BIMcloud Basic on a VPS for Small Teams, Is This Recommended or Allowed?

[mariapaz]

Hello Graphisoft Community, I would like to ask about something I recently implemented regarding BIMcloud Basic.

A couple of years ago, I used BIMcloud Basic on my personal laptop. Recently, I started collaborating with teammates who work at different times of the day, including when my laptop is turned off. Because of this, they could not access the BIMcloud environment when I was offline.

To solve this, I set up BIMcloud Basic on a VPS so the server remains online 24/7. The solution has been working very well, accessible at all times, and without major issues. Now everyone can work regardless of whether my personal computer is on.

Some colleagues from other studios noticed this setup and asked me to help them implement something similar. In my area, very few architects use BIMcloud; most teams still exchange project files by email, which slows down collaboration significantly. From my experience, BIMcloud Basic is a fantastic tool, and the main limitation was simply not having a computer running continuously.

Using a VPS solves problems such as needing a machine powered on 24/7, Internet interruptions at home, power outages and hardware dependency on a personal laptop or a dedicated server.

I also created internal video tutorials and PDF guides for my team to help new members learn how to use BIMcloud efficiently.

My question is:

Would it be acceptable (from a technical and licensing perspective) to help other small studios set up their own BIMcloud Basic environments on VPS servers as a consulting or support service?
Any experiences, warnings, or recommendations would be extremely helpful.

Thank you for your time and for such a powerful collaboration tool. Best regards.

[Lingwisyer]

Is your VPS secure? I would assume that the work required to make it secure would vary from host to host. If you start to help set it up, I would assume that you would become partially responsible for ensuring that the VPS and access to it does not become a vulnerability of the local network the users are connecting from.

Not my field,

Ling. 

[mariapaz]

Hi Ling, thank you for the insight! That is an excellent point.

Security is definitely a major factor. For my own setup, I rely on the provider's built-in firewalls and automated daily backups. As an extra security step, I also attached a custom domain routed through Cloudflare's DNS, so the connection link uses the domain and port rather than exposing the server's raw IP address to the web. But you are completely right, taking on that setup for another studio means taking on a level of responsibility if their data gets compromised. That liability is definitely something I need to think about.

Aside from the technical and security risks, I am definitely going to hold off on offering this to anyone until I get some solid clarity on the licensing/EULA side of things. I want to make sure everything is 100% compliant before moving forward. Thanks again for the warning!

[schagemann]

Although I do not have an answer to the above, I would argue you do not even make it that complicated.

We have been very successful with giving VPN access to a locally hosted BIMcloud Basic for years. Assuming you have the hardware, your LAN is secure, your internet connection is stable and reasonably fast, this works really well, and is secure without the added overheads.

Btw. if you have subscribed to COLLABORATE, you might as well tap into BIMcloud SaaS.

[Lingwisyer]

BIMCloud SaaS and Collaborate are seperate for what ever reason... Unless they have updated it, you cannot join a Collaborate BimCloud with a SaaS licence...

https://community.graphisoft.com/t5/Teamwork-BIMcloud/Archicad-Studio-Archicad-Collaborate-and-BIMcl...

There was another post when it first came out that I have not been able to find...

Ling.

[schagemann]

Unsure, I follow - the Archicad Collaborate (as opposed to an Archicad Studio) subscription tier comes with BIMcloud SaaS, at least in Australia?

Before GS released AC Collaborate, there used to be a separate SaaS license subscription in addition to an Archicad License subscription, maybe that is what you are referring to...?

[Lingwisyer]

https://community.graphisoft.com/t5/Licensing/Graphisoft-Licence-Disaster/m-p/671922

That was the post I was looking for earlier. No update post temporary licences on whether it was finally resolved or what the exact issue was. The addition of portable BIMCloud Licences might have resolve this?

[MinhNguyen]

To me, this sounds risky in terms of T&C:

4.1.3. Special Conditions: BIMcloud Basic's usage is limited to local area networks (LAN / VPN). Using BIMcloud Basic over wide area networks (WAN / Internet) is strictly forbidden. BIMcloud Basic can be installed on on-premises hardware only. BIMcloud Basic is not allowed to be installed on / operated from cloud based virtual computers.

Link:

https://www.graphisoft.com/en-vn/legal/license-agreements/bimcloud

(I have no idea why my reply keeps disappearing)

Depending on how you set up the VPS (whether it's accessible via internet or self-hosted then access through a special VPN tunnel), this can be interpreted as accessing BIMcloud Basic over internet, which is forbidden. Reading from your description, I assume it's via internet 😞

[MinhNguyen]

this is incorrect. Archicad Collaborate comes with BIMcloud Saas (BIMcloud servers hosted and maintained by GS).

The issue mentioned in that post is about a different issue (cannot convert INT license into AUD)

Then adding to the complication, there is BIMcloud Basic - available with Archicad Studio/Archicad Perpetual license if you're still on that; BIMcloud (paid version) available separately, not sure if that is still a live product; and BIMcloud Saas (hosted and managed by GS)

[torben_wadlinger]

Graphisoft can write a lot into its licence agreement. The question is, is such a restriction even permissible? I would doubt it. At least in the EU.

However, I would never run a BIMCloud on a VPS anyway, because BIMCloud does not support https. Secure operation only works behind a reverse proxy, which you then have to run on Windows via IIS. Have fun with that. Therefore, BIMCloud SaaS is actually the better choice for people who are not familiar with all the network stuff. Unfortunately.