Cracking the Vault

Autodesk Vault 2013 Integration for MicroStation

After spending some time on the Autodesk Labs, the Autodesk Vault 2013 Integration for MicroStation is now available for download from the Autodesk Subscription Center under Downloads>Product Enhancements.

The MicroStation integration for Vault enables MicroStation V8i users to connect to Autodesk® Vault Collaboration AEC 2013 from within MicroStation, permitting MicroStation users the ability to manage their design data from within their design tool. Specifically, the integration provides users the ability to manage file versions via check in and check out, manage file references, manage title block attributes, batch plot, get Vault status, and dynamically create visualization files for sharing data with downstream non-CAD users. This integration also works with Vault Workgroup, Vault Collaboration, and Vault Professional.

There are components of this integration that reside on both the client and server machines, as well as the DWF publisher which resides on the Job Processing machine. Please refer to the administrative guide for more details on installation and use.

How Do I Open the Firewall Ports For SQL Server on Windows Server 2008

I found MS Knowledgebase Article ID 968872 useful in automating opening up the SQL Ports when configuring Connected Workgroups. It saved me a lot of mouse clicks! :-)

 

@echo =========  SQL Server Ports  ===================
@echo Enabling SQLServer default instance port 1433
netsh firewall set portopening TCP 1433 "SQLServer" 
@echo Enabling Dedicated Admin Connection port 1434
netsh firewall set portopening TCP 1434 "SQL Admin Connection" 
@echo Enabling conventional SQL Server Service Broker port 4022  
netsh firewall set portopening TCP 4022 "SQL Service Broker" 
@echo Enabling Transact-SQL Debugger/RPC port 135 
netsh firewall set portopening TCP 135 "SQL Debugger/RPC" 
@echo =========  Analysis Services Ports  ==============
@echo Enabling SSAS Default Instance port 2383
netsh firewall set portopening TCP 2383 "Analysis Services" 
@echo Enabling SQL Server Browser Service port 2382
netsh firewall set portopening TCP 2382 "SQL Browser" 
@echo =========  Misc Applications  ==============
@echo Enabling HTTP port 80 
netsh firewall set portopening TCP 80 "HTTP" 
@echo Enabling SSL port 443
netsh firewall set portopening TCP 443 "SSL" 
@echo Enabling port for SQL Server Browser Service's 'Browse' Button
netsh firewall set portopening UDP 1434 "SQL Browser" 
@echo Allowing multicast broadcast response on UDP (Browser Service Enumerations OK)
netsh firewall set multicastbroadcastresponse ENABLE 

Vault Build Numbers

In the Help>About and Server logs is reported the build number of the version of Vault Server used.

This can help sometimes for you to confirm what version of the software is actually being used if there is some misunderstanding or miscommunication with the servers Administrator.

For example if they are trying to log in Vault 2009 from a Vault 2010 client. Looking at the log files on the server can tell you what version they are actually using.

Vault 2013 (RTM)	17.0.62.x
Vault 2012 (Update 1)	16.1.58
Vault 2012 (RTM)	16.0.56.X
Vault 2011 (Update 2)	15.2.66.X
Vault 2011 (Update 1)	15.1.58.X
Vault 2011 (RTM)	15.0.58.X
Vault 2010 (Update 2)	14.2.x.x
Vault 2010 (Update 1)	14.1.x.x
Vault 2010 (RTM)	14.0.63.x
Vault 2009 (RTM)	13.0.47.x
Vault 2008 (SP1)	12.1.145.x
Vault 2008 (RTM)	12.0.123.x

 

RTM = Release to Manufacturing, ie, no patches applied

New Vault Professional Video Posted

You didn't get into engineering to manage data - so don't. Autodesk Vault Professional software takes care of data management chores so you can focus on the things that got you into engineering in the first place.

 

In Which Applications Can I Find the Autodesk Vault Add-in?

Here is a list of applications that have Vault 2013 Integrations.

