Running Fluent on a remote server

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If your simulation requires more processing power, you may need to remotely run the calculations on a larger server. This tutorial is for those who have access to the Swanson computer lab on Cornell University's Ithaca campus. Instructions are provided in the following video and summarized below:

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1. Append DNS suffix
   1. Go to Control Panel >> Network and Internet >> Local Area Connection
   2. Click Properties in the “Local Area Connection Status” window
   3. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)
   4. Click Properties >> Advanced
   5. Go to the “DNS” tab and under the window “Append these DNS suffixes”, click Add
   6. In the “TCP/IP Domain Suffix” window, type in: mae.cornell.edu
      
      
2. Map Network drive
   1. Go to “My Computer” and select “Map network drive” on the top bar
   2. For “Folder”, type in: \\en-ma-simcafe1\workspace
   3. Click “Finish” and make note the drive letter (e.g., ‘Z:’)
       
3. Set up FLUENT
   1. Select “Use Job Scheduler”
   2. Select “Parallel per Job Scheduler Solver”
   3. Choose # of processes. (Note that the academic version of FLUENT is limited to 2 processes.)
   4. Under the “General Options” tab
      1. For working directory, type in the name of mapped drive (e.g., ‘Z:\’)
      2. For “Fluent Root Path”, enter: \\en-ma-simcafe1\fluent
   5. Under the “Scheduler” tab
      1. For Computer Cluster Head Node Name, enter: en-ma-simcafe1.mae.cornell.edu
   6. If you are using UDF, check “Setup Compilation Environment for UDF”  under the “Environment” tab
   7. Click OK to run FLUENT
   8. In the print-out console, make sure all licenses are available and simulation is running
       
4. Check progress of Fluent solver
   1.  Check that HPC Cluster Manager is installed on the computer
   2. Run HPC Job Manager 
   3. Select "active" on the left tab to view active jobs

1. Buy and install

(~$80).

Make sure to check the

. We highly recommend that your computer has at least 4GB of RAM and 20GB of free hard disk space.

While your Apple computer already has a software called BootCamp to install Windows on your Mac, it requires the user to reboot each time he or she wants to switch operating systems. The user also has to play with disk partitioning which makes the setup more complicated. We highly recommend using Parallels Desktop for its ease of use and flexibility. This software allows the user to run Mac OSX and Windows side by side and it does not require hard drive partitioning. Windows simply acts as an application that you can run or close as you wish. All the Windows files are contained in one master file (a .pvm file) that you can move wherever you want, even on an external hard rive.

2. Get yourself a copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8 (installation CD or ISO file).

Windows 8.1 Pro for Students is

and is the best deal available to students and teachers at only $70. It is accessible as an ISO file to download. Select the 64 bit version (X64) when prompted.

3. Run Parallels Desktop 9 and follow the on-screen instructions to install Windows.

 If you downloaded Windows as an ISO file, you will simply be asked to drag and drop the ISO file in the box to proceed with the installation process. If you have the Windows installation CD, then simply insert it in the drive when prompted. We suggest that you choose to use Windows "like a PC". Feel free to follow this

if you need.

4. Buy and install the ANSYS Student Version.

ANSYS offers a student version of their software for only $25/year. It is available on the ANSYS Student Portal. The functionalities are the same as in the full version except that it is node restricted to 32,000 (more than enough for what a typical student will need). Please ask Sebastien at sfl32@cornell.edu for information on how to get the ANSYS Student Version.

Note: This is release 15.0 which is a newer release than the ones installed in the Cornell computer labs (14.5). Just be aware that a project created in 15.0 will not open in 14.5 while a project created in 14.5 can be opened in 15.0.

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