DCS For Design Points Guide

DCS for Design Points Guide
ANSYS, Inc. Release 2020 R1

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Table of Contents
DPS Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 1
DPS Quick Start ...................................................................................................................................... 2
DCS Installation ...................................................................................................................................... 3
DCS Upgrade .......................................................................................................................................... 5
DPS Startup ............................................................................................................................................ 6
Starting DPS on Windows ................................................................................................................. 7
Starting DPS on Linux ....................................................................................................................... 7
DCS Sign In and Sign Out ........................................................................................................................ 8
Workbench Project Setup ....................................................................................................................... 9
Design Point Submittal ......................................................................................................................... 11
DPS Web App ............................................................................................................................................ 13
DPS Project Information ........................................................................................................................ 14
DPS Project Configuration ..................................................................................................................... 16
Defining Parameters ....................................................................................................................... 17
Defining Fitness .............................................................................................................................. 18
Defining Workflow .......................................................................................................................... 22
DPS Design Points ................................................................................................................................ 25
Filtering Design Points .................................................................................................................... 25
Adding and Enabling Custom Filters .......................................................................................... 26
Using the Star Filter .................................................................................................................. 27
Moving Design Points Between Status Filters ................................................................................... 28
Selecting Design Points in the Table ................................................................................................ 28
Deleting Design Points ................................................................................................................... 29
Sorting Design Points ..................................................................................................................... 29
Configuring the Fields in the Table .................................................................................................. 30
Viewing Design Point Details .......................................................................................................... 31
Reviewing Design Point Information ......................................................................................... 32
Comparing Design Points ............................................................................................................... 33
DPS Imports and Exports ...................................................................................................................... 35
Importing Design Points from a CSV or Excel File into a DPS Project ................................................. 35
Importing DPS Design Points into the Workbench Project ................................................................ 36
Exporting Design Points to a File ..................................................................................................... 38
DPS Projects ......................................................................................................................................... 38
Deleting a DPS Project .................................................................................................................... 39
Sharing a DPS Project ..................................................................................................................... 39
Copying a DPS Project .................................................................................................................... 40
Archiving a DPS Project ................................................................................................................... 41
Restoring an Archived DPS Project .................................................................................................. 41
DC Evaluators ....................................................................................................................................... 42
Managing Evaluators ...................................................................................................................... 43
Starting the Evaluator on Windows ................................................................................................. 44
Starting the Evaluator on Linux ....................................................................................................... 44
Evaluator Web App ................................................................................................................................... 45
Evaluator Status and Logging Information ............................................................................................. 45
Editing the Server URL .................................................................................................................... 47
Editing Where Project Assignment is Controlled .............................................................................. 47
Evaluator Configuration ........................................................................................................................ 48
Setting Evaluator Properties ............................................................................................................ 48
Setting the Active Task Manager ..................................................................................................... 48
Setting File Properties ..................................................................................................................... 49
Release 2020 R1 - © ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. iii
DCS for Design Points Guide
Setting Evaluator Compute Resources ............................................................................................. 50

Setting Applications for Evaluator Execution ................................................................................... 50
Setting Up Multiple Evaluators ........................................................................................................ 51
Authentication Web App .......................................................................................................................... 53
DCS User Accounts ............................................................................................................................... 53
Project Access Rights ............................................................................................................................ 54
DPS Frequently Asked Questions ............................................................................................................. 55
How do I resolve a port conflict? ........................................................................................................... 55
Why did my design point fail? ............................................................................................................... 55
How do I update design points in multiple process steps? ..................................................................... 56
Is there a DCS API? ................................................................................................................................ 58
Can I run DCS as system services on Linux? ............................................................................................ 58
Install PostgreSQL ........................................................................................................................... 59
Install Systemd Services for the DC Server ....................................................................................... 59
Configure DPS to use PostgreSQL .................................................................................................... 60
Install Systemd Services for DC Evaluators ....................................................................................... 61
How do I use PostgreSQL for the backend? ............................................................................................ 61
iv of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
DPS Overview
ANSYS Distributed Compute Services (DCS) includes ANSYS Design Point Service (DPS), which is the
main service for storing and evaluating thousands of design points using multiple heterogeneous
compute resources. Advantages include:
• Updating design points simultaneously
• Scaling design point updates with no input, output, user interface, or queuing overhead
• Tolerating design point update failures
• Supporting submission on local machines and HPC clusters using ANSYS Remote Solve Manager (RSM)
• Monitoring of design point update execution
• Filtering, sorting, and comparing design points
• Importing additional design points in CSV (Comma Separated Value) files or Microsoft Excel files directly
into DPS for evaluation
• Importing selected design points that have been evaluated in DPS into the ANSYS Workbench project
for further analysis or review
• Running geometry updates on separate machines from simulations and solvers during HPC execution
• Supporting disconnect and reconnect so that DPS can continue to run design point evaluations without
Workbench
The following diagram shows a Workbench-focused overview.
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 1
DPS Overview
The subsequent topics in this section assume that you are setting up and using DPS with Workbench
in a single-user desktop scenario. However, DPS is not limited to Workbench. You can use other tools
(optimizers) to create tens of thousands of design points and then take advantage of the minimal network
footprint that DPS offers to robustly handle their evaluation.
DCS provides seamless support for many compute scenarios:
• On a single-user desktop
• On a group of workstations
• On clusters (HPC resources), connecting to queuing systems
• On private or public cloud resources
• On mixed systems with different capabilities
Note:
The scenario described in this guide uses your local machine as host to both the DC
(Distributed Compute) server and a single DC evaluator so that you can quickly set up
and use DPS out of the box. However, the real benefit of DCS is realized when you host
the DC server on its own machine and then link many evaluators running on other
machines to the server. While there are many possible configurations for a DCS environ-
ment, some basic configurations are described in Setting Up Multiple Evaluators (p. 51).
Also available are the workshops in DCS Tutorials and the ANSYS DCS Python Client
documentation.
The advantages to switching to distributed computing grow with the complexities of your projects.
DPS Quick Start

Using DPS with Workbench in a single-user desktop scenario consists of these steps:
1. Install DCS using the ANSYS installer. For more information, see DCS Installation (p. 3).
2. Create the Workbench project, identify input and output parameters for the simulation, and insert
design points.
3. In the Project Schematic, right-click the Parameter Set bar and select Properties.
4. Under Solution Process, set Update Option to Submit to Design Point Service (DPS).
In a single-user desktop scenario, you can use the defaults for the other properties under this
heading to have a local evaluator update the design points that are sent to DPS.
5. Under Design Point Update Process, set Component Execution Mode to Parallel and Number of
Processes to 2 or more, depending on your machine.
6. Click Update All Design Points and, when prompted, enter DCS credentials to sign in and send the
design points to DPS for evaluation.
2 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
DCS Installation
7. Either view results as they are written back to the Workbench project or, in the status bar, click the
button for opening the DPS web app (p. 13) ( ), where you can view, filter, sort, and compare the
design points in the connected DPS project.
DCS Installation
Using the ANSYS installer, you can install Distributed Compute Services (DCS) on a machine with or
without ANSYS installed. Administrator privileges are not required to install or uninstall DCS.
Note:
• DCS includes DPS, Evaluator, and Authentication services. While this guide is about using
DPS, it provides basic information about other DCS services because DPS uses them.
• If you have a previous version of DCS installed, you can upgrade to the current version. Up-
grading your DCS installation also upgrades DCS configurations, projects, and files. For more
information, see DCS Upgrade (p. 5).
To install DCS:
1. Start the ANSYS product installer on the machine where DCS is to be installed and step through the
installation.
2. When you arrive at the page for selecting installation options, under ANSYS Additional Tools, select
the DCS (Distributed Compute Services) check box.
3. If you are installing DCS on a standalone machine, clear all other check boxes.
4. Finish stepping through the installation process.
Important:
After installation, dcadmin is set up as the system administrator account for all DCS services.
This account has all privileges to perform any operation on any project. The initial password
for this account is set to dcadmin during installation but should be updated to a secret
password by using the Authentication web app (p. 53) to edit the dcadmin user.
For a single-user desktop scenario, Workbench automatically starts DPS the first time that it is needed.
For other scenarios, you must manually start DPS. For more information, see DPS Startup (p. 6).
Starting DPS starts the needed DCS services. You are then able to start these web apps:
• Design Point Service: https://hostname/dcs/dps
• Authentication: https://hostname/dcs/auth
DPS Overview
• Evaluator: https://hostname/dcs/evaluator
Note:
All interactions are done through REST APIs, which you can access by adding /api to
the URLs above.
To easily view and access the web apps, you can go to https://hostname/dcs. Clicking a link
opens the respective web app.
Additional Notes
• The web apps for DPS, Authentication, and Evaluator services have been tested using ANSYS-supported
Chrome and Firefox browsers. You should use only these browsers. For a complete list of supported browsers,
see the Browser Support PDF on the Platform Support section of the ANSYS Website.
• Depending on your company’s firewall setup, the web browser might not have access to the a DCS web
app right away. If this happens, you need to check with your IT team to ensure an "https credential" is created
for the DCS web app.
• If during the opening of a web app, you see an error indicating that your connection is not private, click
Advanced and then select the option to proceed.
• On the Windows Start menu, the Design Point Service (DPS) 2020 R1 and DC Evaluator (DCE) 2020 R1
entries are merely shortcuts to the commands for starting DPS and the evaluator.
DCS Upgrade
• Stopping DPS must be done through the command line. The commands for both starting and stopping DPS
are provided in Starting DPS on Windows (p. 7) and Starting DPS on Linux (p. 7).
• Backend services include the file service and Nginx, which is the web server proxy. Currently, the file service
is only the REST API used at https://hostname/dcs/fs/api. There is no web app yet for the file
service.
• DCS uses a SQLite database backend. If PostgreSQL is installed, you can use it as the database backend. For
more information, see How do I use PostgreSQL for the backend? (p. 61).
• Configuration of DCS components is stored in JSON files in C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Loc-

