When a HyperWorks Solver is started using the methods specified in the previous section, the HyperWorks Solver Run Manager is displayed first (Figure 1). To begin, select the Input file(s) for the run using the file browser button. The Run Manager automatically selects the appropriate solver based on the file extension of the selected input file. 

Figure 1: The HyperWorks Solver Run Manager

The required options for the run can be entered into the Options: field or selected from the Available Options window accessed by clicking the  icon. 

Three selectable boxes below the Options field are available to avoid having to type specific options.

Each selection is only effective if appropriate, the options are not used if they are not germane to the selected solver.  The selections can also be overridden when such options are entered manually into the Options field (presumably with different values); however when any SPMD related option is used in the Options field, then selected options via Use MPI options from the Edit > Preferences path will be skipped entirely. The effect of these selectable options is not shown in the Options: field, nor is it stored in the history or queue manager, but they are appended to the command line at the moment when the solver is actually started.

Click the Run button to start the solver and to open up a separate progress window called HyperWorks Solver View. 

Solver runs performed through the HyperWorks Solver Run Manager will not use any xterm or a DOS window (the only exception is a DOS window appearing during certain MPI commands). All output from solver runs is captured by the Run Manager and presented appropriately using its own windows. By default, each solver run is performed in the HyperWorks Solver View utility, shown in Figure 2 during an OptiStruct run.

Figure 2: HyperWorks Solver View (During an OptiStruct Run)

The top section of the form shows several fields containing the actual name of the Solver binary, name of the Input file:, the Run command: line with all options used to start the solver, and the estimated Progress of the solution. There are two text fields in the center of the form; the Message log: field shows messages from the solver (usually warnings and errors), while the Optimization summary: field shows a table representing the convergence of solutions for different subcases in each optimization step. The Graph button inside the Optimization summary: window allows you to open a simple X-Y plot and browse the dynamic convergence of various variables displayed in the Optimization summary: window.

Figure 3: The HyperWorks Solver View (After a Completed Run)

The Run summary field represents the standard screen output from the solver. For OptiStruct, it is recommended to use the option -out to increase the amount of information printed to the screen.

Three buttons in the bottom row (Abort, Stop, and Pause) are only visible while the solver is running (shown in Figure 2). These buttons communicate with the solver through an intermediate control file, and the amount of time it takes for the solver to react to these commands may vary, especially for large jobs. When the solver run is finished, an additional Results button may appear. The Results button appears only if the job contains at least one Output Request. It does not appear for OptiStruct check runs.

The browser recognizes typical HyperWorks file extensions, and uses HyperView or HyperGraph to open files with extensions .h3d or .mvw. For other files, it opens a simple text viewer with search capability. The output file name(s) can be changed by the user, for example, using the “-outfile” command or by the controls in the input deck. In such cases, if the new names do not match the input file name, the Solver View utility will not be able to locate them automatically. The View > Browse option can be used to view such output files.

Figure 4: A simple Text Viewer showing an example of an .out File.

The Solver View form controls are solver dependent. See Altair RADIOSS > Reference Guide > Other Files: Control File (C-File). Some fields and options are available only during runs using certain solvers. For example, the Message log:, Optimization summary: fields and the Graph button are displayed only during OptiStruct runs. Stop, Abort, and other similar options appear only during OptiStruct and RADIOSS runs.

Figure 5: RADIOSS HyperWorks Solver View window (Solver dependent)

To open the options selector, select View > Select Options on the main form or click on the delegate button to the right of the Options: field, .

Figure 6: The Interactive Available Options Selector

This form contains options applicable and selective to a particular solver, so the input file has to be selected for the Run Manager to choose an appropriate set of options. After selecting any option, an additional form appears if a value for the option is required. You can type a value in the field, or select from the list of available options. In cases where a value is optional, the None button on the form may be used. Note that the selection of any option automatically disables incompatible options in the list. After options are transferred to the main form, it is possible to manually edit the contents of this field on the main form if required.

There are a number of options stored externally by the Run Manager, which can be edited using the Edit Preferences form. These options are stored in the hwsolv_gui.cfg file, which is located with other HyperWorks configuration files.

Figure 7: The Edit Preferences Form

The options in the Solver Preferences section controls solver runs: allowing you to specify the number of simultaneous runs, number of processors for the SMP run, the list of predefined options for the MPI run, and the use of Solver View. These options are also solver-specific and inapplicable options are greyed out for certain solvers. The Form Preferences section controls the behavior of Log windows (discussed below), the maximum length of stored history, and user preference for the editor used to edit input files (available through the Edit menu on the main form). The default editor is wordpad.exe on Windows, and gedit on Linux, but any window editor can be used, although 'vi' and its variants are not accepted, because they do not use a standalone window.

