My $300 "Revit Server"

I have been looking for a solid solution for small firms to host workshared Revit files for a long time.  I experimented with Dropbox, Jungledisk, OneDrive, and so on... The problem with all of these services is they duplicate your data.  They "cache" information and upload/download in the background (so it seems much faster for you when you work).  When it comes to workshared Revit files, this caching will corrupt your file.   Notice, I said it WILL, not it might... 

If you are a company of around 1 to 10 employees I have finally created a cost-effective and simple setup that will allow you to work with a Revit Central file from your local area network and as far as anywhere in the world!  Oh, did I mention it only costs around $300?!

Keep reading to find out more...

Autodesk Cloud Rendering and Light Sources

If you have followed this blog over the year you would know how much if a proponent of Autodesk's 360 Cloud Rendering service.  In fact, there is quite a bit of talk and information on cloud rendering in BIM After Dark, too.

Click here for a lists of posts mentioning cloud rendering over the years (ups and downs)... 

Also, here are few interesting oldies when it was in the labs as "Project Neon"

Well, there has been a pet peeve of mine when it comes to using the cloud for renderings that include artificial lights...

Revit 2014 Cloud Rendering and Custom Materials

Revit 2014 was released near the end of my semester this year (much later than normal).  Being extremely anxious to install and use it,  and extremely frustrated with Revit 2013's material editor, I installed Revit 2014 a few weeks before my final.

Everything was running smooth and the new/old material editor was a great pleasure.... Until I sent some renderings to the cloud.  

Take a good look at this test rendering.... Notice anything funny?  

That's right... the brick, stone, and wood materials are HUGE!  Those are pyramids of Giza size bricks...  When this exact scene is rendered locally (or in realistic) the brick, wood, and stone look perfect....

It looks to me like the Revit 2014 exporter/cloud has something funny going on with custom materials.  These maps and bump maps are all custom and look great locally... The second I send them to the cloud this is the result...  This did not happen with Revit 2013 and the cloud.

I remember some major improvements when Revit 2013 was released with the cloud exporter from the Revit 2012 exporter... Looks to me like they improved the cloud but not the exporter for the 2014 release...

Revit Tip - Best Quality Panoramas

So you have a nice still rendering on the cloud that was rendered with all the highest settings... And you would like to turn the view and look at the wall behind you... Well, this awesome new feature within the cloud rendering UI will come in handy!!!

Via Luke and Village BIM

Autodesk 360 Cloud Rendering - Another Review

Well, it has been a little while since Autodesk released the ability to render in the cloud.  I have to say, it has come a long way (I have had mixed reviews in the past).  I have been using and testing this technology starting as a plug-in to Revit 2012.  Now, it is fully built into Revit 2013 and the overall process is much more fluent  I just wanted to run through a few things I feel have gotten better (or worse) while rendering in the cloud.

I am using Revit 2013 (One-box) updated to Service Pack 2....

The Good:

Custom Materials:
One thing I remember from the very first cloud renderings I produced was a disconnect when it came to custom materials.  Revit has some cool default materials but over the years they get really old.  I love making and finding new textures and using them for renderings.  Well, this has finally gotten to a reasonable point in cloud rendering.  The custom materials, bump maps, and reflections are all very close to Revit's renderings.  The one exception you must be aware of is glazing.  For some reason the reflection/refraction of glazing on the cloud appears much different than on native Revit renderings.  You might need to makes some tweaks to it.


Speed and Efficiency
The speed and efficiency of using cloud rendering is it's biggest selling point.  Sending 40 renderings to the cloud and having them finish 20 minutes later without impeding on your workflow is AWESOME.  It is so much better than letting an 8 hour rendering run overnight only to find you screwed up somewhere.  I cannot begin to tell you how insane it would get rendering 20+ hour images a week before the presentation...  I know many fellow college kids are going through that right now.

FREE!! For Students...
The cloud rendering and other Autodesk 360 Services are now free for students to use... I repeat... Not a trial!  This is awesome considering the intensity of studio projects and schedules as well as the lack of rendering farms or super computers in a student's budget.

The Bad:

Night/Ambient Renderings
I have yet to get Revit and the Cloud renderings of exterior night scenes to look remotely similar.  I have tried messing with sun lighting (the 2.A.M. trick) and seeing how that effects the cloud with no luck...  Granted, the renderings on the cloud look pretty sweet but it is very difficult to make them NOT look like a nuclear bomb went off...  A perfect example can be seen in the images below:

Native Revit

Autodesk 360 Cloud

Although I think the cloud rendering looks pretty cool it's just the differences between the two I wanted to point out...  Same settings, different images.

Artificial Lighting
I haven't been able to confirm this yet but so far if any of my rendering have artificial lighting in them they will render as so in the cloud.  That is to say there is no way to turn them off (even if my render setting are set to day lighting only).  Most of the time I don't mind this but the option would be nice.