al\Ansys\v201\dcs.
• Log files for DPS components can be found in C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\An-

sys\v201\dcs.
• Before updating your ANSYS installation, it is strongly recommended that you stop DPS to avoid problems
with files that cannot be removed while it is in use.
DCS Upgrade
If you have a previous DCS installation, you can use the upgrade command of the DC launcher to
upgrade it to 2020 R1.
Note:
The paths shown in Linux commands assume that ANSYS is installed using the symbolic
link to /ansys_inc. If you did not use this symbolic link, substitute your installation
path.
To upgrade DCS:
1. Stop any running DCS service from the command line:
• On Windows, enter:
"C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v201\dcs\dclauncher.exe" stop all
• On Linux, enter:
ansys_inc/v201/dcs/dclauncher stop all
2. Ensure that no DCS app directory exists for the new version (v201):
• On Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Ansys\v201\
• On Linux: $HOME\.ansys\v201\
3. Run the DC launcher upgrade command with the correct admin user credentials:
• On Windows, enter:
"C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v201\dcs\dclauncher.exe" upgrade --user=dcadmin --password=dcadmin --url=https://
DPS Overview
• On Linux, enter:
/user/ansys_inc/v201/dcs/dclauncher upgrade --user=dcadmin --pasword=dcadmin --url=https://localhost:8443/dcs
Tip:
You can optionally use --source to specify a specific app data directory to up-
grade from. For example:
--source=C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\Ansys\v195\my_dcs
Additional Notes
• For a command, you can view help, which includes descriptions of possible arguments:
– On Windows, enter:
"C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v201\dcs\dclauncher.exe" upgrade --help
– On Linux, enter:
/user/ansys_inc/v201/dcs/dclauncher upgrade --help
• For a default DCS installation with an SQLite backend, the upgrade command copies all required configur-
ation files, project files, and databases.
• For a DCS installation with a PostgreSQL backend, the existing project databases are upgraded as soon as
they are accessed for the first time with the new DCS version, making them incompatible to the older version
of DCS. Due to this, a warning message displays. No action is taken unless you rerun the command passing
the "--yes" argument. It is advisable to dump the content of all the databases to a file prior to executing
the upgrade command.
• The upgrade command will not run if an app data directory for the current version already exists. (This is
why step 2 tells you to ensure that a v201 directory does not exist.) To force the upgrade, you can use the
"--force" argument.
• User credentials are required for starting the server so that file storage definitions for all projects can be
adjusted. Once the upgrade command completes, the server is stopped. The user credentials provided
should be those of an administrator.
DPS Startup
For all but a single-user desktop scenario, you must start DPS manually:
• Starting DPS on Windows (p. 7)
• Starting DPS on Linux (p. 7)
DPS Startup
Starting DPS on Windows

To start DPS and other required services on a Windows machine, use one of these methods:
• From the Windows Start menu, select ANSYS 2020 R1 → Design Point Service (DPS) 2020 R1.
• From the command line, use the following

"C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v201\dcs\dclauncher.exe" start all
The following commands provide for separately starting the DC server and DC evaluator. The optional
argument -W directly opens the associated web app in the browser window.
• "C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v201\dcs\dclauncher.exe" start server -W
• "C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v201\dcs\dclauncher.exe" start evaluator -W
On Windows, DCS runs on the standard https port by default: 443. If there is a port conflict, see How
do I resolve a port conflict? (p. 55).
Stopping Services on Windows

To stop all services:
"C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v201\dcs\dclauncher.exe" stop all
The following commands provide for separately stopping the DC server and DC evaluator:
• "C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v201\dcs\dclauncher.exe" stop server
• "C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v201\dcs\dclauncher.exe" stop evaluator
Querying the Status on Windows

To query the status:
"C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v201\dcs\dclauncher.exe" status server
Starting DPS on Linux

On a Linux machine, DPS can be run in user mode with normal user rights or be set up to run as a
service that is started and stopped with the operating system.
Note:
The paths shown in commands assume that ANSYS is installed using the symbolic
path.
DPS Overview
In user mode, a regular (non-administrative) user can start DPS and other required services from the
command line:
ansys_inc/v201/dcs/dclauncher start all
The following commands provide for separately starting the DC server and DC evaluator. The optional
argument -W directly opens the associated web app in the browser window.
• ansys_inc/v201/dcs/dclauncher start server -W
• ansys_inc/v201/dcs/dclauncher start evaluator -W
On Linux, DCS runs on the standard https port by default: 8443. Ports lower than 1024 can only be
used with root access. If there is a port conflict, see How do I resolve a port conflict? (p. 55).
Stopping Services on Linux

To stop all services:
ansys_inc/v201/dcs/dclauncher stop all
The following commands provide for separately stopping the DC server and DC evaluator:
• ansys_inc/v201/dcs/dclauncher stop server
• ansys_inc/v201/dcs/dclauncher stop evaluator
Querying the Status on Linux

To query the status:
ansys_inc/v201/dcs/dclauncher status server
DCS Sign In and Sign Out

To use DPS, you must be signed in to DCS. If you are not signed in, DCS prompts you for your user
name and password.
Note:
• If, during the opening of the sign-in page, you see an error indicating that your connection
is not private, click Advanced and then select the option to proceed.
• The sign-in page displays the Define DPS API manually check box. If you select this check
box, a field appears for entering the URL to the API (Advanced Programming Interface) for
DPS. The default URL for a local DC server is https://localhost/dcs/dps/api.
Workbench Project Setup
In the status bar of a Workbench project without a DPS connection, the button for the DPS web
app (p. 13) ( ) displays No DPS Connection. In a Workbench project with a DPS connection, the button
displays the name of the connected DPS project.
• If you want to sign out of DCS from a Workbench project with a DPS connection, select Jobs → Sign
out from Distributed Compute Services.
• If you want to sign out of DCS from the DPS web app or Authentication web app, click the URL in the
upper right window and select Sign out.
If you are signed in to DCS but want to switch to a different user account, you must sign out using one
of the above methods and then sign back in using the credentials for the other account.
Workbench Project Setup

In Workbench, you create a project and identify the update option for the solution process:
1. In the Project Schematic, right-click the Parameter Set bar and select Properties.
2. In the Properties view, set Update Option to Submit to Design Point Service (DPS) and then set
the other properties appropriately.
Descriptions follow for DPS-related properties:
Property Description
Update Option When set to Submit to Design Point Service (DPS), the request for updating
one or more design points in the Parameter Set bar or any cell in a
DesignXplorer system is sent to DPS. For this setting, Workbench checks to
see if the URL setting for the DC server is valid and if the server is responding.
DPS Overview
Property Description
If the URL is invalid or the server is not responding, a dialog box opens, asking
whether you want to start a local server or supply a valid URL to a remote
server.
Server URL The URL for starting the DC server. The default for starting a local DC local
server is https:/localhost/dcs. However, to specify the URL for starting
a remote DC server, the format is https://hostname:port/dcs or ht-
tps://IPaddress:port/dcs.
Database Name Name of the DPS project to which this Workbench project connect. The DPS
project stores and manages the project definition and design points. If you
leave this property blank, the DPS project is given the same name as the
Workbench project.
Auto-Start Local Specifies whether to automatically start an evaluator on the local machine
Evaluator when design point updates are requested. This check box is selected by default.
If you clear this check box, you can start the evaluator on the local machine
by going to the Windows Start menu and selecting ANSYS 2020 R1 → DC
Server (DCS) 2020 R1. You can also start it from the command line by typing
dclauncher.exe start evaluator.
Execution Time Maximum execution time in which to update one design point. If the update
Limit (seconds) does not complete within this time, the evaluation is terminated. In the DPS
web app (p. 13), the design point is then assigned to the timeout status filter.
Update Design Specifies whether to do distribute the computing for different tasks between
Points in Steps different tools and evaluators. For example, the project can use ANSYS
SpaceClaim to update the geometry and ANSYS Fluent to generate results.
SpaceClaim could be running on a Windows machine while Fluent runs on a
Linux cluster, cloud service, or local machine. For more information, see How
do I update design points in multiple process steps? (p. 56).
Component Specifies whether to run the solution in serial or in parallel.
Execution Mode
• When Serial is selected (default), updates are executed on only one CPU core
at a time.
• When Parallel is selected, updates are executed on multiple CPU cores.
Number of Specifies the default number of processes to use if you are running updates
Processes in parallel. This property must be set to 2 or greater.
Note:
In Tools → Options → Distributed Compute Services, you set a default URL for starting
the DC server and specify whether to auto-start a local evaluator. For more information,
see Distributed Compute Services in the Workbench User's Guide. Here in the Properties
pane for the Parameter Set, you can change these inherited properties for this particular
project.
Design Point Submittal
Design Point Submittal

