bim server mac hardware requirements

[schagemann]

dear all,

we are interested in your experiences regarding bim server mac hardware requirements.

we do run a couple of bim servers on mac minis, however it seems that there is only so much they are able to do as with e.g. around 10-15 users accessing around 20 files (approx. between 100 - 900 MB each) concurrently it seems that the current model mac mini (core 2 duo, 8GB RAM) reaches its limits.

also we are intriguied by the following quote on the archicadwiki:

The BIM Server is a multi-threaded application that from the start takes advantage of every core. Commonly a single core will be singled out for the bulk of one user’s ArchiCAD operations. Another user will end up being processed by a different core. The server will balance use across the physical cores. The more physical cores there are the better. A small office should use at least a dual core machine for its BIM Server. Although with the costs of quad cores so reasonable it is hard to justify not starting with a better machine.

From a BIM Server performance standpoint a 2 processor machine runs just as well as a single processor duo core machine.

source: http://www.archicadwiki.com/Teamwork/BimServerSpecification

so basically and as usual the more grunt the better - however we have also heard reports that running a bim server on a designated xserve with 32GB does not seem to run much smoother - really we are wondering were the sweetspot lies here.

so if you care to share your mac based setup and your experiences with it , it would be much appreciated.

ds.

[Anonymous]

Hello,
We have similar amount of users+projects and a
similar MacMini server but having only 4Gb RAM.
Everything running well.
A noticeable difference is in the file size; a typical team
file is well under 100 Mb and the biggest ones around or
less than 200 Mb.

In addition we have a remote 3rd party virtual server (Windows Server 2008) with much more humble configuration. That server is also having
around a dozen of projects sized 15...200 Mb. It works well
but I guess it occasionally gets more RAM than dedicated/paid for.

I wonder that keeping the file size down might be the key?

HTH, Juha

[schagemann]

juha,

thanks for your encouraging reply.

i agree that keeping file sizes down might be the key, which unfortunately is not always possible due to complexity of a project.

we are currently considering one of the following 2 options:

A. additional mac mini's, essentially distributing the load;

B. 1 x mac pro, hosting all projects;

from a management perspective the mac pro has obvious benefits (libraries, DNS setup, etc.), but the question remains if with TW2 a mac pro (more cores & RAM) will actually be able to provide any significant performance gains.

any thoughts much appreciated.

ds.