Application   Vault Basic 2013 Vault Workgroup 2013 Vault Collaboration 2013 Vault Professional 2013 Vault Office 2013 Alias 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes Alias Automative 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes Alias Design  2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes Alias Surface 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD 2011 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD 2012 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD 3DS Max 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD 3DS Max Design 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Architecture 2011 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Architecture 2012 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Architecture 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011 Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012 Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013 Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD ECSCAD 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Electrical 2011 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Electrical 2012 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Electrical 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD LT 2013 Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Map 3D 2011 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Map 3D 2012 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Map 3D 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Mechanical 2011 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Mechanical 2012 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Mechanical 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD MEP 2011 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD MEP 2012 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD MEP 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD P&ID 2011 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD P&ID 2012 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD P&ID 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Plant 3D 2011 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Plant 3D 2012 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Plant 3D 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Structural Detailing 2013 Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Utility Design 2012 Yes Yes Yes AutoCAD Utility Design 2013 Yes Yes Yes Bentley Microstation V8i Yes Yes Yes   Inventor 2011 Yes Yes Yes Yes Inventor 2012 Yes Yes Yes Yes Inventor 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes Inventor Fusion 2013 Yes Yes Yes Inventor LT 2013 Yes Yes Yes Inventor Professional 2011 Yes Yes Yes Yes Inventor Professional 2012 Yes Yes Yes Yes Inventor Professional 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes Inventor Publisher 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes Inventor Routed Systems 2011 Yes Yes Yes Yes Inventor Simulation 2011 Yes Yes Yes Yes Inventor Tooling 2011 Yes Yes Yes Yes Microsoft Excel 2003 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Microsoft Excel 2007 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Microsoft Excel 2010 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Microsoft Outlook 2007 Yes Yes Yes Yes Microsoft Outlook 2010 Yes Yes Yes Yes Microsoft Powerpoint 2003 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Microsoft Powerpoint 2007 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Microsoft Powerpoint 2010 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Microsoft Word 2003 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Microsoft Word 2007 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Microsoft Word 2010 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Moldflow Adviser 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes Moldflow Synergy 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes Navisworks Manage 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes Navisworks Simulate 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes Revit Architecture 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes Revit MEP 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes Revit Structure 2013 Yes Yes Yes Simulation Mechanical 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes Simulation Mechanical WS 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes Simulation Multiphysics 2013 Yes Yes Yes Yes

For more information on other applications that can connect to Vault Server 2013, see this Forward Compatibility posting.

Increasing Timeouts for Autodesk Project Sync

If you need to synchronise a large amount of data between Vault and Buzzsaw after installing Autodesk Project Sync, you may get a timeout error.

There are three components to Project Sync that would need to be configured:-

• Autodesk Vault Buzzsaw Addin
• Job Processor
• Vault Server

Autodesk Vault Buzzsaw Addin

The "Autodesk Vault Buzzsaw Addin" can be configured in Vault 2012 and 2013 as follows:-

1. Navigate to the "%allusersprofile%\Autodesk\Vault 201x\Extensions\Autodesk.Vault.Buzzsaw.AddIn" folder.
2. Make a Copy of "Autodesk.Vault.Buzzsaw.Interface.dll.config"
3. In Notepad edit the "Autodesk.Vault.Buzzsaw.Interface.dll.config" file
4. Increase the "HttpWebRequestTimeout" value.
5. Save the file.

Job Processor

The Job Processor can be configured in Vault 2012 and Vault 2013 as follows:

1. Navigate to the "%ProgramFiles%\Autodesk\Vault x\Explorer\" folder.
2. Make a Copy of "Autodesk.Vault.Buzzsaw.Interface.dll.config"
3. In Notepad edit the "Autodesk.Vault.Buzzsaw.Interface.dll.config" file
4. Increase the "HttpWebRequestTimeout" value.
5. Save the file.

Example, IN BOTH FILES:

  <appSettings>
    <!-- Http Web Request timeout (in milliseconds) Default is 1000000 (1000 seconds).  Set to -1 for infinity -->
    <add key="HttpWebRequestTimeout" value="10000000" />
  </appSettings>

Vault Server

The Vault Server can be configured in Vault 2012 and Vault 2013

1. Navigate to the "%ProgramFiles%\ADMS Professional 2013\Server\Web\Services\" folder.
2. Make a Copy of "web.config"
3. In Notepad edit the "web.config" file
4. Increase the "executionTimeout" value.
5. Save the file.
6. Restart IIS

Example

<httpRuntime maxRequestLength="51200" executionTimeout="10000" />

In the above examples, a 0 has been added increasing the timeout value by a factor x10, make sure that Timeout settings in all files are the same. After the synchronisation has been completed, set the values back to the default to avoid long delays before any error messages are displayed.

Vault Licence Release Behaviour

I wanted to post this information because Autodesk Support are frequently asked to investigate why licences are not being released automatically following a period of client inactivity. So I wanted to share my observations in the hope that you may find it useful.

(Click the image below to enlarge)

A background process will run two jobs on the Vault Server. (appears in the ADMS Console, Server Tasks as "Session Monitor").

• SessionInactiveTimeoutInterval (default = runs every 30 minutes)
• SessionInactivityCheckInterval (default = runs every 5 minutes)

There are three states that the licence can be in.

• Active (Consumed by a client)
• Inactive (Consumed by a client and can be reconsumed by that same client but not yet in the pool of "available" licences)
• Available\Released (The licence is available to any client)

The licence will not become Available\Released, until the SessionInactivityCheckInterval process runs and detects that a licence is Inactive.

If the user logs out of the Vault Server or closes the client application, the licence is immediately Available\Released.