When Update Option is set to Submit to Design Point Service (DPS), any update of design points
from either the Parameter Set bar or a DesignXplorer system cell will send the Workbench project
definition and unsolved design points to DPS for evaluation. The Workbench project definition includes
the parameter definitions, workflow definition, and project files.
Clicking Update All Design Points in the Parameter Set bar opens a dialog box. The prompt depends
on if there are design points that require updating and if the DPS project exists.
• If there are no design points that require updating, you are told that the output parameters for all
design points are up-to-date.
• If the Workbench project has unsaved changes, you are told that you must save the Workbench project
to proceed. Clicking Save and Proceed saves the project and sends the project definition and unsolved
design points to the DPS project.
• If the DPS project exists but is not the same as the last one synced from the Workbench project, you
are asked if you would like to replace the project and its design points, update the project but keep its
design points, or create a new project. If you click Create new, a dialog box opens for entering a different
name for the DPS project. The name can contain only letters and digits.
• If the DPS project cannot be found because it has either been deleted or moved to a different server,
you are asked if you want to create a new DPS project with the same name. Clicking Create sends the
Workbench project and design points to the new DPS project.
As unsolved design points are sent to the DPS project, evaluators (p. 42) pick them up and run the
simulation tasks, writing results back to the Workbench project as the evaluations are completed.
Throughout this process, Workbench displays processing information in the status bar and the Progress
view. In the status bar, you can click the button for opening the DPS web app (p. 13) ( ). The button
displays the name of the connected DPS project. Or, from the Jobs menu, you can select Open Design
Point Service Web App.
In the DPS web app, you can view project information, configure the project, and filter, sort, and compare
design points.
Note:
If you exit Workbench before the update finishes, evaluators continue to update the
design points in the DPS project. When you next open the Workbench project, it auto-
matically syncs the design points in the Workbench and DPS projects. If you later make
parameter or project changes in the Workbench project, selecting Jobs → Sync with
Design Point Service pushes these changes to the DPS project.
Import of Design Points into the DPS Project

While Workbench tables can manage and store as many as 1000 design points with good responsiveness,
the DPS project can manage and store tens of thousands of design points. If you have a CSV (Comma
Separated Value) file or Microsoft Excel file with thousands of design points, you can import these ad-
ditional design points directly into the DPS project for evaluation. For more information, see Importing
Design Points from a CSV or Excel File into a DPS Project (p. 35).
DPS Overview
You can later import any of the additional DPS design points that are of interest into the Workbench
project for further analysis or review. For more information, see Importing DPS Design Points into the
Workbench Project (p. 36).
DPS Web App
You use the DPS web app to monitor and manage your DPS projects. By default, the DPS web app runs
on the same machine as DCS:
• For Windows, the web app is accessible at https://hostname/dcs/dps. For example, ht-
tps://localhost/dcs/dps.
• For Linux, the web app is accessible at https://hostname:8443/dcs/dps. For example, ht-
tps://localhost:8443/dcs/dps.
When you use the URL to access the DPS web app, you are taken to the Projects page, where you can
click the name of your DPS project to go to the project's Overview tab to view project summary inform-
ation and move between this tab and the Configuration and Design Points tabs.
From a Workbench project, you can open the DPS web app using one of these methods:
• In the status bar, click the button for opening the DPS web app ( ). The button displays the name of
the connected DPS project. If the Workbench project is not connected to a DPS project, the button
displays No DPS Connection.
• Select Jobs → Open Design Point Service Web App.
When you open the DPS web app from a Workbench project with a DPS project connection, the
Overview tab for this DPS project is active so that you can view project summary information. You can
move between the Overview tab and the Configuration and Design Points tabs.
The following topics describe how to use the DPS web app:
DPS Project Information
DPS Project Configuration
DPS Design Points
DPS Imports and Exports
DPS Projects
DC Evaluators
Note:
If you start the DPS web app from a Workbench project before a DPS project connection
is established, you are taken to the Projects page, where you can click the name of a
DPS project to go to its Overview tab. The other page, Evaluators, displays a table with
all evaluators that are configured for use. For more information, see DC Evaluators (p. 42).
DPS Web App

The Overview tab for a DPS project displays status information, design point statistics, and file storage
information. This tab allows you to easily distinguish this DPS project from other DPS projects. If you
click the arrow to the left of the project name, the DPS web app takes you to Projects page, which
displays all your DPS projects.
At the top of the page, you can see whether the project is active and the project name, priority, ID, and
created and last modified dates. You can change only the Active and Priority settings:
• Active specifies whether the project is visible to evaluators. When the project is active, evaluators check
for pending tasks. If you turn off this property, the project becomes inactive. Evaluators will complete
any tasks currently underway but then quit checking the project for pending tasks.
• Priority specifies the importance to give to the evaluation tasks underway for this project compared
to those tasks underway for all active projects. The default is 0. Specifying a higher value makes the
project a higher priority.
Tip:
On the Projects page, you can view and modify the Active and Priority settings for
all your projects. You can also go to a different project or delete, share, copy, archive,
or restore a project. For more information, see DPS Projects (p. 38).
The Design Point Statistics table displays the total number of design points, followed by the number
of design points assigned to each color-coded status filter. As design points are evaluated, these numbers
are updated. To the right of the table, a pie chart displays this same information. You can place the
mouse cursor over a pie chart section to view the number of design points assigned to it. Status filter
descriptions follow:
Status Color Description

Filter
Total --- Total number of design points in the project.
evaluated Green Design point has been updated successfully.
running Orange Design point is in the process of being updated.
prolog Turquoise Design point is in transition between pending and running.
pending Blue Design point is staged for updating.
failed Red Update of the design point has failed.
timeout Purple Update of the design point has timed out. The maximum amount of time
that is spent attempting to update a design point is set by Execution Time
Limit (seconds) in the properties for the Parameter Set bar. The default
is 300.
aborted Black Design point was not updated because the evaluation was terminated.
inactive Gray Design point has been imported into the project. To update imported design
points, on the Design Points tab, you must move them from the inactive
to pending status filter. For more information, see Moving Design Points
Between Status Filters (p. 28).
Lower on the Overview tab, the File Storage area displays the REST gateway and file system storage
for the project. Clicking an entry switches between expanding it and collapsing it. When expanded, you
can view or modify its properties.
To the right of each entry is a button for deleting it. Below the entries, Add buttons provide for adding
REST gateways and file system storages.
To add a REST gateway or a file system storage:
1. Click the appropriate Add button.
The Add button with the cloud is for adding a REST gateway. The Add button with the file
folder is for adding a file system storage.
2. Enter properties for the newly added entry.
DPS Web App
Descriptions follow for REST gateway and file system server properties.
REST Gateway Properties:

Field Description
Storage Name Name of the REST gateway: dc_fs_gateway.
Use Default Indicates whether the REST gateway is to always access and interact with DPS files
URL via the same base URL as the client. When this check box is selected (default), the
URL field is read-only because the following behavior is implemented to provide
more robust file access:
• If you connect to DPS via an IP address (ht-

tps://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/dcs/dps), files are also accessed via this IP address.
• If you connect to DPS via a hostname (https://hostname/dcs/dps), files are

also accessed via this hostname.
URL URL for the REST gateway. This field is read-only if the Use Default URL check box
is selected (default). For a single-user desktop scenario, the default URL is ht-
tps://hostname/dcs/fs/api.
Priority Priority for transferring files to the file system storage. File system storages with the
lowest priority values are picked first. The default for the initial REST gateway entry
is 20.
Reference Name of the file system storage to which the REST gateway links.
File System Storage Properties:

Field Description
Name Name of the file system storage.
Storage Directory path for the file system storage. For the initial file system storage entry, the
Directory directory path is C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\An-
sys\v201\DCS\dc_fs\file_system_storage.
Storage Unique ID that identifies the file system storage.
UUID
Cache Indicates whether this file system storage is used to cache files only. This check box is
cleared by default.
Persistent Indicates whether this file system storage is configured as the persistent file system
storage. This check box is selected by default.
Priority Priority for transferring files in this file system storage. File system storages with the lowest
priority values are picked first. The default for the initial file system storage is 10.

In the DPS web app, the Configuration tab for the project indicates whether the configuration is active
and displays creation and last modification dates. It also displays three expandable and collapsible
headings for configuring the DPS project: Parameter Definitions, Fitness, and Workflow.
If you click the arrow to the left of the configuration name, the DPS web app displays a table with all
configurations for the project. Currently, only one configuration is supported. Clicking the configuration
takes you back to the Configuration tab.
As you make changes to the configuration, you can use the Save, Revert, and Refresh buttons in the
tab's upper left corner.
The following topics describe the configuration options under the headings:
Defining Parameters
Defining Fitness
Defining Workflow
Defining Parameters
Under Parameter Definitions, you can view and edit definitions for input and output parameters.
The headers display the total number of parameters in parentheses.
DPS Web App
The columns are similar for both input and output parameters:
Name Description
Name Name (ID) of the parameter.
Display Text Text to display as the parameter name
Type Data type of the parameter.
List
Lower Limit / Value For an input parameter only, either the lower bound for a continuous
List input or a list value for a discrete input or a manufacturable variable.
Upper Limit For a continuous input parameter only, the upper bound.
Step Size For a continuous input parameter only, the value for validating allowable
values using this formula: AllowableValue = LowerLimit + n * StepSize,
where n is an integer and AllowableValue <= UpperLimit.
Cyclic For an input parameter only, indicates if the parameter is cyclic. If 1 degree
is next to 360 degrees, this check box is selected. Otherwise, this check
box is cleared.
Default Parameter value for the retained design point.
Units Measurement standard for the parameter value.
Defining Fitness
Under Fitness, you see Error Fitness. If no objectives and constraints for an update of an Optimization
cell have been sent to the DPS project as fitness terms, you then see the Add Fitness Term button.
• For Error Fitness, you specify the "bad rating" value to assign to failed design points so that optim-
izations that directly use fitness values avoid these designs. The default is 10. Whenever a design
point evaluation is not successful, this error fitness value is assigned to the design point.
• To add a fitness term in the DPS project, you click Add Fitness Term and then define the term. For
more information, see Manually Adding Fitness Terms (p. 21).
If objectives and constraints for an update of an Optimization cell have been sent to the DPS project,
you see this information translated to fitness terms above the Add Fitness Term button. The next
two sections show the objectives and constraints for an Optimization cell in a DesignXplorer system
and what this information looks like when translated to fitness terms in the DPS project.
Objectives and Constraints in an Optimization Cell

In an Optimization cell, you define objectives and constraints as described in Defining Optimization
Objectives and Constraints in the DesignXplorer User's Guide. Assume that these objectives and con-
straints are defined:
Translated Fitness Terms in the DPS Project

