6SigmaRoom Model

This example shows you how to solve a 6SigmaRoom model on the Rescale platform. Please contact us if you’re having trouble.

Sign Up and Log In

If you haven’t done so already, you will need to sign up for a Rescale account.

To Sign Up

  1. Go to Rescale.com and enter your details – you will be sent a verification email
  2. Click the link to the Rescale platform site in the verification email (this can take up to 20 minutes to arrive)
  3. Log in to the Rescale platform site – you will see the welcome screen
WelcomePage.png

Once you have created an account and signed in, you can begin creating jobs to solve your 6SigmaRoom models.

Create a New Job

Click the + New Job button at the top-left of the Rescale welcome screen

Specify Input Files

You can add model files from cloud storage (hosted on Rescale) or from your computer. When adding jobs, the fields highlighted below must be set correctly.

Note: Models must be in the .zip format. If you have not already done so, open your model in 6SigmaRoom and go to Solve>Cloud Solve>Export to Cloud. The .zip file name must only contain characters between A – Z and 0 – 9. Including other characters can cause errors when importing to Rescale.

To Set Fields

  1. Edit the job name to one of your choice – in this example we will use 6SigmaRoom Tutorial Model
  2. Click:
    • Use files from cloud storage to use a previously uploaded model file
    • Upload from this computer to select a file on your computer or a local network
  3. Go to the location of your model file and select it
  4. Click Open/Add Selected Files
  5. Set the Job Type – in this example we will use the Basic setting

On completion, the Input Files setup page should look like that shown below.

  1. Click Next to move on to the Software Settings page

Software Settings

The next page allows you to select a software package and configure its settings.

To configure 6SigmaRoom

  1. Select 6SigmaRoom from the list of available software – the Analysis and License Options page will open
  2. Select a 6SigmaRoom Version from the drop-down list
  3. Leave the Command field set to the default value – 6SigmaRoom
  4. Select a License option:
    • Choose Purchase License to use an on-demand license for 6SigmaRoom
    • Choose Provide Existing License if this option is configured for your account, then enter the address of your 6SigmaRoom License Server. If you would like to activate this functionality, or are having issues using it, please contact Rescale support.

When completed, your Software Settings page should look like that shown below (depending on the license options you selected).

  1. Click Next to move on to the Hardware Settings page

Hardware Settings

Hardware Settings allows you to specify the hardware you want to solve the model on, and provides pricing information for your selection.

To Configure Hardware

  1. Specify the Number of Cores you want to use (minimum: 8) – the Hardware Summary and Hourly Price Summary will update as this value changes
  2. (Optional) Specify a Maximum Job Duration (Hours)

When completed, your Hardware Settings page should look like that shown below.

  1. Click Next to move on to the Post Processing page

Post Processing

The Post Processing stage is optional, and is not currently supported by 6SigmaRoom on the Rescale platform. Click Next to move on to the Review page.

Review

The Review page displays a summary of the job and its associated settings prior to submission, as shown below.

Ensure all of the settings are correct before submitting the job.

  • If the settings are incorrect, click the < Back and Next > buttons to move through the previous pages and edit the data
  • Click Save to save the job and its settings
  • Click Submit to send the job for solving

Status

The Status page allows you to monitor your analysis after the job has been submitted. The job workflow icons, highlighted in red in the image below, allow you to navigate between the job SetupStatusResults and Charts pages.

The Status page also allows you to view the contents of output files in real time. This is known as live tailing a file. This can be very useful in monitoring the progress of a job.

To live tail a file, click the name of the file that you want to view.

For 6SigmaRoom jobs, the files of particular interest are:

  • process_output.log
  • All .png files in the list

The process_output.log file is created for every Rescale job, and contains all the terminal output from the command as it is executed.

The .png files contain snapshots of the residual and monitor plots normally found in the CFD solution window in the 6SigmaRoom software. In the example below, ACU Supply and Return Temperatures.png has been selected.

You can see the ACU supply and return temperatures at each iteration of the solution. These images are updated as the solution progresses.

View Results

When the job is completed, you will see the Results page, as shown below.

From this page you can do several things:

  • Download all files using the blue Download button.
  • Use the Actions menu, highlighted in red, to act on groups of files selected using the checkboxes.
  • The Action buttons, highlighted in blue, allow you to view, download, delete, or make individual files available for future jobs.

