[OpenFOAM] Running paraFoam as a parallel job

Hisham · September 13, 2011, 05:09

Dear Foamers,

Does paraFoam runs as a parallel process by default or do I have to make an mpirun command.

I ask that because as I've read about setting up a ParaView server, the client command was:

Quote:

mpirun -n 4 ./pvserver ...

I tried on my PC (locally without any connections or anything) to run:

Quote:

mpirun -n 4 paraFoam &

What happened was that 4 paraFoam instances were opened. So, I guess I did not make a right assumption.

Feedback is welcome

Best regards,
Hisham

wyldckat · September 13, 2011, 08:50

Greetings Hisham,

Well, AFAIK, currently we cannot execute paraFoam itself in parallel. And I haven't been able to confirm this myself, but what we do need to do is:

All of the machines that will handle the simulation case, must have a working OpenFOAM installation, using the same exact versions of both ParaView and OpenFOAM.
Launch pvserver with mpirun, so we have one pvserver per sub-domain/processor.
Create a file for opening the case afterwards, namely running:
Code:
```
paraFoam -touch
```
Finally, run paraview and connect to the master pvserver.

I've written about this elsewhere as well: http://www.cfd-online.com/Forums/ope...al-server.html - it's a bit more detailed and oriented for remote access, but the basics are there as well

A very important detail is that ParaView must be built with MPI capabilities for things to work properly, at least in the server machine. Usually this can be achieved with running in the ThirdParty folder:

Code:

./makeParaView -mpi

Use "-help" for more information on other options as well.
For more information on building ParaView, you can read here: Building ParaView 3.10.1 with custom Qt 4.6.4

Best regards,
Bruno

Hisham · September 13, 2011, 09:14

Hi Bruno,

Thanks a lot! These links will surely make a nice weekend reading assignment

can't wait to do so

Regards
Hisham

September 13, 2011, 08:50		#2
wyldckat Retired Super Moderator Bruno Santos Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Lisbon, Portugal Posts: 10,975 Blog Entries: 45 Rep Power: 128	Greetings Hisham, Well, AFAIK, currently we cannot execute paraFoam itself in parallel. And I haven't been able to confirm this myself, but what we do need to do is: All of the machines that will handle the simulation case, must have a working OpenFOAM installation, using the same exact versions of both ParaView and OpenFOAM. Launch pvserver with mpirun, so we have one pvserver per sub-domain/processor. Create a file for opening the case afterwards, namely running: Code: paraFoam -touch Finally, run paraview and connect to the master pvserver. I've written about this elsewhere as well: http://www.cfd-online.com/Forums/ope...al-server.html - it's a bit more detailed and oriented for remote access, but the basics are there as well A very important detail is that ParaView must be built with MPI capabilities for things to work properly, at least in the server machine. Usually this can be achieved with running in the ThirdParty folder: Code: ./makeParaView -mpi Use "-help" for more information on other options as well. For more information on building ParaView, you can read here: Building ParaView 3.10.1 with custom Qt 4.6.4 Best regards, Bruno __________________ OpenFOAM: FAQ \| Getting started Forum: How to get help, to post code/output and forum guide Read this before sending me PM

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September 13, 2011, 09:14		#3
Hisham Senior Member Hisham Elsafti Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Braunschweig, Germany Posts: 257 Blog Entries: 10 Rep Power: 17	Hi Bruno, Thanks a lot! These links will surely make a nice weekend reading assignment can't wait to do so Regards Hisham