When an update of this Optimization cell is submitted to DPS, DesignXplorer sends these objectives
and constraints. Under Fitness, you see them translated to fitness terms above the Add Fitness Term
button. In the following figure, the first fitness term is expanded so that you can see its property
values.
DPS Web App
The name assigned to a fitness term specifies its type (objective or constraint) and the parameter on
which it is set. The first two properties, Fitness Term Type and Parameter show this same information
but allows you to modify your selections. For Fitness Term Type, the choices are Objective, Limit
Constraint, Target Constraint, and Custom.
The next several properties vary by fitness term type. The following table describes the fields shown
for each type.
Fitness Field Description

Term
Type
Objective Initial Value Initial value of the design objective
Target Value Estimated best-possible value of the design objective
• For a Minimize design objective, the initial and target values define the decreasing
slope.
• For a Maximize design objective, the initial and target values define the increasing
slope.
• For a Seek Target design objective, the initial and target values are expressions with
absolute value operations.
Limit Limit Value Value for limiting the range allowed for the parameter
Constraint Feasible Tolerance Tolerance range for constraint values still considered
feasible for the problem at hand
Target Target Value Value to be achieved at the end of the optimization
Constraint
Fitness Field Description

Term
Type
Admissible Tolerance Interval for the target value to be reached at the end of
the optimization
Feasible Tolerance Defines which constraint values should still be considered
during optimization
Custom Expression Python expression passed to sort design points
For all fitness term types, Weighting Factor is the last property. It defines the relative importance of
the fitness term in comparison to other fitness terms. This value is applied to the fitness term when
overall fitness is accumulated.
For a fitness term sent from an Optimization cell, the value depends on the setting for Constraint
Importance under Decision Support Process in the cell's properties:
• If Default is selected, the value is 0.666.
• If Lower is selected, the default is 0.333.
• If Higher is selected, the value is 1.000. This choice is available only when beta options are turned
on.
For more information, see Decision Support Process in the DesignXplorer User's Guide.
Note:
To the right of a fitness term is a button for deleting it. Changing or deleting fitness
terms do not invalidate evaluated DPS design points but rather trigger the re-evaluation
of fitness values for all DPS design points.
Manually Adding Fitness Terms

You can manually add fitness terms directly in the DPS project, regardless of whether DesignXplorer
has sent fitness terms from an Optimization cell.
To manually add a fitness term:
1. Click Add Fitness Term and then assign a name to the newly inserted term.
2. Expand the entry so that you can define it.
The fields that appear are the same as those described previously for a fitness term sent from
an Optimization cell.
3. For Fitness term type, select the type.
4. For Parameter, select the parameter to which you are adding the fitness term.
5. Complete the fields specific to the selected fitness term type, referring to the previous table for
descriptions.
DPS Web App
6. For Weighting Factor, select the relative importance of the fitness term in comparison to the other
fitness terms.
The default is 1 for a manually added fitness term.
Sorting Design Points by Fitness

On the Design Points tab, you can add the Fitness field and fitness term fields to the table. You can
then sort design points by their overall fitness values or by their values for specific fitness terms to
find the best candidate points. For more information, see:
• Configuring the Fields in the Table (p. 30)
• Sorting Design Points (p. 29)
Defining Workflow
Under Workflow, you can view and modify the simulation workflow definition, which is initially sent
from the Workbench project. Basically, the DPS project is assigned some capabilities, and only evalu-
ators that have these capabilities are allowed to run compute tasks for this project.
For each process step, there are four headings: Application, Requirements, Files, and Success Cri-
teria. While a Workbench project has only one process step by default, you can update design points
in multiple process steps, each with its own capabilities. For more information, see How do I update
design points in multiple process steps? (p. 56).
Application
Under Application, you can view and modify the name, version, capabilities, and command for the
application that executes the process step. The following figure displays a single process step for
evaluating a standard Workbench project.
Requirements
Under Requirements, you can view and modify the hardware and process execution properties that
determine which evaluators can pick up the compute tasks for the process step:
Name Description
CPU Minimum number of processor cores needed to execute the process step. The
default is 2. Half a process is written as 0.5. This threshold prevents a compute
task from being picked up by an evaluator that is set to a lower number.
Memory Minimum amount of memory in MBs that is needed to execute the process
step. Specifying a value is optional.
Disk Space Minimum amount of free disk space in MBs that is needed to execute the
process step. Specifying a value is optional.
Maximum Maximum time in seconds for executing the process step. The default is 300.
Execution Time If an update is not completed within this time limit, the evaluator assumes
something is wrong and stops, assigning the design point to the timeout
status filter in the DPS web app. For more information, see DPS Project
Information (p. 14).
Execution Level Defines when the process step is executed if a sequence with multiple process
steps is defined.
Number of Maximum number of attempts to make to execute the process step. The
Attempts default is 1. However, if you expect that design point failures are related to
licensing issues on a particular evaluator, you can increase the number of
attempts so that a failed design point automatically goes from the failed state
to the pending state so that it can then be picked up by another evaluator.
In the details (p. 31) for a design point, you can see if the update is running
in the first attempt, second attempt, or so on.
Files
Under Files, you can view IDs and paths for the input files sent from the Workbench project and the
output files created by DPS.
DPS Web App
• To the right of an input file entry, you can click the button for either downloading the file or opening
it in the browser.
• To the right of an output file entry specify whether to store the output file for each design point. The
default is Yes.
• For Store Console Output, you indicate whether to store the standard output of the process step.
When this check box is selected (default), all messages printed by the process on the standard output
are captured and stored.
Success Criteria
Under Success Criteria, you specify the criteria that must be fulfilled to declare the computation
successful. For example, in some situations, perhaps not all parameters or not all files are generated.
The success criteria for a process step lets you control requirements.
Name Description
Return Code Specifies a process exit code that must be returned from the executed
application.
Expressions Specifies expressions for certain parameter values, which is especially important
when there are multiple process steps. For a comma-delimited list, the expression
must evaluate to true. Expressions can refer to parameters using the values
dictionary. For example:values['my_parameter'] >10.0
Output Files Species the output files that must be generated. Selecting All means that all
output files must be generated. To select only a subset, expand the Selected
heading and then select the check boxes for these files. The Selected heading
updates to reflect the number of files that are selected. For example, perhaps
you want to be sure that parameter values get generated but do not care if
image files get generated.
Output Species the output parameters that must be calculated. Selecting All means
Parameters that all output parameters must be calculated. To calculate only a subset, expand
the Selected heading and then select the check boxes for these parameters.
DPS Design Points
Name Description
The Selected heading updates to reflect the number of parameters that are
selected.
Evaluators only run process steps of projects that are capability of running. To determine if it is capable,
an evaluator performs these checks:
• Check to see if the application and version installed on it match those specified for the process step.
• Check that it fulfills the computational requirements for performing the process step.
• Checks that it fulfills the capability tags required for performing the process step.
DPS Design Points

In the DPS web app, the project's Design Points tab supports these actions:
Filtering Design Points
Moving Design Points Between Status Filters
Selecting Design Points in the Table
Deleting Design Points
Sorting Design Points
Configuring the Fields in the Table
Viewing Design Point Details
Comparing Design Points
Filtering Design Points

The top of the Design Points tab displays buttons for enabling and disabling status filters and the
star filter to determine which design points are shown in the table. Status filter buttons indicate the
number of design points assigned to these filters. To the far right are buttons for refreshing and re-
setting the view.
• Clicking Refresh updates the table. When this button is highlighted in orange ( ), the
table is out-of-date. Clicking this button updates the table and number of design points assigned to
status filters.
• Clicking Reset removes all enabled filters so that the table displays all design points.
Clicking status filter buttons switches between enabling and disabling the display of their assigned
design points in the table. When enabled, a status filter button displays in the color for the status
filter. You can enable multiple status filters at one time.
In the next figure, both failed and timeout status filters are enabled. Consequently, the table displays
only the five design points that are assigned to these two status filters. The Eval Status column in-
dicates the status filter to which a design point is assigned.
DPS Web App
Adding and Enabling Custom Filters

To further limit the design points in the table, you can add and enable custom filters. For example,
assume that only the evaluated status filter is enabled and that you want to limit the display of
evaluated design points to those that meet this criterion:
For parameter P1 - left_cut, the value must be less than or equal to 0.2.
You would add and enable a custom filter for the parameter.
To add a custom filter:
1. Below the status filter buttons, click the Filters button.
The pane expands, displaying fields for defining the filter.
2. Select the parameter and build the filter logic as shown:
DPS Design Points
The Disabled check box is cleared by default because you generally want a newly added
filter to be enabled.
3. When finished, click Add.
This new custom filter is enabled and shown about the custom filter entry area. The table updates
to displays only the design points that are evaluated and met the custom filter criteria. You can
continue to add custom filters to further limit the design points in the table.
When you place the mouse cursor over a custom filter, the tooltip indicates that clicking the filter
switches between enabling and disabling it. Filters that are enabled are green, and filters that dis-
abled are gray.
To the right of each custom filter are buttons for editing and deleting the filter. When you are
editing a custom filter, the custom filter entry area displays a Save button rather than an Add
button.
Once you have finished adding, editing, and deleting custom filters, clicking Fields collapses the
pane.
Using the Star Filter

At the top of the Design Points tab, the star filter button appears to the right of the status filter
buttons. Clicking the star filter button switches between enabling and disabling the star filter. When
the star filter is enabled, the table displays only the starred design points.
You use the star filter to display only those design points that you have hand-picked and marked
with a star. A star is merely an attribute for displaying your hand-picked design points at any time.
For example, after enabling custom filters to limit evaluated design points, you might find three
design points that you later want to analyze further.
DPS Web App
• To add a design point to the star filter, click its star in the second column of the table. Clicking the
star again would remove the design point from the star filter.
• To add several design points to the star filter:
1. In the table, select design points. For more information, see Selecting Design Points in the
Table (p. 28).
2. To the right of the star filter button, click the drop-down and select Star. Selecting Unstar
would remove selected design points from the star filter
Moving Design Points Between Status Filters

