Best way to run AutoCAD remotely

[john.uhden]

My swimming pool liner client is losing his best draftsman, Mike, to Florida.  But Mike won't have a job down there so will be available to do my client's work remotely.

I am looking for the best way for Mike to connect to my client's server remotely to work on projects.

I think that one way is to run AutoCAD locally but connect to the server directly, let's say as a mapped drive.

And another way is to take over a PC at the office and run AutoCAD remotely.

Maybe there are other ways, too.

The idea is that Mike could draft the designs and save them to the server so that another draftsman can plot them and send the cut files to the cutter station.  Actually, the cut files go to just another logical drive on the same server.  Hmm, if I get my Nest routine working correctly, Mike could send the cut files himself.

Anyone have an opinion on which way is best?  And the name of the product to use?

[rkmcswain · Accepted solution]

The best way is for the hardware running the application and the server holding the data files to be in the same physical location.

Trying to work with remote data is going to be a pain, unless you have an awesome (i.e.: expensive) connection.

Put the PC in the same building as the server, then use RDP or something similar to remotely hit that PC from anywhere in the world. The only data you are moving is the pixels. Alternatively (and a lot more expensive) is to purchase VDI as a service and mirror your data to the location of the VDI desktops.

Same as above; As the client, you're only moving pixels, but this is enterprise class as opposed to Windows RDP.

[dgorsman · Accepted solution]

Watch the traffic if he has a personal rather than commercial internet connection.

I'd recommend a document-management style system, where files are checked out for local use and checked back in when finished.  Support file updates can be batched at regular intervals, not much point pushing those live over the connection unless there's some kind of database backend or similar set-up.  Secondary benefit is if something (and there's probably a *lot* of something) between the two end-points goes down he can keep working.

If AutoCAD licensing is to be included, that will depend on multi-user/network vs. Desktop/standalone.  Both have benefits and drawbacks e.g. short term borrow on a network license vs. a user-assigned limited term license on a Desktop license.

[john.uhden]

I think that you and R.K. have said the magic words.

These kids are a good enough team not to need checking out and checking in so I think that if Mike can just check in his work to the server, that that will be the fastest and least interruptible.

So what software would be the best for just transferring files directly to a server?

Technically, e-mailing his work to another draftsman would do except for the labor overhead.  Then again, he needs to communicate the status of his work to someone at the office anyway since the work folder is physically transferred from order entry to drafting to cutting, etc.  Cutting does not know that a job is in the queue until a physical folder shows up in their physical inbox (yes, literally a cardboard box).  And since the folder has to follow the cut panels around to seaming then QC then packaging and finally shipping, I don't see that there is any easy way of changing that culture or even mixing it up.

[john.uhden]

The client has his cousin as bookkeper and he's no dummy when it comes to computers.

They have already decided to use Logmein (which sounds like a Chinese dish to me) to just transfer Mike's files to the server at the office through an extra computer at the office.

I think that will work fine.

BTW, it seems that Citrix sold off GoToMyPC to Logmein who is selling both products as they are slightly different.

Thank you all for your valuable opinions.