Binary Code Serving of CATIA V5 in Windows Environment

By Mukundhan Annamalai & Ganapathy Nallasivan of Infosys Technologies Limited and Brad Bossio of Microsoft Corporation

1. Introduction
   CATIA V5 has excellent built-in functionality & features and undergoes frequent upgrades to continually improve. Its configuration caters to the majority of the design needs of the engineering industry. CATIA has more than 100 work benches, more than 1.5GB of code and more than 40,000 files, a huge amount of binary code to be deployed in local systems.
   
2. CATIA Administration
   The huge CATIA code size can present challenges in deployment and administration:
   
   
   1. Distributing the huge package over a network might load the network.
      
   2. The distribution requirement is frequent, since service packs are released frequently.
      
   3. Large organizations may have thousands of workstations and all of them need to be at same level (including service pack) of CATIA code at any given time.
   The best recommended solution is to have a centralized location of CATIA code server and making the workstations accessing the code from this server. This is called "Code Serving" or "Binary Serving". The Code Serving solution for Windows platforms is available to the users, since CATIA V5 release 8. The details are available in the CATIA help documentation.
   
3. Network Performance
   In a code-serving scenario, multiple Client requests of CATIA code from the server, could be loading the network. The traffic load could pose performance issues of the network and systems.
   
   In Windows environment, use of Microsoft's latest technology solutions such as Client Side Caching or Offline Folders, Distributed File Systems (DFS) and Active Directory effectively addresses the above challenges.
   
   Enabling an Offline Folder (of the shared CATIA code folder) moves copies the files to the local system and user access requests are directed to the local system. The resultant system performance is comparable to having a local install and network bandwidth is not utilized. The Offline Folder always synchronizes the data on the client side, so any updates in the server are updated in the local system on the first access.
   
4. Binary Code Serving in Windows environment
   Code serving in Microsoft Windows environment is now available as a deployment solution for CATIA V5.
   
   In a CATIA Code serving scenario, CATIA code is installed on the server and shared read-only access of the installation folder is provided to all users. The global environment also can be set up in the server.
   
   On the client side (workstation), runtime environment and shortcuts are created. This process also validates the client minimum requirements: processor, RAM, Operating System, dynamic linked libraries etc. Optional features such as VB6, Fonts, OLE and CATIA background processes also can be set up on the client side.

   
   Fig 1 Typical Code Serving Setup in Server and Client Systems
   
   Once the set up processes are complete, CATIA V5 can be executed from the client side as a local install by clicking on the CATIA icon on the desktop or from the Start menu.
   
   The CATIA code serving solution has been performance tested and proven in Windows architecture.
   

5. Benefits of Code Serving
   
   
   
   • Easy Distribution & deployment
     
   • Reduced Administration overheads
     
   • Easy Updating / Roll backs
   
   
6. Conclusion: Binary code serving in CATIA - A proven, reliable deployment solution
   Microsoft Corporation (www.microsoft.com) and Infosys Technologies Ltd. (www.Infosys.com) have partnered and made available a structured platform migration approach viz., "CATIA V4-V5 Migration frame work " to the CATIA user community.
   
   As a part of the above framework rollout, scalability of the CATIA Code Serving solution in Windows platform was tested and proven in large user environments. The solution was tested with pre-designed worst-case scenarios simulating the environment of multiple clients accessing the server simultaneously. Results proved the superiority of the Offline Folder/DFS strategy. The performance of CATIA in Code Serving mode with Offline Folders is comparable to the convenience and reliability of a local installation. Infosys also has set up Code Serving in a production environment successfully and can help users in need of the code serving deployments.
   
   For further details on the above solution, please contact: gnallasivan@Infosys.com
   
   Authors acknowledge the proprietary rights of the trademarks and product names of companies mentioned in the article.

   Implementing V5: Ten Steps to Happiness
   

   By Joe Oswald, P. Eng, RAND Global Services

   The Acme Parts Company, a supplier that has been using CATIA V4 or Pro/ENGINEER for years to design parts has been given the chance to provide a new part to a large OEM that uses CATIA V5. The supplier's engineering manager has selected his own team to implement the new technology, assuming that, since they have used V4 or Pro/E for so long, they'll have little problem introducing V5. The team starts gathering information from the Internet, from other users and from a wide variety of resources available to them. Then, things quickly begin to go wrong. The company can't reliably migrate its legacy data and the new technology, which is supposed to be more user friendly, is making them less productive. Soon, the manager finds himself way behind schedule and falling further back with every passing day. And all he can ask is, "What went wrong?"

