PDM Vault on network drive 1

[joerocket]

I have a server that currently runs the PDM 2005 Server and houses our only Vault.

I am in the process of moving PDM to a new server, but would like to put the Vault on separate server that is optimized for file storage.

During the PDM installation process I can select a mapped network drive for the Vault. But when attempting to start the PDM Admin application the PDM service chokes getting to the remote files.

I have opened up all permissions (NTFS & shares) on the mapped resource. I have also tried changing the ID the service runs under to a Domain Admin account.

Anyone have experience with vaults located on a separate server?

 

[ctopher]

From our experience, having the vault and license separate can cause hiccups. Do not know why. Move them to the same server.

Chris
Sr. Mechanical Designer, CAD
SolidWorks 05 SP2.0 / PDMWorks 05
ctopher's home site
FAQ371-376
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-1091
FAQ559-716

 

[joerocket]

I heard the same thing from our VAR support agent. Unforutunately, this move is tied to a major network overhaul. We are implementing Network Attached Storage (NAS) and consolodating network file storage.

I was finally able to make the remote Vault configuration work, using DFS and a UNC folder reference (instead of mapped drives). I will test and then update this post.

IMHO> Given the large files generated by SolidWorks, this is a major shortcoming from a Network Architecture standpoint. I understand the problem in low bandwidth networks, but get with it SolidWorks!! With the advent of Gigabit Copper or Fiber backbones, NAS and SAN should be viable platforms for Vault storage.

 

[PDMAdmin]

joerocket,

We are using a Windows license server and a Unix file server. The trick for us was checking four things:

1) Which account in Unix owns the vault files?
2) Has the same account (either local or domain) been created on the Windows machine as well?
3) Does that account have admin access on the Windows machine?
4) Are we logged into the Windows machine as that account?

Most of the time we had a problem, it was because #4 was being violated. Logging into the Windows machine as "administrator" won't work if the Unix account that owns the PDM vault files is "pdmuser" for example. In that case, the Windows machine would need an account called "pdmuser" and you would need to be logged in as that. Otherwise, you would not be able to access the vault files.

Hope that helps...

 

[PDMAdmin]

joerocket,

I just thought of something else. Could your problem be related to dynamic IP addresses? PDMWorks always wants to see the same IP address, and it will choke if that ever changes.

 

[joerocket]

Thanks PDMAdmin. Good to know.

We are using the default login for the PDMW Service. It seems to be a little slow opening the Vault (on the user's end), but opening project files is very quick.

We are still testing, but it seems to be stable, despite the reported problems with WinServer 2003. I will play with the account used for the service to see if that makes a difference.

Jacob Smith
M.E. & Info Sys Admin
SolidWorks/PDM 2005

 

[joerocket]

PDMW Server and Vault File Server have static IP addresses.

Jacob Smith
M.E. & Info Sys Admin
SolidWorks/PDM 2005

 

[PDMAdmin]

joerocket,

What is the specific error you are getting when you try to start the Vault Admin utility?

 

[griffithbuilt]

First a specific question related, then a general one (long).

First, if we are running PDMWorks vault on the server with local license files, will this cause an issue, or is the issue only IF the network license is being used and non-local to the vault server?

Second, man oh man PDMWorks is running slow for us. Any advice to the below issue would be greatly appreciated.

We are running SW2005 SP2 with PDM Works and due to some lethargy problems with the PDMWorks Vault, our VAR has suggested that we upgrade to SP04 and upgrade the PDMWorks server and client software as well.

I'm curious if this could actually solve our issues, which are in no particular order:

1. Super slow check in. Assemblies are anywhere from 100 to 1500 parts (with 1500 being rare and the average assembly size being around 350 parts).

2. Extended amounts of time (10-20 seconds minimum) between clicking on the vault tab and the contents actually appearing unless all folders are closed.

3. Extended amounts of time between choosing the vault in an 'Open' dialog box and having the contents appear.

4. Multiple crashes with both the 'Solidworks has terminated due to an unhandled error' and a new 'Solidworks cannot open the file, please call your retailer for more information' message occuring while opening items out of the vault.

Our IT Department claims that our throughput on the network is not exceeding the overall bandwidth, and during these slow times with pdmworks response and/or check-in, our workstation cpu activity is 0% or slightly more.

We plan to do the SP04 and PDMWorks upgrades on Wednesday but we are concerned (well, our IT guys are concerned) that these upgrades may cause more harm than good. Any emperical and/or narrative data on this upgrade relative to SP02 would be very helpful.

Jason Griffith

 

[PDMAdmin]

Slow PDMWorks performance is almost always due to a slow network. Just because you're within your bandwidth parameters doesn't mean your network is running at full speed. Your IT guys should check the speed of the network, as well as the connectivity between the various machines (client machines, servers, etc.). Upgrading the service pack will fix a few bugs, but I don't think you'll see a huge performance boost because of it.

If you're crashing out while working with large assemblies, you could be running out of memory on your machine. If that doesn't fix it, try doing a fresh uninstall/reinstall as outlined by Scott in the FAQ section.

 

[ctopher]

We had the same problem. We updated the network and purchased a faster server. Everything runs faster now.

Chris
Sr. Mechanical Designer, CAD
SolidWorks 05 SP3.1 / PDMWorks 05
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716

 

[engAlright]

I would second PDMAdmin's assessment - you might have a combination of things happening:

Item 4 on your list certainly sounds like you are running out of RAM (especially when considered that your CPU activity during check-in is so slow) try using an MMC(start - run - perfmon) to trace RAM utilization during a check-in operation.

Items 1, 2 and 3 all sound like a slow network connection or slow server. To test which it is, you can also use perfmon to track RAM, CPU and hard disk utlization on the server, which might give you some clues on exactly what's causing the problem.

 

[joerocket]

A few more details would be helpful.

What is managing the licensing: SolidWorks licensing tool or third party application?

I agree with PDMAdmin - What speed of network are you running (backbone and access layers)?

What OS is the Vault Server on? Have you monitored the performance of the device hosting the PDM Service?

In my experience, the first sentence out of the VAR's tech staff is alway "get the latest service pack". I am skeptical but do it anyway, unless its a major revision (2004 to 2005 sucked).



Jacob Smith
M.E. & Info Sys Admin
SolidWorks/PDM 2005

 

[EEnd]

You might want to look into the Apr-26-05 Bulletin at:

http://www.solidworks.com/pages/services/CustomerBulletins.html?PID=252

Our vault computer was running Windows Server 2003, and applying the described fix eliminated a problem that we were having with poor vault performance.

Eric

 

[griffithbuilt]

The Server is Windows2000 Server and in terms of using perfmon to isolate the issue with the server, the problem with that is that the entire company uses this server, which means that it is nearly impossible to isolate and track our SW issues through to the server with a monitor located there.

Jason

 

[griffithbuilt]

Additionally, we recently installed a new DELL w/ 3.4ghz xeon, 1400 nVidia Quadro and 2gb ram and it is incurring these 'SolidWorks terminated due to an unhandled error/Call your rep' errors faster than our slower machines. ONLY when it gets into and interacts with the vault.

Jason

 

[engAlright]

Using MMC, you can track things like processor time, I/O operations and page file activity of a specific process, which would isolate PDMwvault from other activity on the server.

Is the same server running the PDMW service and housing the documents?

Considering there is other activity on the same server that's running the vault - is there any noticeable speed difference between checking a large assembly in at a high traffic time vs. a low traffic time?

If your server is fast, and the backbone connection from server to switch is fast, there must be a bottleneck elsewhere in the network.