So using the above image as an example, a user logs in to a Vault Workgroup "Thick" client at 12:01 but then leaves the session inactive. At 12:31 their licence will become "Inactive", then running at 5 minute intervals at 12:35, the Vault Server checks what licences are Inactive and Releases them to be available to any other user. Between 12:31 and 12:36, the user can reclaim their licence. After 12:36 they cannot be guaranteed that they will get their licence back, requests for a licence will be subject to number of licences available. If the frequency of licence refusal is increasing, you should ask other users to log out, or if they are actually using the licences, purchase additional licences.

The same process also applies to the thick Vault Professional (VP) client. However, it will poll the VP server every 5 minutes for any ECO Notification (Hard-coded). This polling will ensure that so long as a user is logged into the VP Server from a thick VP client, the licence will never be released. The Vault Addin for AutoCAD will perform a similar poll in VW\VC\VP as it checks for updates to any XREFS.

Ordinarily, when a user logs into a licenced Vault Server from either a Vault Workgroup (VW) or Vault Collaboration (VC) "Thick " client or licenced CAD Addin, after 30 minutes of inactivity, the licence will become "Inactive". (As soon as the user makes any request to the Vault Server the "SessionInactiveTimeoutInterval" countdown is reset). 

Improving SQL Merge Replication Performance in Connected Workgroup Environments.

In a SQL Replicated environment (Connected Workgroups) it is necessary to run regular SQL Maintenance plans on each site to keep the database healthy and optimized for performance. This should be done from one Vault Server in each workgroup. Autodesk has observed significant performance benefits specifically in the merge replication by using the ADMS Console defragmenting tool immediately prior to running a SQL maintenance plan.

The ADMS Console defragment command can be run via

A) the User Interface

B) a windows CMD line by running a batch command as follows:-

Connectivity.ADMSConsole.exe -Odefragmentvault –NVaultDB -VUAdministrator -VPadmin -S

Connectivity.ADMSConsole.exe -Odefragmentlibrary –NCustom_Library -VUAdministrator -VPadmin –S

(If you run a custom SQL Maintenance Plan you can the above lines before or after your existing defragmenting batch scripts.)

If the command is run via the User Interface or without the –S switch, the following message will appear requiring user input

“This operation cannot be performed if the vault is unlocked and available to users. Would you like to lock this vault now? Selecting ‘No’ will abort the operation.”

This message will remain on the screen until Yes or No is clicked. Similarly if you run the command whilst the ADMSConsole is open you will see this message.

Run the ADMS Console defragmentation to see how long it takes. It will vary from one time to another dependent on user activity since the previous ADMS Console defragmentation. One example may be… if it takes 1 hour to process an ADMS Console defragmentation on all databases, double it, then use that time to schedule it before running the SQL Maintenance plan.

An example could be, the following.

The Administrator responsible for running SQL Maintenance on each database, has configured a SQL Maintenance plan to run at mid-day on each Saturday. Testing has revealed that defragmenting all the Vault and Library databases takes 5 hours. Allowing for fluctuations in user activity, since the previous defragmentation, (in the near future) they choose to run the ADMSConsole defragmentation 10 hours prior to the scheduled SQL Maintenance plan.

	Defrag	SQL Maintenance
1 Vault Site Server in Workgroup1	Run Weekly on Saturday @ 0200	Run Weekly on Saturday @ midday
1 Vault Site Server in Workgroup2	Run Weekly on Saturday @ 0200	Run Weekly on Saturday @ midday
1 Vault Site Server in Workgroup3	Run Weekly on Saturday @ 0200	Run Weekly on Saturday @ midday

Note:

                The ADMS defragmentation only needs to be run from 1 Vault Site server in each Connected Workgroup.

"Vault Professional 2013 PLM 360 Extension" has been released

The Autodesk Vault Professional 2013 PLM 360 Extension - PLM 360 Sync - enables customers with Vault Professional 2013 on subscription with a one way synchronization of their Vault item master, complete with metadata and BOM structure, to designated Autodesk PLM 360 Workspaces in order to leverage the information as part of business processes.

To download it you will need to log into Subscription Center and go to the "Product Enhancements" section.

 

Troubleshooting Vault Professional for SAP Integration issues

If you encounter an issue with the SAP Integration for Vault Professional the first thing to do is to enable debugging in the "vault_sap_interface.xml" file.

This is located in this folder

C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Vault Professional 201x\Explorer\Extensions\Integration for SAP.

Edit this file with Notepad and change DEBUG="0" to DEBUG="1"

Then restart the Vault Client and reproduce the error.

Then in the SAP Integration click SAP>About

Click Export to XML

Name the log file as Debug (for example).

Error messages will appear in this debug file.

If you cannot find the solution to the error yourself, you will need to supply both the "vault_sap_interface.xml" and the debug file to Autodesk support for further investigation.

IMPORTANT NOTE - If you leave debugging turned on, the debug file will grow significantly over time. So once you captured the error, remember to set it back to DEBUG="0"