Am I in The Cloud or Not?

The better question is, “How much of what I do with my Autodesk solution is in the Cloud?”

Today everyone throws around the word “cloud” and assumes it always means the same thing. When it comes to your Autodesk solution, the answer is, “It depends on which license you have, which product you use, and the type of subscriber you are with Autodesk.” See my previous blog post, What’s up with Autodesk Licensing? for an explanation about the different licensing types.

Today there are three types of cloud functionality from Autodesk:

1. License Management - Autodesk Desktop products use a license manager in the Cloud.

2. Data Storage and Collaboration - Autodesk360 products offer cloud-based data storage and sharing. This enables designers, clients, engineers, architects, and contractors to review, share, and comment on 2D and 3D models, floor plan markups, and budget spreadsheets from their desktops and mobile devices. The viewer supports more than 50 2D and 3D design file formats, including those from Autodesk, Solidworks, CATIA, Pro-E, Rhino, and NX.

3. Cloud Services - By adding Autodesk Cloud Services to your subscription, you get virtually infinite computing power and, for select products and suites, exclusive access to cloud-based services, such as rendering, energy analysis, design optimization, and robust collaboration. By performing computer-intensive functions in the Cloud, you can explore and visualize more design options, streamline collaboration, and optimize your designs without investing in expensive hardware.

Contact me if you’d like to discuss the options and determine which is the most cost-effective for you. And keep an eye out for my next blog post, “How Suite It Was.”

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John Souza

Director of Sales

John Souza started on the ground floor with Autodesk CAD, selling solutions since release 10. In the nearly 30 years since, he's worked to grow his expertise with each Autodesk solution, weaving a career around cutting-edge 3D design software sales.

He has proven success in building high-performing sales teams in the Civil Engineering and Government sectors, he's managed and led business development and sales teams for Autodesk and Advanced Solutions. Joining Ideate, Inc. in 2003, he was initially the Manufacturing Solutions Director then worked to expand reach within the AEC community as Director of Business Development. Today, as Sales Director, he leads a dedicated team working to connect architects and designers with best-fit design technology education and implementation solutions.

Autodesk 2015 Products Require Network License Manager Version 11.12

Autodesk has been rolling out the new 2015 software, but this year is a little different – especially if you have network licenses of the software. In past years you would need to request a new license file, place it on your license server, configure LMtools to look to the new license and restart the service, and users would be able to pull licenses for the latest release. Although it is a best practice to upgrade the version of the license manager with each release, not many people do it. When you do upgrade, it’s typically because there is an issue and is part of the troubleshooting process. In fact, here at Ideate, Inc. I only upgrade our license servers every 2-3 years.

But like I said, this year is different. Autodesk now requires the latest version of the Network License Manager, 11.12, for its 2015 products.

I’m not sure why this change was made, but we think it might have something to do with them using Flexera to build their network licenses. Flexera is a 3rd party license developer, and is actually the same licensing service we use for our Ideate Software applications.

For this year you’ll need to request a new license file and update your license server(s) to version 11.12. Take note of “server(s).” If you have a distributed license server system all license managers will need to be upgraded. Same goes for a redundant license server system.

A quick word on upgrading the server. In support I hear a lot of network admins saying they don’t want to upgrade/reinstall the license manager during business hours so users don’t lose a license. The license manager only communicates back and forth with users’ software to check to see if they have a valid license about every 15 minutes. This is called the heartbeat. This means you have a 15 minute window to do the upgrade. When I upgraded our license manager here it took me no more than 2 minutes. 

License Manager version 11.12 can be found on your Autodesk media, download or physical under the “Tools and Utilities” section of the installer, or it can be downloaded here.

I hope this post has helped. Have fun with the new release! 

Be sure to check for additional information found by our Ideate Technical Team in the new Autodesk 2015 releases for Revit MEP, Revit Structure, Revit Architecture, AutoCAD and more: ideateinc.com/2015

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Derek Wielkopolski
Ideate Technical Support Manager/Application Specialist
Derek holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Roger Williams University, Rhode Island. He is experienced working within the AEC industry from concept design through construction administration for both small and large scale projects. As Ideate’s Support Manager he ensures a timely and quality response to support requests and questions. Follow Derek on Twitter: @dwielk

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eLearning – Upcoming Classes

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning – live online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education. 

