31Aug2006 Beware of working ...server issues

[jwknecht]

Greg,

Appreciate the attention and the response. And thanks for explaining -- in general terms at least -- the reasons behind the issues and the countermeasures being deployed (long and short term). I am not sure that I would have understood had you explained in deeper terms.

I wonder how far we are from version 10....... anxiously awaiting.

 

[jemmej]

Might I take this time to humbly suggest again that a brief e-mail to the constituents might be in order when such server issues occur. It doesn't have to be anything long. Just a "so you know, the server is down, we anticipate it will be back up <this time>".

It would help us to know not to fret too much and to work locally. A known problem is less worrisome than an unknown one. I realize Alibre is busy and probably at capacity, but this suggestion has been made before. and I think it would be very helpful.

I'm looking forward to v10 too!

Jim

 

[Gaspar]

Thanks for responding Greg !

It's great news to know you are working on the realiability side of the online collaboration capabilities.

From the stand point of our company, all it needs is to be realiable. In the way the repository is designed, It does a great job in allowing multiple peers to work on the same set of files.

Please count me in if your developers need input on the nature of the freezes and bumps we face with the actual state of things.

Looking forward to V10 8)

 

[siggy]

One would think that a properly architected cluster solution in the Alibre server farm would virtually eliminate these issues. Clustering, for those not familiar with the concept, is a technology that allows multiple servers to access a shared data source. The technology then employs a "heartbeat" communications link between the servers so each one can detect a problem with the other. When a problem is detected, the processes and applications running on the problematic system are automatically transferred to the other system(s). It works very well and is virtually a must in any type of high availablity environment.

I'm a bit surprised to find that this type of architecture is apparently not employed by Alibre.

Robert

 

[gregmilliken]

All good suggestions. I will elevate this discussion internally.

We have had the clustering discussion a few times, but it is probably worth revisiting that again.

-Greg

 

[jwknecht]

Server seems more than a bit flaky tonight. Lost my Contacts List again too.

 

[flyboydave]

Re:

Maybe with more people upgrading to Expert because of Alibre Motion, use of the Repository Server might become more common.

I started using the server repository about a month ago because I was getting tired of sending zip files back and forth, and the size was becoming unmanageable. Plus the problem of keeping track of the changes.

I am still trying to work out procedures for use, but I am currently saving to my local repository when I check something out of the server repository. I have created a local repository called "Working" and save to a folder in that repository. This allows me to work on a part/assembly, and then do a Save As back to the server repository when all the work is complete. This also allows a Snapshot to be created if required as there is only the active item(s) in that repository. I do periodic snapshots as rolling back a version is not always a solution. When I have completed all the required work, I then save back to the server repository. This also gives me a place to save anything that I can not get posted back to the server; and try again later.

I have also been trying to keep an up to date copy of my active projects on my local system, so that I can continue work when the server repository goes down. This also me to create a project backup from which I can create a Snapshot, and allows me to open and measure the latest version of other peoples work without the "save read-only locally" problem just to use even the measure tool.

While I am not to gigabyte size projects yet, I am working on assemblies that take up to 4 minutes to load from the local repository. There can be a lot of repetative parts in a large millwork installation, or a lot of drawers in a single Kitchen.

Any techniques, tricks, or advice from the old pros?

My wife is also working with Alibre, and is not in the mood for fun when she can not get to the server either.

There is an issue with "SaveAs..." of an assembly. If you have multiple copies of any parts in the assembly, SaveAs will not work. Every part must have a unique name. It is maddening. I now have one assembly I could not save due to my local repositories disappearing. I had to create a new folder to save it to, and give all the duplicate parts unique names. I now have an assembly with "screw1", "screw2", "screw3"..."screw58". At that point I just said "screw it".

 

[Gaspar]

Dave,

I hope this will fixed in the near future, but when your local reps disspear, work offline and they'll come right back.

Sometimes you need to restart Alibre to make them reapper though :?

About the save as, it is a lot better to just make a copy of the master folder containing all of your design. You get your duplicate with all the file links, names and folder structure. It's easy and reliable.

Cheers !

 

[flyboydave]

Re:

Dave,

I hope this will fixed in the near future, but when your local reps disspear, work offline and they'll come right back.

Sometimes you need to restart Alibre to make them reapper though :?

About the save as, it is a lot better to just make a copy of the master folder containing all of your design. You get your duplicate with all the file links, names and folder structure. It's easy and reliable.

Cheers !

Yes, I'm aware that if you run offline they won't disappear. That doesn't help much if many of the repositories are shared to me from other people. If you're offline, you can't see them.

