Author: Scott Durksen, CSWE @ Javelin Technologies

SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation software provides the ability to share the calculations of a project over a network connection to a SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation Remote Solver.

Resources are then freed up on the local computer to continue other work without reduced performance as the solver is running.  You can open a new SOLIDWORKS window to continue working on other files.  This can be useful where multiple users have computers with limited hardware, but can share a powerful desktop computer to run calculations with increased speed.

The processing is shared between the local and remote machine:

• Local Machine — Meshing, creation of the flow results file and pre-processing prior to first iteration calculation
• Remote Machine — All solution iterations

NOTE: The calculations can only be performed on one remote machine

Setup:

SOLIDWORKS and Flow Simulation need to be installed on both the local and remote machines, and both must be on the same version and service pack.

Licensing:

While SOLIDWORKS and Flow Simulation must be installed on the remote machine, it does not require authorization.  Only the local machine will need access to the SOLIDWORKS and Flow Simulation license.  While solving, the local machine will still utilize both the SOLIDWORKS and Flow Simulation license.

• If using a single node-locked license of SOLIDWORKS and/or Flow Simulation, activation is not needed on the remote machine
• If using shared network licenses of SOLIDWORKS and/or Flow Simulation, the remote machine will not utilize any additional licenses

Options:

Remote Solver options can be found on the local machine under Tools > Flow Simulation > Tools > Options.

Communication between local and remote machines is done through a TCP port over the shared network.  By default the TCP port 30950 is used.  This can be modified within the options or before solving if another application requires the use of the default port.  Have your IT ensure that both inbound and outbound communication is allowed through the defined port in network firewalls.  Run a Telnet test to verify connectivity to the remote machine.

While the solution is run, results are being saved to a temporary directory on the remote machine.  By default this is saved under C:\Windows\Temp but can be modified in the Remote Solver options as shown above.  New subfolders are created to store the results while solving.  When the solution is complete, the results are copied to the local machine and the temporary subfolders are deleted from the remote machine.

Solving:

To solve a project, the Run dialog gives the ability to selectively choose the remote computer.  By default this is set to ‘This computer’ which indicates that all iterations are solved on the local machine.  Changing to ‘Add computer’ allows you to browse to a network computer or manually add the remote machine name.

The local machine does have access to regular previous, goal plots and plot previews while calculations are being performed.  The remote machine will have nothing displayed on screen, only a process ‘efdsolver.exe’ will be running in the background.

Javelin Technologies

Javelin Technologies is a provider of technology solutions since 1997. We are experts in 3D design and have helped thousands of companies with solutions for mechanical design, electrical design and 3D printing. Large or small, we have the skills, experience, and services to propel your organization to new heights so you can aim high.