topic Re: TW2- Where are the step-by-step instructions? in Teamwork & BIMcloud

TW2- Where are the step-by-step instructions?

Anonymous — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:09:49 GMT

In reviewing the Archicad 13 Collaboration Guide, I cannot locate any sections that explain how to share a PLN... and so on.

I have figured out most of TW2's functionality via web seminars and trial/error. But what is concerning me is the lack of documentation on how-to and best practice.

For example, once the PLN is converted to a shared project via BIM Server, where is the shared file located? And is it necessary to keep the original PLN? In testing, we deleted the original PLN and the shared connection still functioned, but I have nothing to tell me that I am right or wrong.

Please help. Thank you.

Christopher Humes
Richmond, VA USA

Re: TW2- Where are the step-by-step instructions?

Laszlo Nagy — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:51:41 GMT

Your best bet is the upcoming Collaboration Interactive Training Guide.
Currently the movies from this ITG are available for viewing.

Check the Teamwork in Action section at the bottom of the following page:

http://www.graphisoft.com/products/archicad/tw.html

The Setting Up a Teamwork Project part shows sharing projects and setting up the BIM Server.

Re: TW2- Where are the step-by-step instructions?

Karl Ottenstein — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:21:05 GMT

Powdered wrote:
For example, once the PLN is converted to a shared project via BIM Server, where is the shared file located? And is it necessary to keep the original PLN? In testing, we deleted the original PLN and the shared connection still functioned, but I have nothing to tell me that I am right or wrong.

Besides the ITG that is coming, the Graphisoft staff keeps adding more content to the ArchicadWiki articles on TW2.

As far as where the shared file is located ... when you installed the BIM Server, one of the screens that you page through during installation is to set the location for the shared projects files and another is the location for the shared library files. (The defaults may or may not be what you want.)

You can open up the BIM Server management screen to see where these are.

Yes, once shared, the PLN serves no purpose other than yet another backup.

When you join a project, you get another copy of it on your local machine. Your Work Environment specifies where those files will be stored.

Karl

Re: TW2- Where are the step-by-step instructions?

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:02:37 GMT

That helps. Thanks all.

Christopher Humes
Richmond, VA USA

Re: TW2- Where are the step-by-step instructions?

sedley — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:53:15 GMT

Can you locate the teamwork project and library folders in a remote location? Say on an iDisk for example?

Re: TW2- Where are the step-by-step instructions?

Karl Ottenstein — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:51:48 GMT

sedley wrote:
Can you locate the teamwork project and library folders in a remote location? Say on an iDisk for example?

In principal, any storage device that can be accessed via a normal browse-path can be utilized. During server set-up, you have the option to accept default locations or to browse to folders to be utilized instead.

However, because of the slow speed of access to remote storage, this would not be a good thing to do at all. The server should be accessing fast, local storage - and ideally, the server should be positioned on the network closest to the majority of users. That is, if you have 10 users in one office and 3 in another, all accessing the same project and all with the same speed internet connection - the server should physically be in the 10 person office so that they have the highest performance, with only 3 having to deal with the slower transfer of the internet.

My 2 cents. 😉

Karl

Re: TW2- Where are the step-by-step instructions?

Steve Jepson — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:04:56 GMT

I have been reading everything I can find for the past day or so and I can not get my server set up so others can access it. There is lots of good information describing the problems with doing this but not enough instructions on how to implement the solution.

I think it is safe to say that everyone using TW2 wants to be able to collaborate via the internet at some time.

It is also safe to say that very few of us have a static IP address yet either. This means the work around for this kind of configuration needs to have some step-by-step instructions. Not just a description of the problem and general comments about how to go about doing it, followed by the advise that we should have an IT professional do this.

I have gone to https://www.dyndns.com/ and gotten a free host name and IP number. I think I pasted it into the right place but there still must be somethings I need to change because it does not work. Even if it did work, how could I test it? You need to have someone who will try and sign in and see if it works. I used my other lap top to test my first server set up and it worked fine. But that was only because it was using the same router as my other computer. I had someone from the internet try to sign in and it didn't work.

I am going to try for a few more hours and if I can't do it with the information I have available, I bet no one else can either.

Tomorrow I will have a fixed IP address. I am not so sure this is going to make it any easier.

http://www.archicadwiki.com/Teamwork/BimServerRemoteConnection#Solution_without_VPN_.28regular_remote_access_of_LAN_from_the_internet.29

We cannot give you detailed examples of how to set up a PAT or Firewall according to the above solutions due to the high variety of the possible network topology, network devices and interfaces of the software responsible for the PAT and for the Firewall. In small offices, you can do these changes if you are fully aware of the LAN topology in your office and you are also aware of the interface of the Firewall and of the software responsible for PAT. Otherwise an IT professional has to do the job. In large offices, we suggest that an IT professional does this job.

Thats fine. But give some step-by-step instructions for this work around for a common situation then people can extrapolate how to do it for their situation.

Assume I have a computer with 13 and the BIM Server on it. I don't have a fixed IP address yet. I want to configure the BIM Server and my computer so people can sign in and work on the project.

That sounds like a typical and ordinary thing to expect from TW2 doesn't it? Would it be too much to expect step-by-step instructions for doing this?

How about the same thing but I do have a fixed IP address?
That should be even easier to give instructions for.

