Intralink Multisite

[gsocio]

I am an IT Manager from a world-wide Italian company.


We just started with PLM projectusing Windchill 6.2.6 DSU9 and in the italian company site we use Pro/intralink Gateway to share Proe drawingswith all employees.


Now we need to start a collaborative engineering with two other company sites located out of Italy and we want to share some of our Intralinkfolders with them to co-design some common products.


So we have this situation:


we want to allow our engineers of other company sites to remotly access with some our Intralink folders (not everyone) by Wildfire. Windchill Pro/Intralink Gateway doesn't allow us to do that because hasn't a bidirectional link with Pro/Intralink.


Webreifly evaluated the possibility to set Project Link, but we would avoid to extract and sharingthe drawswith their libraries as a file system tree.


Someone gave us conflicting answer about the possibility of configuring Intralink in multisite


Is there anyone which can suggest us any idea about this?


Thanks to all in advance.
Edited by: gsocio

 

[jnoval]

Why not stop using intralink and only use windchill PdmLink. Maybe it will be a good idea to upgrade ti version 7 or wait until version 8 is ready.


I think it is a better solution to only have one system. PdmLink is web-technology and is good at WAN connections.


Intralink is require a fast WAN line.


It is possible to use intralink from the remote site to logon and use your server. No problem they just must have access to your network. You can use a VPN connection to get better sequrity. If the lines are fast and they don't have to check in and out a lot of files many times a day. then this will be a easy solution to setup. The remote clients have to wait some time on many actions in Intralink because they have to wait for communication with the server in your site. You must of course change access rights to the folder they should have acces to. But I am sure you know how to do that. THis can be done with any intralink licenses.


It is also posible to add a server in the remote site, and setup Intralink to replicate the folders thatyou to replicate. The replication can done in night time or as you prefer. For this you need Multisite licenses for all your intralink clients, and the server must be install as multisite. I know a couple of companies that have try this but the have disable it because it was not working good and give a lot of work for the administrator.


I will prefer to use a Windchill PdmLink solution without Intralink. It will also be cheaper in maintenance.

 

[gsocio]

Hi jnoval,


thanks for your answer.


I red about all advantages coming with new 8 Pro/Intralink and Windchill release, and we have planned to migrate to that release on 2th quarter of next year.


I agree with you in avoiding to use remote intralink server to check in/check out parts (for all obvious limits you speaked about)and i well know all limits related to intralink replication server.


Unfortunately we purchased first release of Windchill (Foundation, not PDM Link) and we realized that it is not convenient for us to migrate to 7 realese and to pass endured after to8 one.


I thought to thisminim solution,for the transition period (i need! to share engineering talents)from now to migration deadline,and i want ask you totell me what do you think about it.


1) We could grant intralink parts check/in and out only to head spin company site and we don't share intralink site at all withother geographical sites.


2) We will use Pro/Intralink gateway, onlyin head spin company site,to publish shared parts into Windchill Server so that they will beremotle accessiblefrom our geographical sites


3) Wecould useWindchill Meetingand Product View collected to Windchilldiscussion forumtostart collaborative sessions between geographical sites in order to discuss changes on parts and so on.


4) We will grantour users of geographical sitesto accessour custom Project Deployment and Change Management workflows on Windchill server to share the Enginnering Process Flow


5) We willuseProe Wildfire Conference Server (P2P) to transmit shared parts and assemblies from geographical sites to head spin company location, whose users will provide to review them and to check them in Pro/Intralink.


I know this solution requires more effortto engineers located in head spin company,but i thinkit can permit usmore control on Multisite R&D processes.


Waiting for you reply, thanks again.

 

[jnoval]

I have no experience with conference server (P2P). Is Conferance server just sharing ProE session, just like Productview with Windchill. Can you also use it tomove cad-files from one locationto another?


You have to make some rules about using lock on object that is exportet to a remote location for making changes.


Setup a test.


It will be possible to do it this way, but not easy to administrate.


How will you know what revision og the objects they will have in the different locations.