Sounds like you are in desperate need of some document management software and even more importantly, a protocol on working with, saving, and changing your project files.
-----Original Message----- From: Rachel Pickens [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 3:55 PM To: Exchange Discussions Subject: RE: Autodesk Discussion List They go to the backups constantly because the projects change constantly. I have had a request for the same project 4 times in less than a week. The client will ask for a major change in the site plan, and they will make it, and then the next morning the client will ask them to change it back to the way it was. Or go a whole different direction based on an even earlier DWG file. They are constantly redoing and changing things based on plans sent out over the lifetime of a project. Not just the last plans sent out. I was thinking about proposing a server that had read only access to closed projects. It is a useful idea. But that brings us back to the backups nightmare again. I guess for some reason they think it is cheaper to have me sit here bored out of my skull than to have it automated. All these suggestions and comments are helping me to form my argument and proposal. Thanks again Rachel -----Original Message----- From: Aaron Brasslett [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 11:32 AM To: Exchange Discussions Subject: RE: Autodesk Discussion List Why are these folks asking for files from backup for? Is it because they hosed the file, accidentally deleted it? Depending on what reasons they need access to backups, there may be a more cost effective solution. We access tape backups once or twice a week. We archive projects but keep them on a server and permit only read access to them. We store them on Quantum Snap servers because the price per GB is so cheap. (480GB of RAID5 storage for $3500). -----Original Message----- From: Rachel Pickens [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 11:31 AM To: Exchange Discussions Subject: RE: Autodesk Discussion List Thanks Jim, That is what I had thought. Until 1998 they had some sort of off brand tape drive, and no spare tape drive. When the tape drive died the data recovery company told him it would cost 20K per tape to recover. He decided not to pay and went to CD at the time. This is just eating more and more of my time and I have less and less time as the company grows. It was 40 people when I started and now we are up to 64, with more expected. Do your users need to access backups multiple times daily? Every where else I have worked getting into backups happened less than once a month. The other problem is that he won't archive. Projects stay on the server period. I have stuff on the server from 1996. rachel -----Original Message----- From: Jim Helfer [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 10:01 AM To: Exchange Discussions Subject: RE: Autodesk Discussion List Did you tell him every has had a bad experience with tapes _at least_ once? I work for an architectural firm and the file sizes and quantities of files (it takes yeasr sometimes to build buildings, so projects stay live on the server for years!), are larger than anybody else I've heard of. Of course, all of those guys who make tapes and drives _say_ that there products are absolutely reliable, but nobody (in my price range, anyway) has been able to back that up. I just use DLT tapes (no loaders) with the simplest software I can get my hands on. That's wehre I've found my best reliability. Jim Helfer WTW Architects Pittsburgh PA -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rachel Pickens Sent: Monday, March 01, 2004 4:24 PM To: Exchange Discussions Subject: OT: Autodesk Discussion List Can anyone recommend their favorite Autodesk newsgroup? Does anyone out there support Autodesk or a Civil Engineering or Architecture environment? I have to give the President in the company a reality check on the demands of the backup travesty he insists on, and would like to discuss best practices with someone. He had a bad experience with tapes once (1998) and refuses to even consider going back to it. I am having to backup 80G to DVD every month. (Don't panic, this is for file server only, I snuck in a tape drive for Exchange when I built it. He found out last month.) Thank you for your time. Rachel _________________________________________________________________ List posting FAQ: http://www.swinc.com/resource/exch_faq.htm Web Interface: http://intm-dl.sparklist.com/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=exchange&text_mode=&; lang =english To unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Exchange List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe via postal mail, please contact us at: Jupitermedia Corp. 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