The Status drop-down above the table provides for moving selected design points to a different
status filter.
To move design points to a different status filter:
1. Select the one or more design point to move. For more information, see Selecting Design Points in
the Table (p. 28).
2. Click the Status drop-down and select the status filter to which to move the selected design points.
Selecting Design Points in the Table

In the table, you can select design points on which you want to perform some action, such as marking
them with stars, moving them to different status filters, deleting them, or comparing them.
• To select design points individually, click the check boxes in their first columns.
• To select all design points visible in the table, click the check box in the header for the first column.
If the table contains more design points than can be shown on a single page, a button appears
for selecting all design points so that you can easily select those that are not visible.
DPS Design Points
If you click this button for selecting all design points, a Clear Selection button replaces it.
Below the table you can see the number of design points currently shown in the table compared to
the total number that meet the filter criteria. You can also change the number of design points shown
on a page and navigate pages.
Deleting Design Points

You can delete design points that you no longer want to evaluate:
1. Select the one or more design point to delete. For more information, see Selecting Design Points
in the Table (p. 28).
2. Above the table, click Delete.
Sorting Design Points

In the table, design points are sorted from lowest to highest ID by default. To add a column to the
sorting, click the header of the column. The sort order is ascending by default. However, clicking the
column header again switches it between descending and ascending sort order. The arrow indicates
whether the column's sort order is ascending or descending.
When column values are sorted, a sort priority appears to the left of the sort order arrow and an X
appears to the right of this indicator. Clicking the X removes the column from the sorting and updates
the sort priority. The following figure shows Eval Status removed from the sorting.
Note:
You cannot sort design points by values in columns with gray header labels. For ex-
ample, you cannot sort by the values for the Evaluation Time and Evaluators columns.
As mentioned in Defining Fitness (p. 18), you can configure the table to display the Fitness field and
fitness term fields and then sort design points by calculated fitness values to find the best candidates.
The next topic describes how to configure the fields in the table.
DPS Web App
Configuring the Fields in the Table

By default, the table displays the following fields and then the enabled output parameters:
Name Description
ID Identifier assigned to the design point.
Name Name assigned to the design point.
Eval Status Status filter to which the design point is assigned.
Priority Specifies the importance to give to the design point when evaluators are pulling
design points for evaluation. The default is 0, which is the highest priority.
Assigning a higher value to a design point makes it a lower priority.
Evaluation Number of seconds it took the evaluator to update the design point.
Time
Evaluators Name of the evaluator that updated the design point.
You can configure the table by hiding, showing, and arranging fields:
1. Below the status filter buttons, click Fields.
The pane expands, displaying Visible Fields and Available Fields lists. All fields already
shown in the table in green. Below Available Fields are all fields that can be shown in the
table.
2. To hide a field from the table, in the Visible Fields list, click the X to the right of the field.
3. To show a field in the table, under Available Fields, click the field.
DPS Design Points
4. To arrange the order of the fields in the table, in the Visible Fields list, drag and drop fields to place
them in the desired order.
5. To show and hide all properties in the table, select or clear the Properties check box. This check
box is cleared by default.
6. To show and hide all parameter values in the table, select or clear the Parameter Values check box.
This check box is cleared by default.
7. When finished, click Fields to collapse the pane.
Viewing Design Point Details

In the table, clicking a row displays detailed information about the design point. Clicking the arrow
to the left of the design point name returns you to the table.
To the right of the design point name, paging information and buttons are available:
Using the buttons, you can move backward and forward through the detail views for other design
points.
DPS Web App
If report images are available, you can see and page through them in the Design Point Images pane
on the right. In the previous image, the (2) in the pane heading indicates that two report images are
available.
Note:
For a Mechanical solution, in CFD-Post, you can produce report images and define them
in the Results cell. For more information, see Figure Command in the CFD-Post User's Guide
and Viewing Design Point Images in Tables and Charts in the ANSYS DesignXplorer User's
Guide.
Reviewing Design Point Information

The details view has four expandable and collapsible headings under which it displays design point
information.
Properties
Under Properties, you see the design point ID, priority, created and last modified dates, creator,
and a note. Only these fields can be edited:
• Priority: Specifies the importance to give to the design point when evaluators are pulling design
points for evaluation. The default is 0, which is the highest priority. Assigning a higher value to a
design point makes it a lower priority.
• Creator: Application that created the design point, such as the Workbench Parameter Set bar or
the DesignXplorer system. If the design point was imported into the DPS project, the field is blank.
• Note: Additional creation information, such as the DesignXplorer system cell that contains the
design point. If the design point was imported into the DPS project, the field is blank.
Evaluation: status
To the right of the Evaluation heading, you see the evaluation status for the design point, Under
this heading, you see the process step, application, evaluator, and the evaluation status, time, and
number of attempts.
To the right of the evaluation time, there is an information icon. Placing the mouse cursor over this
icon displays a breakdown of the evaluation time:
DPS Design Points
If the workflow consists of multiple process steps, Overall indicates the evaluation status and time
for all process steps.
Files
To the right of the Files heading are two buttons for downloading files to your Downloads directory:
• All Files: Downloads a ZIP file that contains all files associated with the design point. This includes
project update files, image files, and log files. The name of the ZIP file is formatted like this, where
the initial number is the design point ID: 3_files.zip.
• Log Files: Downloads TXT files that contain log information for the Workbench project update and
output parameter values. Having these files available for a failed design point is especially useful
for troubleshooting.
Under Files, you see the ID, path, and mode for the input and output files associated with the
evaluation of the design point. You then see two buttons, one for downloading the file to your
Downloads directory and the other for opening the file in your browser. If the file cannot be
opened in your browser, the button for doing so is disabled.
Parameters
Under Parameters, you see the output and input parameter values for the retained design point.
Comparing Design Points

You can compare detailed information for as many as five design points:
1. In the table, select the design points that you want to compare. For more information, see Selecting
Design Points in the Table (p. 28).
2. Above the table, click Compare.
The Compare Design Points page appears, where you see a column for each of the selected design
points. If report images are available, they are shown under Images. You can click an image to open
it in its own window.
DPS Web App
At the top of the page, Maximum Significant Digits specifies how many decimal places to show for
input and output parameter values. The default is 8. However, you can select any value from 3 through
16.
The first column is static and provides row descriptions. Clicking the arrow to the left of page name
returns you to the table. Subsequent columns display images and data for the design points that are
being compared. The left-most design point is always the reference design point. Each design point
to its right displays the deviation from the reference design point as a percentage of difference for
each output parameter.
Color coding highlights values higher or lower than the values for the reference point. If fitness terms
are available, they are included under Properties.
You can reorder a design point by clicking in the column header and then dragging and dropping it
in the desired location.
On the right side of the column header are three buttons:
• Clicking the star button switches between marking and unmarking the design point with a star. All
starred design points display in the table when you enable the star filter.
• Clicking the green check mark button moves this design point to the left-most position, making it
the reference design point.
• Clicking the X button removes the design point from the page.

The following DPS import and export scenarios exist:
• From the DPS web app, you can import design points in a CSV or Microsoft Excel file into the DPS project
for evaluation.
• From the Workbench project, you can import selected design points in the DPS project into the Work-
bench project for further analysis.
• From the DPS web app, you can export all design points in the DPS project to a file that you can save
to the Workbench project and archive with the Workbench project.
Importing Design Points from a CSV or Excel File into a DPS Project
Once you have set up a Workbench project and submitted at least a few design points to DPS for
evaluation, you can import additional design points from a CSV or Microsoft Excel file into the DSP
project for evaluation.
To import design points into the DPS project:
1. If the DSP web app is not started, in the status bar of the Workbench project, click the button ( )
for opening the connected DPS project.
2. On the Design Points tab, click Import.
A window opens for selecting the file with the design points to import. The default file type
is Custom Files. All CSV, XLS, and XLSX files are shown.
3. After navigating to and selecting the appropriate file, click Open.
Before it imports design points, the DPS web app parses and validates the design point data.
A message displays if validation warnings occur. You can either cancel the import or click
Import to continue.
Once the design points are imported, the Design Points tab displays a message, indicating
the number of new design points that have been created.
4. Close the message.
Imported design points are assigned to the inactive status filter. For evaluators to pick up
these design points, you must move them to the pending status filter.
5. To move them, do the following:
a. Enable only the inactive status filer so that the table displays only the newly imported design
points.
b. In the header for the first column, select the check box to select all design points shown in the
table.
DPS Web App
If all design points are not visible in the table, a button becomes available for selecting
all design points assigned to this status filter. Click this button.
c. For Status, select Pending to move these design points to the pending status filter so that
evaluators can then pick them up for evaluation.
Importing DPS Design Points into the Workbench Project