   While there continue to be differences of opinion as to how to define the process known as product lifecycle management or PLM, few manufacturers would disagree that product design is a (some would say the most) crucial component. Thus, it is not surprising that many companies are initiating their transition to PLM by implementing CATIA V5. However, like so many changes involving new technologies and processes, there are many roads to implementation. The challenges become even greater for companies that want to make a smooth and financially viable transition, while leveraging their existing data and systems, with the least disruption to their current business.

   In a sense, the first problem that this hypothetical parts supplier faced was the belief that moving to V5 - even from V4, let alone Pro/E - was a seamless "upgrade." In fact, because V5 was developed around a brand new architecture, the transformation is a complex one. In other words, V5 represents a whole new platform. As an organization that has helped literally thousands of companies around the world to implement new parametric, associative features-based solids modeling systems, we at RAND Worldwide have learned two primary lessons: 1) There are certain repeatable Best Practices and Processes that provide a greater likelihood of success for any V5 implementation; and, 2) No two implementations are exactly the same. Each company and, sometimes, each design group within a business, brings their own capabilities, needs, technologies and challenges to the table. With this second lesson in mind, here are the Top Ten Steps that companies need to complete in order to have a successful V5 implementation, with the lowest costs in productivity, time, money, frustration and lost business.

   
   
   1. SURVEY:
      Nobody should be surprised to hear that the first step is to assemble a core migration team capable of planning ahead. What may not be so obvious is the amount of information that companies need to consolidate in order to make the Survey a success and to fully "arm" that implementation team. (This step can be summarized as the process of determining 'Where we are now?' and 'Where do we want to go?')
      
      Executives need to clearly delineate their own corporate mission critical business goals (E.g. increased profitability; cost compression; market growth etc.), along with their operational expectations (E.g. increased offshore manufacturing; supply chain integration; product portfolio management etc.) and the related justifications for undertaking this migration.
      
      At the same time, the engineering and information systems groups need to evaluate their current systems environment, performance and infrastructure, along with their current applications and license configurations, including those systems and applications that have been customized over the years. Overall engineering business processes also need to be examined, to illuminate the gaps, areas for improvement and other issues that arise along the way. A similarly objective study should be made of the true skill sets of both the implementation team and the groups' engineers and designers who will soon be expected to use the new tools.
      
      Of course, the status of existing product data must be fully accounted for, including information on how the data will be appropriately managed, viewed, modified, and made available to all necessary consumers, both within the organization and throughout the entire process chain.
      
   2. DEFINE BUILDING BLOCKS
      Based upon the result of the Survey, Step 2 focuses on defining the core building blocks or sub-programs of the design team that need to be migrated to V5. In working with a broad range of companies with a variety of needs, we have identified a dozen key building blocks that make up the best foundation for almost any V5 implementation. Many companies only address the standard "big three": Data migration; Training; and, System Infrastructure. While successful implementation of these elements may assist many companies in "getting back on line", it will not provide either sufficient support of integration to allow users and their organizations to fully leverage the V5 technology. (It is worth noting, for example, that CATIA V4 methods simply applied to V5 technologies will not meet the expected productivity gains many are using to justify the migration process.)
      
   3. PILOT DEFINITION
      One of the key steps skipped by many companies is the specification of the pre-pilot and pilot implementations. Those that do take this step, however, are inevitably surprised at how much they learn about the capabilities of the technologies and the suitability of their design methodology.
      
   4. DEFINE ROADMAP
      Proper implementation project management includes setting a schedule of work on all building blocks, including the setting of defined milestones for all phases of the implementation. This includes a breakdown of the estimated internal and external person-days required to complete the roadmap. This is often the first time a systematic estimate of time and manpower has been assembled for the V5 implementation.
      
   5. IMPLEMENTATION PROJECT DEFINITION
      A project definition document should then be approved by all stakeholders. This includes the implementation sequence, with schedules, cost estimates, and specific implementation goals. Activities are tracked against named members of the implementation team, including an implementation organizational reporting structure and a list of action items for all teams. While not everyone on the implementation team needs to be aware of every possible detail, the key aspects of the plan should be available to all team leaders.
      
