In order to limit link problems, we decided to have 2 SQL databases for EPDM: one in France and the other on the other site (with cross-duplication of the 2 archive databases, i.e. 4 archive servers in all).
This allows us to continue to be able to work on the data on our site in the event of a link (or server) problem with the other site.
It may happen, however, that we need to do a study by reusing one (or more) files from the other site (less than 5% of studies).
EPDM allows you to do this in an assembly. On the other hand, files that are not in the vault of the current assembly are considered as files outside of EPDM (even if they belong to another vault): see attached files. As a result, their path in solidworks points to the path of the view of the safe as installed on the computer.
If another user opens the assembly file in EPDM, there is a chance that the files that come from the external database will be deleted because they cannot be found: the path of the vault view may be different on this computer, or because the file had not been cached on this other vault view.
To limit these problems I would have liked to put the view of the safe of the foreign base on a network location (and use this same location for all workstations). The interest is twofold: the file should logically be available in this network location regardless of the user who opens the assembly (since it must have been cached by the previous user), no problem of locating the view of the safe according to the PC (PCs do not necessarily have the same configuration).
Does this seem relevant to you?
Can sharing a local view of the vault with several users be a problem? (especially if a user is editing a file while others are using it)
Are there any problems that I wouldn't have anticipated?
Users should normally not have to edit/modify these files (since they are the "property" of the other site). But we don't know what the future holds for us (BE workload problem on the foreign site)...
If you select the "foreign" part in solidworks, an EPDM window opens to log in to the foreign vault (logical since it is stored in the foreign vault view). You can be logged in to several safes at the same time. The display of the EPDM tab adapts to the contents of the active window and shows the vault where the file is located.
So the read/write rights of the "foreign" file are managed by EPDM.
Normally, this is not the solution that should be put in place at all.
Epdm includes a notion of replication of the archive server, but it is preferable to have only one common database. In this way to use them in France and abroad this sharing the same data, a French person can modify a file without the BE abroad being able to modify it.
The files remain accessible locally thanks to the duplication but remain in the same vault so exchangeable at will between the two sites.
Yes, our scheme is particular because we don't want one site to be dependent on the other for access to its BE data.
In the classic scheme we have a "master" site with the SQL server on its premises. If the remote site no longer has access to the SQL server (internal network problem at the master site, internet problem in the country of the master site, internet problem in the country of the remote site, etc.) then the BE of the remote site can twiddle his thumbs until the problem is solved.
The design office of the remote site being more substantial than that of the master site, we don't want to find ourselves in this situation with an estimated 2-3 days /year of blockage (the time difference doesn't help either).
At the moment t on my 4 archive servers, one located on the "master" site is not accessible to me. Fortunately I'm not in production on this server...
The classic scheme works well in the case of a main design office on a "master" site and a small secondary design office (plus method) on a production site.
Even if we go beyond the classic EPDM model, are the vault views named in the same way on the 2 sites. For example, are they named "Coffre-FRANCE" and "Coffre-ÉTRANGER", even if in fact they will not point to the same "physical" safe?
The vault created on an archive server and then replicated on another archive server always has exactly the same name (this is logical since the 2 archive servers point to the same SQL database). Users of the 2 sites can modify files (if they have the rights of course). Once the SW file has been modified at site A, it is replicated to site B (automatically on a schedule or on demand if automatic replication has not yet occurred): this is the basic operation of replication and multisite.
Where I differ is that I want to work on 2 archive databases at the same time. I'm going to have an assembly of base A that uses a part of base B. When I'm on the assembly (so working on base A), the file in base B is considered as an external file to EPDM. If I open the file of database B, then EPDM automatically switches and we work well on database B. On the other hand, the user who does not have the file of database B in his local view or that he does not have it to the latest version, when he opens the assembly of database A he has either a deleted part (because it cannot be found in his local view) or an assembly with a part that is not up to date (if the file of his local view is not at the latest version)
That's why I would like to have the local view directory on the network: to avoid ending up with different external links to EPDM from one user to another (and with a different actual availability of the file depending on the users: who may or may not have the file available locally or the file at the latest version).
People may have already tried to have a local view on a network drive.
This could be interesting if you want to have the entire EPDM database in the local view and with the latest version on all files: it's impossible to do it on a large database on PCs with small disks. This could also allow you to have a backup of the files that are in check out. Logically the loading times should be longer, but this could be compensated by the kind of advantage mentioned above.
I'd just like to have feedback from people who have tried this local view common to several users and stored on a network. Or positive/negative opinions on this idea (I haven't really worked with EPDM yet so my feedback is almost zero).