Download Simulation Results

When you click the blue ‘Download’ button, Rescale will create a .zip file of all files in the list.

Note: Please ensure you do not import this .zip file – named ‘RescaleJobName.zip’ – into your 6SigmaRoom model. The file containing the model’s simulation results will be inside the downloaded .zip file, and will be named ‘UploadedModelName.zip’.

If you download the files using the Rescale Transfer Manager, they will not be zipped together. The simulation results .zip file will be downloaded into your destination folder, and can be imported straight into 6SigmaRoom.

To view results in 6SigmaRoom

You can import the downloaded simulation results .zip file back into 6SigmaRoom to view the results in your model.

  1. In 6SigmaRoom, open the model that you previously exported to Rescale
  2. Go to Solve>Cloud Solve>Import from Cloud
  3. Select the downloaded .zip file containing your simulation results (this will be named ‘UploadedModelName.zip’)
  4. Click Open – the simulation results will be imported into the 6SigmaRoom model

Rescale Transfer Manager

The Rescale Transfer Manager is a Windows application that can be used to download output files for Rescale jobs. For large models, we recommend using this tool to download your simulation results quickly and reliably.

For information on using the Transfer Manager, see the article on how to use the Rescale Transfer Manager.

Requirements

In order to run the model on Rescale from the 6SigmaRoom GUI, you would need to first be set up with:

  • a Rescale account
  • a Rescale API key
  • a license proxy (if you are using your own in-house 6SigmaRoom license)
  • alternatively, you could purchase on-demand licenses through Rescale

To generate an API key

An API key from Rescale is required for cloud solving in 6SigmaRoom.

  1. Log in to your Rescale account
  2. Click your username in the top right corner, then click Account
  3. In the Account menu, click the API tab
  4. In the API section, click the Generate button – your API key will appear
  5. Select the API key text, then press CTRL + C – it will be copied to the clipboard
  6. Log in to your Rescale account
  7. Click your username in the top right corner, then click Account
  8. In the Account menu, click the API tab
  9. In the API section, click the Generate button – your API key will appear
  10. Select the API key text, then press CTRL + C – it will be copied to the clipboard

Configure 6SigmaRoom Software

After generating an API key, you need to add it to the 6SigmaRoom software.

To add an API key to 6SigmaRoom

  1. Open 6SigmaRoom
  2. Click the Cloud Solve button on the Solve ribbon – the Cloud Solving window and the Failed to Initialize Rescale API window will open
  3. Click OK in the Failed to Initialize Rescale API window – the Cloud Options window will open
  1. In the Cloud Options window, paste your Rescale API key into the API key field
  2. Set the other Cloud Options as required:
    • Platform – select which of Rescale’s platforms you want to connect to. A choice of platform.rescale.comeu.rescale.com or platform.rescale.jp.
    • API Key – provide your API key to connect to your Rescale account via the 6SigmaRoom software.
    • Refresh Rate – (default: 30s) specify how often you want the connection to the Rescale servers to be refreshed.
    • Setup Connection to Corporate License Server – check this option to connect to a corporate license server hosting 6SigmaRoom licenses. Additional options will become available to allow you to specify the connection details. A license proxy must be set up on the Rescale platform before you can use this functionality.
    • License Server – specify the address to the license server hosting your 6SigmaRoom licenses.
    • License Server Port – specify the port number used to connect to the license server.
  3. Click OK

6SigmaRoom is now configured for cloud solving

Cloud Solve in 6SigmaRoom

When the Rescale API key has been added to the software, you can begin cloud solving. After submitting a model to Rescale for solving, you can also monitor the progress of the solution.

