Collaboration Systems Group Newsletter

Customer Success Story-Watson Structural

Engineering                                                                                     June, 2011

 Riverbed..........why should I care?

A/E/C firms are unique.  Going back a few years when we all starting connecting our offices via WAN connections, we quickly learned that our CAD files were just too big to open across the WAN.  Sure, you could put up with opening a Word document over the WAN, but an AutoCAD file?  No way.  There began our quest for a workaround solution, which over the years has included email, FTP, Project Collaboration portals, and other duplication processes.  The idea was to move the data closer to the people who needed it.  Revit changed everything.

As more A/E/C firms move toward BIM, our workflows had to change too.  We now have a single model, or models linked together in one folder, or on one server.  The challenge has been in how to get our project team, regardless of their physical location, able to work, and work productively, in a single model workflow, what we call the "model-centric" workflow.

Enter Riverbed.

It's important to note that Riverbed isn't just an application solution for Revit.  Riverbed is an I.T solution that works well with applications, like Revit and many others.  Riverbed makes it possible now to have a model on a single server accessed by your local and remote project team members, without duplication of the model, breaking of the model, or disrupting the workflow.  Essentially, you are taking your existing LAN-based workflow and simply extending it to your remote team members, and even offsite partner firms, too !

Riverbed's Steelhead technology comes in two flavors:  Steelhead appliance and Steelhead Mobile.  The Steelhead appliance is installed in-path between your router and switch on your network (behind your firewall).  Steelhead Mobile is a software-only client you install on individual machines.....kind of like "Steelhead for one".  You may have a combination of the two, as a user may have his/her laptop in the office and utilizing the Steelhead appliance on the network, but then go offsite and utilize Steelhead Mobile over a VPN connection back to the data center.

CSG's experience in the A/E/C industry is well documented, with well over 75 years of combined experience in the Autodesk, Bentley, and Intergraph reseller channels.  With customers all over the U.S, CSG is the only Riverbed reseller with this kind of experience, specific to the A/E/C industry.  Wouldn't you rather work with a firm that knows your applications and workflows, and has the experience of working with other firms similar to yours?

To learn more on CSG, please visit our webpage  

Tech Talk:  Windows Server 2008, Windows 7 and Riverbed.....what just happened?

Recently, our Riverbed customers have contacted us about performance issues.  All of the sudden, their performance just wasn't what it used to be.  Why?  As it turns out, a simple RiOS upgrade will take care of this.  Upgrading your workstations to Windows 7 and your Servers to Windows Server 2008 introduces SMB v2 into the configuration.  As we all know by now, SMB signing kills the performance and we must address it.  This is all supported by Riverbed, with the RiOS version 6.5. 

A simple way to confirm this is the issue you are having is to call up the current connections report and look on the right hand side of the page.  If you see any red triangles, it's a good bet that you are experiencing this problem.  If you have a current maintenance agreement with Riverbed, you may download the software upgrade and install on your device.  Step two is to request a CSG Riverbed checkup to configure the new software and verify the issue has been addressed.

Don't have maintenance on your devices?  Request a call and one of our reps will assist you with your renewal.

Bluebeam PDF Revu-CAD Edition 

In a recently released AECbytes comparative review of Adobe Acrobat X and Bluebeam PDF Revu Ms. Khemlani noted that . . In addition to the new 3D PDF support, Revu has many more things going for it to recommend it to AEC users-Revit support, ProjectWise integration, Visual Search, an extensive set of markup and measurement tools, and the ability for multiple project team members to collaborate on a document, in real time as well as offline.  You can read the full review here. 

In a recent review of Revu found in the May issue of Building Design + Contruction it was noted that "The CAD edition ($239 per seat) incorporates all the features of the standard edition, along with one-click PDF creation and batch PDF creation from AutoCAD, Revit, and SolidWorks. Using Revu 9 CAD's improved AutoCAD plug-in, for instance, you can add a whole folder of DWGs, or select individual files within a folder of DWGs and batch process them with one click. You can change the order of files in a folder with the batch tool or individually change the layout of how your final output file will look. You can also add stamps in your final PDF file from Revu 9 CAD's stamp editor. Revu 9 CAD gives you a lot more control to determine what your final output PDFs look like. When you add files to a batch list, you can add an entire AutoCAD sheet set to the batch.

 "Sheet sets are the standard method for handling physical plots," according to Bluebeam VP Jacob. "Bringing them into the virtual plot, PDFs, reduces that redundant workflow." Using the batch creation capability, you can bring in a sheet set where 90% of the work has been done, change the order, and click to get the order you want without altering the existing sheet set in AutoCAD."  

AEC Magazine recently published a review of Revu (May 27) where they pointed out that . . . . "To help bring order the review process the status of markups can also be changed and tasks assigned to different users. In the design phase this could be a structural or building services engineer while in the construction phase the building or electrical contractor. Assigned responsibilities can be displayed on screen in different colors or sorted in a summary list.

PDF Revu CAD and eXtreme will certainly appeal to those looking for more control and automation when creating PDFs from AutoCAD or Revit. But the platform's real strength lays in its highly-capable markup tools.  For many AEC firms, PDFs have become an essential part of the design review process and the software includes a number of excellent tools, some of which are not even available in Adobe's more costly Acrobat Professional.

PDF Revu is also likely to find interest from non-CAD users, such as contractors and quantity surveyors on site marking up plans. It already runs on Tablet PC and there have also been rumors of an iPad version.  Of course one of the real beauties about PDF Revu is the cost. Priced from $179-$299 with volume discounts available for five or more seats, the software is incredibly affordable."