Upcoming classes include: 

4.23.13::Ideate 101:
Network License Manager

4.30.13::Analysis for Master Planning

5.2.13::Ideate Software 101:
Ideate BIMLink for Revit MEP Projects

Each class is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics of interest and choose the day which best meets your schedule.

Click here for class descriptions, times and registration link. Questions? Contact education@ideateinc.com

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eLearning – Upcoming Classes

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning – live online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education. 

Upcoming classes include: 

4.15.13::
Civil 101: Civil 3D for Beginners
4.16.13::
Revit 201: Site Tools
4.23.13::
Ideate 101: Network License Manager

Each class is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics of interest and choose the day which best meets your schedule.

Click here for class descriptions, times and registration link. Questions? Contact education@ideateinc.com

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Autodesk 2014 – Network License Behavior and License Cascading

This is Derek Wielkopolski, Support Manger with Ideate, Inc. We always seem to get a lot of questions about network license behavior when we get a new release. 2014 products are rolling out and it’s always a good idea to have a refresh on this topic, especially with the cascading sequence.

So what is license cascading? By definition, “Cascade Licensing is implemented for mixed-product environments where a single license manager is servicing multiple Autodesk products. Cascade Licensing allows an Autodesk product to obtain a license that belongs to another Autodesk product in the same license pool. With Cascade Licensing, lower ranking product licenses can be used before higher ranking product licenses; when all lower ranking product licenses are in use, a product will cascade up to use the license of a higher ranking product.”

Some really good docs to keep on hand are Understanding Cascade Licensing For Autodesk Products and 2014: Cascading Sequence For Autodesk Products.

A note about license behavior and previous versions; if a single user is working in identical products but different version years this will consume two separate licenses. For example if I’m working in Revit Architecture 2013 and switch to a different project and launch Revit Architecture 2012, I will pull two licenses. Take a look at the Autodesk document Understanding Previous Version Support For Autodesk Point Products for more info.

As always email me at support@ideateinc.com if you have any questions.

Don’t forget to look through other great features our Ideate Technical Team has found in the new 2014 releases for Revit Architecture, Revit MEP, Revit Structure, Civil 3D, AutoCAD and more: ideateinc.com/2014

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Derek Wielkopolski
Ideate Technical Support Manager/Application Specialist
Derek holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Roger Williams University, Rhode Island. He is experienced working within the AEC industry from concept design through construction administration for both small and large scale projects. As Ideate’s Support Manager he ensures a timely and quality response to support requests and questions. Follow Derek on Twitter: @dwielk

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Top Ten Autodesk Software Support Queries: Requests 6-10

On Monday we published the first five of the top ten support requests that come into Ideate Technical support. Today, the long-awaited, highly-anticipated 6-10 requests present themselves for your reading pleasure (and bookmarking reference convenience):

As Support manager here at Ideate we see a lot of general Autodesk cases come in, some of which are repeat questions or issues. Bradley, Ideate’s Technical Support Dispatcher, and I have come up with a list of our top ten.  The first line of support often deals with new Features, Network Licensing setup as well as troubleshooting Installations. Please take a look at the most common issues we see:

