Hagerman & Company, Inc. Technology Bulletin


Options for Multi-Site Synchronization and Replication

Matt Lane

by Matt Lane
Service Manager,
MCSE, CNE, USE

One of the hottest areas of our business in 2008 was multi-site synchronization and replication. At Hagerman & Company, we offer two products for multi-site replication:

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Productstream Replicator (now included as part of Autodesk Productstream)

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BlueCielo’s Global Collaboration Framework (an add-on to InnoCielo Meridian)

In a nutshell, these products allow users at all company locations to have fast local access to all files including large CAD files. For many companies, this is required so that:

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Multiple locations can function together as a single entity

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Staff can avoid duplication of effort and constantly re-inventing the wheel

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Staffing levels can be optimized across all company locations

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Designs can be standardized across the company resulting in reduced inventories and improved purchase pricing

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Everyone in the company is kept on the same page at all times

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Check in/check out conflicts are eliminated not just at individual sites, but across all company sites

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Some or all design or manufacturing work can efficiently be moved to lower cost locations

As you can see, these are items that can be even more critical and important in tough economic times.

Some features and capabilities of the Productstream Replicator and Global Collaboration Framework include:

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Immediate update on change of file status at any location

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Full per-site scheduling of file content changes based on time of day or every (x) hours or minutes

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On-demand pulling of updated files as needed

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Notification of users when local files are not up to date

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Automatic e-mail notification when files are checked out, updated, etc.

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Tools for ownership control of files by site

In 2008, we did a number of large multi-site replication projects and have many more projects already in the works for 2009 with organizations and departments in AEC, product engineering and facilities engineering all being able to benefit from this technology.

In addition to Global Collaboration Framework, BlueCielo also offers other additional options for remote users and sites including:

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InnoCielo Publisher

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InnoCielo Web Client/NetViewer

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Support for Citrix and Microsoft Terminal Services

If you think your company might benefit from this type of capability, please don’t hesitate to let us know so that we can work with you to determine which product and option would provide you with the best fit, capability and return on investment.