You can import design points that have been evaluated in DPS into the Workbench Parameter Set
bar for reuse. You can also import evaluated DPS design points into these editable DesignXplorer
tables:
• Custom parameters correlations
• Custom DOEs
• Refinement points tables for response surfaces
• Verification points tables for response surfaces
• Custom candidate points tables for optimizations
Note:
Because Workbench can store and manage only about 1000 design points with good re-
sponsiveness, you want to limit the number of design points that you import into the
Parameter Set bar or a supported DesignXplorer table. For instance, you might import
only failed design points for investigation or starred design points that meet your design
objectives.
To import selected DPS design points into the Workbench project:
1. On the Workbench Project Schematic, open either the Parameter Set bar or the DesignXplorer cell into
which to import design points.
2. In the Table pane, right-click and select one of the following, depending on your location:
• Import from Design Point Service: Select to import design points from DPS into the design points
table for the Parameter Set bar or into a custom parameters correlation or a custom DOE.
• Import Refinement Points from DPS: Select to import design points from DPS into the refinement
points table in a response surface.
• Import Verification Points from DPS: Select to import design points from DPS into the verification
points table in a response surface.
• Import Custom Candidate Points from DPS: Select to import design points from DPS into a custom
candidate points table in an optimization.
Note:
The above options are also available on the context menu for the Outline pane if you
right-click a node that supports importing design points from DPS.
The Import from Design Point Service window opens.
To select the DPS design points to import, you can specify design point IDs, enter a query string,
or enable filters. When you place the mouse cursor over the description for the field in which you
enter IDs or a query string, the tooltip displays usage examples.
By default, the maximum number of design points returned from a query or from enabled filters
is 1000. However, before querying or filtering, you can change the value for Max Results. This
field appears in the upper right corner, below the Search button.
3. Select the design points to import using one of these methods:
• Specify design points IDs, separating them with commas, and click Search.
• Enter or select a previously entered query string and click Search.
• Click the buttons for filters to switch between enabling and disabling them. Choices are for the eval-
uated, timeout, and failed status filters and the star filter.
The heading for the Design Points pane displays the total number of design points selected in
parentheses. The table displays these design points. Below the table, the buttons on the left clear
the table of results and clear the Status pane of processing information. On the right, the Import
button imports the selected design points into the Parameter Set bar.
4. Once the table displays the design points that you want to import, click Import. The window closes and
a progress bar appears.
DPS Web App
If the DPS project and Workbench project have differences beyond just design points, a dialog
box indicates that imported design points will be set out-of-date and asks if you want to continue.
If you click Yes, before it imports the design points, DesignXplorer parses and validates the design
point data. For more information, see Parsing and Validation of Design Point Data in the
DesignXplorer User's Guide.
The design points that are imported into the Workbench project from DPS are not linked to the design
points in DPS. You can perform standard operations on an imported design point, such as setting it
as the current design point.
Although output parameter values for imported design points are read-only, you can set them as
editable. For more information, see Editable Output Parameter Values in the DesignXplorer User's Guide.
Exporting Design Points to a File

You can export design points in the DPS project to a CSV file or Microsoft Excel file:
1. Select the design points to export. For more information, see Selecting Design Points in the
Table (p. 28).
2. Above the table, click Export.
3. In the Export Design Points window that opens:
a. Select either XLSX or CSV as the file format.
b. Specify wither to export only the fields that are visible in the table.
c. Click Export.
The generated file is downloaded to your downloads directory. If desired, you can move or copy it
to the user_files folder for the Workbench project so that it can be archived with the project.
However, from the Projects page, you can archive and restore archived DPS projects and delete,
share, and copy them. For more information, see DPS Projects (p. 38).
DPS Projects
In the DPS web app, the Projects page displays all your DPS projects. You can change Active and Pri-
ority settings for your projects. Clicking the name of a project takes you to the Overview tab for this
project. For more information, see DPS Project Information (p. 14).
From the Projects page, you can also delete, share, copy, archive, and restore your DPS projects.
DPS Projects
At least one user must be assigned the Admin role for the project. By default, the user who creates the
project is assigned this role.
Note:
If you are signed in as the dcadmin user, you can see all projects and are assigned the
Admin role on all projects.
A project’s access control list (ACL) defines the read/write/admin rights for the project. Only a user with
admin rights can delete, share, and copy projects and archive and restore them.
Deleting a DPS Project

You can delete one or more DPS projects:
1. Select the check boxes for the projects to delete.
2. Click Delete.
3. In the confirmation window that opens, click Delete.
Once the selected projects are deleted, the Projects page no longer displays them in your list of
projects.
Sharing a DPS Project

You can share a project with a user who has been added to the Authentication service. You can also
either change the read/write/admin rights for a user with whom you have already shared the project
or delete a user's access to the project. The users with whom you share a project are able to see this
project on their Projects page and have whatever rights you have assigned to them.
To share a DPS project or change a user's rights or access to it:
1. Select the check box for the project and click Share to open the Share Project window.
2. To share the project with a user:
a. Click in the Select User field and begin typing the user name for the user with whom you want
to share the project.
The list displays all matching users who have been added in the Authentication web
app. (p. 53)
b. Select the user with whom to share to share the project.
c. To the right, click the option for assigning this user a role and select Reader, Writer, or Admin.
d. Click Share.
A message briefly displays, indicating that the project has been shared. If you click Share
to open the Share Project window again, you can see the added user. The following
image shows User1 added to the project with the Writer role.
DPS Web App
3. To change a user's rights or access:
a. Under Permissions, use the options to the right of a user entry to either change the user’s role
or remove the user from having access to the project.
b. Click Share.
A message briefly displays, indicating that the project has been shared. If you click Share
to open the Share Project window again, you can see the user's rights have been changed
or removed.
Copying a DPS Project

You can copy a DPS project to a new DPS project:
1. Select the check box for the project to copy.
2. Click Copy.
3. In the Copy Project window that opens:
a. Enter the name (project ID) to assign to the new project.
b. Click Copy.
At the top of the Projects page, a status indicator displays the progress as the project is
copied.
4. Once the copy completes, close the status indicator.
5. Click Refresh to update the Projects page.
DPS Projects
The Projects page now displays the copied project in your list of projects.
Archiving a DPS Project

Archiving DPS projects is useful for creating backups and for moving them to another DC server.
Archive file are compressed files (*.tar.gz).
You can archive one or more DPS projects:
1. Select the check boxes for the projects to archive.
2. Click Archive.
At the top of the Projects page, status indicators display the progress as archives are created
for the selected projects.
3. Once the archives are created, click the download buttons ( ) to the right of the status indicators
to save copies to your Downloads folder.
Note:
On the DC server, archives are also saved to C:\Users\UserName\App-

Data\Local\Ansys\v201\DCS\dc_fs\file_system_stor-
age\archived_projects.
4. Once the archives have downloaded, close the status indicators.
5. If you want, you can delete these DPS projects, keeping in mind that you can restore them from the
archives as indicated in Restoring an Archived DPS Project (p. 41).
Restoring an Archived DPS Project

You can restore an archived DPS project:
1. Click Restore.
2. In the Restore Project window that opens:
a. Enter the name (project ID) to assign to the restored project.
b. Click Choose File and select the archive to restore.
You can select a copy that you have downloaded to your own machine or the archive
saved on the DC server at C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\An-
sys\v201\DCS\dc_fs\file_system_storage\archived_projects.
c. Click Restore.
At the top of the Projects page, a status indicator displays the progress as the project is re-
stored.
3. Once the restore completes, close the status indicator.
DPS Web App
4. Click Refresh to update the Projects page.
The Projects page now displays the restored project in your list of projects. If you want to make
changes to this project, you have to make it active.
DC Evaluators
In the DPS web app, the Evaluators page is used to manage the DC (distributed compute) evaluators
that are configured for use. Evaluators are execution agents that submit and run pending compute
tasks. Here are the Evaluators page, you can see the DPS projects assigned to them.
Each evaluator has its own host name. Clicking the host name opens the Evaluator web app (p. 45),
where you can modify the evaluator's configuration, connect it to a different DC server, and add more
evaluators.
With the default setting, all ANSYS software installed on the evaluator is available to the DC server. Or,
you can configure which software is available on each evaluator. While you can assign a specific project
to an evaluator, it is typically best to manage these priorities from the Projects page (p. 38).
Under the table, you can click the button for configuring the table. All columns with selected check
boxes display in the table.
DC Evaluators
To obtain the maximum benefit of the DC server, you will want to set up multiple evaluators. You can
have evaluators of different types running on different operating systems. These evaluators can then
be used by multiple users on multiple projects. For more information, see Setting Up Multiple Evaluat-
ors (p. 51).
Managing Evaluators
On the Evaluators page, the buttons above the table provide for managing your evaluators:
Button Description
Adds all active projects or a selected project to the evaluator.
Removes all projects or a selected DPS project from the evaluator.
Reloads the page to display all evaluators available for use.
Opens the Evaluator web app so that you can manage the evaluator. For
more information, see Evaluator Web App (p. 45).
Deletes the assignment of the selected evaluator to DCS. Click Refresh to

have the table display all evaluators available for use once again.
Switches between showing all projects (active and inactive) and showing
active projects only.
On startup, an evaluator connects to assigned DPS projects and tries to pick pending compute tasks
for execution. To select compute tasks, the evaluator compares the compute resources it has available
against the requirements defined in the workflow definitions for the assigned DPS projects.
For a single-user desktop scenario, Workbench starts a local evaluator if the Auto-Start Local Evalu-
ator check box is selected in the properties for the Parameter Set bar. When the evaluator starts,
available compute resources and known applications on the host machine are detected so that the
DPS Web App
evaluator can be used out of the box. In the Evaluator web app (p. 45), you can view, add, and
modify evaluators.
For other scenarios, you can start the evaluator manually as indicated in the next topic.
Starting the Evaluator on Windows

On Windows, you can start the evaluator using either of these methods:
• From the Windows Start menu, select ANSYS 2020 R1 → DC Evaluator (DCE) 2020 R1.
• From a command line, execute this launcher command:

"C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v201\dcp\dclauncher.exe" start evaluator -W
With the option -W, a browser window opens automatically, displaying the Evaluator web
app (p. 45).
Stopping the Evaluator

From the command line, you can stop the evaluator:
"C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v201\dcs\dclauncher.exe" stop evaluator
Starting the Evaluator on Linux

