The Revit Clinic

Extensions Available for Autodesk Revit 2013

Just wanted to send out a heads up that the following Extensions have just been released on the Subscription Center for Autodesk Revit 2013:

• Globe Link for Autodesk Revit 2013
• Batch Print for Autodesk Revit 2013
• Worksharing Monitor for Autodesk Revit 2013
• Autodesk Revit Model Review 2013
• Autodesk Revit DB Link 2013
• Space Naming Utility for Autodesk Revit MEP 2013

2012 UR2 and Autodesk Cloud

If you haven't seen it yet, UR2 is now available for Revit 2012 products:

Revit Architecture 2012

Revit Structure 2012

Revit MEP 2012

You can also view the readme and the update enhancement list (updated!) for this update.

Around the same time as the release of UR2 for 2012, we also annouced Autodesk Cloud.  Very exciting stuff.  

For Revit users, one of the coolest things is Rendering in the Cloud, which use to be on labs as Project Neon, but has graduated.  

Check this video by the one and only Lynn Allen

One of my favorite things about rendering in the cloud is the abilty to render panoramas.  If your wondering about access, there is a great resource that compares the benefits available. 

Conceptual Energy Analysis Login Through Proxy Servers

We have been seeing some reports lately of users having problems logging into the Conceptual Energy Analysis (CEA) tool when connected to their networks. To use CEA through proxy servers with Authentication enabled, enable access to the following URLs in the proxy without Proxy Authentication (anonymous access through the proxy):

*.autodesk.com
*.google-analytics.com
*.cloudfront.net

 For example, the following screenshots illustrate the rule on a proxy server (Microsoft ISA proxy) to enable All Users to Autodesk CEA sites without authentication:

 
 
 

 

In addition, here are some other related questions & answers:

Why can’t we use IPs for the firewall rules?

The Single Sign-On solution from Autodesk takes advantage of Akamai for network route optimization. Because the Akamai network has many (1000s) of edge nodes which change over time, it is not advisable to filter based on IP addresses. If filtering is required, then it should be done by URL (*.autodesk.com).

Why should we enable special rules in the proxy server for certain URLs?

Some components within CEA don’t send authentication information to the proxy server; hence an exception rule is required on the proxy to enable these communications anonymously.

Should we enable the proxy server within Conceptual Energy Analysis?

If Internet Explorer is configured to use the proxy (either manually or automatically), then Conceptual Energy Analysis will use the same proxy settings.

What if we don’t use proxy servers and access the control list directly on the firewall?

If the rules can be added with DNS names you could use the above mentioned URLs to allow the traffic.

 

Special thanks to Autodesk's Hashim Mundol for this great CEA information!

 

Revit Extensions for Autodesk Revit 2012

The Revit Extensions for 2012 are now available for download through the Subscription Center.

Revit Extensions for Autodesk Revit Architecture 2012

 

Revit Extensions for Autodesk Revit MEP 2012

 

Revit Extensions for Autodesk Revit Structure 2012

 

New Version of Revit DB Link 2011 available on Subscription Center

There is an updated version of Revit DB Link 2011 available on Subscription Center at the link below [login required]:

Subscription Center - Revit DB Link 2011-02-10

This release includes a number of performance, memory utilization and stability improvements.

With this updated version it is important to keep in mind the log files are now stored at the following location:

Vista \ Windows 7 - C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\Revit DB Link 2011\log

Windows XP - C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk\Revit DB Link 2011\log

10 Revit Server Troubleshooting Next Steps…

We have a lot of this information in a number of places but I wanted to group it in one post.  The following is a good process checklist to go through should you run into any Revit Server issues:

1.  Installation \ Prerequisites

Ensure all requirements were set during the initial installation.  There is a video documenting this process here.

2.  Initial Troubleshooting Steps

Next, ensure the following items were verified in our original troubleshooting post here.

3.  Revit Server and File & Printer Sharing Firewall Exception

Client workstations will be unable to see the Revit Server as active, which can generate an error if the Firewall is not configured properly.  Please reference our previous post for the steps to verify here.

4.  Can you manually browse?

Verify you can browse to each Revit Server from a client workstation.  Such as navigating to: 

\\<RevitServerName>\c$

5.  DNS & VPN

Verify all Revit Servers and client workstations appear on the network DNS.  Also verify if the Revit Servers are connected to the network via VPN.  I have included a discussion group thread with some additional information and links here.

6.  Verify Environment Variable is Correct

Verify the correct Revit Server name appears on the client workstation Environment Variable [under Computer properties > Advanced System Properties > Environment Variables > User Variables for %Username% > REVIT2011SERVER].

7.  Revit Server Admin

From a client workstation, make sure you can connect to the Revit Server Admin.  

For example, from Internet Explorer, browse to the following location:

http://<RevitServerName>/Revitserveradmin

8.  Ping?

Verify that the client workstation and Revit Server can ping each other by both DNS name and IP Address.

9.  Folder Permissions

Verify the Windows Security Groups for the Revit Server Cache, Projects and TempRepository folders.

All locations should contain the Creator Owner group.  If a folder does not contain this group it needs to be added in order for Revit Server to properly write files in these locations.  Verify that the Creator Owner group has full control / full access to the folder. By default configuration they are installed at C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\Revit Server\.

