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 log-in access to the SimCafe1 server on Cornell University's Ithaca campus. The procedure for running FLUENT on other servers will be similar.
Method 1: Remote Desktop Connection
- If you are connecting to the server outside of the campus, first establish a VPN connection to the Cornell network. For guidelines for setting up the VPN network, refer to THIS LINK and follow the given steps.
- In the Start menu, type "Remote Desktop Connection" and hit enter. Input the information below:
- Hit OK and you should be able to access the server smoothly.
- You can transfer files between the remote server and your local machine through drag-and-drop by mapping a network drive. See the instructions below for mapping a network drive.
Note: Some users may find that the default Remote Desktop app in Windows does not work properly. If this happens to you, try using this alternative with the same procedure.
Method 2: Using server as a network drive
Instructions are provided in the following video and summarized below:
Summary of the video above:
- Append DNS suffix
- Go to Control Panel >> Network and Sharing Center >> Local Area Connection (or Wi-Fi if you don't have a hard connection)
- Click Properties in the “Status” window
- Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)
- Click Properties >> Advanced
- Go to the “DNS” tab and under the window “Append these DNS suffixes”, click Add
- In the “TCP/IP Domain Suffix” window, type in: mae.cornell.edu
- Hit "OK" and "Close" until you return to your desktop
- Map Network drive
- Go to “My Computer” and select “Map network drive” on the top bar
- For “Folder”, type in: \\en-ma-simcafe1\workspace
- Click “Finish” and make note of the drive letter used (e.g., ‘Z:’)
- If it prompts you for login information, use your netID@cornell.edu and password.
- Set up FLUENT
- Select “Parallel”
- Select “Use Job Scheduler”
- Choose # of processes. (Note that the academic version of FLUENT is limited to 2 processes.)
- Under "More Options" in the “General Options” tab
- For working directory, type in the name of mapped drive (e.g., ‘Z:\’)
- If this is grayed out and does not have the correct drive, follow these instructions:
- Find the Workbench shortcut (or the Fluent shortcut if you run Fluent directly instead of through Workbench)
- Right-click and select "Properties"
- Change "Start In" to the location of the mapped drive
- If this is grayed out and does not have the correct drive, follow these instructions:
- For “Fluent Root Path”, enter: \\en-ma-simcafe1\fluent
- For working directory, type in the name of mapped drive (e.g., ‘Z:\’)
- Under the “Scheduler” tab
- For Computer Cluster Head Node Name, enter: en-ma-simcafe1.mae.cornell.edu
- If you are using a UDF, check “Setup Compilation Environment for UDF” under the “Environment” tab
- Click OK to run FLUENT
- In the print-out console, make sure all licenses are available and simulation is running
- Check progress of Fluent solver
- Check that HPC Cluster Manager is installed on the computer
- Run HPC Job Manager
- Select "active" on the left tab to view active jobs