Hi Folks,
I am a small business owner running 2 seats of Solidworks with licenses resident on each workstation. We also use CAMWORKS and we produce code for 2 CNC mills (1 old Haas, 1 new Doosan/Fanuc).
We run PDM for workgroups from Solidworks on a DELL server onsite for storage of all our design CAD/CAM/CNC files (in a PDM vault storage using Microsoft SQL database storage)
The files need to be checked out from the server to use on the local machine so this gives version control, plus the speed of running files locally from solid state hard disks.
We drank all the Solidworks Koolaid and invested in the full architecture recommended by the SW reseller. We keep the server and workstations up to date, and use all Solidworks approved hardware, but still see occasional problems and it stops us in our tracks.
We have some outside IT support, and we rely on our SW reseller for PDM support
so after things were finally setup, it runs pretty well. We are more tech savvy now as we are involved in the server builds, workstation software load and each fix from the reseller when problems happen.
But it seems like windows update can disturb things and we need to fix changes to firewall settings, and local files such as host tables etc, so we get downtime a bit too often. Last night we had an extended power outage, so even with a UPS for every machine and soft shutdowns the restart can be tricky. Today we rebooted the server, then the workstations and guess what.... no file connection the vault. We did get this sorted out but it took hours and sometimes it can be really inconvenient if clients are waiting.
When this happens it is full stop as we cant open Solidworks files from the vault
Just rebooting the server and workstations takes quite a while. there are services that need to restart and on one machine it seems like it takes a 15-30 minutes for PDM related services to start. When we have to replan our day because we cant open files this is not fun.
So since we are small, and make no parts or new designs when problems happen this stops our business. We do get this sorted out, and have not had any data loss (thankfully!)
I am wondering what other peoples experience may be.
I know everyone's scenario is different as far as network, server and workstation configurations but how often do you find Software/hardware/Server/PDM, firewall and other IT issues stops your business from being productive?
We do run antivirus and firewalls, and local and cloud backup too, so I am not talking about malware but simply stability in general.
I find it aggravating to be behind schedule on making parts and then cant open files, even if this only happens once in a while.
We prefer to avoid cloud based CAD, but have to admit Onshape is appealing if the stability is there. I did talk to them and one interesting point is multiple users can work on an assembly at a time. They can do this as it was designed to allow multiuser access to assemblies, and because the saves of changes are so fast, multiple users can access a single file at the same time without issues.(similar to how google docs works)
If we tried a cloud based CAD system, we probably would need to run both Solidworks as well, as we are so deep with it, but if a more stabile system was available, we would be open to trying new things. We tried fusion but didnt get far with it.
My question is: How much downtime do most people see due to CAD/CAM or PDM instability?
What are your environments and configurations, and what causes problems for you?
It is disruptive when it happens and reseller response time can take a day or more.
Usually it is less, and you cant blame the person trying to help you, so it is a trying experience.
I feel our best bet is to invest in current software/hardware so that is what we do.
What do you do? Just curious for peoples experiences.
What are your experiences in using Solidworks (or your CAD) as far as stability?
What do you find makes it better or worse?
For people who work in a smaller company on local files - how often do you find the system is down or crashes?
For people who work with file servers in bigger companies, how often do you find the system is down or crashes?
Thanks!
Steve
I am a small business owner running 2 seats of Solidworks with licenses resident on each workstation. We also use CAMWORKS and we produce code for 2 CNC mills (1 old Haas, 1 new Doosan/Fanuc).
We run PDM for workgroups from Solidworks on a DELL server onsite for storage of all our design CAD/CAM/CNC files (in a PDM vault storage using Microsoft SQL database storage)
The files need to be checked out from the server to use on the local machine so this gives version control, plus the speed of running files locally from solid state hard disks.
We drank all the Solidworks Koolaid and invested in the full architecture recommended by the SW reseller. We keep the server and workstations up to date, and use all Solidworks approved hardware, but still see occasional problems and it stops us in our tracks.
We have some outside IT support, and we rely on our SW reseller for PDM support
so after things were finally setup, it runs pretty well. We are more tech savvy now as we are involved in the server builds, workstation software load and each fix from the reseller when problems happen.
But it seems like windows update can disturb things and we need to fix changes to firewall settings, and local files such as host tables etc, so we get downtime a bit too often. Last night we had an extended power outage, so even with a UPS for every machine and soft shutdowns the restart can be tricky. Today we rebooted the server, then the workstations and guess what.... no file connection the vault. We did get this sorted out but it took hours and sometimes it can be really inconvenient if clients are waiting.
When this happens it is full stop as we cant open Solidworks files from the vault
Just rebooting the server and workstations takes quite a while. there are services that need to restart and on one machine it seems like it takes a 15-30 minutes for PDM related services to start. When we have to replan our day because we cant open files this is not fun.
So since we are small, and make no parts or new designs when problems happen this stops our business. We do get this sorted out, and have not had any data loss (thankfully!)
I am wondering what other peoples experience may be.
I know everyone's scenario is different as far as network, server and workstation configurations but how often do you find Software/hardware/Server/PDM, firewall and other IT issues stops your business from being productive?
We do run antivirus and firewalls, and local and cloud backup too, so I am not talking about malware but simply stability in general.
I find it aggravating to be behind schedule on making parts and then cant open files, even if this only happens once in a while.
We prefer to avoid cloud based CAD, but have to admit Onshape is appealing if the stability is there. I did talk to them and one interesting point is multiple users can work on an assembly at a time. They can do this as it was designed to allow multiuser access to assemblies, and because the saves of changes are so fast, multiple users can access a single file at the same time without issues.(similar to how google docs works)
If we tried a cloud based CAD system, we probably would need to run both Solidworks as well, as we are so deep with it, but if a more stabile system was available, we would be open to trying new things. We tried fusion but didnt get far with it.
My question is: How much downtime do most people see due to CAD/CAM or PDM instability?
What are your environments and configurations, and what causes problems for you?
It is disruptive when it happens and reseller response time can take a day or more.
Usually it is less, and you cant blame the person trying to help you, so it is a trying experience.
I feel our best bet is to invest in current software/hardware so that is what we do.
What do you do? Just curious for peoples experiences.
What are your experiences in using Solidworks (or your CAD) as far as stability?
What do you find makes it better or worse?
For people who work in a smaller company on local files - how often do you find the system is down or crashes?
For people who work with file servers in bigger companies, how often do you find the system is down or crashes?
Thanks!
Steve