Getting Started with ANSYS in The Nimbix Cloud

Create an Account

The first step to using the Nimbix Cloud is to create an account. Navigate with a browser to https://www.nimbix.net/contact-us and fill out the contact form to request an account.

Preparing a License

After you have created your JARVICE account, you will need to contact support@nimbix.net for one-time license set up of Ansys Applications. Once your account has been configured, you will be able to launch Ansys jobs seamlessly.

Transferring Data

Each user has a secure data store on the Nimbix Cloud. 
This is the area where your Nimbix applications will primarily access data and is stored persistently between jobs. For further information about data transfer, refer to our JARVICE data transfer guide.

Also make sure that the "Request Job IP Address" box is ticked in the "Optional Tab" so that it will assign an address that we can connect to through VNC.

After selecting the type of job you'd like to run, you will need to build your environment by selecting the type of machines, number of machines, the ANSYS version you want to run on. 

The will start the job and transfer you to your Dashboard. Here you will see your job status. Possible Statuses are: Submitted, Queued, Processing, Completed, Completed with Error. If you see Completed with Error immediately, it means there may be an issue with your license setup, or input files. Check the output provided in your status email for information on the error.

Click on a Processing job screen share to connect. Alternatively, and for better 3D performance, you may use a VNC Client to connect.  We recommend Real VNC for the best ANSYS experience. See the section below on how to connect through VNC.

Connecting to Interactive Applications with Real VNC

If you would like a better 3D experience, you may wish to download the Real VNC client.  For connection information, expand your job details by clicking the "i" button next to the red "power button" on the dashboard (as shown in the above screenshot).

This will launch a pop up with connection information. Generally, the connection information is: hostname: NAE-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX.jarvice.com:1 password: the password is provided in the job information. 

We recommend that you shut down your application by closing the application inside the environment. You can also terminate your sessions from the portal using the red power button.

Your job will NOT terminate if you just close the browser or disconnect from your VNC client. Doing this allows you to reconnect and continue your simulation work at a later time.

Be sure when your simulation is completed that you have all data written to your /data or My Data folder in the environment before terminating. Any data in /data is persistent, if you save to another location it will not be saved.

Finally, be sure not to leave sessions running unnecessarily as this will bill costs to your account.  

Running a Batch Job

Launching a batch job is similar to launching an interactive job. Once your data is uploaded (refer to the JARVICE File Transfer Guide), navigate to the Compute tab.  Select the ANSYS application suite you would like to run and click the button labeled Batch.  Each application will present context aware parameters that must be provided to the application for it to properly run. This works very similar to starting an interactive job, but instead, you have to select the “Batch” button:

Once you click on this, it will take you to a similar screen where you can pick your machines and cluster size. To run Batch, ANSYS applications require an Input (.aedt, Journal file, etc.) which contains the commands for your particular simulation. Files matching your application’s file input extension will be automatically displayed when you select the “Script File” field. Then select your .aedt or appropriate input file and set the relevant parameters. Finally, click SUBMIT and your job will start.

Once you have submitted your job you will be re-directed to your Dashboard. Your task will automatically update from Submitted to Processing once the job starts. If you receive a “Completed with Error Status”, please check your license configuration and/or input files. To monitor the results of your batch job, you can simply view the dashboard and the output file will be displayed under the job monitor window. ANSYS provides training on how to create batch files once your simulation has been set up interactively.

Instead of a graphics interface on the Dashboard, you will see a black terminal screen with green text showing the output file as the job is being solved. A job in the Processing state can be expanded and monitored for convergence. There is a live output which directs the ANSYS standard output to a viewing window as a progress monitor. Jobs that are not converging can be terminated using the red shut down button. Note that if you terminate a running job, only progressive data that has been written as instructed in your input or journal file will be saved.

Retrieving Results

Once your simulation has completed, you may wish to transfer your results from /data to your local machine. The best way to do this is using Filezilla to download files, the same way they have been uploaded. Please refer to the JARVICE File Transfer Guide for more information.

Support

If you have any questions please contact sales at sales@nimbix.net or for technical assistance, email support@nimbix.net.  Our team will assist with standard and customize workflows to better serve your simulation needs.