Configuring a Station for Remote Execution of Physics Solvers and Visualization

You can configure any server or computer to perform remote execution of the Abaqus physics simulation solvers or the physics results visualization engine.

The Compute Host and Detached Controller Host configurations described here are only applicable in a 3DOrchestrate system that uses the default built-in DRM mode. If you have configured an open DRM custom interface to your job scheduler and HPC nodes, see Physics Execution Workflow with Open DRM and Detached Controller Host.

Remote execution of the Abaqus simulation solvers in a native apps installation is only supported on a Windows computer that has a supported graphics card and driver. You can find the list of supported graphics cards at https://www.3ds.com/support/hardware-and-software under On Premises & On The Cloud Certified Workstations.

This task shows you how to:

See Also
Installation Media for All Simulation Apps and Services
Station Properties File and Startup Command-Line Options

Configure the Compute Services (Abaqus Solvers) for Remote Execution

Follow these steps to install and configure the Abaqus solvers on any machine where remote execution of simulations will be needed.

This configuration is called a Compute Host in the native apps simulation execution user preferences. This configuration can be installed on either Windows or Linux.

  1. Install the Abaqus solvers and services from the media SIMULIA_ComputeServices.
  2. Install a 3DOrchestrate Station from the media SIMULIA_3DOrchestration.
  3. Set the following properties in the SMAExeStation.properties file:

    fiper.station.sim.computeservices
    Set this property to locate the base installation directory of the Abaqus solver executables; for example: <install_dir>\win_b64\ or <install_dir>/linux_a64/ .
    fiper.station.sim.portrange
    Set this property to open TCP/IP ports for communication between the executables running on different machines. You can specify a port number range such as 56000-57000, a comma-separated list of individual ports numbers such as 56010,56012,56050, or a combination of both. If this property is not set, the simulation executables will use any available open ports.

Configure the Physics Results Engine for Remote Postprocessing

Follow these steps to install and configure the Physics Results visualization engine on any machine where remote postprocessing of simulation data will be needed.

This configuration is called a Compute Host in the native apps High Performance Visualization user preferences. This configuration can be installed on either Windows or Linux.

  1. Install the Physics Results engine from the media SIMULIA_PhysicsResults.
  2. Install a 3DOrchestrate Station from the media SIMULIA_3DOrchestration.
  3. Set the following properties in the SMAExeStation.properties file:

    fiper.station.sim.resultsservices
    Set this property to locate the base installation directory of the Physics Results engine executable; for example: <install_dir>\win_b64\ or <install_dir>/linux_a64/ .
    fiper.station.sim.largeFileWorkingDir
    Set this property to point to the working directory of the 3DSpace File Collaboration Server (FCS) when large file transfer mode is desired. This can be a Linux network path or Windows UNC path, depending on the operating system of this machine.
    fiper.station.sim.portrange
    Set this property to open TCP/IP ports for communication between the executables running on different machines. You can specify a port number range such as 56000-57000, a comma-separated list of individual ports numbers such as 56010,56012,56050, or a combination of both. If this property is not set, the simulation executables will use any available open ports.

For complete information about configuring large file management in the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, see File Collaboration Server Administrator's Guide: Large Files.

Configuring a Detached Controller Host for Remote Postprocessing

Follow these steps to configure the Physics Results engine in a native apps installation for use by a remote user.

This configuration is called a Detached Controller Host in the native apps High Performance Visualization user preferences. Because it is a native apps installation, this configuration can be used only on Windows.

  1. Install the physics simulation native apps from the media NativeApps_3DEXP. This installation includes an embedded 3DOrchestrate Station.
  2. Set the following properties in the SMAExeStation.properties file: 

    fiper.station.sim.resultsservices
fiper.station.sim.largeFileWorkingDir
fiper.station.sim.portrange

  3. You must execute the LargeFileSettingUtility before starting the 3DOrchestrate Station program on this machine. You create the CATSettings file using the LargeFileSettingUtility command, with the following syntax 

    LargeFileSettingUtility -write -adminmode -lock -serverType {1|2}
    -unixWorkingDir {POSIX working directory path}
    -windowsWorkingDir {UNC working directory path}
    -unixStagingDir {POSIX staging directory path}
    -windowsStagingDir {UNC staging directory path}

    where:

    -serverType=1 for a Linux 3DEXPERIENCE platform server and serverType=2 for a Windows 3DEXPERIENCE platform server

    -unixWorkingDir is a Linux working directory such as /rd/e4all_fs/WORK

    -windowsWorkingDir is a Windows working directory such as \\file-serv2\rd\e4all_fs\WORK

    -unixStagingDir is a Linux staging directory such as /rd/e4all_fs/STAGING

    -windowsStagingDir is a Windows staging directory such as \\file-serv2\rd\e4all_fs\STAGING

    You can check the current settings by issuing the following command: 

    LargeFileSettingUtility -read