Do you have a PDM test installation?

[mike miller]

Do you have a PDM test environment and if so, how much do you use it? Is proving out a new workflow worth the cost of setting up and maintaining a separate database and license set? If you don't have a test installation, have you ever been down because of it?

[bnemec]

Also,

Had a test vault on same servers. Supposedly it's the way to do everything but doing everything twice and keeping both identical is vanity. They need to be identical except for what you're testing because every setting or file or workflow etc has effect on other things and if I knew what all might be affected I wouldn't need to test so since I don't know what all might have an affect I need to test on an identical system.

We'll need to set up vms for the servers when I'm forced to update from 2019 to something newer to test everything in the new version.

[AlexB]

I have a test environment on my pc that I can turn on when needed. I have a developer license for the SQL Server and then installed the PDM Server on my PC as well. It's a bit of a resource hog but it lets me play around with the database and PDM settings without worrying about any impact to the production environment since everything is on my hard drive.

The next step is having a test environment on the same server that you host your production environment. This utilizes the existing SQL Database connection but creates its own tables and separate file storage area for your vault. All of your production employees could access the test environment and send a file all the way through their workflows to see how things work.

As @bnemec stated, keeping two vaults up to date and matching is next to impossible but a lot of debugging can be done up front in a test environment to limit impact to the production files and workflows.

[matt]

Test installations/sandbox are ABSOLUTELY necessary. Says the guy with no PDM. Actually blogs and forums are very much like PDM. Generic PDM, not SolidWorks Conisio PDM Standard word salad. They are all some interface with templates for presenting information, and a database for storing and accessing that information.

Remember that glitch we had here on this site back in April, where a bunch of pictures were lost? That was because I didn't have a test installation, and wound up testing on live data.

Setting up a simulated server is not that hard. Get Xampp, and then get whatever server software you want to run, plus your script language. Xampp has pretty good instructions so I won't duplicate that here. Now you can run Xampp and then run whatever server software you want to run, and you have a simulated local website. So I can run Wordpress or phpBB and test stuff on my local computer or network before imposing stuff on you guys.

This is exactly what you should do if you are running a PDM. Actually, if you're running a PDM, you should have a CAD Admin person who knows all of this and is already doing it. That way they test all sorts of plugins, scenarios, settings, backups and restores, workflows, revision scenarios, db operations, and so forth. You have to test stuff before you roll it out. You can't play sloppy with your company's data.

I can't believe you guys are here asking PDM questions like this. Doesn't your reseller or your vendor have high level answers like this for you? Training? Consulting? Documentation?

[mike miller]

I can't believe you guys are here asking PDM questions like this. Doesn't your reseller or your vendor have high level answers like this for you? Training? Consulting? Documentation?

Oh they have answers. "You should buy this. Sign on the dotted line."

I wanted additional opinions, even though I'm pretty sure we need one.

Actually @matt, didn't I hear you say a few months ago that everyone needs PDM? How can I trust you if you have a double standard?

[matt]

Oh they have answers. "You should buy this. Sign on the dotted line."

I wanted additional opinions, even though I'm pretty sure we need one.

Actually @matt, didn't I hear you say a few months ago that everyone needs PDM? How can I trust you if you have a double standard?

Double standard? No, I'm strictly ANSI.


Oh, I'm a little slow, but I just got it that I'm telling you you have to have PDM while I don't have it myself. Well, I tried to get it, and they ignored me. Actually I've been ignored more than once, which is ok, I'm starting to expect it. It's kind of amazing the kinds of things that allows you to do, when you expect to be ignored.

Yes, everybody needs PDM, but I don't mean Everybody needs Conisio. That's like GM calling their next car "Car". Everybody needs a CAR. You can't even distinguish it with capitalization because PDM is already capitalized and SW CAPITALIZES EVERYTHING ANYWAY. Even CONISIO.

I mean, that takes some gall, right? To give a product a generic name. That's some disruptive creative thinking. PDM. Like it's the only PDM product on the planet. Every time anyone on the planet talks about PDM, they're talking about this swamp product. I'm gonna change my name to RICH AND FAMOUS. Either that or BEST LOOKING YOUNG GUY. What do you think?

So yes, everybody should get some kind of document management system. And then have a sandbox to test stuff. Except me, I'm exempt.

[jcapriotti]

Do you have a PDM test environment and if so, how much do you use it? Is proving out a new workflow worth the cost of setting up and maintaining a separate database and license set? If you don't have a test installation, have you ever been down because of it?

I have two test/dev servers. One is for developing/changing functionality and for end users to test and approve (UAT). This server is under constant use although less than in the past due to us going to Windchill (That system has like 8 dev/test servers). The other PDM server is for testing new PDM versions, first to test out new functionality and second to see what may have been broken, both out of the box functions and our customization. This one is used less often, a few times a month with frequency increasing as we get closer to out scheduled upgrade.

There aren't additional licenses for these, we use client licenses from production which is SNL. For US our ECO workflow is so complicated, I won't touch production without testing it on the test system. For other less used workflows I might change in production if the change is minor, but generally I test everything first.

Long ago I've messed up production workflows and had to undo the damage. The system was not down though, I just had to quickly lock that workflow so users couldn't keep creating bad data until I fixed it.