SACS calculation on network

All,

We currently have the issue that calculation a SACS model who is located on a network drives takes a lot longer (multiple hours vs ~50 minutes) then on a local drive (Duh), but we prefer not to have to save the files locally to do the calculation (Backup etc..), is there a way to keep it on the network, and have a better performance? 

Network itself is capable to handle large files without a problem. 

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  • Try using a dedicated analysis directory on the local computer:

    SACS System Settings > Analysis Settings > Use Dedicated Analysis Directory

    This should write the temporary files to the local drive instead of the location of the analysis run file (i.e. the network drive). The results will still be written to the network drive which will take time, but this should speed up the analysis run time. You can also store the run file locally on your computer and all output files will be written to the local drive which should also improve the speed of the analysis. I did a quick benchmark using Sample 02 from the SACS Sample project and go the following run times using these options:

    Local Drive - 5s

    Network Drive - 4m

    Network Drive with Dedicated Analysis Directory - 28s

    Network Drive with Dedicated Analysis Directory and Local Run File - 8s

    Note that the relative speeds will dependent upon your network speed, the type of the analysis and the size and complexity of the input files. Also this was a quick study that I did on my computer and wasn't a highly controlled test, but this should give you a pretty good idea of the relative analysis speeds that you can expect from the different options.

    Another option would be to use a ProjectWise to sync the network drive with the user's local drive. This is a bit different since you would have a local copy of the network files which you can use to perform your analysis, but you still have a network location of the input files which is maintained.

    Regards,

    Geoff

Reply
  • Try using a dedicated analysis directory on the local computer:

    SACS System Settings > Analysis Settings > Use Dedicated Analysis Directory

    This should write the temporary files to the local drive instead of the location of the analysis run file (i.e. the network drive). The results will still be written to the network drive which will take time, but this should speed up the analysis run time. You can also store the run file locally on your computer and all output files will be written to the local drive which should also improve the speed of the analysis. I did a quick benchmark using Sample 02 from the SACS Sample project and go the following run times using these options:

    Local Drive - 5s

    Network Drive - 4m

    Network Drive with Dedicated Analysis Directory - 28s

    Network Drive with Dedicated Analysis Directory and Local Run File - 8s

    Note that the relative speeds will dependent upon your network speed, the type of the analysis and the size and complexity of the input files. Also this was a quick study that I did on my computer and wasn't a highly controlled test, but this should give you a pretty good idea of the relative analysis speeds that you can expect from the different options.

    Another option would be to use a ProjectWise to sync the network drive with the user's local drive. This is a bit different since you would have a local copy of the network files which you can use to perform your analysis, but you still have a network location of the input files which is maintained.

    Regards,

    Geoff

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