January 2016 Summaries

Rescale has announced the newest release of the Amber (2014) molecular dynamics suite for CPUs and GPUs, available on their platform. To run Amber simulations on Rescale, users must first purchase a license from www.ambermd.org and then request access through the Rescale platform by signing in, creating a new job, and selecting Amber from the software list, where a Rescale representative will verify license ownership. Once access is granted, users can set up and run simulations, noting that additional hardware fees apply. The document provides a step-by-step guide for accessing Amber on Rescale, including a description of how to run a model of lysozyme with a toluene ligand to gauge performance, and highlights the speedup achieved by using multiple CPUs and GPUs. For assistance, users are encouraged to contact Rescale via email.

Rescale, a prominent provider of cloud-based simulation software and high-performance computing (HPC) solutions, has appointed Zack Smocha as Vice President of Product Marketing, leveraging his extensive experience in cloud and enterprise software marketing. Smocha's role is pivotal in advancing Rescale's mission of delivering cutting-edge HPC and simulation platforms to engineers, scientists, and IT professionals, particularly as the company experiences significant growth and enhances its core products, such as ScaleX Enterprise. His previous leadership roles at companies like Coverity and Synopsys have equipped him with expertise in demand generation and product management for both commercial and cloud open-source solutions. Rescale's platform, which serves industries like aerospace, automotive, and energy, is designed to transform traditional IT resources into agile, cloud-optimized environments, thereby meeting the increasing demand for rapid engineering innovation.

Computer simulations, particularly Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations, are crucial for analyzing system behaviors under varying conditions, such as different Mach numbers for a wing or pressure ratios for a jet engine compressor. These simulations are often time-consuming, but their efficiency can be improved by using better initial conditions, which reduces iteration requirements and enhances stability, especially in complex physics scenarios like wing stalls. The post demonstrates a method for simulating turbulent flow around a wing for Mach numbers ranging from 0.5 to 0.9 using the Stanford University Unstructured (SU2) CFD solver. By leveraging a custom optimization Python SDK on the Rescale platform, the process involves using the results of a previous computation as the initial condition for the next, enhancing computational efficiency and stability. The workflow is executed programmatically, with a Python script that modifies the SU2 configuration file, manages input and output files, and runs computations on a compute cluster. The entire process, which utilizes SU2 software and Rescale's platform, demonstrates an efficient simulation methodology, with results confirming the benefits of using restart files to initiate subsequent computations.

Rescale and COMSOL have partnered to make COMSOL Multiphysics® software available on Rescale's cloud-based simulation platforms, enabling users to perform complex physics-based simulations using high-performance computing (HPC) resources. COMSOL Multiphysics® is known for its ability to simulate coupled or multiphysics phenomena and is expandable with over 30 add-on products for various applications such as electrical, mechanical, fluid flow, and chemical simulations. The collaboration allows users to leverage Rescale's flexible pay-per-use HPC infrastructure and COMSOL’s advanced parallel processing capabilities, optimizing the simulation process for engineers and scientists worldwide. This partnership enhances the accessibility and efficiency of running computationally intensive simulations, overcoming the limitations of internal hardware and facilitating the creation and deployment of specialized simulation apps via the COMSOL Server™. Rescale’s secure simulation environments are particularly appealing to global enterprises across diverse sectors, further amplifying the reach and utility of COMSOL's software solutions.