   6. Fit for V5 Workshop
      As we've noted, CATIA V5 is a dramatically different technology. However, Dassault Systèmes, the creators of V5, has implemented a small portion of this functionality in the latest releases of V4. As a result, the V5 learning curve can be eased by running a workshop to introduce users to the functionality available in V4, prior to the formal V5 implementation.
      
   7. PRE-PILOT PHASE
      This is the point at which the migration team, their preparation and their new processes begin to be seriously tested. This is where each building block is detailed and tested using sample data. During the Pre-Pilot Phase, the team must verify and check the compatibility and functionality of both the V5 software and the hardware infrastructure that supports it. The legacy data and user methods should be examined against the new data and user needs, including skill set requirements. Also, this is the time to develop custom training plans, as well as V5-related Best Practices, (which must later be fully implemented throughout the organization, and not just written up and 'shelved.')
      
   8. PILOT PHASE
      In cases in which the preparation and research have been properly completed, the Pilot Phase of implementation - in which live data is used, instead of sample data - can move very smoothly. It is at this stage where the team verifies functionality and the methods in the V5 production environment under the pressure of production deadlines.
      
   9. FULL IMPLEMENTATION PHASE
      With all aspects of the implementation pre-tested and documented, the final IT environment is upgraded. Here, the V5 software is installed, made available and the customization application work is completed, (CAA, VB, KBE) and the legacy data migration is completed.
      
   10. TRANSITION CLOSING
       Although explorers of new continents have been known to burn their ships to ensure their teams continue to move forward, this is not recommended as the final step of a V5 migration. The final step is to carefully identify the V4 data and V4 licenses that will be needed to maintain legacy programs. In all cases, it is critical that the need and desire for change is endorsed and communicated across the organization by the highest level executives, as part of both their internal and external communications.
       
       RAND Worldwide provides companies with assistance in all or any part of their PLM implementation. The Company has provided this sort of implementation support services for over a decade. Since the early 1990's, we have been partners with clients such as Hella KG, Motorola, Nortel, Whirlpool, DANA, Porsche, TRW, and Brose. There is no other systems integrator in the world with a greater range of experience implementing parametric solids modeling systems. We also stand behind our work: RAND Worldwide provides a "no cost" for services guarantee to qualified customers in the event that we do not meet the agreed upon Statement of Work.
   Contact Information:
   Joe Oswald, P. Eng, RAND Global Services, RAND Worldwide
   joswald@rand.com
   1-905-625-2000 ext 2222 or 1-877-726-3243
   http://www.rand.com/na/rand/services.htm

   Daewoo Heavy Industries & Machinery Ltd. Integrates Product Lifecycle Management Solutions from IBM and Dassault Systemes to Enhance Product Development Platform
   

   By Christopher P. Sciacca, Assistant Manager, Strategic Relations, IBM Product Lifecycle Management

   World Leader of machinery and manufacturing industry will leverage PLM solutions to consolidate and strengthen collaborative environment

   IBM and Dassault Systemes announced the signing of a new Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions contract with Daewoo Heavy Industries & Machinery Limited (DHIM).

   The newly acquired IBM PLM solutions will help DHIM enhance product development and consolidate collaboration environments with CATIA V5® and ENOVIA LCA (Lifecycle Applications) software developed by Dassault Systemes. PLM technologies will enable DHIM to maximize efficiencies surrounding the development of products such as forklifts and passenger car engines, and exploit the collaboration features afforded by PLM solutions.

   IBM Korea Global Services will provide counsel and deploy best practices that will ultimately reduce product development cycles by integrating processes including concept design, manufacturing and production. The ability of DHIM's 3,000 employees to share design information in real time across the extended enterprise and with international partners and automotive manufacturing customers will gradually replace costly and time-consuming physical prototypes.

   "The biggest objective of the project is to improve product competitiveness and establish a digital collaborative environment. We will be able not only to reduce the product life cycle but also cut costs drastically because of enhanced cooperation between departments and partners facilitated by the PLM solutions from IBM and Dassault Systemes." said JaeGon Kim, Director, Central R&D Division, DHIM.

   "A growing number of machinery and manufacturing companies are introducing PLM all across the world. IBM Korea and Dassault Systemes have implemented many of those systems and will bring worldwide experience to meet DHIM's unique requirements." said JeMann Park, Manager, PLM Solutions, IBM Korea.