6. Cross Platform Licensing Designating Mac/PC for AutoCAD Autodesk supports a mixture of Operating Systems to run the software as standalone or network on workstations including Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. Complete the Cross-Platform Licensing form to designate the mixture you would like to run. This will allow a download of the preferred version of the software.
7. Network License of Software Requires a Server Setup The most versatile license type by Autodesk is the Network license. This allows unlimited workstation installations to pull a license when needed from the pool of available seats. This requires the install of a License Manager on a designated Server hosting the license file. The License Manager must be setup before the software on the workstations so it can point to the Server during a Network installation. Use Ideate’s Step by Step Autodesk Network Licensing Guide for help on setting everything up properly.
8. Installing the Software as Standalone, Network or Trial During installation there are three specific choices to make – either Standalone, Network or Trial. After downloading the software or using media to run the .exe and click Install you are asked to designate the License Type. Standalone only requires the Serial Number and Product Key. Network needs to be able to see the Server that is hosting the license and Trial is a fully functioning version of the software for 30 days that reverts to a viewer after this time. It’s helpful to reference the Autodesk software installation steps with screenshots.
9. Invalid Serial Number or Product Key During Installation The first issue many of our customers run into is a red X indicating the Serial Number or Product Key is incorrect. The most common mistake is caused by the wrong software or version being installed. Serial Number and Product Key for 2012 is different than the one for 2013 and AutoCAD is a different installation than AutoCAD MEP. Always be sure to download the correct software from Subscription Center or use the correct physical product box. Also, have a look at the Autodesk licensing issues knowledge base.
10. Downloading the Trial Revit as the All-in-One Version Customers occasionally need access to software immediately and are unable to download software from Subscription Center or the media has not arrived yet. Downloading the trial is a quick and easy way to get the software going and can easily be converted into a full version. The trial download uses the same prompts and can be activated using a valid Serial Number and Product Key for Standalone or Network. The issue with Revit products is that only the Building Design Suite version with the all-in-one features is available. This means you cannot download a trial of Revit MEP or Revit Architecture to activate, it must be from the media or download. Here is a link for the free Autodesk Revit trial.

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Derek Wielkopolski
Ideate Technical Support Manager/Application Specialist
Derek holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Roger Williams University, Rhode Island. He is experienced working within the AEC industry from concept design through construction administration for both small and large scale projects. As Ideate’s Support Manager he ensures a timely and quality response to support requests and questions. Follow Derek on Twitter: @dwielk

Bradley Cooley
Technical Support Dispatcher
Bradley earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Oregon, the Portland, Oregon campus, where his special research and design emphasis was on production facilities including wineries, breweries and distilling. Bradley’s professional experience has a design build services for residential construction and environmental graphics focus. Within his community, he volunteers as a youth athletics coach. As an Ideate tech team member, Bradley provides customer service by phone and online assistance for software installation and functionality. He is based in the Ideate Portland, Oregon office.

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Top Ten Autodesk Software Support Queries: Requests 1-5

As Support manager here at Ideate we see a lot of general Autodesk cases come in, some of which are repeat questions or issues. Bradley, Ideate’s Technical Support Dispatcher, and I have come up with a list of our top ten.  The first line of support often deals with new Features, Network Licensing setup as well as troubleshooting Installations. Please take a look at the most common issues we see:

1. License Cascading What’s license cascading? License cascading is the ability for network licenses to float from one product to the other. For example, my license file has seats of AutoCAD and seats of the Building Design Suite Premium. My install of AutoCAD is from the BDSP; and because of license cascading it will pull from the pool of AutoCAD licenses first until all seats of AutoCAD are taken. Once all of those seats are in use it will then cascade up to the BDSP licenses. In general, cheaper products’ licenses are pulled first then cascade up to the more expensive ones. Be sure to bookmark Autodesk’s official license cascading order list.
2. Autodesk 360 Setup and Configuration Autodesk 360 is a cloud-computing platform with various features such as storage, collaboration, visualization, and simulation tools. It’s available for Subscription and non-Subscription customers and its features vary by different products. More information can be found by reading the Autodesk 360 FAQs.
3. License Switching Between Standalone and Network Occasionally users will need to switch their current installation from standalone/trial to network or vice versa. The best practice is to do a complete uninstall/reinstall. But there are some instances where this isn’t an option. There is a workaround that involves going into the registry and can be used in a pinch if need be. Keep in mind – Ideate does NOT support this method and advises only users who are comfortable and knowledgeable about the registry to perform the Standalone to Network workaround.
4. System Requirements Technology is a fast paced industry and computer hardware is changing constantly. As a result software requirements are changing just as quickly to take advantage of all that new computing power. Make sure your machine is up-to-snuff. And keep in mind; minimum system requirements are just that – minimum. Future-proof your purchase by going above and beyond, make sure there’s room for expansion – i.e. extra slots available for more RAM. It’s also helpful to get familiar with the System requirements for Autodesk products.
5. Supported Graphics Hardware We’re discovering more and more often the importance of a properly matching OS, video card and video card driver. Issues you wouldn’t even think would be related to graphics hardware like crashing are often resolved by checking the driver version. See if your card is certified and where to find the accompanying certified driver.