On Linux, a regular user can start an evaluator from the command line.
Note:
The paths shown in commands assume that ANSYS is installed using the symbolic
path.
From the command line, to start an evaluator:

ansys_inc/v201/dcs/dclauncher start evaluator -W
With the option -W, a browser window opens automatically, displaying the Evaluator web app (p. 45).
On Linux, the Evaluator web app runs on port 8443 by default, like the server. Ports lower than 1024
can only be used with root access.
Stopping the Evaluator

From the command line, to stop an evaluator:
ansys_inc/v201/dcs/dclauncher stop evaluator
Evaluator Web App
You can open the Evaluator web app from the DPS web app (p. 13) by clicking the Evaluators page
and then clicking the link to an evaluator in the Hostname column. You can also open the Evaluator
web app by entering the URL for the evaluator in a browser window: https://hostname/dcs/eval-
uator
The Evaluator web app has two pages: Run and Configure.
• The Run page displays status and logging information for the evaluator. It also provides for modifying
the server URL and where DPS projects assigned to the evaluator are processed. For more information,
see Evaluator Status and Logging Information (p. 45).
• The Configure page provides for configuring the evaluator. For more information, see Evaluator Con-
figuration (p. 48).
Evaluator Status and Logging Information

On the Run page, you can view status information and logging information for the evaluator. The project
list that the evaluator cycles through includes only active projects that have pending design point up-
dates. If the evaluator detects a change to the project list, it completes any tasks that are currently
running before possibly switching tasks.
Evaluator Web App
Descriptions follow for the buttons at the top of the page:
Button Description
If the evaluator is not already running, this button starts it. If you stop the
evaluator, you might need to click the button for reloading the page to make
this button available.
Stops the evaluator but only after running tasks are completed.
Stops the evaluator from running tasks.
Shuts down the evaluator, which means no interaction is possible.
Cleans up the evaluator’s working directory.
Reloads the page to automatically detect available compute resources and known
applications on the host machine so that the evaluator can be used out of the
box. If necessary, you can modify the configuration for an evaluation on the
Configure page. For more information, see Evaluator Configuration (p. 48).
Evaluator Status and Logging Information
Below the buttons, a pane displays whether the evaluator is running, the server URL, and where project
assignment is controlled. To make changes to either the server URL or where project assignment is
controlled, click the appropriate Edit button to the right of the entry. For more information, see:
Editing the Server URL
Editing Where Project Assignment is Controlled
Under Logging, there are buttons for filtering the messages that the logging pane is to display. When
you click debug, the logging pane displays all messages. As you click each subsequent filter, the logging
pane displays fewer and fewer messages.
For example, when you click warning, the logging pane displays warning, error, and critical messages
but not information and debug messages. When you click error, the logging pane displays error and
critical messages but not warning, information, and debug messages.
To the right of the buttons, the Follow Tail check box specifies whether the log output is to continuously
follow the log. This check box is selected by default.
Editing the Server URL

When you click the Edit button for the server URL, a window opens for modifying the URL, user name,
and password for the DC server to which the evaluator connects.
The default server URLs for Windows and Linux follow:
• For Windows: https://localhost/dcs/dps
• For Linux: https://localhost:8443/dcs/dps
To save changes, click Save. Otherwise, click Cancel.
Editing Where Project Assignment is Controlled

When you click the Edit button for where project assignment is controlled, the window expands to
that you can select either On Design Point Service or On Evaluator.
Evaluator Web App
• When On Design Point Service is selected (default), the evaluator processes the projects as assigned
on the server, thereby giving control to the Evaluators page in the DPS web app. For more information,
see DC Evaluators (p. 42).
• When On Evaluator is selected, the evaluator processes only the projects that are locally assigned,
thereby giving control to the owner of the local resources.
The Save and Cancel buttons provide for either saving or discarding your changes.
Evaluator Configuration
On the Configure page, you define the evaluator and its resources:
Setting Evaluator Properties
Setting the Active Task Manager
Setting File Properties
Setting Evaluator Compute Resources
Setting Applications for Evaluator Execution
Setting Up Multiple Evaluators
Setting Evaluator Properties

Under General, you can view and modify these properties:
Name Description
Name Name of the evaluator.
Platform Operating system on which the evaluator runs.
Loop Interval Number of seconds in the interval for the evaluator loop. The default is
[s] 5.
Auto Start Specifies whether to automatically run the evaluator on startup
Setting the Active Task Manager

Under Task Manager, you can view and edit the task manager that executes or submits compute
tasks. You can select either Direct or RSM.
On the first start of the evaluator or when the Reload button at the top of the page is clicked, the
evaluator automatically detects available compute resources and known applications on the host
machine so that it can be used out of the box.
Direct Task Execution

When Active Task Manager is set to Direct (default), the ANSYS local task manager executes the
tasks directly on the host where the evaluator is running. In this mode, the configuration of the
evaluator represents the resources of a single system. For Queue, the setting is Local. You can see
the evaluator tasks running locally by clicking Job Monitor in the Workbench status bar.
RSM Task Execution

When Active Task Manager is set to RSM, ANSYS Remote Solve Manager submits tasks for execution
to the RSM queue that you then specify for Queue. In this mode, the configuration of the evaluator
represents the resources available for the RSM queue. You cannot see the evaluator tasks running on
RSM by clicking Job Monitor in the Workbench status bar.
If the evaluator tasks happen to be running on your own machine, you can start the RSM Job Monitor
from the Windows Start menu to see the evaluator tasks running on RSM. Otherwise, you can start
the RSM Job Monitor on the machine running the evaluator tasks. For more information, see Managing
RSM Configurations and Queues (rsm.exe | rsmutils config) in the ANSYS Remote Solve Manager User’s
Guide.
Custom Task Execution

You can also implement and select a custom task manager to interact with in-house or special queuing
systems.
Setting File Properties

Under File Management, you can view and modify properties for managing the temporary files that
the evaluator generates during task computations:
Name Description
Working Directory Directory for storing the temporary data files that the evaluator generates
during task computations.
Use Local File Cache Specifies whether to use a local file cache in the working directory. This
check box is selected by default.
Evaluator Web App
Name Description
Max Cache Size (MB) Maximum size in megabytes that the local cache can consume. If exceeded,
the evaluator will try to remove files out of the cache, starting with the
oldest files, until the latest download fits within the cache.
Task Directory Sets the cleanup policy for the evaluator’s working directory. Choices are:
Cleanup
• always
• on_success
• never
Setting Evaluator Compute Resources

Under Compute Resources, you can view and modify properties for the evaluator’s compute tasks.
The defaults depend on the resources of the machine where the evaluator is running.
Name Description
Max Num Parallel Maximum number of tasks that the evaluator can run in parallel
Tasks
Num Cores Total number of cores that the evaluator can use for computations
Memory [MB] Total amount of memory in megabytes available to the evaluator for
computations
Disk Space [MB] Total amount of disk space in megabytes available to the evaluator for
computations
Setting Applications for Evaluator Execution

Under Applications, the installed applications that the evaluator can execute are shown. For each
application, you can view and modify:
• Application name
• Application version
• Directory path for the application's executable file
• Directory path for the installation
• Additional capabilities that are installed
To remove an additional capability, click the X to the right of the capability. To remove an application,
click the delete button to the right of the row.
If you need to add an application that either was not detected or was removed, click Add Application.
In the newly inserted row, enter the necessary information.
Setting Up Multiple Evaluators

The real benefit of DCS is achieved by linking many machines together. You set up the DC server on
one machine and then set up evaluators on many machines that you link to the server. You only need
to set up the DC server and evaluators once, although you can update their settings at any time.
The many evaluators that you link to the DC server can be of different types and run different operation
systems (Windows or Linux). You can also configure local evaluators and remote evaluators that might
run on Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, or Cloud Services.
Note:
Each evaluator must be able to reach the DC server via HTTPS.
Each evaluator has its own host name. The DC server can also be an evaluator. During an update,
each evaluator knows what sort of tasks it can perform and so pulls tasks accordingly. Once the DC
server transfers the required files to the evaluator, the evaluator proceeds with the update. Because
evaluators can work simultaneously, completing their assigned tasks and then outputting parameters
and required design points back to the server, distributed computing can be massively parallel.
To add an evaluator:
1. On each machine to connect to the DC server, start the Evaluator web app, referring to either Starting
the Evaluator on Windows (p. 44) or Starting the Evaluator on Linux (p. 44) for the appropriate command.
When the Evaluator web app starts, you will need to specify the host name, a URL, or the IP address
for the DC server.
2. To the right of Design Point Service, click Edit.
A window opens for specifying the URL, user name, and password for the DC server.
Evaluator Web App
3. Enter the information required and click Save.
Authentication Web App
The Authentication service processes all sign ins to DCS following the OAuth 2.0 resource owner password
credentials flow. When you enter your DCS credentials, you get an access token for authenticating all
services. An access token expires after 24 hours.
To go to the Authentication web app, the dcadmin user enters this URL in a browser window:
https://hostname/dcs/auth
Note:
The default credentials for the dcadmin user account are initially dcadmin for both the
user name and password. However, after DCS installation, the dcadmin user should have
edited this account to set a secret password.
DCS User Accounts

In the Authentication web app, the system administrator can add, edit, and delete named accounts for
DCS users.
At the top of the page, the Add button provides for entering the user name, actual name, email address,
and password for a new account.
For each table entry, Edit and Delete buttons provide for editing and deleting the user account.
Authentication Web App
Project Access Rights

Each DPS project maintains an access control list (ACL) with users who have read, write, or admin rights
to the project. The user who creates a project has admin rights to the project. At least one user with
admin rights is required per project.
Note:
Within the DPS web app, you can view and modify the ACL for a project by selecting it
on the Projects page and clicking Share. For more information, see Sharing a DPS Pro-
ject (p. 39).
DPS Frequently Asked Questions
Below is a list, in no particular order, of behavioral questions frequently asked abut DPS:
How do I resolve a port conflict?
Why did my design point fail?
How do I update design points in multiple process steps?
Is there a DCS API?
Can I run DCS as system services on Linux?
How do I use PostgreSQL for the backend?
How do I resolve a port conflict?

