Specifying Solution Settings > Setting Adaptive Analysis Parameters for HFSS       

Enable Use of Solver Domains

If a problem is too large to solve on one machine HFSS can automatically partition a design into domains that can be solved by separate processes. Before enabling solver domains, you must have the HPC license option, and you must have allocated at least three distributed machines to the solve pool. The number of domains that the solver creates will not exceed N-1, where N is the number of machines listed in the pool (The first machine in the pool acts as the head node and is responsible for domain assembly, mesh refinement, and solution management). If more machines are present in the solve pool than are needed, HFSS creates the number of domains that leads to increased overall solver efficiency. Consequently, some machines remain idle if the problem size does not justify their use. See the Technical Note on domain decomposition for further details.

Domain use can be invoked for a solve when

• The Enable Use of Solver Domains check box under the Solution Setup Options tab is checked.

• You have the HPC License.

• You have provided at least three distributed machines in the pool.

• The solver determines that the problem is large enough (the mesh has enough tets) to bother with domains.

• The design includes IE Regions and/or FEBI Radiation Boundaries.

If you have configured your installations properly, the Domain solve can use Distributed Memory solutions. Memory used by the MPI-enabled HFSS solver is therefore limited by the set of machines that are available rather than the shared memory available on any single machine. This allows you to simulate larger structures than before and to optimally reconfigure the cluster of machines for the problem at hand. If an HFSS problem involves solver domains or a finite array, then frequency sweeps will not be done using DSO. Also, DSO for Optimetrics will not be allowed.

Restrictions on solver domains are that the design and analysis setup cannot include:

• The design cannot contain master and slave boundaries.

• Eigenmode solution type.

• Fast frequency sweeps.

If any condition is not met, the problem is solved with the non-domain solver defined under the solution options. When these conditions are met:

• The solver chooses the number of domains to use, based on the machines available. The number of domains chosen will likely be close to the maximum. The maximum is one less than the total because the first machine in the pool is used to control domain iterations.

• The solver creates the domain meshes of roughly the same size

• Domain meshes are created every time the global mesh changes (before each adaptive pass)

Related Topics

HFSS Options: Solver Tab

General Options: Analysis Options tab

Configuring Distributed Analysis

Selecting an Optimal Configuration for Distributed Analysis

Balancing Resources for Solver Domains

Technical Notes: Domain Decomposition Method