Be sure to tune in on March 20th for Ideate’s Top Technical Support Requests 6-10!

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Derek Wielkopolski
Ideate Technical Support Manager/Application Specialist
Derek holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Roger Williams University, Rhode Island. He is experienced working within the AEC industry from concept design through construction administration for both small and large scale projects. As Ideate’s Support Manager he ensures a timely and quality response to support requests and questions. Follow Derek on Twitter: @dwielk

Bradley Cooley
Technical Support Dispatcher
Bradley earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Oregon, the Portland, Oregon campus, where his special research and design emphasis was on production facilities including wineries, breweries and distilling. Bradley’s professional experience has a design build services for residential construction and environmental graphics focus. Within his community, he volunteers as a youth athletics coach. As an Ideate tech team member, Bradley provides customer service by phone and online assistance for software installation and functionality. He is based in the Ideate Portland, Oregon office.

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Network Installations of Civil 3D Unable to Pull a Suite Network License

Any time users are unable to pull a network license for a product can lead to a fairly significant loss in productivity depending on the cause. We got this one in support the other day; luckily it was an easy fix. Read on for more info.

Scenario: A company just cross-graded their Autodesk Civil 3D Subscription seats over to the new Premium Infrastructure Design Suite, it includes products like AutoCAD, AutoCAD Map, Civil 3D and Navisworks. The user then requested a new network license file; properly replaced the existing one, and re-configured the license manager. Afterwards users could successfully pull AutoCAD licenses but could not get a license for Civil 3D, yet there were plenty of seats still available.

Since Civil 3D was installed prior to the Design Suite Cross-grade they were still looking to the regular Civil 3D increment in the license file. However, this shouldn’t be an issue because license files include a feature called “cascading” which automatically points the software to look to another increment if seats are unavailable. The cascading feature exists for all Autodesk Suite products, not just Civil 3D.

For example, a license file has Revit Architecture and a Building Design Suite. When launched, Revit will look to the standard Revit Architecture seat first, if none are available it will automatically roll over to the Suite for a license. More information on the cascading order for Autodesk products can be found here.

Solution: This is actually a known issue. Civil 3D in some instances is unable to cascade to the next product. Autodesk issued a hotfix that gets installed on the end users’ machines.

Luckily this was a simple solution which otherwise could’ve been very costly to troubleshoot.

If it should happen to you, hopefully this will save you some time trying to hunt down a fix!

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Derek Wielkopolski
Technical Support Manager/Application Specialist
Derek holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Roger Williams University, Rhode Island. He is experienced working within the AEC industry from concept design through construction administration for both small and large scale projects. As Ideate’s Support Manager he ensures a timely and quality response to support requests and questions. Follow Derek on Twitter: @dwielk

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New eLearning Course: Network License Manager 101

Network License Manager 101
The Autodesk Network License offers users a more flexible licensing environment than the standalone license. This class will teach you how to successfully install and configure the Autodesk Network License Manager from start to finish. Topics include, obtaining a license file, license manager setup, product installation and configuration, and troubleshooting.

About the Instructor
Derek Wielkopolski – Technical Support Manager/Application Specialist
Derek holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Roger Williams University, Rhode Island. He is experienced working within the AEC industry from concept design through construction administration for both small and large scale projects. As Ideate’s Support Manager he ensures a timely and quality response to support requests and questions.

LOCATION: Online

DURATION: August 24th, 2010 11:30am - 1:00pm PST

PRICE: $99 (Free for Ideate Premium Support Contract clients)

INFORMATION/REGISTRATION: Register online or call 888.662.7238 x1012.

Click here to learn about all of the Ideate eLearning courses - professional, convenient, relevant.

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