Resolution and Size
I can understand why the resolution of a cloud rendering might want to be limited... but... we need something a little larger!  In this day and age where retina displays and 1200dpi printers are becoming more and more common a maximum of 2000 pixels wide is just not cutting it.  I have managed to print some pretty good looking boards (24x36) with the cloud renderings but the pixelizing is very noticeable.  Therefore, if you require a 150 to 300dpi image and need some serious detail (even when zoomed) then you may have to stay inside Revit.

Still No Pay-Per-Render
There is still any sign of a pay-per-render or subscription offer from Autodesk.  I know... I know... If you are a subscription user you get it all to use ... But, is everyone on subscription yet?  I guess Autodesk hopes so.

Autodesk 360 Cloud Services FREE for Students!!!

This is HUGE news...  I have expressed my feelings about the amount of free renderings Autodesk has offered to students (especially without the option of buying more) in the past.  Well, I would like to think that maybe I had something to do with the latest news... Autodesk is giving those with a student account free reign of many Autodesk 360 Cloud Services!

Autodesk 360 Cloud Services 
Students now can access virtually infinite computing power with Autodesk cloud-based solutions. Learn how you can create, visualize, analyze, simulate, and iterate your designs faster–eliminating long wait time in studios or computer labs. Improve your course project outcomes by moving computation-intensive tasks to the cloud, enabling rapid visualization and simulation and optimized collaboration with access to intelligent, data-rich models. Learn how you can solve your complex design challenges anywhere, anytime right now.

Render Your Designs in the Cloud Today! 
Save time and produce compelling, near-photorealistic visualizations without tying up your desktop. Render your designs faster–eliminating long wait time in studios or computer labs. Learn how you can improve your course project outcomes by moving computation-intensive tasks to the cloud today. 

 For more information about the Autodesk Cloud-Based offerings, visit www.autodesk.com/studentcloud

For those of you who have already used all your cloud renderings log back into Autodesk 360 and take a look at your account... Something should look a tad bit different...

Revit 2013 - Cloud Rendering for Students - 75 Free!

Looks to me like those of us with a Autodesk Student Community account get 75 free cloud units...  No signs as to what you could do when you run out but 75 is a heck of a lot better than 25!

Autodesk Cloud - Pay Per Rendering - How much would you pay?

Autodesk appears to be working with us instead of against us as far as Cloud Rendering and availability is concerned.  I had a nice discussion last week with some insiders about my post a month or so ago and they appear to believe as strongly about cloud rendering as I do...

I also posted on the feedback forum for cloud rendering, which brings me to this post.

How much would you pay for the cloud rendering services?
Should it be a pay-per-rendering, a monthly fee, a yearly fee...?

Either respond on the Autodesk Feedback forum here....

The latest post requesting feedback:

When Neon was on Labs as a technology preview, we were running on a small farm and the number of users was significantly less.
Now it's a different story. The costs are higher and a pricing structure and various degrees of control are necessary. Please post all the pricing suggestions you think are valuable.We have been discussing ways to get cloud units to users of all kinds :) It's still a work in progress and be sure that we are reading all the discussions in this forum. We are also discussing what can be done for the educational market.     Rob

Or respond in the comment section below....

I, for one, would shoot for a monthly or yearly subscription to cloud rendering.  Since its release I have used all of my free cloud units and I know I would use it consistently throughout the year.  As far as a price is concerned... My first thought is to do some math:

• Roughly $1,000.00 a year to keep a desktop up-to-date and rendering diligently. 
• $1,000.00 / 12 Months = $84.00 Per Month.

Having used the service and watch all of my colleagues and classmates use the service I would feel comfortable at that rate (even as a graduate student working part time).

Thoughts?  Maybe there are different levels depending on how many renderings you think you would use a month?  Kind of like a cell phone bill with minutes??

The other option I have in mind is the Pay-Per-Rendering.... The hardest factor to describe is how many rendering I might do on any given day or month.  This is a difficult factor to determine because I am currently limited to the performance of my computer and the time it takes to render.... With cloud I could be doing 20x as many renderings with the time frame and process power removed from the equation.

Hmmmm.....  Comment below or Post Here!

FINALLY! Cloud Based Rendering for Revit 2012 - Project Neon

I was so excited when the first release of Project Neon came out but was then quickly saddened because it was for AutoCAD... Well, I am happy again!  Now, you can use the cloud to render your scenes in no time at all.  I hope this becomes more than just an Autodesk Labs technology because it has potential to be priceless. 

To Install Project Neon for Revit 2012 simply follow these steps:

1. Follow this link.
2. Click Start Now and log-in.
3. Click install Revit Plugin

Click here to see David Lights post with more instructions and use.