no more OS Server, now what for mac based enviro running Adobe

Question

I have 35+ Macs running Adobe Indesign off of the same server. It Was fine, but now my OS Server is gone, replaced by a PC server. The Indesign is now freezing and unacceptably slow since changing out the server. Is there an ideal solution or a server capable of handeling Adobe Indesign on Macs?Please help ~ Unfortunately, working off the desktop is not an option as we are all linked to a massive image bank that can only live on a shared server.

Dov Isaacs · Accepted Answer

Adobe recommendation (always has been): never work with server files.

No, that really isn't Adobe's recommendation (either now or in the past).

What is true is that we do warn that if your assets (base InDesign documents and/or assets including linked artwork and fonts - such as packaged fonts) are on a server, additional “factors” come into play. These include but are not limited to the real bandwidth between the desktops and the servers (not just the speed of the internet connections at both ends but taking into account any latency issues due to the number of “hops” or distance between the desktops and servers - satellite connections often have major latency issues), connection reliability (the link between the desktops and the servers must be exceptionally reliable), the server configurations (SSDs and enough memory for cacheing), server load, and server configuration.

Many InDesign users work with a server environment quite successfully, assuming the above factors are considered.

And no, it has nothing to do with whether your server is MacOS or Windows based!

Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com · Answer

In our shop of a half dozen Macs and Windows workstations running on a central Windows server, we had to do the following:

Ensure that everyone was using a wired RJ45 LAN connection rather than WiFi. Some workstations were defaulting to WiFi.
Upgrade our LAN cables from outdated CAT5 to CAT6 for faster transfer speeds. Here's a good description of cable speeds: https://blog.tripplite.com/which-ethernet-cable-should-you-use-cat5e-cat6-or-cat6a/
Upgrade our outdated switches/hubs and routers to faster models.
Some of our workstations were working off of split RJ45 ports. That is, one original port that was wired directly to the switch/hub was split at the wall jack to feed 2 workstations, which cut the data speeds for both computers.
Put our office printers on a direct router/switch to keep their payload off the regular LAN traffic and prevent them from interfering with file transfers.

Also check any virus protection software you have both on the server and on the workstations. Depending upon its settings, it could be checking files every time InDesign "hits" the server for a graphic, text file, etc.

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