Alternatives to C4R?

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I'm working for a small architecture firm with 10 employees.

Quite recently we started working with Revit in a few projects and just a few months ago we started using worksharing.

Since we have all our storage of files in a cloud service, we do not have any servers.

As for now we are running Collaboration for Revit for the worksharing projects.

Even though C4R works well we find the solution a inflexible, especially in relation to cost.

Most of the time we are 1-2 people working with worksharing models but some weeks we would like to scale up to 4-5 people.
Thus, we would need 5 licenses for C4R. Since the price is high (maybe reasonable if using it regularly) we don't want to have three extra licenses just lying around waiting for the peak loads.

Furthermore, we are not so much in to tech and IT, and find it difficult to understand the alternatives.
Unfortunately, our external IT guys are not so used to the special needs surrounding Revit and the Worksharing part, so they are not of much help either.

So, my question is:

Is there someone here who could explain what the alternatives are for worksharing? C4R, internal server, are there more options?

Do you have any tips on good flexible and costeffective solutions?

We want to be able to work 2-5 people towards a common worksharing central file. Both from the office and from home.

Hope it's possible to understand the question even though I don't know what I'm asking for! 🙂
Thanks!

[cbcarch · Accepted solution]

C4R is really intended for larger teams, especially with outside MEP/FP Consultants, etc., as it solves the problem of crossing Domains when using Revit Server software with multiple users in multiple offices.

For your small firm/team, being all internal, ( not outside consultants) I'd suggest investing in a dedicated server to host the Central Revit files, and set it up in your LAN (local area network) and have your users create local copies on their PCs and then Synch to Central to the file on the server.

This is the "default" way Revit was designed to work in a Workset enabled environment.

The Server should have a fast processor and lots of RAM. Of course a gigabit/fast local network will also help with synching large files.

A bit of initial cost for hardware and IT setup--but well worth it in the end.

The IT setup is not too difficult and your outsourced IT team should be able to set it up easily.

Good luck!

[loboarch · Accepted solution]

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@cbcarch wrote:

C4R is really intended for larger teams, especially with outside MEP/FP Consultants, etc., as it solves the problem of crossing Domains when using Revit Server software with multiple users in multiple offices.

For your small firm/team, being all internal, ( not outside consultants) I'd suggest investing in a dedicated server to host the Central Revit files, and set it up in your LAN (local area network) and have your users create local copies on their PCs and then Synch to Central to the file on the server.

This is the "default" way Revit was designed to work in a Workset enabled environment.

The Server should have a fast processor and lots of RAM. Of course a gigabit/fast local network will also help with synching large files.

A bit of initial cost for hardware and IT setup--but well worth it in the end.

The IT setup is not too difficult and your outsourced IT team should be able to set it up easily.

Good luck!

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This is pretty good advice EXCEPT it will not work for people who need to work on a file from outside of the office sometimes. To deal with that, you will need either C4R or some kind of VPN remote access to a machine located in the office. Either one will work, but the VPN solution does require some IT infrastructure and setup/maintenance. C4R does eliminate the IT part of the equation, but does probably cost more in the long run.

[cbcarch]

Umm......yep, I sorta mentioned that.........