With MicroStation CONNECT Edition, we are constantly striving to ease our users’ workflows and continue to improve their productivity with every subsequent update. Better performance is one of the key areas of focus for MicroStation CONNECT Edition. Something as simple as the reducing the file open time significantly will greatly impact our users working with large datasets using integrated workflows.
In this blog we have put together a simple comparative study that exhibits the effectiveness of CONNECT Edition over V8i with respect to the File Opening Time, and we are pleased to announce that MicroStation CONNECT Edition is better equipped to open larger datasets, faster, as compared to MicroStation V8i.
Following are the specifications that we have considered for the test:
We have used MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 13 & MicroStation V8i SS4.
Content | Description |
Windows OS | Windows 10 Enterprise |
Processor | Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-1660 v3 @ 3.00GHz, 3001 Mhz (Megahertz), 8 Core(s), 16 Logical Processor(s) |
RAM | 64 GB |
Page File Size | 9.50 GB |
Graphic Card | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 |
Chart Content: The below chart depicts the size of files used, corresponding element count and the file opening time for CONNECT Edition and V8i
Size of File | Element Count | FO Time (in sec) CE | FO Time V8i (in sec) |
83.6 MB | 512500 (X) | 8 | 7 |
165 MB | 1025000 (2X) | 16 | 13 |
330 MB | 2050000 (4X) | 35 | 27 |
662 MB | 4100000 (8X) | 90 | 58 |
827 MB | 5125000 (10X) | 140 | 120 |
993 MB | 6150000 (12X) | 170 | 440 |
1.12 GB | 7210000 (14X) | 380 | 850 |
1.29 GB | 8200000 (16X) | 390 | 900 |
1.45 GB | 9227000 (18X) | 620 | 1400 |
1.61 GB | 10250000 (20X) | 880 | 2000 |
We repeated the test 5-6 times for individual datasets and the average file opening time was considered to plot the below graph. The dataset used in the test includes a large variety of element types.The elements were copied multiple times to create a substantial file size. This study explicitly intends to draw users’ focus to the File Open Time for DGN files in both applications.
Graph Content:
- X Axis: No of Elements
- Y Axis: Time (In Seconds)
Fig 1: Dataset (Click on the image for a zoomed in view)
Although the initial readings are mostly seen overlapping, the graph above speaks of the steadfast and rapid sustainability that CONNECT Edition shows while dealing with multiple elements and its performance taking off after a certain file size.
Fig 2: Dataset
The tides are noticeably turning when the axis hits a 5 Million elements count, the advantage of CONNECT Edition kicks in and the File Open Time radically reduces thereafter (Refer Fig 2.). With 10 Million elements, the time reserved is two folds more for MicroStationV8i SS4 as equated to CONNECT Edition Update 13. In addition, the cross over point in the in-set graph is shown for better understanding of the element count. This data gives you a broad overview of how CONNECT Edition compares to V8i with respect to the time taken to open a DGN. Nonetheless, each file is unique in its kind and the result may differ sometimes. With the 64-bit architecture, CONNECT Edition is stimulated to pitch higher tolerance to the file memory. All your extra file load time can now be put to rest.
These tests were performed specifically for File Open time. Incase if you want us to test any specific datasets that you are working with or wish to suggest scenarios that we can test for similar performance study, please feel free to comment or connect with us.