Belgian-based Cloudalize asked Karl Van Nieuwenhuyse, BIM manager at the Willemen Groep to test a new cloud platform, which seems disruptive for the future of BIM.
A desk, chair and computer have been the traditional workspace for architects, engineers and designers over the past twenty years. While computers have gotten faster, and multiple screens have become a mainstay, users were still tethered to a desk to work. But what if new technology could altogether bypass the heavy-duty workstations in use today? Imagine no longer being chained to a desk, or hard drive. Suppose you could sit in your car after a client meeting reviewing notes, and adjust a few renderings in real time on a tablet or any other (low cost) device. For the first time in history, Cloudalize allows architects, engineers and designers to work and design remotely—far from their traditional workstation and collaborate with each other, too. What’s more, they can eliminate the workstation hardware without changing their well-known workspace.
Companies like Autodesk are heading towards new cloud services such as Autodesk 360 where design, engineering, and project teams work together seamlessly in a centralized project place. It gives you the opportunity of cloud based team collaboration by storing data externally and share it amongst team members.
However, in all cases the GPU-intensive models remain on the user’s workstation which means that hardware and networking upgrades, more robust computers with more memory, RAM, high-end graphics cards and multiple CPUs are still required.
What’s more, by putting more data in the cloud, use of WAN devices and bandwidth usage increases due to very large file sizes generated by BIM applications and the volume of information sharing arising from the collaborative nature of BIM projects.
So currently, end-users still rely on high performance on-premise workstations because they are required for the local design and visualization tasks. Also, the deployment of these workstations for (in particular international) project teams is a time-consuming and a costly process that must be coordinated months in advance.
Things change when you have the opportunity to put the whole user’s workspace in the cloud including the workstation itself.
This is why Cloudalize offers the possibility to “rent” heavy-duty workstations virtually from the cloud, including computing and graphics power and use it on any (multiscreen) device.
This new platform, called GPU Desktop as a Service, or GDaaSTM, is a cloud desktop platform that can run in any (private) datacenter and generates GPU-accelerated cloud desktops on the fly. These cloud desktops can be connected with a cloud based App-store which includes pre-installed GPU-intensive software. Or you can install the software yourself on the virtual workstation, just like your traditional workstation.
What might have once been wishful thinking in being able to work and design–let alone access–applications and renderings on a construction site (in a board meeting, or in a hotel room) has happened. For architects, engineers and designers, office space has gone from a lone stationary desktop to the far reaches of the world.
The comforts of an office–with its coffee machine and colleagues–however, make working at said desk on said chair practical, and much more likely. What advantages do cloud computing offer inside the office? Plenty.
Project management and collaboration, for example, means changes happen in real-time, instantly allowing multiple users the benefit of updated files. “Families” such as 3D objects and content can, with a simple drag and drop, be interchanged from Revit on the cloud desktop to the local device. Bloated files sets, that cause slow and time-consuming data transfers, synchronize faster since the virtual CAD workstation and Revit databases reside both in the cloud.
It seems unlikely that the taxing application-memory-processor needs of graphic-based or building-design software could operate on a cloud; it’s almost too good to be true.
Seeing is believing. Belgian-based Cloudalize who developed GDaaS asked me, as the BIM manager at the Willemen Groep , to test it.
I worked with Revit on a K260Q cloud desktop model. The cloud desktop model had the following configuration:
- 8 vCPU
- 32 GB vRAM
- 2 GB virtual graphics memory
Using the following application simultaneously:
- Revit with LOD 300 – 400 mixed model (17 views open) = (1.6 GB in-memory idle)
- AutoCAD 2015 (4 files)
- Inventor (2 assemblies)
- MS Excel (open at all times)
The first things I tested on the cloud desktop was responsiveness and performance of the applications—no difference compared with my traditional workstation. Drawing in shaded 3D view in Revit caused no problem, even in the realistic view; it was reactive enough with strokes.
The “Lossless” function ensured that the image transient rendering delay when navigating, whereas before was always present, now vanished; this with smooth transitions without any noticeable delay using a mouse. It’s important to note that peripherals still function well, the mouse-dependent can sigh relief.
Further, switching between both multi and single screens and applications are seamless. It’s very easy to transfer files between the cloud desktop and the local machine via drag and drop. Our reseller tested his remote assistance over the desktop to the cloud desktop: no problems.
In addition to the horsepower that a GPU-accelerated desktop cloud provides, special opportunities exist at the platform level. Using the Revit Server, Willemen can allow geographically distributed project teams to work simultaneously on the same Revit project files. Revit server components reside in Willemen data centers and office servers, while users work on-site with heavy workstations.”
In the long-run, savings are still possible, not just with time, but also cash outlays. Cloud-based BIM models can increase efficiency when linked to a GDaaS platform, which is also located in a public or private data center. The central model (Revit Server Host) and the clients are both in the cloud, not local. This saves servers (since there’s no more need for Revit Server accelerators) and allows much faster synchronization because all the work is in done in the cloud and not local.
I also see the opportunity for joint ventures with multiple parties. GDaaS streamlines the entire IT-infrastructure set up. Isolated clouds can be created for temporary projects by allowing project-based workers to have virtual desktops that give them access to necessary applications, resources and connections. The proprietary business domains and/or firewalls problem stops being a roadblock preventing collaboration. In terms of licensing, by using a Pay-Per-Use model and Autodesk license renting possibilities temporary projects can realize savings, as well and allow for proper and clear cost dedication to the joint venture.
With the long list of GDaaS advantages, I believe that the heavy-duty workstation is near obsolete. Builders, designers and architects can be happy about this news, too. Cloudalize makes it easier to work collectively on a single project, but equally important, working from any location around the globe is finally possible. At long last, the desk, chair and heavy-duty workstation are no longer absolute building and design requirements.
Willemen Groep is Belgium’s largest family-owned (in its third generation) construction firm. It has made substantial acquisitions in the past seventeen years, and was in 2013 voted “Entrepreneur of the Year,” a prestigious prize honoring its sustainable growth, balanced dynamic and entrepreneurial spirit.
Cloudalize integrates best-of-breed technologies to offer businesses and partners seamless on-demand virtual workspace services, connecting people, IT, and businesses, anywhere on any device.
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