Hello everyone! It’s been some time since I last updated you, as I’ve dedicated the past year to my personal growth. This period allowed me to delve into my readings and confront various software challenges to enhance my skills.

Around six to seven months ago, I upgraded to a new laptop and repurposed my old one as a makeshift desktop. However, I soon realized my workaround was just to avoid the hassle of connecting and disconnecting my new laptop from my monitor. This prompted me to take action and set up my own server.

Being an architect with a passion for software, particularly Revit, setting up my own server was something I should have considered much earlier. In past projects, we relied on central Revit files and BIM models. Yet, in Russia, a dedicated Revit Server was never established, and we resorted to a local area network with a file server for storing the central files. Although we faced no significant issues, I was aware that this setup was far from optimal. My attempts to transition to a proper Revit server were unfortunately dismissed based on my manager and the IT department’s advice. They believed that since everything was running on a local network within a single office without issues, there was no need to change.

For those interested in setting up your own Revit server at home and feeling connected to a team, you’re in the right spot. Here’s how I went about it:

First, I downloaded Windows Server 2012 for my 64-bit processor-powered laptop. Next, I set my network IPs, gateways, DNS, and subnets considering the router, access point, and unmanaged switch that I use for intranet. This stage took a while to understand, and I even wasted a week on networking 101 tutorials on YouTube. Luckily, a friend, Andrew, helped me out by reminding me to arrange my devices to be in the same subnet, which is one of the most important things to do. Otherwise, you’ll keep encountering Windows authentication asking passwords from Digest. If you get that error and can’t solve it using online guides, don’t worry. Just relax, play with your dog, and ask for help from an IT friend.

The Revit user application, which runs in workstations connected to the server, can access the Revit Server folder to open projects. This eliminates the need for anyone to manually navigate to a folder using Windows Explorer, reducing the risk of accidentally deleting or moving files. Once the user connects to the server and opens a project, it creates a local copy in the My Documents folder on the workstation. Then, the user only needs to open that file to continue working until syncing with the server to send changes in the file to the server.

We all know that working in Revit in a single office isn’t ideal unless you have all the subcontractors working in the same office. The most important thing with the Revit Server is that you need a static IP to create connections between offices to work together. IT guys call it WAN, or wide area network. Only then will Revit power the projects to be truly competitive and efficient.

Thanks for reading, and I hope this helps to find a new angle into your Revit workflows.