10.  W3wp.exe Created & Owner

When a workstation attempts to connect to a Revit Server from inside Revit, a w3wp.exe process should be created in the Windows Task Manager on the Revit Server.  To test this, on the Revit Server end any w3wp.exe processes listed. Then have a workstation attempt to connect to Revit Server from inside Revit.

This should create a new w3wp.exe process if the workstation can communicate with the server.  Take a note of the User Name it is created under for future troubleshooting.

Conceptual Energy Analysis Material By Construction does not display

Quick tip should you override any of the surface materials of a conceptual mass face using Conceptual Energy Analysis…

When you have Conceptual Mass > Show Mass Surface Types set active, you can TAB select individual faces and override the Graphical Appearance; which can use any of the available materials in the project:

Should you change Graphical Appearance from the default <By Construction> to a material and back to <By Construction>, you may notice the material does not update to the original appearance.

Should this occur, there are two options to restore it back to the default graphical appearance:

1.  Highlight the face > Identity Data > Subcategory > toggle the type to another subcategory and then back to the original.

2.  Analyze > Energy Settings > Energy Model > un-check Create Energy Model > OK > then re-check Create Energy Model.

**Please keep in mind approach #2 should only be used if there are no additional overrides throughout the model, as all overrides will be reset**

Quick video [no sound] showing the 2 approaches above:

Video Example

Hope this helps!

Worksharing with Bluestreak

If your not aware of Project Bluestreak, you should go check it out.  Over at Revit Op-ed, Steve Stafford has a nice post about the latest update. 

What is interesting about this update is that it includes the Autodesk Revit Activity Stream App, a new way to see the updates that are happening with a workshared project and it works with Revit Server. 

From the download site:

"The Revit Activity Stream app connects Revit to Bluestreak cloud services to help distributed teams more effectively collaborate as they work on one model. This Bluestreak app combines automated notifications of Revit worksharing events with informal team comments so team members can communicate when models are saved to central to ensure efficient hand-offs. The Revit Activity Stream app is compatible with the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Revit Architecture 2011, Revit Structure 2011, and Revit MEP 2011 software, as well as the Revit Server environment. Note: In order to use Autodesk Revit Activity Stream, you must also install Bluestreak Desktop."

You might remember that the worksharing monitor doesn't work with the new Revit Server (from 10 things to know about Revit Server), so here is a way to help you keep up to date with what is happening across your model. 

I highly encourage you to check it out.  Pretty cool stuff. 

Quick Tip: Revit Extensions Error Message

You attempt to launch or utilize the Revit 2011 Extensions, and you receive an error message similar to below:

Extensions Error Report, Extensions encountered a problem.  This error occurred on : AREX

This error message should be resolved with the updated Extensions release as part of the 2011 Subscription Advantage Pack.

If you have not already, I would recommend logging into Subscription Center, and downloading & installing the Subscription Advantage Pack and updated Revit 2011 Extensions.

Revit Server Troubleshooting

With the addition of Revit Server in the Revit 2011 Subscription Advantage Pack, you might encounter some instances where you need to do some troubleshooting on the server.   For example, if you are getting something like this when you attempt to connect to the Server:

 

To troubleshoot something like this, I’ve put together a couple of steps to make sure that the Revit Server is setup correctly, where log files are stored and what to do to bring the server down .

1. The first thing to check is to verify and make sure that all the pre-requisites are properly installed.  Check out this video for the steps to setup IIS7.
   
   One of the easiest pre-requisites to miss is "Web Server (IIS) Support".  Make sure if you see that as an option to select when adding roles to the Server, that you check it (or it is already).  What is possibly confusing here is that there is a difference between the “Web Server (IIS)” role and the “Web Server (IIS) support” role service.  Revit server needs the role service, but there is a temptation to choose the role because it is available on the same page as the Application Server role and sounds so similar. 
   
   Local and Central Servers need the same pre-requisites for Revit Server.  Make sure they both are setup correctly.  
   
   
2. Revit Server also stores log files on the Server.  The log files are stored typically at C:\logfiles.  These log files can be helpful in understanding what is happening and if the server is running correctly and Support may ask you for them if you report a problem.
    
3. Along the way, you may need to bring the server down for maintenance, gathering log files or for other troubleshooting.  Bringing down the server allows you to delete or archive the existing log files so that new logs are created.  Before bringing down the server, if you have already setup a project, make sure to lock the server in the Revit Server Administrator so that no one can access it.  Bringing down the server means doing three things (the order is not important) :  
   • Go to the Start Menu and go to Administrative Tools, open the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.  Select the RevitServerAppPool and in the sidebar select Stop. 
   • Go to Administrative Tools and select Services.  Shut down the AutoSync Service in Service by right clicking on it and choose stop.
   • Bring up the Task Manager and switch to the processes tab.  Check for any instances of w3wp.exe in the system process list and end those tasks. 
4. When you are ready to start Revit Server back up, go back to number 3 above and reverse the first two items by starting the RevitServerAppPool and starting the Autosync Service.

You can also verify from the Server if the running by attempting to access the Revit Server Administrator tool from the Server host.  Navigate to Revit Server Administrator the same way you would from a workstation.  This will help check if the Server is running correctly, but perhaps a firewall is in the way from the workstations.  

The biggest item in this list is number 1.  Making sure you have all the pre-requisites installed correctly is uber critical to getting Revit Server up and running correctly.