Forums
|
Forums >> Revit Building >> Technical Support >> Working over a network & file size
|
|
|
active
Joined: Thu, Dec 1, 2005
38 Posts
 |
Hi all -
My office is considering taking the plunge and using revit for an addition to a library for both design and documentation. I have used Revit before as a design tool, but I have not yet completed a set of documents in Revit. I was hoping folks could chime in with some of their experience....
The addition is 12,000 gsf - 3 floors each about 4,000 gsf. Programmatically its pretty simple space; a couple of large seminar rooms, reading rooms, and exhibit space. I have a simple model of the exterior of the existing building, and intend to reference cad files for the existing floor plans. How big could this file get? 10mb? 20mb? What slows a file down most during documentation - number of sheets, families?
Second question is related to file sharing in different offices. Although the project team is small, (max 3 people), the project manager is in a different office and she likes to draw on occasion. Our offices are networked, and we operate as "one place" with different network drives for each city. What is working over a network like - is the "save to central" time unmanageable? I'm curious to hear your experience - have you developed work arounds, ways of managing work sets, found a fast enough bandwidth to minimize the problem?
Thanks so much in advance for your help.
|
This user is offline |
|
 | |
|
|
site moderator|||
Joined: Fri, Feb 10, 2006
1874 Posts
 |
here is some info about Revit performance post by othe users
Problems with Revit Being Slow 1
Not being there to look at your file it is hard to diagnose. As I have stated in previous posts, it is not the size of the project, it is how you modeled it that matters the most. Are you using groups? If so how? Do all the hosts required for grouped objects exist in the group? What is in 3D that doesn't need to be? Do you have toilets for example in 3D? Why? Is any of the site work included in the main model? Site need to be a seperate file with the building linked in. How are your worksets sturctured? Do you understand the replicated database topology that Revit employs?
The list goes on and on.
I can tell you that I have a 300,000 SF project underway that is an educational building and simply have no problems with it. The file size is about 40 meg and we are in the DD phase so I have most elements in the model. It will grow with some detailing, but not by much.
Your re-seller should be able to help you out. If not, then find a different one. Be vocal with them and tell them that just selling a Revit license is only the first step of their job. They need to be sure you are fully trained and aware of the techniques that need to be employed on your project types.
Revit is a great piece of software, but as it has been said by others "complex databases don't happen by accident".
Groups in Revit are a major area of failure. It is Revit's fault that they are not as reliable as they should be. It has been a wishlist item for many years now to get them fixed. They may indeed prove to be the root cause of all of your troubles. If you are editing the group and there are items in the group that belong to many different worksets I can see how Revit would choke and crash.
This anwser was previously posted by Tom Dinmn
Question by Revit User
Problems with Revit Being Slow 2
It is not the size of the project that matters, it is how it is modeled that makes the difference. I have seen very small projects that are over-contrained with tons of in-place families or poorly contructed families make Revit look like a useless slow pig of a program. And then I have seen models we have of a 300,000 SF three story involved building that simply are not a problem.
The biggest things to look at are groups. These can be a Revit problem, so make sure you do not see a lot of re-definition taking place. Another spot can be families. In-place families should simply be avoided. Other families should be created to not be "universal". I see people trying to make a door family that can be every type of door there is and the family size ballons to 2 meg when there should be more specific families to cover the doors that are each 50-100K.
Site work should be done in a seperate file and the main Revit model linked into it.
Any AutoCAD files should be "linked" in not "imported". And then only if they are needed. I rarely keep ACAD stuff hanging around. If I need a detail or something simply make a Revit one.
Large project will require worksets.
Modeling everything in 3D is not required and not a good idea. Do you have your standing seam roof modeled? I would never model the standing seams, simply use a surface pattern and a JPEG image if you need to render. What other things are in 3D that don't need to be? Are all of your toilets for example in 3D? I use 2D for toilets unless you plan to render the bathrooms. Better yet I use 2.5D which still wrok in both plan and elevation yet don't have hte 3D overhead.
What about planting? If you are rendering using the Accustudio plants and not RPC's then you are going to have trouble.
A 61,000 SF project is not very big for Revit to handle. I would take a look at how you are putting it together rather than to hardware problems.
If you have not attended Autodesk University, it is where this type of information is presented. If you are a subscription customer, last years AU2005 sessions are out there for you to view that talk about some of this.
This anwser was previously posted by Tom Dinmn
HTH
-----------------------------------
best regards, coreed,aia bmpArchitects,Inc. "Revit has to be implemented, Not installed." Long Live Revit |
This user is offline |
|
|
|
active
Joined: Thu, Dec 1, 2005
38 Posts
|
thanks for the feedback. we will be getting autodesk training, so its good to hear that there is real value in it.
any experience with working over a network?
|
This user is offline |
|
|
|
active
Joined: Sun, Apr 25, 2004
1207 Posts
 |
With regards to working over a network, you have to be real careful.
The WAN speed is typically nowhere near the 100/1000 speed of a LAN. Trying to house the central file remotely is not something you can even consider unless you have data compression and flow appliances from RiverBed Technologies (http://www.riverbed.com/products/appliances/ ) Their Steelhead products are used by most firms requiring a faster WAN connection. The smallest start at 10K each and you need one on each end of the WAN data pipe.
A thing to consider though is changing your workflow and team size to match the likes of Revit. I will submit that for 12,000 SF you only need 1, maybe 1.5 people working on Revit. I can routinely handle 50-200K projects by myself. Maybe the remote person works on a "copy" of the file and you cut and paste their design intent back in to the master central file. Maybe the remote person simply does hand sketches or uses SketchUp. Modelling 12,000SF shouldn't be a problem for a small team of two even if working off hand sketches.
The best advice I can give is get proper training before diving in. And not just training on what button to push in Revit, but how to structure Revit projects sucessfuly.
Tom
|
This user is offline |
View Website
|
|
|
Similar Threads |
|
benchmark survey - file size, project type & size |
Revit Building >> Technical Support
|
Thu, May 25, 2006 at 6:01:46 PM
|
1
|
|
worksets off network |
Revit Building >> Technical Support
|
Mon, Jun 16, 2008 at 3:20:07 PM
|
1
|
|
Revit Small Size Network - Three Computers. |
Revit Building >> Technical Support
|
Wed, Jun 1, 2016 at 3:00:18 PM
|
1
|
|
Central file location problem over workgroup network |
Revit Building >> Technical Support
|
Sun, Jul 28, 2013 at 12:45:05 PM
|
10
|
|
Central File Too Big |
General Discussion >> Revit Project Management
|
Mon, May 19, 2008 at 5:01:28 PM
|
8
|
|
|
Site Stats
Members: | 2066447 | Objects: | 23085 | Forum Posts: | 152257 | Job Listings: | 3 |
|
Search