And I know about the differences in copying folders vs. saveas. That doesn't help if you're trying to use an exported step file of an assembly, or send your design to another user, or even take it home to work on it.

And I rarely need to restart Alibre. It does that a few times a day all on its own.

I appreciate the help, but I've been using the repository since Alibre Design v1.0, so I'm pretty familiar with the myriad of workarounds to beat it into submission. It would be nice if it wasn't still doing things like "disappearing repositories."

 

[Gaspar]

I see Dave...

The other bad thing about Alibre stp exporting is that only the solids go along. Drawings stay out of the exported file :roll:

 

[jwknecht]

My Contacts in my contacts list (home page) have completely disappeared, and this time they have not come back. This is happening on my account on every computer (so it is not local). Am I the only one that is having this problem? I think that it could have happened after 9.1 SP1, but I just noticed it last night.

Tech support is not much help. I use the incident reporting database like I am supposed to. But, instead of fixing my problem, the tech asks questions that I always take as they think that I am a computer novice. I wish that they would call instead of using the database to ask questions. It takes too long. Days are lost in that kind of communication. I don't check the database every hour. Rant, rant, rant.....

EDIT: I tried logging into Alibre under another account on the same computer. The other account did not have the missing contacts. So, it is a server issue with my account.

 

[flyboydave]

Re:

I see Dave...

The other bad thing about Alibre stp exporting is that only the solids go along. Drawings stay out of the exported file :roll:

Actually, if you want to send drawings, you need to export ONLY the drawings as step files, it will take all the parts with it, and you'll get both once its imported. When you import the drawing, once you save it, both the drawing and all the parts will be saved.

On smaller assemblies, I usually put the drawings for every part in the assembly on sheets inside a single drawing file. And by smaller, I mean really smaller, like 10 parts. It doesn't take much before it takes hours to open the drawings. I had one that I was creating cross-section views, it was only 7 sheets. It won't open any more. Well, it will. It just takes 10-12 hours. But any time you have a drawing of an assembly, exporting the dwg as a step will bundle the drawing and every part in the assembly as well as full assembly structure, constraints, everything, all in a single step file.

 

[Gaspar]

Same as you, I'm pretty well aware of how exporting behaves. I just think this is a problem because we use individual drawing files for each part in an assembly. If you export the STP of the assembly, then drawings are left behind. Doing a STP export for each drawing is out of the question.

Best scenario so far if you need to export your whole thing to another machine is to have one repository per assembly and ARB the whole thing.

Thanks Dave ! 8)

 

[flyboydave]

I agree. The ARB is how I'm forced to work now. I don't like it, because I have some assemblies that share common parts with other assemblies, so having one repository per assembly isn't very organized. And it is not how the company wants their data structure set up.

But so far, that is the only reliable method of transporting data back and forth.

There is one thing I put in as an enhancement, I hope it gets consideration - It would be really useful if repository snapshots could be "mounted" similar to how cd images (.iso or .bin files) can be mounted in windows explorer. For one thing, it would be great to look into snapshots, add/remove/edit files in them, and compart them to other snapshots.

 

[Gaspar]

Lately we found out that an ARB file is compressed in ZIP format and that it contains the ADB, binaries and an info file (see here).

So you can "see" into the ARB file, but get stuck with the ADB file.

I understand the ADB file is managed by a built in data base manager in the repository. This was done so we wouldn't need to install an external data base manager (thanks Alibre !). The down side is that you can't peek into the ADB file to rearrange stuff like you suggest or to make searches.

Back to exporting your design. Have you tried placing your repository in the Alibre server or keeping it local but shared through the internet to other users (or yourself at home)?

 

[flyboydave]

Yes, the ARB file is a renamed zip file, as are any zap packs you may be using. As for the database, at one time it was a microsoft jet engine database. I seem to remember that they had to change it for performance reasons, but I can't remember what it was changed to, or if it was in fact changed. I just remember there were some issues with it.

I don't want anything on the Alibre servers, it takes way too long to open repositories as it is.

I'll just keep transporting my 1.2GB repository as an arb file. I'm using an old 6gb laptop drive in a USB enclosure, so there's still plenty of room to grow.

I wish they had a "Pack and Go" feature like Inventor - regardless of where parts are stored, the pack and go will pull them all together for the express purpose of relocating a model for local usage, but will also copy them all back to their original paths on the first computer. And to help what you were lamenting earlier - it takes every file that is in the project's "project file", including drawings, notes, etc.

 

[Gaspar]

"Pack and Go" huh... that would be sooooo nice 8)