What we have is lot of information on how to do things that don't need explaining. I read every word of the Collaboration Guide, Getting Started, and all of the ArchiWIKI stuff, and it I am still not able to do this.

How about the new Installation Package thing? Could that be used for this?

If you ask me the installation program for the BIM Server should have included steps to configure it for use via the internet with and/or with out a fixed IP address.

Re: TW2- Where are the step-by-step instructions?

Laszlo Nagy — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:00:31 GMT

Steve, in the BIM Server Control Center, there is a Create Link button. With it you can create a Server Link file (*.twlink file).

Then the person who wants to join takes this file.
In ArchiCAD, he goes Join Teamwork Project.
In the appearing Dialog, select the Add More BIM Server option from the Choose BIM Server list.
Then choose the Browse for a server link file radio button in the next Dialog.
Then select the BIM Server Link File (*.twlink file).
That should contain all necessary settings.

Please try if you can do it this way.

There is an additional thing which may or may not be related: In the BIM Server Manager one defines Users and their passwords etc.
Then when you Join a Project in ArchiCAD (the client) you have to provide a User Name and a password and that has to match one of the Users defined in the BIM Server you want to access.

Re: TW2- Where are the step-by-step instructions?

Steve Jepson — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:04:55 GMT

Yes. Been there done that. The problem is that I do not have the proper PAT configuration. (Port Address Translation)

We cannot give you detailed examples of how to set up a PAT or Firewall according to the above solutions ... we suggest that an IT professional does this job.

That is not an option. If it is, they should have made that clear before they sold it to us.

Right in here somewhere is where I think I am haveing the problem.

Windows Step-by-Step
By default, Windows stores its hosts file in C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc. From an administrator level account, open hosts in Notepad and, being careful not to alter anything already there, append a line such as this:

10.0.0.44 MyServer.gotdns.com # Local BIM ServerEnter the actual static local IP address of the BIM Server in place of 10.0.0.44 and enter the hostname that you obtained (and which is being dynamically updated if you have a dynamic public IP address) in place of MyServer.gotdns.com. Use the tab key (or spaces) between the entries. Save the file.
If you would like to verify that the entry you created is working properly, you can open a Command window by going to the Start Menu, choosing Run, and entering "cmd" as the command to run. A DOS-like command interface will open. Enter the command "ping Myserver.gotdns.com" substituting whatever hostname you actually entered into the hosts file. If the first line contains the local address in parentheses, then you followed all of the steps correctly. You can press ctrl-C to cancel ping, and then close the command window.

This is as clear as mud to me.

Re: TW2- Where are the step-by-step instructions?

Karl Ottenstein — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:16:18 GMT

Sorry that's not clear. I wrote up that and several paragraphs above and below. Some people have managed to follow those directions successfully, but they can be improved. The reality is that it really does take a certain skill level to set this up for access over the internet, possibly a consultant. It takes no skill to set it up to work in a local network.

Karl

Re: TW2- Where are the step-by-step instructions?

Steve Jepson — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:26:25 GMT

Something that is not clear to me is that when I open the hosts file in Notepad (C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc) it appearsears to be a sample of how a HOST file looks. Is this Notepad window actually the place to edit someting?

Obviously a static IP address on your router is best, however, if you dont have one it is not that big a deal to send out a new link to the BIM server if it is only going to change once every few months or so.

The dynamic IP address that Comcast issues (for example) can not be called static IP address but they don't change very often.

Port Forwarding is what needs to be configured if you have a static IP address or not right?

I don't know how to do that but it doesn't seem like it would take much to give step-by-step instructions.

Re: TW2- Where are the step-by-step instructions?

Karl Ottenstein — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:09:43 GMT

Steve wrote:
Something that is not clear to me is that when I open the hosts file in Notepad (C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc) it appearsears to be a sample of how a HOST file looks. Is this Notepad window actually the place to edit someting?

This may be of some help.
http://corz.org/comms/hardware/router/static.ip.address.php

Hi Steve,

Yes, the article that you link to gives directions for assigning a static local address to a machine. This is useful in all cases, but it is essential if you are going to edit the hosts file in order to point a domain name locally to a particular machine... if the machine were dynamically assigned an IP address, then local access would break...in the specific scenario where local access requires editing the hosts file due to concurrent internet access. (As noted in the wiki article, this may not always be required depending on a number of factors.)

Yes, the notepad window contents that you see is not a sample ... it IS the hosts file. The first group of lines is just documentation - anything after a "#" symbol is a comment and is ignored during processing of the file. Edit carefully.

Cheers,
Karl

Re: TW2- Where are the step-by-step instructions?

Steve Jepson — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:14:44 GMT

Thanks Karl.

This will be a sweet victory when I finally get it up and running

Re: TW2- Where are the step-by-step instructions?

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:00:31 GMT

It does not make it clear anywhere in the ArchiCAD 13 documentation that the original project file is obsolete once a project is shared. It's going to affect how we file our projects and is a quite alien and new process that even long term users of ArchiCAD won't find intuitive or obvious. They really should make it much clearer.

Re: TW2- Where are the step-by-step instructions?

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:16:01 GMT

Hi!
I think it will be helpful if somebody can specify with examples the path of a general TW2 installed on a single computer in a local network.
Like C:/Projects.....and so on.
Thanks