   "The complementary strengths of CATIA, the world's leading 3D product development solution, and ENOVIA, for collaborative data management, will enable DHIM to improve development processes and ultimately build better products," said Etienne Droit, executive vice president, Sales and Services, Dassault Systemes. "These comprehensive PLM solutions will have a far-reaching impact on DHIM's performance by helping the company to innovate, optimize product lifecycle costs, and address new markets."

   Daewoo Heavy Industries & Machinery Ltd. (DHIM) is a leading company in the machinery industry of Korea, which is providing first-class products and services in construction equipment, industry vehicles, machine tools, factory automation systems, diesel engines, and defense systems. DHIM is focusing every management resource to provide the finest products and services available by developing environmentally friendly products, acquiring international certification such as ISO 9000s, ISO 4000s, and establishing more efficient and convenient service systems.

   http://www.dhiltd.co.kr

   Knowledge Based Engineering in CATIA environment
   

   By Mukundhan Annamalai/Nallasivan/Gig Sagahon

   The aim of this paper is to increase the awareness between the Design Community about the knowledge Based Engineering (KBE) and Design Automation techniques to increase the productivity. Many organizations, over a period of time gained a strong knowledge in their domain areas. The knowledge could be either design or process related. This know-how is usually centered on few expert designers and of course they would have learnt it in a hard way. But, in the competitive environment, Industries can sustain in the market only by transforming these intelligence into a Knowledge system. Industry leaders are now focusing on creating these Knowledge Based Engineering systems to hold their organization knowledge. They turn out to be the corporate assets estimated to cost multi billion dollars in terms of money to acquire and sustain.

   Also, if we closely monitor in a Product development life cycle, there are many repeated tasks performed by the designers. Eventually, these tasks increases the design cycle time and amounts to a substantial increase in the product cost. Design Automation Techniques can reduce these mundane tasks to a greater extent.

   Following are the major advantages of use of KBE and Design Automation.

   
   
   • Reinvention of wheel in design tasks can be avoided
     
   • Repetitive tasks can be automated (Design Automation)
     
   • Design cycle time will be reduced
     
   • More number of Design Iterations are possible

   CATIA - V5 Capabilities in KBE & Design Automation
   CATIA V5 has a suite of Knowledge ware products and Design automation tools, which helps the user to perform the following.

   Rules / Checks / Reaction: A rule is a set of instructions whereby you can control certain parameters and events according to a context. For example, in a bending operation the value of the bend radius is limited to a particular value. A rule can be defined, which will alert the designer when he / she tries to modify the bend radius beyond the limits, and also performs certain actions like modifying other parameters to accommodate this change in bend radius. A check is used to verify the design conditions are met or not. The reaction feature helps to cope with the rules and the behaviors limitations and to create more associative and reactive design. Knowledge ware products help in optimizing and verifying the designs also. Knowledge ware products also work seamlessly with other CATIA products such as analysis tools also.

   CAT Scripting: CATScripting (Standard CAA) is a powerful design automation tool, which can be used to automate most of the interactive and repetitive tasks in CATIA. CATScript can be used along with KBE applications to get the maximum benefits. Standard CAA is part of any basic installation of CATIA V5. CATScripting is very simple and user friendly. CATScripting can be used along with Knowledge Advisor to achieve most of the facilities available in other products such as Knowledge Expert.

   Infosys (www.Infosys.com) has built various customized KBE solutions to meet the specific needs of its clients. Based on the expertise gained, offers a niche service to build the KBE solution for the clients in need. For further details about the article please Contact- gnallasivan@infosys.com.

   A Development Planning Council Success Story
   

   By Catherine Bell, Lockheed Martin

   The COE Spring 2003 Conference has just passed, so I wanted to share a success story on the Digital Product Synthesis Development Planning Council (DPC). I hope this information will encourage you to bring your enhancement requests for the Digital Product Synthesis Tools to our sessions at the next COE Conference. Over a year ago, the Strategic Enhancement Request (SER) database showed our DPC had twelve enhancement requests and our implementation rate was 47%. Today we have thirteen enhancement requests with 33% implemented. While the statistics are admirable, other factors should be considered in gauging the success of the SER process and the efforts of our DPC.

