Editing InDesign Files Directly off a Server: Crazy?

C.P. wrote:

Can you give me any information about suggested minimum or optimal server space needed when using CS5? We noticed an increase in “crashes” last week when our server space dropped to 7 GB. Our IT department said to let them know when it dropped to 1 GB of usable space.

Okay, it’s time to bring this fistfight/argument/debate/discussion out into the open:

David: I don’t believe in servers. Well, okay I believe in them, but having grown up in the 20th century, and being superstitious about technology (I still have scars from dealing with SCSI termination voodoo), I have a strong preference for the copy-file-to-local-machine-edit-save-then-put-back-on-server workflow. I know it’s painful and inefficient, I know it’s old-fashioned, but running all those bits and bytes along network wires, subject to the slightest hiccup or network drop just freaks me out. InDesign files are a database of information, and there are no tools for salvaging your database if it gets corrupted.

Anne-Marie: David, oy. :D I wonder if you’ve left your computer cave since 1992 and seen how companies are set up these days? Networks are quite a bit faster and more stable than they used to be. Yes, digital retouchers may be working on their 500MB images locally or off of an attached scratch disk, but when a company has a server and an IT department, it’s quite common for all the other users to work directly off the server.  I mean, I personally know of hundreds of of my own training clients whose networks use InCopy/InDesign CS-whatever on a shared network server. That is, after all, how Adobe’s documentation requires it to be set up. I keep up with my ID/IC clients and other than the occasional glitch (server or otherwise) have not heard anyone say that IT decided they can’t run off the server. And of course there are tens of thousands of more users who work off the server routinely, it’s the standard operating procedure for most company networks for the past 5 to 10 years.

That said… seriously, only 7GB free on the server’s hard drive? Out of what, like a 500 GB hard drive? That sounds like a bad idea to me. I’m pretty sure most hard drive manufacturers recommend you keep 10% of a hard drive’s capacity free (whether you’re talking local computer or server).

David: Okay,that’s a good point about the free hard drive space. Computers do need a lot of scratch space to function sometimes. But Anne-Marie, you’re working on an InDesign file that’s sitting on a server and after a while the network jams up or goes down for 30 seconds. It happens to be right when you’re saving the document. Hosed file?

Anne-Marie: I would imagine that if the network jams up or goes down for 30 seconds, it’d be the same as if your own computer went down or froze. Not good! :D Your temp file and your cache are still on your local computer, as far as I know. So, save early and save often. More important, if you have a flaky network, then the responsibility is on the IT department to make sure it’s not flaky.

I hear what you’re saying, though, David. Working off a server adds more variables to what could go wrong. Not just a problem with your own computer, but also with the server, and with the connection to the server. That’s all true. What I’m saying is that in my experience, many (most?) companies with enough computers to warrant a server have users opening and saving files to it all the time, because in balance, there are fewer problems with that workflow that with users constantly copying files across the network so they can work locally.  I know for a fact that part of Adobe’s own internal testing involves working with InDesign files over a server, too, because they know that’s how a lot of their customers will be using InDesign.

A Server Expert Weighs in

We turned to Ben Greiner, owner of Chicago’s Forget Computers for his advice. Anne-Marie has known Ben for years. He and his company specialize in supporting Mac and mixed-platform networks (using Mac or Windows servers) for design firms, ad agencies, and publishers. He knows his way around the Adobe Creative Suite – by osmosis at least – and supports a number of clients who are using a server-based InCopy workflow.

Ben: David’s fears are valid, although I agree most with Anne-Marie. Yes, you can work directly off the server. Although it is not uncommon for a wireless network to have sporadic issues and temporary outages, wired Ethernet networks should not have these problems unless there is a failing piece of hardware or an electrical problem (in either case IT needs address the issue). Regardless of the network, I do believe InDesign will cache a copy locally and in most cases recover from a server/network disruption. (Although, yes it will fail to recover when you *really* need it, so backups are important. :-)

We have many clients working directly off the server with InDesign, yet we receive very few (if any recent) calls involving “hosed” InDesign files.

That said, I’ve seen clients try some things that have failed. Opening a 100+ page InDesign file from the server and saving as a press-ready PDF might fail. Opening and editing nearly 100GBs of Photoshop files directly from the server might fail.

Unfortunately, many IT departments try and “shoehorn” creative professionals into a technology infrastructure that was built for Microsoft Word and Excel. In this particular situation AM is correct when she questions usable disk space. Unless all the data will fit comfortably on a floppy disk, more than 1GB must be available on the server!  At least 10% free is a common rule.

The server, storage destination, and network (Gigabit Ethernet is a must) all play a part. Any IT department worth its salt (or Sodium Chloride as the geeks call it) can build an infrastructure that will support a server-based InDesign/InCopy workflow.

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There you have it-and thank you, Ben! We’re still recovering from the “worth its Sodium Chloride” remark :-D but other than that, your information was much appreciated.

We put it to InDesignSecrets.com fans: What do you think? Are you editing InDesign (or other kinds of files) directly off a server? Please share in a comment below!