MMontgomery wrote:
So..what happens to any existing projects on the BIM server when uninstalling and reinstalling the server software for 18? Do the projects remain on the server so they can be imported or are they lost?
During the uninstallation of a BIM Server instance you will see a page warning you that all projects will be deleted as part of the process. So we recommend that you regularly save PLN or BIMProject backups. These are scheduled to be created automatically in your Project settings, but you must retrieve the files prior to uninstallation as they are currently stored with the project folder. We recommend that a typical computer backup strategy be employed on your BIM Server.
Distributed Data Saves the Day
But even in the event that you do uninstall the BIM Server without any backups there will be a copy of the project located on everyone's computer who has joined the project. You may open that copy and a warning will appear that ArchiCAD cannot connect the BIM Server. Choose to Work in Offline mode and use
File > Save as... Format:
ArchiCAD Solo Project (PLN). The PLN can then be worked on or re-shared to a newly installed BIM Server.
Backup Projects with 3rd Party Tool
To implement the very best backup strategy on BIM Server you should have your 3rd party backup software scheduled to backup the Projects directory after business hours when the BIM Server is stopped. If the BIM Server is running during a back from Time Machine or some other service then the snapshot it gets of the project might not be soluble if the project database file is open. There are ways to script this as noted in this article:
Help Center - BIM Server Backup Scripting Tools
And some general advice...
BIM Server is not Long-Term Storage
A BIM Server project should be considered as a transitory state of the project. The BIM Server software is designed to facilitate collaboration not file storage. As a best practice you should save a PLN file of your projects when they have reached completion or an indefinite stopping point. It is a good idea to review your projects in the BIM Server Manager periodically and see when the latest activity was. If it the last action by anyone was over a month ago and there are not plans to work in that project within the coming month, then you should save a PLN and possibly export a BIMProject (if it is useful to you keep all the backup files) and then delete he project from the server. You can quickly get the project back into teamwork by sharing it. Only live/active projects should be on your BIM Server. The rest should be archived as PLNs.
Learn More about BIM Server Best Practices