The default standard https port is 443 on Windows and 8443 on Linux. If your system already runs
other services on the default https port, you can stop all DCS services and then use the following utility
command to configure DCS to use another port as the main gateway.
1. Stop all services, referring to either Stopping Services on Windows (p. 7) or Stopping Services on
Linux (p. 8) for the appropriate command.
2. Run the command for your operating system for setting the primary address. This command modifies
the primary address within Nginx and the server and evaluator configurations.
• For Windows:
"C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v201\dcs\dclauncher.exe"
set_primary_address https://hostname:8888
• For Linux, assuming that ANSYS is installed using the symbolic link /ansys_inc:
ansys_inc/v201/dcs/dclauncher.exe"
set_primary_address https://hostname:8888
If you did not use /ansys_inc as the symbolic link, substitute your installation path.
Why did my design point fail?

When the update of a design point fails, consider these approaches to determining the cause:
• Look at the design point's log file.
• Set the failed design point to pending so that another update can be attempted.
• Download the failed design point and evaluate it locally.
• Check the evaluator.
• Check the evaluator's log file.

You can set up a Workbench project to update design points in multiple process steps on multiple
machines. For example, you might be using standalone SpaceClaim, third-party geometry and CAE tools
plus an ANSYS solver tool, and a Python postprocessing tool.
When running simulations in a mixed environment, you update design points in multiple process steps:
1. Right-click the Parameter Set bar and select Properties.
2. In the Properties pane, select the Update Design Points in Steps check box.
3. Select Jobs → Sync with Design Point Service to send the updated simulation workflow definition
to the DPS project.
4. In the DPS project, click the Configuration tab.
Under Workflow, two process steps are now visible:
• Process Step - Workbench_Geometry
• Process Step - Workbench_Solution
5. Specify the capabilities required for each process step.
6. Click Save.
Example
Assume that the geometry step requires SpaceClaim (SCDM), which runs on a Windows machine, and
the solution step requires a custom solver (my_solver), which runs on a Linux machine.
Only an evaluator with the SCDM capability can update the geometry, and only an evaluator with the
my_solver capability can update the solution.
For the geometry step, the default settings sent from the Workbench project should be correct. For the
solution step, you must add your custom solver capability using the string you have assigned to it:
my_solver.
Because only an evaluator with the my_solver capability can update the solution, on the Linux machine,
you must add this capability and click Save.
After you submit a design point update to DPS, on the Design Points tab in the DPS project, you can
click a table row for an evaluated design point to view detailed information about it. Under Evaluation,
you will see that the update was run in two steps on two different machines (evaluators). For more in-
formation, see Viewing Design Point Details (p. 31).
Is there a DCS API?

A lightweight Python client is included in the DCS installation. Implemented on top of the DCS REST
APIs, it allows yout:
• Create new DPS projects and modify existing ones
• Monitor and manage design points
• Run your own design exploration algorithms
• Retrieve simulations
To view the ANSYS DCS Python Client documentation, click here.

By default, DCS is run as a user program. This allows you to easily get started and run it ad-hoc. However,
for more permanent installations, it makes sense to configure DCS to run as system services, especially
on Linux.
Note:
DCS must first be installed on the target machine. The following procedures assume
that the target machine runs CentOS and uses systemd.
To running DCS as system services on Linux, you must:

Install PostgreSQL
Install Systemd Services for the DC Server
Configure DPS to use PostgreSQL

Install Systemd Services for DC Evaluators
Install PostgreSQL
To install PostgreSQL:
1. Use yum:
sudo yum install postgresql-server postgresql-contrib
2. Create a new PostgreSQL database cluster:

sudo postgresql-setup initdb
3. Adjust the HBA configuration using your favorite text editor:

sudo vim /var/lib/pgsql/data/pg_hba.conf
4. Find the lines that look like this:

host all all 127.0.0.1/32 ident
host all all ::1/128 ident
5. Replace them with this:

host all all 127.0.0.1/32 md5
host all all ::1/128 md5
6. Start and enable the server:

sudo systemctl start postgresql
sudo systemctl enable postgresql
7. Start psql:
sudo -i -u postgres
psql
If you need more information, see this PostgreSQL document.
8. Create the dcp user:

CREATE ROLE dcp WITH CREATEDB INHERIT LOGIN PASSWORD 'aaa';
Install Systemd Services for the DC Server

To install Systemd services for the DC server:
1. Ensure that the script install_dcs_services.sh has the correction permissions.

chmod u+x install_dcs_services.sh
2. Run the install script:

./install_dcs_services.sh -u [username] -p [port] -d
• -u allows you to select under which user the services run
• \ -p lets you change the port that the Nginx instance is to use. The default is 8443.
• \ -d tells the script to install all the systemd service files required to run the server.
3. Start the DC server or have it start automatically.
• To start the server, call:

sudo systemctl start dcs-server
• To have the server start automatically, call:

sudo systemctl enable dcs-server
4. To allow external access, you might have to change the firewall rules:
sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-port=[port]/tcp --permanent"
sudo firewall-cmd --reload"
Configure DPS to use PostgreSQL

To configure DPS to use PostgreSQL for storing its data:
To have DPS use PostgreSQL:
1. Generate the DPS configuration file using one of these two methods:
• Start and stop DPS with this call:

sudo systemctl start dcs-dps sudo systemctl stop dcs-dps
• Tell DPS to overwrite its configuration using the defaults:

ANSYS_install_path/dcs/dps --default_configuration
2. Go to ANSYS_install_path/dcs.
3. In the file dc_dps_configuration.json, change the field db_configuration to:

...
"db_configuration": {
"dialect": "postgresql",
"username": "dcp",
"host": "127.0.0.1",
"password": "aaa",
"port": 5432
},
...
4. Restart DPS to apply the changes:
sudo systemctl restart dcs-dps
Install Systemd Services for DC Evaluators

To install Systemd services for DC evaluators:
1. Ensure that the script install_dcs_services.sh has the correction permissions.

chmod u+x install_dcs_services.sh
2. Run the install script:

./install_dcs_services.sh -u [username] -p [port] -e
• -u allows you to select under which user the services run
• \ -p lets you change the port that the Nginx instance is to use. The default is 8443.
• \ -e tells the script to install all the systemd service files required to run the evaulator.
3. Start the evaluator or have it start automatically:
• To start the evaluator, call:

sudo systemctl start dcs-evaluator
• To have the evaluator start automatically, call:

sudo systemctl enable dcs-evaluator
4. To configure the evaluator, point your browser to https://hostname:port/dcs/evaluator.

DCS comes with a SQLite SQL database backend that runs out of the box and can be used for small
setups. For larger setups, ANSYS recommends that you use a dedicated PostgreSQL database backend
because it will scale better. For more information, see:
• Install PostgreSQL (p. 59)
• Configure DPS to use PostgreSQL (p. 60)
Note:
DCS must first be installed on the target machine. The installation procedures referenced
above assume that the target machine runs CentOS and uses systemd.

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DCS for Design Points Guide

ANSYS, Inc. Release 2020 R1

© 2020 ANSYS, Inc. Unauthorized use, distribution or duplication is prohibited.

U.S. Government Rights

Published in the U.S.A.

Setting Evaluator Compute Resources ............................................................................................. 50

• Updating design points simultaneously

• Tolerating design point update failures

• Monitoring of design point update execution

• Filtering, sorting, and comparing design points

The following diagram shows a Workbench-focused overview.

DCS provides seamless support for many compute scenarios:

• On clusters (HPC resources), connecting to queuing systems

• On private or public cloud resources

• On mixed systems with different capabilities

DPS Quick Start

4. Finish stepping through the installation process.

• Design Point Service: https://hostname/dcs/dps

• Configuration of DCS components is stored in JSON files in C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Loc-

• Log files for DPS components can be found in C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\An-

1. Stop any running DCS service from the command line:

• Starting DPS on Windows (p. 7)

• Starting DPS on Linux (p. 7)

Starting DPS on Windows

• From the command line, use the following

• "C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v201\dcs\dclauncher.exe" start server -W

• "C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v201\dcs\dclauncher.exe" start evaluator -W

Stopping Services on Windows

• "C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v201\dcs\dclauncher.exe" stop server

• "C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v201\dcs\dclauncher.exe" stop evaluator

Querying the Status on Windows

Starting DPS on Linux

• ansys_inc/v201/dcs/dclauncher start server -W

• ansys_inc/v201/dcs/dclauncher start evaluator -W

Stopping Services on Linux

• ansys_inc/v201/dcs/dclauncher stop server

• ansys_inc/v201/dcs/dclauncher stop evaluator

Querying the Status on Linux

DCS Sign In and Sign Out

Workbench Project Setup

Descriptions follow for DPS-related properties:

• When Parallel is selected, updates are executed on multiple CPU cores.

Design Point Submittal

Import of Design Points into the DPS Project

• Select Jobs → Open Design Point Service Web App.

DPS Project Information

Status Color Description

To add a REST gateway or a file system storage:

1. Click the appropriate Add button.

2. Enter properties for the newly added entry.

REST Gateway Properties:

• If you connect to DPS via an IP address (ht-

• If you connect to DPS via a hostname (https://hostname/dcs/dps), files are

File System Storage Properties:

DPS Project Configuration

Objectives and Constraints in an Optimization Cell

Translated Fitness Terms in the DPS Project

Fitness Field Description

Fitness Field Description

• If Default is selected, the value is 0.666.

• If Lower is selected, the default is 0.333.

Manually Adding Fitness Terms

To manually add a fitness term: