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Using CAEBAT with NiCE
Check out the demo video on YouTube to see how NiCE's plugins for CAEBAT work. Don't forget to report any bugs that you find!
Table of Contents
Getting Started
This document is designed to outline the basic steps of setting up and using the CAEBAT plugins in NiCE. There are two different tasks for the input generation and launching of CAEBAT within NiCE:
- CAEBAT Model Builder - Generates a set of input files necessary to launch a CAEBAT job.
- CAEBAT Launcher - Initiates the CAEBAT codes to run on a local or remote system using the files generated from the CAEBAT Model Builder.
Prerequisites
You should have the CAEBAT environment installed, either your local machine or on a remote machine.
Creating Input
After NiCE is properly installed and configured, the first step in utilizing the CAEBAT plugins is using NiCE to generate the appropriate input files for the CAEBAT simulations.
This tutorial will demonstrate the general procedure for generating CAEBAT input in NiCE. To create input for CAEBAT you will first have to have a template to use. From your install of VIBE you can go to examples/case6 and copy the .conf file into ~/ICEFiles/default/Caebat_Model. If you have any other files that you wish to use as a template you can copy them over to that directory as well. Before running ICE make sure that you have set any files you wish to use as a template to have the file extension .conf.
To begin, launch NiCE (if it isn't already running), and you should be presented with an empty workbench.
We must first create a CAEBAT Model Builder item. NiCE provides three options for creating new items (all highlighted in blue below). The user may click on the green plus icon (+) located near the top-right corner of the Item Viewer, click on the New Item button in the main NiCE toolbar, or choose File > Create an Item.
This will launch a dialog prompting you to select a task (or Item) to create. Find CAEBAT Model Builder in the Item Selector list (you may need to scroll down) and select OK.
Defining and modifying input parameters
A CAEBAT Model Builder will appear in the main workspace. The default selection will be loaded into the form. If you wish to change between templates you can select them from the dropdown menu. To repopulate the form, simply select a new file and save it.
You can now edit the parameters as you see fit.
Generating CAEBAT input files
The last step involved before launching a CAEBAT job is actually generating the input files based on the model just created.
Lastly, find the Process drop-down menu located in the top right-hand corner of your CAEBAT Model Builder tab. Select Write CAEBAT File from the menu, and press the Go! button. Doing this will launch a script in the background to convert your input parameters into a file format that CAEBAT can understand. This operation should take no more than a second or two, and the message "Done!" should appear near the top of the CAEBAT Model Builder tab when it is complete.
This file will be created in your /home/<user>/ICEFiles/default/ directory and will have the same name as the Builder. It's important to note that if you have a previously generated CAEBAT input file in your default directory, generating another input file with the same name will overwrite your existing file without warning.
This completes the CAEBAT input generation task. The file generated will be used in the next step by the CAEBAT Launcher to run the CAEBAT problem. However, if you'd like to review your input file before launching, you can do so by opening the File > Open File... menu in NiCE, and navigating to the file. Once opened, you will be able to review the input file generated.
Launching a CAEBAT job
Once you've generated appropriate input files, launching CAEBAT is a relatively simple task.
To get started, click the green "+" button once more to create a new NiCE Item. Select CAEBAT Launcher from the menu and click OK.
A form will appear in the main NiCE workbench area. This form contains the information necessary for launching a CAEBAT problem.
Setting the input file and host
The first piece of necessary information is to specify an input file. If you created your own input file in the previous step using the CAEBAT Model Builder, this file should appear in the list of available files.
If you are using an input file that was created elsewhere, it must be in your /home/<user>/ICEFiles/default/ directory prior to creating the CAEBAT Launcher Item or you will need to import it. To do this, click "File->Import File" and pick the file that you want to import. It will appear in the list of input files in the CAEBAT launcher.
From the Input File drop-down menu, select an appropriate CAEBAT file.
The next step is to specify on which machine CAEBAT will be run, either locally or remotely. A list of hosts used at ORNL is displayed by default, however, additional hosts can be added by clicking the "+" button to the right of the Hosts table. When adding hosts, set the Execution Path to the directory of the machine's CAEBAT installation. If you are launching on a remote machine, also be sure that you have appropriate privileges for the CAEBAT install directory.
Launching CAEBAT
Once the input file and host is specified, apply your settings by clicking the floppy disk button located in the upper-left corner of the NiCE workbench, which is the Save button.
If you make any subsequent changes to the CAEBAT Launcher form, you will have to re-apply them by saving the form in the same way.
Lastly, use the Process menu in the upper right-hand corner; select the Launch the Job task from the drop-down menu and click the Go! button. Depending on your host machine's configuration, you may be prompted for login credentials.
Visualizing Output
This section requires VisIt 2.8, which may or may not be released at press time. Contact the NiCE team if you need a pre-release copy.
The output produced by a CAEBAT job can be visually analyzed in NiCE by utilizing the Visualization perspective. Select Window > Perspective > Other... from the menu bar at the top of the NiCE workbench. From the resulting dialog, select Visualization and press OK.
An empty Visualization perspective will replace the existing NiCE perspective in the workbench.
Rendering in NiCE's Visualization perspective is executed through a connection to the external visualization software application, VisIt. To establish this connection, click Launch VisIt near the upper-right corner of the NiCE workbench.
A dialog for connecting to VisIt will appear. This dialog allows the user to start a new instance of VisIt on their local machine or a remote machine. The dialog additionally allows the user to connect to an already running instance of VisIt. Select a connection option and enter the appropriate parameters before clicking "OK".
If the connection to VisIt is successful, a Visualization Editor will be opened in the main workbench area. Click the Open File button from the Visualization File Viewer in the right-hand column of the workbench.
A dialog for exploring the local file system will appear. Navigate to and select the .silo file produced by the CAEBAT job execution. (Note: This may require adjusting the file extension filter in the dialog to get the file to appear.) After dismissing the file dialog, ensure that the file is selected in the Visualization File Viewer. Click the Add Plot button in the Plot Viewer on the left-hand side of the workbench.
A dialog for selecting plots to add to the Plot Viewer will appear. Check any number of plots to add and click OK.
To display a plot in the Visualization Editor, select the plot in the Plot Viewer. Click and drag on the image to manipulate its orientation.
