Since Revit Server was released a couple of years ago, I’ve been seeing more and more customers implementing it across their offices. I provide Ideate’s Revit Server consulting and implementation services, and I was glad to see Revit Server is being further developed. But before we get into the latest 2014 release, let’s briefly go over what Revit Server does and how it benefits users.
Revit Server allows multiple users across multiple locations within a single organization to collaborate on workshared projects. In normal file based worksharing users are working from the central model in a local area network (LAN). But when users outside the LAN within the organization’s wide area network (WAN) start working from the central model they’ll typically encounter file access errors, slow sync to central times, and in rare cases model corruption. To resolve these issues, Autodesk developed Revit Server and server based worksharing. In server based worksharing, Revit server silently manages the data going back and forth between users, accelerators, and hosts; to deliver a normal file based worksharing experience.
So let’s take a look at what’s new with Revit Server 2014.
Windows Server 2012 Support
Revit Server is now fully supported on Windows Server 2012 which includes support for Internet Information Services (IIS) 8 and .NET 4.5. I actually like Server 2012, it took a little bit of getting used to, but overall I think it’s pretty good. Just like previous versions of Revit Server; 2014 needs specific Application and Web server prerequisite roles to be enabled. Here’s a good video I found going through this process in the new Server 2012 interface.
GUID Preservation
GUIDs (pronounced “goo-id”) are unique identifiers assigned to pieces of data. In Revit Server GUIDs are assigned to each model hosted within the Revit Server network. Users see a file name but Revit Server sees the GUID. Now in 2014 when a user performs a Save As for a central model it will retain it’s original GUID.
Low Disk Space Warning
Revit Server 2014 now detects when disk space on the server is running low and will display a warning dialog.
Check out my quick video on these new features for Revit Server 2014.
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, Navisworks, and more.
For more information on the software solutions, training and consulting Ideate provides, please visit the Ideate, Inc. homepage.
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.