   It is also important to measure the variety of input from all member companies, the implementation path and schedule provided by Dassault, and the overall participation of the committee members. Based on these factors, the committee DEFINITELY has a success story to tell. The enhancements have been submitted by a variety of member companies with a good cross-section of industries. Our Domain Leader, Severin Lanfranchi, and his team provide a clear direction for the development of the DPS products and there have not been any enhancement requests that have not been included in the development plan. Severin and his team provided a full, detailed report on specific software direction at the open strategy sessions at COE. Some of the sessions include live demonstrations and though there is a lot of detail in the presentation content, there is always time for questions. The working sessions were restricted to COE member companies and often include presentations on future releases. They also provided data on the status of the enhancements.

   As more member companies begin to focus on the V5 tools, the enhancement request rate has been increasing and though many are submitted during the COE conference, there is plenty of activity between conferences.

   As co-chairs for the DPC, Kazem Hodroge and I would like to continue to improve our SER metrics and ensure you and your company gets the maximum value from your participation in COE. We also want to make sure we provide Dassault with the proper guidance on product enhancements from all the member companies. I look forward to seeing you at the next COE conference.

   ENAER to Implement World-Class Aeronautical Design Solutions With PLM Technologies from IBM and Dassault Systemes
   

   IBM and Dassault Systemes announced the signing of a million-dollar Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution contract with ENAER, Chile's national aeronautical company. The IBM PLM solution, with CATIA® and SMARTEAM® developed by Dassault Systemes, will enable ENAER to standardize its entire product development platform, while realizing significant cost reductions. ENAER will be the first company in the Latin American aerospace supplier market to possess this technology, which will enable it to pursue market opportunities at a global level. ENAER will be able to offer other aerospace manufacturers solutions for the conception, design and manufacture of aircraft parts and structures. The company will also be able to enhance its end-to-end internal production chain by tying together its design, engineering and manufacturing processes, as well as linking suppliers and customers. Finally, ENAER will be able to optimize the design of its own products and increase its maintenance services for military and commercial aircraft.

   "ENAER wants to be a leader in the aeronautical industry, and therefore we have signed an agreement with IBM that provides us with best business solutions in order to support our growth plans," said Alfredo Guzman, executive director at ENAER. "Thus, we are also betting on research and development as a company's strategic decision, in order to provide added value to these products that are manufactured in Chile."

   Luis Siles, IBM Chile General Manager, said "This alliance is a milestone for the domestic and Latin American aeronautical industries and opens up new horizons for equivalent industries, and is a great example of how IBM helps customers transform into on demand businesses by enabling them to become more highly responsive, focused, resilient and variable in fiercely competitive marketplaces." "CATIA is the de facto industry standard in the aerospace sector," said Marcelo Lemos, president of Dassault Systemes of America. "Combined with SMARTEAM's cutting-edge collaborative product data management capabilities, it will help ENAER compete in the international aerospace market, as well as achieve its mission to provide superior products to the Chilean Air Force and contribute to Chile's national aeronautical development."

   In order to implement this solution, IBM will be supported by Dassault Systemes of America and also by Cardix S.A. of Argentina, IBM PLM Business Partner, for installation, training, best practices and post-implementation support.

   ENAER has more than 70 years of experience in the production and assembly of aeronautical parts and is the only aircraft manufacturer in Chile. In addition, the company has become one of the most important aeronautical centers in Latin America, and one of the country's fundamental technological pillars, by achieving ISO 9001 certification. The company is also responsible for the design and manufacture of the Pillan airplane-a basic training platform for the Air Forces of eight countries. ENAER is also one of the main suppliers of EMBRAER, Brazilian Aeronautical Company, one of the most important aeronautical organizations in the world. EMBRAER has singled out the Chilean Company with two prizes during 2002, corresponding to quality and best supplier, which reinforces the Chilean Company's high quality and control standards. Located in the city of Santiago, the company has highly skilled professionals, technicians and administrative support personnel, serving commercial and military aviation. For more information, visit http://www.enaer.cl.

   Cardix has been a business associate of IBM in Chile and Argentina during 10 years, and has implemented the CATIA, SMARTEAM and 3d PLM solutions, providing support, training and consulting. Cardix provides engineering services for multiple industries, such as aerospace, automobile, metal-mechanic, oil, chemical and mass consumption.