Last time I was involved in PDM systems for Pro/E was in 2001. My practical idea of PDM is based upon Intralink of that time, which meant: 1. slow checkouts and checkins (minutes, where a network drive would take seconds) 2. dreadfully slow access by WAN/Internet 3. huge RAM usage at the client 4. more bugs due to interoperability of Intralink and Pro/E; more intense build testing required; can't use any of the latest builds 5. huge effort to get non-PDM data into the PDM database 6. bugs with more intricate file operations such as family table parts, merge/inheritance, etc 7. more administrative hours/user
All of this is compared to our current setup, which is multiple XP workstations, files on a network drive, PDM system storing raster images of released drawings only.
Is my list still subjectively accurate? Things better? Worse? Anything other than Intralink worth considering?
Thanks for your time.
Dave
Intralink is NOT worth considering because the death sentence has been pronounced. Users are being urged and helped to migrate to a Windchill product (PDMLink/ProjectLink) before Intralink and its support are discontinued. AFAIK, the last version of Intralink was issued with ILINK 8 and no further versions are planned. After a certain date, no bug fixes will be issued until, at some point, all support will be terminated. I'm not clear on the timing but all this is due to happen in the near future.
The Windchill products are being referred to as PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) products, meant to handle any digital data from any application; meant to structure the data by product; meant to track revision/version history; control access to data to only those who are authorized, but provide view access to more people to design data through built-in viewers; promote/support the digital releasing process and purportedly, link to an MRP system to synchronize engineering and manufacturing BOMs.
Speed I don't know anything about. AFAIK, it's still based on Oracle which is generally a very fast database with fast search/retrieve algorithms. I've always found it to be so, but I've always found it to be very sensitive to the overall condition of the network, to bottle necks, to poor routing and no built-in AI routines for finding and establishing better routes. Pro/e plus the PDM/PLM are very heavily network dependent, not just for data storage/retrieval, but for all communication, for license verification, for accessing floating modules, for internet name service, for storage of PDM/PLM metadata. A couple slow routers, too much latency, a technologically decrepit T1 line where fiber optics is warranted, a 386 with modem access to the internet, used as a license server, can turn the information superhighway into molasses in January. With any such hardware problems, no PDM/PLM software will help.
David Janes