General information about servers and networks

A network is a cohesive system in which one weak component can affect the performance of the entire system. If the cable between the switch and the server is too thin, this can slow down data transfer throughout the office, even if you have new computers, a good server, and an up-to-date operating system.

Solving Issues

The requirements are higher for 3D modeling or BIM planning, but also when working on large projects or working in a team. These intensive workflows require powerful network components. We recommend you to check your network’s components against the requirements on this page, and replace them if necessary.

The use of Vectorworks Project Sharing will burden the server and network infrastructure more than ordinary data streams. When team members synchronize their local working document with the project file, several hundreds of megabytes - even gigabytes, depending on the project size - per workstation are exchanged with the server. If the server and network are not powerful enough, this may result in long waiting times. In the worst case scenario, the storage process might not be completed correctly.

Summary of Network Requirements:

• 1 Gbit network cable
• High capacity switches
• Powerful server connection to the switch
• Professional NAS with multiple hard drives
• Intelligent backup with sufficient capacity
  

Especially if you are using Project Sharing, 3D Modeling or BIM planning at your office, we recommend that you check your network’s components against the following requirements, and replace them if necessary.

Impact of Network Components on Speed

The series of tests below give you an idea how individual network components can affect the duration of specific tasks. The two network configurations used are frequent combinations.

The charts below show the time in seconds required to perform two tasks: opening a file, and updating a project file containing 450 modified objects through Project Sharing. These two tasks were chosen because they are performed on a daily basis, and are representative for other computer-intensive tasks that use the network.

Test Network 1 (orange):

Server: 6-year-old computer with normal hard drive
Switch: Server with 1Gbit connection

Test network 2 (blue):

Server: 1 year old computer with SSD
Switch: Server with 10Gbit connection