Solution:
Most of the following suggestions refer to the server unless otherwise stated.
The Basics
Is it a "Supported" environment?
Reference the System Requirements for Autodesk Vault Products; Double check:
Is everything up to date?
Restart the Vault and SQL Servers.
Notify the Vault users first, but it is remarkable how simply restarting the machine can help. A scheduled restart of the system or IISRESET can help with many issues.
Dedicated Machine?
- Autodesk recommends that Vault server is installed on a dedicated machine. For small Vault Basic environments a shared system is possible. Once there are more than five users (for all Vault editions), check that no other applications are running except Vault Server (IIS and SQL).
That means no:
Check if uninstalling the Antivirus software on the server or client improves the performance.
Disabling the Antivirus service is not enough. Most modern Antivirus software solutions are multithreaded, which means that they are still working in the background despite "turning them off". One observation was that after "Antivirus CData" was "deactivated", the Web Proxy checking was still active.
Instead, follow these instructions:
How to improve performance when running Autodesk Vault with antivirus software?
General Maintenance.
Empty the contents of the TEMP folders.
Check that there is at least 15% free disk space on the:
- System\boot partition
- Filestore Partition
- SQL database partitions
- Run Windows Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe)
- Scheduled task to run IISRESET or system reboot
Network
Check if a client running on the server improves the speed. Check if a client not connected to VPN encounters the same issue. If the speed improves escalate this issue to on site network engineering team.
System
Optimally, add RAM:
See Optimal Memory Configuration For Vault (Vault memory usage).
Performance Counters:
Backup scheduling:
Check that backups are being scheduled out of business hours and not running while users access the Vault.
SQL tips
Separate SQL and Vault Server onto different machines (Only Vault Professional supports remote SQL):
Check that they reside near each other with a latency of <1 ms (millisecond).
Tip: Start an Administrator elevated command interface on the Vault server and type PING %SQLSERVERANAME%. Repeat this on the SQL Server but point it to the ADMS system
Set up an SQL Maintenance Plan:
Are all Database recovery models set to “Simple”?
This should be covered by the SQL Maintenance Plan, but is frequently overlooked.
In Microsoft® SQL Server Management Studio (
available for download here), log in to the .\AUTODESKVAULT instance and perform the following steps:
- Expand Databases.
- Right-click on each database.
- Select Properties.
- On the Options page, Check that the SQL Recovery Model is set to Simple.
Alternatively try the following query:
USE [master]
GO
ALTER DATABASE [%DBNAME%] SET RECOVERY SIMPLE WITH NO_WAIT
GO
Is the compatibility level set to SQL 2012 (Vault 2018 and later)?
- Check the "Edition" of SQL instance installed. When Vault Server is installed, if no other AUTODESKVAULT SQL instance is detected, SQL Express will be installed. SQL Express is limited to 1 CPU and 1GB RAM. This is a limitation imposed by Microsoft. Consider upgrading the instance to SQL Standard or Enterprise to take full advantage of the hardware of the machine. See Upgrade Microsoft SQL Express to Microsoft SQL Standard or Higher.
- Check Microsoft guidance on SQL Performance Troubleshooting. Troubleshoot entire SQL Server or database application that appears to be slow
Autodesk Data Management Server (ADMS) Console
Defragment the database:
Purge unwanted versions:
- Reduce disk space consumption.
- Reduce backup and restore times.
- Reduce the time to copy and the backup.
Detach and Re-attach the database
Run a B2bMigrate:
Some Vault Server updates require this command to be run after applying a patch. This is documented in the
Install Information section of the online help for that update. It is easy to forget to do this. But, neglecting to, could have significant performance implications. The B2BMigrate is a Command prompt tool that will migrate the database schema "build two build" (from the old build of Vault Server, to the new).
- Example: Connectivity.ADMSConsole.Exe -Ob2bmigrate -VUadministrator -VPadmin_password -DBUsql_user -DBPsql_password
- NOTE: Replace 'admin_password' with the appropriate administrator password for the -VP switch.
- The last two command line parameters are required only if the 'sa' password is not the default password.
See also Migrate Vault Data after Installing a HotFix or an Update .
Backup Performance. See How to improve or optimize Vault Backup performance.
If, after exploring all optimization options, there continue to be concerns about the amount of time that it takes to complete an ADMS Console backup, it might be time to upgrade to Vault Professional. Vault Professional has the following functionality:
- Hot Backups - This allows users to access the Vault while the backup continues.
- Incremental Backups - This allows a backup to run faster.
Uninstall and Reinstall Vault Server and all its components:
It is possible one of the components became corrupted. See Repairing, Uninstalling and Reinstalling the Vault Server software.
If this is not possible, restore the latest backup to a test, non production Vault server. Can the issue be reproduced there? If the issue does not persist, it is likely an issue on the production server, giving more reason to try uninstalling\reinstalling all the components that Vault Server uses.
Client Machine.
Proxy Server?
Properties?
- On a Vault client, change any unwanted Properties to "Disabled" and Reindex File Properties . The biggest benefit will be those with high Usage counts.
Grid?
If folder navigation and grid loading are slow, consider reducing:
- Number of files in a folder, the more files in a folder the longer it will take to fetch each file's properties, from the server.
- Number of columns (properties) displayed in the Grid View.
File Templates?
File templates can cause performance issues for various reasons:
- Unmigrated templates that were last saved in earlier versions of the CAD software will need to migrate every time a new file is created. Edit the templates and save them in the current release.
- A template can use external resources like text font files(.shx), that are not always installed on the local machine. Review the file and remove any unnecessary objects.
- Proxy objects can cause issues. Remove them if possible.
- Too many layers. If possible, delete the unwanted ones.
- Purging the file in AutoCAD can help remove many unnecessary objects that might impact performance. (see "PURGE ").
Inventor Project file?
Check that Inventors Project file is correctly configured for Vault.
How to check if the Inventor Project (.ipj) file used by Vault is correctly configured
Sometimes just using an Inventor Project files (*.ipj) created in an earlier version, can cause performance issues, so try:
- Create a project file (*.ipj) in the current Inventor version.
- Remove any old Inventor Project files in the Vault Client under the rootFolder, $.
- Check in the new Inventor Project file.
- In Inventor check that the new project file is the active one.
See Using Autodesk Vault with a Single Inventor Project.
Set Up Vault Filestore Replication
What is the best practice when replicating a Vault filestore for the first time?
AVFS Replication Performance
AVFS replication does not work from Vault ADMS Server with function "Replicate now" or the Scheduled Replication.
