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GaryMansell12-Amethyst
12-Amethyst
January 20, 2023
Question

Windchill WGM & CATIA sessions freezing for CAD users since upgrade from 11.0 to 12.0 (WGM 12.1.2.0)

  • January 20, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 8662 views

We run loads of different CAD packages with our Windchill System but are having problems with just one of them - CATIA. Since our recent upgrade to WC 12.0.2 and WGM version 12.1.2.0 our CATIA (particularly V5-6R2017) users working on large assemblies are suffering continual freezing/lockups of the WGM and CATIA. Which stops them working until it unfreezes - ranging from 3 to 30 minutes with no warning. The WGM and CATIA usually come back (not always) but this intermittent, can affect just small bracket parts as well as large assys.  The CAD users say the behaviour has changed since WGM 12.1 as now CATIA freezes when the WGM freezes - whereas they could continue to work in CATIA at WC11.0 whilst the WGM was doing a background refresh.

 

We are not sure what the WGM &CATIA is doing to cause the freezing - it occurs on the regular half hour Workspace Refresh (sometimes these will complete in a second with no issue, then next time it will freeze for 5 minutes with the same models open). We also see long freezes in CATIA and WGM on Check-In / Check-Out and Opening. 

 

Our Windchill App & SQL Servers are fine and so are the network links - indeed Creo/NX users report no performance issues, it only affects CATIA users. We have tried tweaking the various WGM preferences for refresh, item rename etc. but to no avail). We use a new Workspaces at least once per day,

 

We suspect that this gets more frequent the more members in the team are Checking-In / Modifying data as we approach design Gateways that have to be met. We also wonder whether this has to do with inter-part linking - as we suspect that the WGM struggles with this (any best practices to recommend here?). We also wonder whether it could be to do with updating multiple child parts and their siblings across the design team without updating the assembly that contains them (any best practice to share here)?

 

Or, it could just be a problem with the new 12.1.x WGM...

 

 

2 replies

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Pascal_Brunet14-Alexandrite
14-Alexandrite
January 20, 2023

Hello Gary,

 

I suppose you already aware about performance recommendations of PTC: https://www.ptc.com/en/support/article/cs303555 

 

In the compatibility matrix of Catia V5-6R2017, there is a discontinuity between 12.1.0.2 and 12.1.2.0. It is strange from my point of view. May be you should test with version V5-6R2022 of Catia.

 

https://www.ptc.com/support/-/media/support/refdocs/Windchill_PDMLink/compatibility/WWGMCompatibilityMatrix.pdf?sc_lang=en

Pascal_Brunet_0-1674210459225.png

 

Regards,

Pascal

 

 

 

 

HelesicPetr
22-Sapphire II
HelesicPetr22-Sapphire II
22-Sapphire II
January 20, 2023

@Pascal_Brunet 

The reason of the discontinuity is that 12.1.2.0 version is a long term support version. 

PetrH

PetrH
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GaryMansell12-AmethystAuthor
12-Amethyst
January 20, 2023

Yes - this was frustrating for us. We were just about to upgrade to WC12 globally, with WGM 12.0.2.0, which we had validated against all our 15+ CAD packages & versions and then PTC dropped a security notice forcing us to have to deploy WGM 12.1.1.0 which did not "officially" support V5R26, 27 & 28 (but it works).

 

Then a month after the upgrade, they released 12.1.2.0 which did support these versions. But by this time we had done our upgrade and installed WGM 12.1.1.0 on 300+ CAD machines!

G
GaryMansell12-AmethystAuthor
12-Amethyst
February 1, 2023

PTC have accepted there is a problem in the WGM and have raised an SPR: SPR Details - 14400013 (ptc.com)

 

I am concerned that the description of the SPR does not cover the totality of the freezing issues that my users are experiencing - so I am pressing them further to confirm whether the discovered issue also explains the CAD Sessions freezing (for between 3 & 30 mins) every time the WGM background refresh occurs (every 30mins by default). It is the CAD sessions freezing whilst they are trying to work (and not even using the WGM) that is the main concern for us - as it interrupts CAD working for no apparent reason (they should be able to work asynchronously in CAD whilst the WGM does what it needs to do in the background).

 

Some information that I have discovered whilst working on this issue which might be useful to people:

 

Because the background WGM Workspace refresh/sync was locking up CAD sessions, when it runs every 30 minutes, users have been setting their “Update Commonspace Changes In Background” Preference to “No” (default is Yes). This has the benefit of reducing the occurrences of the CAD Session freezing whilst they are working in CAD. But, has the negative effect of causing subsequent CAD/WGM Check-In/Out or Upload operations to often take longer (also freezing the WGM and CAD Application) – this is because the WGM has to first Synchronise the local Workspace with Common Space in the background before it can do the requested Check-In/Out or Upload… and Common Space can be continually changing on larger projects approaching deadlines that have more CAD "churn” – so it might take multiple repeated background sync’s before it can successfully get the local Workspace synchronised with Common Space and then finally perform the requested Check-In/Out or Upload.

 

 

P
Pascal_Brunet14-Alexandrite
14-Alexandrite
February 1, 2023

Thank you for the update.

 

Good news if you got SPR. This is something important to tell in next meeting.

 

Do you also reproduce this issue when WGM is in Offline mode ? i mean without connection to Windchill.

 

Regards,

Pascal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

G
GaryMansell12-AmethystAuthor
12-Amethyst
February 1, 2023

Offline Workspaces are only available for Creo Parametric - not CATIA via the WWGM

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