We want to use SolidWorks for remote work, one of the solutions considered would be to virtualize SolidWorks on a server.
We want a server that is powerful enough to use SolidWorks in multi-sessions. The latter would be able to do the calculations instead of a workstation. This server would be destined to evolve, for the moment it would have to be sized to accommodate 15 users.
I found that this was possible, but I have no idea what type of server is needed, how many GB of ram is needed, how many graphics cards, ...
I had a few leads: Using NVIDIA GRID and vsphere horizon, using an NVIDIA QUADRO RTX 8000 graphics card (Too powerful ?), it would defraud a server capable of accommodating one or more graphics cards.
Are there people who have already done this ? If so, how did you go about setting up this server? Specific licenses are required, if so, which ones? If multiple graphics cards, how is this managed?
We worked with a remote client. The infrastructure consisted of rack-mounted PCs, with no local display with a management server. So we had one PC per license. Access was via Citrix. Since the only flow conveyed is the display, the speed of the connection is not critical.
Here, the word "server" refers more to a remote machine than a machine dedicated to file distribution.
Given the complexity of the system, it is better to get closer to: - Your SolidWorks distributor; - your IT department (internal or service provider).
You advertise 15 users, are they 15 concurrent or potential users? Are users on-site (i.e. on the internal network) or remote (e.g. working from home or in branches)?
@gt22 We already use a file server for the parts library as well as for assemblies, etc. My request is to have the necessary hardware configuration for a server where users can take control remotely outside the company.
@stefbeno That's more or less what we want, but server-wide so that we can host multiple sessions at the same time. If we want this it is because accessing the file from the outside takes a lot of time (because the bandwidth is only 20 MB), especially to load the assemblies. So the remote control solution is the ideal solution, because effectively loading the display and remote control consumes less bandwidth and is therefore accessible to all.
I am from the IT department (I am one of the company's System and Network Administrators). I contacted our distributor SolidWorks but I took the lead by finding out where I could.
If I announce 15 users, it's 15 simultaneous users. For the moment it's really for remote control from the outside.
Hello I have big doubts about how such a solution will work. Especially for 15 simultaneous users. Servers are not designed to run applications such as SW. In addition, I wonder about the effect of having several dozen SW processes while on a workstation having even two causes errors and bugs.
@remrem According to what is recommended by SolidWorks (https://www.solidworks.fr/sw/support/SystemRequirements.html) it seems possible on Windows server, you just have to add ram, and as for the processor it's large enough because there are a lot of cores on the server processors. I am not worried about this. The problem would be to have a server that can accept a graphics card for calculations.
I am also a little skeptical about the proper functioning of such a solution. It would probably be more functional to borrow licenses with the license manager and share the data.
I'm digging up this subject because I'm looking for a somewhat similar solution, even if on a smaller scale: I want to run background tasks (generation of PDF plans and step/edrawing models) on server-type machines. Did you come to your conclusion?
For your request, this is basically what SW does with 3DExperience: sharing resources on servers. Not sure they want to give their recipe to their customers though...
A bit off topic but EPDM partly solves this kind of problem: you only load what you need and what you have already loaded remains on the user PC (so no need to reload it). Only modified/new files are to be uploaded. With an 800Mb/s fiber connection, I had pretty much the same way of working at home as in the company.
With 20Mb/s it's sure that the initial loading times will be long (as well as the archiving times if they are also creative). If they are people who come back to the company regularly, there is a way to synchronize directories at that time. Otherwise, eventually they have to get into the habit of loading the data when they don't need it yet (in the evening before stopping work they start loading the day's new features: it's quiet during the night and in the early morning they have everything).
NB: the implementation of EPDM is cumbersome and expensive but when you have so many users outside the walls it is well conceived. We had installed this solution because we were a subsidiary of a US company and it greatly simplified file sharing/management (USB sticks and other pack & go quickly have their limits)
We now have a dedicated station for tasks on our EPDM.
As a result, a step generation only takes the time to right-click on a file in Windows Explorer. A few minutes later the file falls hot in the directory which is fine.
If it's something you do very often (several times a day for each user), the EPDM + dedicated workstation investment can pay for itself (that's quickly about tens of thousands of euros plus maintenance costs of 10 to 15% per year).
Another clue: isn't there a Mycad utility that handles this kind of thing? If so, it costs a station + a SW license + a mycad license: much more economical than EPDM
We already have 2 dedicated workstations for generation tasks and I'm just wondering if it would be simpler/faster with a server-type machine, for technical reasons that are beyond me. There are almost 15 users doing several generations per day, which can sometimes go up to several dozen minutes because of large, complex assemblies.
me.