I have just started in a small architectural office (4 employees) who have been using both AutoCAD and REVIT as a single users (no worksharing) to date. Currently the office uses dropbox to host all of their files including dwg. rvt. skp. as well as miscellaneous office/admin files. We generally use WIFI to connect to the internet/cloud. This works great now but we have been told this is not a solution for REVIT worksharing and that a dedicated server or C4R is the right thing to do.
I am an industry veteran, however I have worked for larger practices with full time IT and networking support personnel, although I am proficient on most industry software applications, I have never had to deal with the back-end hardware/networking items. That said I have been asked to look into what hardware will be required to enable REVIT work sharing taking into consideration: we may be a maximum of 10 people in the future; Cost of hardware and equipment should be a consideration (however we want to do the right thing); and Collaboration for REVIT might not make sense for us initially given the ongoing subscription cost and our limited use for all of its features.
Our firm is now growing (likely to 10 people over the next 5-10 years) and I am pushing for REVIT to be used exclusively as our preferred design software, it is inevitable that we will require work sharing capabilities in the near term. Based on the above I have a couple questions I would love feedback on:
1. I have been told that using a PC to act as a server may be an option initially. Pardon my naivety, is this an option? we want to do the right thing without buying too much or having too much redundancy. If this is not an option, then what is a recommendation/specification for a dedicated server to host REVIT files for small offices? keep in mind we will likely continue to use dropbox for all of our other digital file storage/hosting.
2. I have heard that a WIFI connection is not adequate for a work sharing situation. could someone comment on this and verify this is in fact true?
3. Although we have almost eliminated Collaboration for REVIT as and option (for now), I am interested in the argument for it? considering our office is 4 people now and will be up to 10 in the medium term. Generally the ongoing cost (relative to the other option) and the lack of a need for all of its features are the reasons we have chosen not to pursue it.
4. Because our office has been setup on Dropbox for business which gives us the flexibility to access all of our files remotely, we would like to continue to use this hosting service. Any recommendations for protocols on uploading rvt. central files to the cloud should we end up purchasing a stand alone REVIT server? is it necessary? should it be done daily? can we set-up an automatic upload for our REVIT server to dropbox? or will it need to be done manually and per project? any suggestions/comments are appreciated.
Regards and all the best in 2019!