Technology in Architectural Practice

  • 1.  Digital Connectivity

    Posted 11-13-2014 08:52 AM
    I am looking for the best way for multiple offices to work together on common CAD and Revit files. What have other firms found to work and what should be avoided?

    Thank you,

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    Leslie Schneeberger AIA
    Principal
    Schneeberger Group
    Harwich MA
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  • 2.  RE: Digital Connectivity

    Posted 11-14-2014 06:18 PM
    We are transitioning to Sharefile as our file server for everyone. Much cheaper than a server and works everywhere. ------------------------------------------- William Ware AIA Principal Ware Architecture Studio Addison TX -------------------------------------------


  • 3.  RE: Digital Connectivity

    Posted 11-17-2014 06:08 PM

    Hi Guys you may like to check out Trimble connect. It is a cloud based solution that was released last week. Trimble acquired Gehry Technologies. It looks to be a solution that will help all of us. I would be interested in hearing your thoughts. 
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    Andrew Dwight
    BIM manager
    RubySketch
    Sydney
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  • 4.  RE: Digital Connectivity

    Posted 11-19-2014 09:59 AM
    I think it depends on how large your user group is or will be.

    For our small firm, we use a Synology Diskstation. We manage it ourselves. 

    Has lots of features that we love:

    - Clients can log into a web interface to view and upload/download files.
    - Consultants can do that as well, but if they want to work on files, they can actually mount the Share folder on their own computer. Using WEBDAV, the folders will mount just as if it's they're sitting across from you on own network. (just make sure they sign all necessary confidentiality and disclaimer)
    - You can share files just like dropbox - via a link
    - Like dropbox, you can specify a folder that will automatically sync so it can be available for other devices
    - Mobile access is easy with iOs and Android apps
    - you can add user with specific access levels

    - Storage is only limited by how large of a hard drive you want to use. We are using 6TB disks
    - RAID
    - Easy to backup to a cloud service or other rSync servers. We have our Diskstation back up to a Ubuntu rSync server and that then syncs with Crashplan (3x redundancy). Add the next feature and you have 4x redundancy!
    - TimeMachine feature back up can be set to an external disk that is connected via eSata, USB3 or network. We have our TimeMachine set to back up to an external eSata disk that is set at hourly. If a worker 
    accidentally deletes a file within that hour, it can be retrieved.
    - Files/Folders can be encrypted - worst case scenario, If you do get hacked, files are not readable without the key
    - Dual ethernet ports

    - Many other features that you may or may not use
    . LDAP
    . DNS server
    . Mail Server
    . more....


    Cons:
    - You need to manage it yourselves
    - Be diligent regarding security
    - any issues, you need to deal with it yourselves
    - Their OS is supported only for 4 years based on the initial release date of that particular Diskstation model. After that, they suggest upgrading the actual Diskstation. Its still usable, it's just they won't issue new OS upgrade for that machine model.




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    Nguyen Nguyen Assoc. AIA
    Designer
    Chicago IL
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  • 5.  RE: Digital Connectivity

    Posted 11-19-2014 03:14 PM
      |   view attached
    I'm about to roll out this very solution for our small firm.  Coupled with some decent bandwidth, this is a great self-hosting solution for all sorts of things.  I'm hoping to leverage not only the speedy disk storage, but also VPN access and file sharing.  After doing my homework, I'm fairly satisfied that this will be a solid solution to an aging file server, plus all the features you mentioned below - all for less than the cost of a user's workstation hardware.

    Plus, if I get hit by a bus, I'm fairly sure our Principal could figure out how to maintain it.  They have very good help resources and an easy-on-the-eyes management toolset.

    I've attached the proposal I created to give folks a sample configuration.

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    Paul O'Brien Assoc. AIA
    Director of Operations
    Integration Design Group, PC
    Thornton CO
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    Attachment(s)