Which Ubuntu Version makes OpenFoam runs faster
 

Dear All


I appreciate your help as i have browsed for weeks but couldn't find an answer i have Ubuntu 12 if i upgrade to Ubuntu 22 will openFoam run its iteration process faster, and is there a sepecifc Ubuntu version recommended that can achieve this....Thanks

I dont think CFD calculation speed would depends on OS. I tested CentOS 7.8 and ubuntu2004. No difference.

Thank you because i have Ubunto version 12 and i was thinking if i update to latest version 22 as you can see i am 10 version behind there could be some advantages in the speed calculations in openFoam what do you recommend y

If you are using ubuntu 12, I highly suggest you to upgrade it. I dont think Openfoam 10 complies in ubuntu 12, you have to install the latest g++ and something like that.

The computation speed has nothing to do with the operating system. It only depends on the processors' speed and the number of processors that you are using.

Whereas, recent openFoam versions usually have an optimized computational time with comparison to their preceding versions. And old operating systems do not support recent versions of openFoam.

For detailed information about system requirements, you can check:

https://www.openfoam.com/news/main-news/openfoam-v2212
or
https://openfoam.org/download/10-ubuntu/

The Operating System alone, i.e., whether Ubuntu-X.Y results in better performance or Ubuntu-Z-Q, has probably a rather small effect.


You could get more out of your hardware, if you changed your OS, i.e., replacing Ubuntu with Clear Linux.


You might also get a bit of performance if you used the latest version(s) of OpenFOAM. I guess, the developers of OpenFOAM strive to maintain or improve the performance over time.



If you want to get all nitty-gritty, you could try to optimize your Linux kernel, see https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/kernel for a comparison of various kernels. Hence, for a purely number crunching workload, one could use a kernel optimized specifically for performance.



However, the more you optimize the more "work" is caused by that optimisation. Choosing a specific OS is pretty straight-forward, using a specific optimized kernel most probably involves more maintenance than a simple apt-get update.



---- Some notes and links



Clear Linux OS is an open source, rolling release Linux distribution optimized for performance and security, from the Cloud to the Edge, designed for customization, and manageability.


- take from https://clearlinux.org/




OpenFOAM is used for some benchmarks by the site https://www.phoronix.com/


Here's an example for a benchmark, comparing different OSes doing various tasks on the same hardware.



https://www.phoronix.com/review/centos-clear-spr/6


https://openbenchmarking.org/test/pts/openfoam

thank you very much Gerhard and everyone