| Product(s): | Speedikon CONNECT Edition / speedikon Architectural V8i, speedikon Industrial V8i | ||
| Version(s): | CONNECT Edition and V8i |
This wiki is also available in German.
In these challenging times when COVID-19 is imposing significant disruptions to day to day activities and affecting normal business flow of our much-valued users and employees, we at Bentley are mindfully committed to ensuring smooth transition of work from office to remote location or home. Our innovative software and services are all geared for working from home or remote locations and do not impose the need to be in an office set-up.
To ensure smooth transition of work and effectiveness of your daily workflows with Bentley software, we have assembled information that you can refer to while working remotely or from home. We are working hard to deliver high levels of customer service, and welcome feedback, questions, and ideas on how we can serve you better in a remote work environment.
Note: The on-demand webcast "Working From Home with Speedikon" (in German) is now available here. Or you can copy and paste this link: https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/2265157/A4A2CF1A567E27A21C1C6844B1BFBA6D
A number of other Working From Home product webinars can be found here.
Home Installation
You may decide to install the software on your home computer. If you do this, once signed in via the CONNECTION Client using your normal work email login, you will have the same licenses available as you do in the office using Speedikon CONNECT Edition. If you are using speedikon V8i please have a look at Working from Home using Bentley Licensing.
There are several options to work remotely. You may decide to install the software on your home computer. The minimum machine requirements for Speedikon can be found in the Speedikon Readme and in the table below.
| Processor | Intel® or AMD® processor 1.0 GHz or greater. Speedikon CONNECT Edition is not supported on a CPU that does not support SSE2. |
| Memory | 16 GB minimum, 32 GB recommended. More memory almost always improves performance, particularly when working with larger models. |
| Hard Disk | 24 GB free disk space (which includes the 16 GB install footprint for a complete installation of AECOsim Building Designer), 10-25 GB depending on additional installations such as Companion Features and Companion Products. |
| Video | See the graphics card manufacturer for latest information on DirectX drivers. 512 MB of video RAM or higher is recommended. If insufficient video RAM or no graphics card supported by DirectX can be found, MicroStation attempts to use software emulation. For optimal performance, graphics display color depth should be set to 24-bit or higher. When using a color depth setting of 16-bit, some inconsistencies will be noted. For more information on recommended workstation profiles for Speedikon products, see MicroStation System Requirements and Hardware Recommendations. |
| Screen Resolution | 1024 x 768 or higher |
Internet access is required for downloading and installing the software. The Speedikon CONNECT Edition and speedikon V8i installers contain all needed data. The AECOsim Building Designer and MicroStation installers need internet connectivity during installation. The AECOsim Building Designer installer is almost 13 GB and therefore we recommend adequate data and bandwidth. After downloading the small installer setup file, if you are facing problems running it for downloading the full software, you can download the full software installer directly from the link shared below in DOWNLOADING SOFTWARE section.
AECOsim Building Designer will try to obtain your Internet Proxy Settings from Internet Explorer browser. If it is not feasible, you can fill the details manually as described in this MicroStation blog page.
Virtual Private Network enables organizations to provide secure connection to their network over Internet so their employees can connect remotely or from public places. Follow these instructions to connect to Windows VPN. If your organization uses a different VPN software, contact your IT Administrator to guide you with the steps.
The following features of Speedikon, AECOsim Building Designer or MicroStation may not work properly in the absence of Internet connectivity.
Important notice about use of Bentley applications in virtual environments - click here
Virtualized environments, e.g. Citrix are not certified and are not supported for Speedikon CONNECT Edition and speedikon V8i.
Virtual Machines are a great way to manage and work with operating systems. Your IT Administrator can create VMs with a readymade image of Windows operating system that includes Speedikon products and any other software needed. When such a VM is provisioned to you, you can directly launch Speedikon and start working on your project.
You can create a new VM and install its operating system by following these simple steps.
You can export and import existing VMs in Windows Hyper-V Server by following these steps.
If you work on a heavy-duty desktop machine that is difficult to carry or if your organization does not allow employees to move computers out of the office premises, Remote Desktop Connection offers a great way to log into that machine from your personal computer. You will require your computer name or IP address. Click here to follow the instructions in this page.
When you’re working remotely, you are still part of a team and therefore sharing of project data is crucial. This is where the Configuration system shines. No matter where you are, you can be sure to be using the correct CAD standard with server-based Configurations. If your system has already been configured to use server-based resources virtualization and remote desktop access results in a similar experience to
working in the office, there may be some graphic latency, but the system will be identical.
Attempting to connect to a configuration on office-based shares via VPN may be possible, depending on your IT systems, but is likely to be subject to significant latency, especially with many more VPN users than usual. Working with a local copy of the network configuration may be more appropriate.
One of the simplest and effective ways of work sharing is by storing the project data in a common network storage location and pointing every user’s configuration to that location. This can be done by configuring the variable IEZstd= in the user.ini file or speedi.ini file and by setting the MicroStation or AECOsim Building Designer _USTN_CONFIGURATION configuration variable. In addition, we recommend mapping a drive letter to organization’s network server path.
Store your Project data on ProjectWise Share or Microsoft OneDrive that allows high level of control. Easily manage and transfer without the need for additional software.
The beauty of working with ProjectWise is that work sharing is built-in and the concept of being tied to a location is foreign. In a Client-Server architecture the client can be anywhere. By storing standards and work files on a server you can ensure proper access for anyone. By establishing a digital environment for all project information, you can give access to people regardless of location and device type. However, ensuring the correct access is the key to success. So, setting up ProjectWise Explorer locally is key.
The way to install ProjectWise Explorer can be found here.
Direct Download
Software can be downloaded directly from our Software Downloads site. The latest Speedikon CONNECT Edition products can be downloaded from the Software Downloads page. The latest Speedikon V8i products can be downloaded from the Software Downloads page.
To do this you may need the software download role to be added to your CONNECTED Profile. Your organization will have people assigned as administrators who can modify your role. Bentley support cannot modify these roles.
How do I find out who my site Administrator(s) are?
Your organization can have one or more Administrators who can assist with Bentley license management, downloads, assigning permission, etc. A list of your Administrators can be seen by going to https://connect.bentley.com. Below the Welcome Banner, click on the 'How are you CONNECTED?' link; in the “Administrators” tab you will find a list of your site Administrators names and email addresses.
Portable Deployment Images
Please note that Speedikon CONNECT Edition 10.00.00.25 does not provide deployment image functionality. Speedikon V8i offers setup.ini functionality to easlily create multiple installations.
Deployment Images can be used for MicroStation or AECOsim Building Designer installations. We recommend that CAD/BIM administrators create Deployment Images to use as the source for multiple installations in normal circumstances. In this situation either an existing or a new Deployment Image can be copied to removable media and taken home to use as the installation source where internet availability/speed is limited (note: Internet access is still essential to sign-in to licensing services). The steps to create a Deployment Image for AECOsim Building / OpenBuildings Designer CONNECT Edition are explained in this Wiki.
Download links for full installers (a.k.a. Deployment Images)
If you are having difficulty downloading software from Software Downloads site, full installers of the latest version can be provided by your site Administrators. This is the direct link to the latest CONNECTION Client. If site administrators need to get links to the installers please log a service request in order to request the links from Support. https://apps.bentley.com/srmanager/ProductSupport
At home set your default printer to PDF to avoid sending prints via a VPN to an unattended printer in the workplace.