To cloud solve

  1. Open the model in 6SigmaRoom
  2. Click the Cloud Solve button on the Solve ribbon
  3. Click the Add Job button – the Add New Job(s) window will open
  1. Use the checkboxes in the Choose Versions section to either:
    • Choose Versions – select the versions within the current model to submit for cloud solving, or;
    • Select All – select all versions in the list.
  2. In the Choose Hardware section, specify:
    • Core Type – choose one of Rescale’s core types. Available core types for 6SigmaRoom will be shown. Click the information button next to this property to see processor, memory and storage details, and the price per core hour, for each option.
    • Number of Cores – specify how many cores to use for the solution.Note – the price per core hour will depend on the options selected here
  3. Set the Solve Options:
    • Project – select a project to use for the solve. If projects are not configured on your Rescale account, this option will be greyed out.
    • Maximum Job Duration (Hours) – set a maximum duration for the job to run on the Rescale servers. If the job exceeds this value, it will be stopped.
    • On Demand – check this option to run the job in on demand mode. This can significantly reduce core costs. This option will only be available if it is supported by the selected core type.
    • Try Continue – when this option is checked, the computer will use previously calculated temperature and airflow available for any of the projects where possible. Unchecking this option will mean that any existing temperature and airflow data will be ignored and the solution(s) will start afresh.Note – checking the Try Continue option will upload all results to Rescale. Depending on your internet connection, this may take a significant amount of time.
  4. Set the Licensing Option you want to use:
    • Purchase License – purchase 6SigmaRoom licenses via Rescale.
    • Use Corporate License Server – connect to a corporate license server that hosts purchased 6SigmaRoom licenses. This must be set up on the Rescale platform and specified in the Cloud Options window.
  5. Click the Add Job button

The job will be uploaded to the Rescale servers for solving. A progress bar will show the progress of the upload before solving begins. After the job has uploaded, you can monitor the solve progress in the Add Jobs window or on the Rescale website.

To monitor solving

When your model is solving, you can monitor its progress via the Cloud Solving window.

The monitor and residual graphs will not display until at least one iteration has been solved. These graphs may take a few moments to display.

  1. In the Cloud Solving window, right click the job for which you want to view progress

2. Click View Progress… – the Cloud Solve Progress window will open

3. Close the Cloud Solve Progress window when you have finished viewing the results

Retrieve Completed Jobs

When your job is complete, you will need to retrieve it from the Rescale servers.

To retrieve jobs

  1. In the Cloud Solving window, right click the completed jobNote – ensure your job’s Status is Complete before attempting to retrieve it. The Cluster Status does not need to be Stopped before jobs can be retrieved.
  2. Click Retrieve Job – a progress bar will display the download progress

The results of the solve will be downloaded and added to the 6SigmaRoom model.

Once you have retrieved the job, you can use 6SigmaRoom’s result plots to view the simulation results.

Stop or Remove Job

You can stop a job that is currently running, or remove a job from the Rescale platform once it has stopped.

Note – by default, only jobs from the open model will be shown in the Cloud Solving window. Uncheck the Only show jobs from this model option to see all jobs currently on the Rescale platform.

To stop a job

When you stop a job, the data will be reassembled and can be downloaded into 6SigmaRoom.

  1. Click the Cloud Solve button on the Solve ribbon – the Cloud Solving window will open
  2. In the Cloud Solving window, right click the job you want to stop
  3. Click Stop Job – the job will be stopped

To retrieve a job

You can only remove jobs from the Rescale platform if their Cluster Status is Stopped.

  1. Click the Cloud Solve button on the Solve ribbon – the Cloud Solving window will open
  2. In the Cloud Solving window, right click the job you want to stop
  3. Click Remove Job – the job will be removed from the Rescale platform

Additional Information

You can also monitor the progress of your job via the Rescale website. This can be useful if you are using a machine without the 6SigmaRoom software installed.

To monitor solving on Rescale

  1. Log in to the Rescale website
  2. Click the jobs tab
  3. Click the job you want to monitor
  4. Use the tabs to the right to see the job’s progress and results

The job workflow tabs, highlighted in red in the image (above), allow you to navigate between the job SetupStatusResults and Charts pages.

Status Page

The Status page allows you to view the contents of output files in real time. This is known as live tailing a file. This can be very useful in monitoring the progress of a job.

To live tail a file, click the name of the file that you want to view.

For 6SigmaRoom jobs, the files of particular interest are:

  • process_output.log
  • All .png files in the list

The process_output.log file is created for every Rescale job, and contains all the terminal output from the command as it is executed.

The .png files contain snapshots of the residual and monitor plots normally found in the CFD solution window. In the example below, ACU Supply and Return Temperatures.png has been selected.

You can see the fan temperatures at each iteration of the solution. These images are updated as the solution progresses.

Results page

The Results page allows you to view the output files in their completed state.

Note – to view the simulation results in 6SigmaRoom, you will need to retrieve the job from within the software.

From this page you can do several things:

  • View, download, delete, or make individual files available for future jobs using the Action buttons, highlighted in blue.
  • Download all files using the blue Download button.
  • Use the Actions menu, highlighted in red, to act on groups of files selected using the checkboxes.