Blocks.DWG and blocks that are saved on the C:\ and have a linked file path to the C Drive?

All other paths and settings under OPTIONS are tied to the laptop.

I cant think of anything else that could possibly cause the slowdown.

[Civil3DReminders_com]

What is the technical reason that is stopping you from using the hotspot full time? 

[Anonymous]

The amount of Data that I can use via Hotspot.

Verizon is the only cell service available at home, and I get 2-4 bars typically, 4G network. I am currently using my personal cell phone. So I use it long enough to down/upload the files I need.

My work cell phone is AT&T. Zero service at home. Working with IT to change it to Verizon but no clue if/when that will happen.

[pendean]

The way your IT set you up a home sadly requires you to have a constant connection: there is no way around it sadly, only your IT folks can do that.

They (or you) should have set you up for a laptop-only type profile/setup that does not reach out to the office for anything at all: it appears you are trying to do that the hard way instead of a fresh install with all content already in place on the laptop.

Both are very long tasks to achieve: might be worth not working from home until that's been done? Either way, you are starting over: consider logging into the PC as an all new power user ith admin rights to set it up.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

What do you mean?

AutoCAD and all the AutoDesk AECC package is installed directly onto the laptop.

The License is on the Network, but I can easily BORROWLICENSE thus eliminate the need for internet or network connection.

Only other files that are on the network are plot settings, custom linetypes, blocks, templates, etc. Basically all custom settings. This is so that any changes are made, all Users have immediate access to them. All of the other AutoCAD users live in a city and have access to high speed internet, so they do not have my problem.

I copied the custom files to the laptop.

I added a path in the OPTIONS - FILES tab in the appropriate location to direct to the saved location on the laptop.

Only path I cannot save an additional link to is Template location and for QNEW. But since those are saved to the laptop, I can open them directly from there. I just need to make sure to update the file if needed.

So since everything is Installed onto the laptop, paths linked to Network and Laptop,...

WHY are simple basic commands, i.e. MOVE, COPY, PLINE, ATTEDIT, take so **** long?

SAVE or SAVEAS can take up to 10 minutes, and that is to save locally with a DWG that has nothing but TEXT and Linework. No rasters, no C3D objects, just basic simple linework and text and the file size is under 1MB.

This is Frustrating!

I am working on a powerful, brand new and expensive laptop.

[rl_jackson]

If you have folders listed in options that are not available (i.e. the server) you need to remove them, and I bet everything will go back to normal.

[pendean]

Since no one else round here working from home has any issues like you are having, it might be time to hire/pay someone to go to your residence and help fix it all.

I suggest whipping out a credit card and contacting someone from HERE as your best option moving forward, if your reseller and IT are not able to, it appears you've exhausted remote help around here.

Good luck.