Teamwork - very large project database

[pejotu]

Hi!

We're working on a seven storey hotel interior.
Very little of the model has been done in Archicad, focusing only on the interiors, furniture etc.

Still, the project file has become very large and a little too sluggish.

As a local .pln file the project file is 400 Mb, but once it's loaded into the teamwork server, it suddenly grows into 1,8 Gb!

Any tips on making the file smaller?


(I've tried optimizing, for example making .mod files of some large 2D-drawings that don't need to be edited etc, but this had no effect)

Working with Archicad 14 on WIN7 64bit workstations (+ 1 32bit XP), the server is a 32bit XP machine.

[Anonymous]

1.8GB is that all, see my recent post here

PLN files increase 5 fold when teamworked. I'm not sure if there is anything you can do about the file size?

We invest in hardware to cope with the 'advances' of ArchiCad. We have a dedicated BimServer which has a quad core processor and 24GB of RAM. All workstations are quad core with 12GB of RAM.

I'm not sure how well your BIMServer is performing, I guess not very well if it is only 32bit, with max 4GB of RAM?

[pejotu]

Well, judging by the resource log on the server, we're not pushing it even close to its limits... (there's currently only one other project running there, and only a few users at the same time)

But it does take an inordinate amount of time to join the project.


I've also tried removing the 2D-drawings (old plans, electrical and plumbing) entirely, which does take 1 Gb off the file size. But so far reinserting them as Xref or .mod bumps the file size back up to 1,8Gb. (one would think that a "block" of data like that wouldn't cause that much overhead to be created...)

I'm thinking of trying inserting these as external drawings (from an external .pln, or .dwg, or even .pmk) next, but that might cause some problems when we need to send the plans out as DWGs...

[Anonymous]

I would stick my neck out and suggest your BIMServer is starting to struggle.

We originally had the BIMServer running on a 32bit machine with 4GB of RAM, signing in/sending changes sometimes took up to 40mins with the larger projects!!

As we earn our cash using computers, we could not afford to have these sort of delays. Poor performing IT is also bad for staff moral.

I would look at a new dedicated BIMServer with at least 16GB of RAM.

EDIT: Our main project is a £25m office development. We have ALL subcontractors/engineers drawings imported onto worksheets - we have no real performance issues with the spec of our computers

[pejotu]

OK, thank you for the comments.

We had a look at the performance of the server with our IT-support, and it seems the teamwork-server's statistics are slightly understated, Task Manager shows that the processor is working close to its limits.

We'll try and improve network performance, and if that doesn't help significantly, I suppose we'll have invest in a new system.

[David Shorter]

I'd get a new dedicated win7 64bit machine with 8 or preferably 16 Gb RAM and a fast hard disk. Don't run anything else especially a mail server.
Keep the project and library directories out of the program directory. Minimize embedded library objects.
Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

we have the same problem. we're working 9 people on 1 teamwork project, It take almost 1 hour starting archicad, sometimes less. The pln file size is 1Gb but in teamwork become 8.5Gb. I don't know why! It take 20min when I send & receive or reserve an object... Does anyone know why? We have had upgraded all computer and the problem still the same...

[David Shorter]

What are your specs for ....
server
network arrange (WIFI or wired)
is your server local OR EXTERNAL
what operating systems for each of your machines
what version of ARCHICAD

[Laszlo Nagy]

I think these file sizes are really large and that sheer size of data may start causing those slownesses. You should start looking for some reasons why and see if you can make these files lighter.
Here is an article:

http://helpcenter.graphisoft.com/troubleshooting/performance/summary-of-typical-3d-speed-problems-2/

It is a few years old but I think most of the things it mentions apply to the latest versions as well.

[schagemann]

we have had this happen to us recently as well - thus here is what we found:

1. check your network and switch setup;

2. reduce file size, anythiany TW file beyond 3-4 GB i would start looking at very closely... check for anything superfluous in the project map (worksheets and sections);

3. check the library manager - some people load PLA's as libraries;

4. increase RAM on both server and workstations, the bigger the file the more RAM speeds things up significantly;

5. check your backup settings on the BIM Server - the default settings might contribute to your problem;

6. if you are running on Apple hardware ensure that WiFi is switched off on all devices;