Setting up WPDM with Network Storage

When setting up a new WorkgroupPDM vault, or migrating an existing vault, you may choose to locate the actual vaulted files on a machine other than the machine running the server service. There are many benefits for doing this such as, fault tolerance or increasing storage capacity. (Note: By having files on a network share, vault performance can be expected to be slower than having files local to the machine running the service.)

The following steps will guide you through the process of updating the Root Path of the vault from a local machine, to that of a network directory.

All Steps are to be performed on the machine hosting the Workgroup PDM Vault Server service.

1. Log into the VaultAdmin Tool

2. Start > Run > Type "services.msc" (without quotes) to launch the Services window.

3. Locate the SOLIDWORKS Workgroup PDM Server service, and select Stop the service.

4. In Services, Right Mouse Button click SOLIDWORKS Workgroup PDM Server > Properties > Log On tab.

5. Set the radio to "This account" and select an active directory account that has full permissions to the network location of the vault.

6. Next, within the VaultAdmin tool, update the vault location to the mapped share.

(Ex. Vault Directory is now set to the mapped location of X:\)

Note: You can set the Root Directory via Registry if you wish to not map a drive and would instead prefer to use an IP address or hostname.

The registry key to update is RootPath found in:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\SolidWorks\SolidWorks 2015\PDMWorks Workgroup\Server\

7. Finally, start the SOLIDWORKS Workgroup PDM Server service (via Services or VaultAdmin). If correctly setup with location and credentials, the vault service will now be running.