Run Manager maintains a history of runs executed from the main form. Three different lists are maintained:

•	Run History

Figure 8: The Run History Window (Run Manager-> View-> History)

•

Favorites

Figure 9: The Favorites Window (Run Manager-> View-> Favorites)

•	Jobs Submitted during the current session (queue)

Figure 10: The Jobs Submitted to Queue Window (Run Manager-> View-> Job Queue)

Lines showing queue in the Status column represent jobs submitted but waiting for previous runs to finish (see Submitting Multiple Solver Runs below).

All three forms have a similar set of control buttons:

The Run Manager allows for the start of multiple jobs, and maintains the queue of jobs in order to avoid machine overload. Submit multiple jobs by selecting multiple files in file browser (hold CTRL button and click), or submit (add to queue) after starting the first run.

Run Manager will normally queue all submitted jobs, meaning it will start the next run after the previous one completes. Specify the maximum number of simultaneous jobs allowed using the Preferences form. Run Manager does not monitor the total load of the computer, only the jobs submitted to the queue. It is highly recommended not to start multiple instances of Run Manager, as each would maintain an independent queue (and could overload the host with multiple runs). On UNIX, the Run Manager will check and warn if another instance for the host is already running, however this test will not detect instances running remotely (by different users or on different displays).

The Schedule delay option on the main Run Manager form opens a small window where it is possible to schedule when all submitted jobs will start. Setting this delay will not affect jobs which are already running, but it will delay all jobs waiting in the queue and all jobs which are added while the delay is in effect.

Figure 11: Using the Schedule delay option.

The Set start time: field can be used to set the time delay in various input formats.

Example formats - 5 minutes, 3600 seconds, 10 hours, 2 days, 6 pm, Tuesday 3 pm, tomorrow 15:00, Dec 15 8pm are examples of valid inputs. The maximum available delay is 7 days.

Each solver run starts a log window, which is normally hidden. If a job is started without the -screen option (the Use solver control option is not checked), then output from the solver goes to the log window, which is then automatically visible. The log window is automatically posted to the screen if the solver fails. Log windows are most useful when a solver fails to run and there is not enough information in the output file, as is the case shown in Figure 12.

Figure 12: Log File for a failed run

Main menu Logs allow you to control all log windows.  They can all be posted or hidden using this menu. Although each log window has an X button in the top right corner, this button hides the window; it does not delete it. The window can be posted again using Logs > Show All. Selecting Logs > Delete Log Windows for Completed Jobs will permanently delete all log windows for jobs which have already completed solver execution.

Figure 13: Accessing Log Files from the Run Manager

A similar text window is available for a variety of help related information. From the main menu, the following options use Help windows:

All Help windows are automatically removed from the screen after 30 seconds. This timeout can be disabled or enabled for both Help and Log windows in the Preferences form, the time to trigger removal can also be adjusted.

Run Manager does not allow for the submission of jobs to remote hosts. However, on UNIX, it is possible to start Run Manager on a remote host and display to a local screen. If the local screen is a Windows machine, then the X server application has to be used. In this configuration, Run Manager will control job submission for the remote host. Run Managers from multiple hosts can be displayed on the same screen, and each will run independently. The title bar for the main form, shows the hostname of the computer where Run Manager is used. All operations will be performed on a remote host – in particular, editor or HyperWorks visualization will be performed remotely and display will be redirected to your screen. Note that such remote usage may affect possible license stacking for the HyperWorks licensing system.

When running jobs on a remote machine, connection to the host must remain open until the last solver run is complete. The Run Manager will not work if a log out occurs, or if a laptop is disconnected from the network. Such usage is only possible through PBS or a similar queuing system.

In a windowed environment it is possible to drag a file from the file browser onto the icon (desktop shortcut) representing HyperWorks Solver Run Manager. This will immediately start a simple solver run; no command arguments can be added to such a run, so it is not possible to start an SPMD run this way, for example. The only two arguments appended to the command line in drag and drop run are:

Note that jobs submitted this way are never queued or stored in the history list. This method of interaction is completely independent from Run Manager.

The Desktop icon or Quick Launch icon can be created on Windows by copying any solver command from the Altair HyperWorks menu as a shortcut. It is also possible to create such a launcher on Linux and other UNIX installations; consult your UNIX system documentation for details. The actual command field on such a launcher should contain following text:

<install_dir>/scripts/hw_wish <install_dir>hwsolvers/scripts/hwsolver.tcl -icon

where <install_dir> is the top directory path to the HyperWorks installation.

The Graph button inside the summary: window allows you to open a simple X-Y plot and browse the dynamic convergence of various variables displayed in the summary: window.

Figure 14: The Optimization summary Graph button

The Graph function is available only when convergence data are available and it provides a graphical way to visualize the convergence process.

Hovering over any point on the graph displays the iteration number and the tracked variable value and possibly grid/element identification number if applicable.

Four buttons at the left bottom corner of graph window allow to: