MSC Nastran 2012 Installation and Operations Guide

MSC Nastran Installation and Operations Guide MSC Nastran R2.
1 Installation and Operations

Guide
MSC Nastran 2012
Installation and Operations Guide
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Worldwide Web
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Disclaimer
MSC.Software Corporation reserves the right to make changes in specifications and other information contained
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The concepts, methods, and examples presented in this text are for illustrative and educational purposes only,
and are not intended to be exhaustive or to apply to any particular engineering problem or design. MSC.Software
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2011 MSC.Software Corporation. Printed in U.S.A. All Rights Reserved.
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Integration Inc. All rights reserved. PCGLSS 6.0 is licensed from Computational Applications and System
Integration Inc. METIS is copyrighted by the regents of the University of Minnesota. A copy of the METIS product
documentation is included with this installation. Please see "A Fast and High Quality Multilevel Scheme for
Partitioning Irregular Graphs". George Karypis and Vipin Kumar. SIAM Journal on Scientific Computing, Vol. 20,
No. 1, pp. 359-392, 1999.
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Revision 0. November 15, 2011
NA:V2012:Z:Z:Z:DC-OPS
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Main Index
Cont ent s
MSC Nastran 2012 Installation and Operations Guide
MSC Nastran Installation Guide
Preface
List of MSC Nastran Books xiv
Technical Support xv
Internet Resources xvi
1 Introduction
Document Scope 2
Key for Readers 2
Definitions Used in this document 2
Document Structure 3
Supported Hardware and Operating Systems 4
Changes to MSC Nastran 2012 5
Linux 32: 5
Linux 64: 5
Windows 32: 5
Windows 64: 5
The Directory Structure 6
Multiple Products Support 6
Multiple Computer Architecture Support 6
2 Installing MSC Nastran
Overview 14
Installing MSC Nastran on UNIX Systems 15
Installation Notes 15
Installation Procedures 16
MSC Nas-
tran 2012
Installa-
tion and
Opera-
tions
Guide
MSC
Nastran
Installati
on Guide
Main Index

iv
Console Installation 18
Silent Installation 19
Installing MSC Nastran on Windows Systems 20
Installation Procedure 20
3 Configuring MSC Nastran
Overview 24
System-Specific Tuning 25
All Systems 25
AIX 25
HP-UX 27
Intel 27
Windows Server 2003 27
Windows Vista and Windows 7 27
Systems Running on Intel Processors with Hyper Threading 27
Using the msc20121 Command 29
Using the mscinfo Command (UNIX) 30
Managing MSC Nastran Licensing 31
FLEXlm Licensing 32
Node-locked Authorization Codes 39
Activating MSC Nastran Accounting 41
Enabling Account ID and Accounting Data 41
Enabling Account ID Validation 41
Securing the Accounting ID Settings and Files 47
Determining System Limits 48
HP-UX 48
IBM pSeries - AIX 49
Intel IA-32 - Linux 49
Intel IA-32 - Windows 49
Intel IPF-Linux 50
Intel 64 - Linux 50
Sun SPARC - Solaris 51
Managing Remote and Distributed Hosts 52
Sample dmpdeny Implementation (AIX) 52
Main Index
v CONTENTS
Limiting memory Requests 54
Customizing the News File 55
Customizing the Message Catalog 56
Defining a Computer Model Name and CONFIG Number 58
Generating a Timing Block for a New Computer 59
Customizing Queue Commands (UNIX) 62
Special Queues 64
Customizing the Templates 66
Keyword Reference Syntax 67
Keyword Reference Examples 68
Using Regular Expressions 71
4 Using the Basic Functions of MSC Nastran
Overview 74
Using the nastran Command 75
File Types and Versioning 76
Using Filenames and Logical Symbols 77
Using the Help Facility and Other Special Functions 79
Using the Basic Keywords 80
All Systems 80
UNIX Systems 80
Queuing (UNIX) 80
Specifying Memory Sizes 82
Maximum Memory Size 83
Determining Resource Requirements 85
Estimating BUFFSIZE 86
Using the Test Problem Libraries 87
Making File Assignments 88
ASSIGN Statement for FORTRAN Files 88
ASSIGN Statement for DBsets 88
Using Databases 91
Using the dbs Keyword 92
Main Index

vi
Using the ASSIGN Statement 94
Using the INIT Statement 95
Using the INCLUDE Statement 97
Specifying the INCLUDE Filename 97
Requesting Subdirectory Searching 99
Locating INCLUDE Files 99
Using the SSS Alter Library 103
Resolving Abnormal Terminations 104
Interpreting System Error Codes 104
Terminating a Job 105
Flushing .f04 and .f06 Output to Disk (UNIX) 105
Common System Errors 106
5 Using the Advanced Functions of MSC Nastran
Overview 110
Using the Advanced Keywords 111
All Systems 112
AIX and Linux64 Only 112
LINUX IPF (SGI Altix) Only 112
Solaris Only 112
Queuing (UNIX) 112
Using the NASTRAN Statement 114
AUTOASGN 114
BUFFPOOL, SYSTEM(114) 114
BUFFSIZE, SYSTEM(1) 115
IFPBUFF, SYSTEM(624) 115
PARALLEL, SYSTEM(107) 115
SYSTEM(128) 115
SYSTEM(198), SYSTEM(205) 115
SYSTEM(207) 115
SYSTEM(275) 115
Managing Memory 116
Managing DBsets 118
I/O Performance Libraries 118
Using the SYS Field 118
Using File Mapping 120
Using Buffered I/O 121
Main Index
vii CONTENTS
Using Asynchronous I/O 123
Interpreting Database File-Locking Messages (UNIX) 124
Interpreting the .f04 File 127
Summary of Physical File Information 127
Memory Map 128
Day Log 128
User Information Messages 4157 and 6439 129
Memory and Disk Usage Statistics 130
Database Usage Statistics 130
Summary of Physical File I/O Activity 131
Running a Job on a Remote System 132
Installing/Running MSCRmtMgr 139
Running Distributed Memory Parallel (DMP) Jobs 141
Determining Hosts Used by DMP Jobs 148
Managing Host-Database Directory Assignments in DMP Jobs 151
Managing Files in DMP Jobs 153
DMP Performance Issues 153
Alternatives to HP/MPI on Linux 156
Configuring and Running SOL 600 157
Hardware and Software Requirements 157
Compatibility 158
Definitions 158
Network Configuration 159
How to Run a Network Job 161
Solver 163
Troubleshooting 164
SOL 600 Parallel Processing on Windows 165
User Notes 170
Configuring and Running SOL 700 174
Compatibility 174
Definitions 174
Platform Specific MPI Configurations 175
User Notes 176
Main Index

viii
Running an ISHELL Program 178
Defining Command Processor Associations 180
Using the ISHELL-INCLUDE Statement (!) 182
Improving Network File System (NFS) Performance (UNIX) 185
Creating and Attaching Alternate Delivery Databases 186
6 Using the Utility Programs
Overview 190
ESTIMATE 191
Keywords 192
Rules 199
Examples 201
F04REPRT 202
Options 203
Examples 204
HEATCONV 205
Keywords 205
Examples 205
MSCACT 206
Keywords 206
Examples 207
Accounting File Format 208
MSCPLOTPS 210
MSGCMP 211
Examples 211
MultiOpt 212
Special Requirements for using MultiOpt on Windows Platforms: 213
NEUTRL 215
Keywords 215
Examples 215
OP4UTIL 216
Keywords 217
OPTCONV 219
Main Index
ix CONTENTS
Keywords 219
Examples 219
PLOTPS 220
Keywords 220
Examples 222
Using the String Optimization Feature 222
RCOUT2 223
Keywords 223
Examples 223
RECEIVE 224
Keywords 224
Examples 224
TRANS 226
Keywords 227
Examples 227
XMONAST (UNIX) 229
Menu Bar Commands 230
Buttons 230
Examples 230
Resources 231
XNASTRAN (UNIX) 232
Menu Bar Commands 232
Main Window Items 232
Resources 234
Building the Utilities Delivered in Source Form 235
7 Building and Using the Sample Programs
Overview 238
Building and Using BEAMSERV 239
Building BEAMSERV 239
Using BEAMSERV 240
Building and Using DDLPRT 241
Building DDLPRT 241
Using DDLPRT 241
Building and Using DDLQRY 243
Main Index

x
Building DDLQRY 243
Using DDLQRY 243
Building and Using DEMO1 244
Building DEMO1 244
Using DEMO1 244
Building and Using DEMO2 245
Building DEMO2 245
Using DEMO2 245
Building and Using DR3SERV 246
Building DR3SERV 246
Using DR3SERV 247
Building and Using MATTST 248
Building MATTST 248
Using MATTST 248
Building and Using SMPLR 250
Building SMPLR 250
Using SMPLR 250
Building and Using a Spline Server 251
Building SPXSERVA 251
Using the Spline Server 252
Spline Server Source Files 253
Building and Using TABTST 254
Building TABTST 254
Using TABTST 254
Beam Server Source Files 256
DRESP3 Server Source Files 257
MSC.Access Source Files 258
A Configuring the Runtime Environment
Specifying Parameters 2
Command Initialization and Runtime Configuration Files 2
Environment Variables 6
User-Defined Keywords 8
General Keywords 8
Main Index
xi CONTENTS
PARAM Keywords 9
Value Descriptors 10
Examples: 12
Resolving Duplicate Parameter Specifications 13
Customizing Command Initialization and Runtime Configuration Files
16
Examples 18
Symbolic Substitution 22
Introduction 22
Simple Examples 22
Detailed Specifications 25
Examples 34
B Glossary of Terms
C Keywords and Environment Variables
Keywords 46
SYS Parameter Keywords 102
Environment Variables 105
Other Keywords 108
System Cell Keyword Mapping 113
D System Descriptions
Overview 116
Binary File Byte Ordering (Endian) 116
System Descriptions 117
Numerical Data 122
Computer Dependent Defaults 125
E Product Timing Data
Main Index

xii
Main Index
Preface
List of MSC Nastran Books
Technical Support
Internet Resources
Main Index

xiv
List of MSC Nastran Books
Below is a list of some of the MSC Nastran documents. You may find any of these documents from
MSC.Software at http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com.
Installation and Release Guides
Installation and Operations Guide
Release Guide
Guides
Reference Books
Quick Reference Guide
DMAP Programmers Guide
Reference Manual
Users Guides
Getting Started
Linear Static Analysis
Dynamic Analysis
MSC Nastran Demonstration Problems
Thermal Analysis
Superelements
Design Sensitivity and Optimization
Implicit Nonlinear (SOL 600)
Explicit Nonlinear (SOL 700)
Aeroelastic Analysis
User Defined Services
EFEA Users Guide
EFEA Tutorial
EBEA Users Guide
Main Index
xv
Preface
Technical Support
For technical support phone numbers and contact information, please visit:
http://www.mscsoftware.com/Contents/Services/Technical-Support/Contact-Technical-Support.aspx
Support Center (http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com)
Support Online. The Support Center provides technical articles, frequently asked questions and
documentation from a single location.
Main Index

xvi
Internet Resources
MSC.Software (www.mscsoftware.com)
MSC.Software corporate site with information on the latest events, products and services for the
CAD/CAE/CAM marketplace.
Main Index
Ch. 1: Introduction MSC Nastran 2012 Installation and Operations Guide
1
Introduction
Document Scope
Document Structure
Supported Hardware and Operating Systems
Changes to MSC Nastran 2012
The Directory Structure

Main Index

2
Document Scope
The MSC Nastran Installation and Operations Guide (IOG) provides instructions on how to install,
customize, and use MSC Nastran 2012 on UNIX and Windows systems. This document assumes that you
have a working knowledge of the applicable operating environments.
Key for Readers
The IOG uses certain stylistic conventions to denote user action, to emphasize particular aspects of a
MSC Nastran run, or to signal other differences within the text.
Definitions Used in this document
The IOG uses certain definitions to denote installation directories, and product versions of MSC Nastran.
Note: This document includes information for systems not yet supported by MSC Nastran.
MSC.Software does not guarantee later support for these systems.
Italics Represent user-specified variables.
Example: The system RC file is install_dir/conf/nast2012rc.
Courier font Indicates system input or output.
Example: $ install_dir/bin/msc2012
Quote marks Distinguish words or phrases such as lowercase keywords, commands,
variables, Dbsets or file suffixes from regular text.
Example: If out is not specified, MSC Nastran saves the output files
using the basename of the input data file as a prefix.
install_dir The full path to the directory used in the installation
Example: The system RC file is install_dir/conf/nast2012rc.
prod_ver The Product and Version of MSC Nastran
Example: For MSC Nastran 2012 prod_ver=nast20121
ver_num The version number. For MSC Nastran 2012, this is 20121.
util_ver The version number used for building utilities.
Example: For MSC Nastran 2012 util_ver=20121
Main Index
3
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Document Structure
The IOG focuses on three areas of MSC Nastran use and also features additional information in the form
of appendixes.
Installation and Configuration
Chapter 2 discusses the installation of MSC Nastran, while Chapter 3 demonstrates how to configure
your system and MSC Nastran.
Basic and Advanced Use
Chapter 4 presents the basic functions of the nastran command and provides some details on how to use
system files and databases. Chapter 5 explains how to use the advanced features of the nastran command
and includes information on computer resource management.
Utility and Sample Programs
The final two chapters contain information on utility and sample programs, including MSC.ACCESS
and the beam server. Chapter 6 focuses on using and customizing utility programs, while Chapter 7
explains how to build and use sample programs.
Supplementary Information
In addition to these seven chapters, the IOG also includes four appendixes. Appendix B contains a
glossary of terms. Appendix C reviews keywords and environmental variables. Appendix D details
system descriptions, and Appendix E provides a form for product timing data.
Note: Chapters 2 and 3, discussing installation and configuration, are the only two chapters
intended for system administrators; all other information in this document is intended for
MSC Nastran users.
Main Index

4
Supported Hardware and Operating Systems
Continued...
Vendor OS Hardware
FORTRAN
Version C Version Default MPI
IBM (64-bit) AIX 5.3 Power 6 11.1.0.0 9.0.0.0 POE 3.2
Linux (32-bit) RedHat AS 5.4
(Kernel 2.6.18 )
Intel Pentium Intel 12.0 Intel 12.0 HP MPI 2.3
Linux (64-bit) RedHat AS 4.5
(Kernel 2.6.9)
Itanium 2 Intel 10.1 Intel 10.1 HP MPI 2.2.5.1
RedHat AS 5.4
(Kernel 2.6.18 )
Intel EM64T Intel 12.0 Intel 12.0 HP MPI 2.3
Microsoft (32-
bit)
Windows 7 Intel Pentium Intel 12.0 Microsoft VS 2010
C/C++
NA
Microsoft (64-
bit)
Windows 7 Intel EM64T Intel 12.0 Microsoft VS 2010
C/C++
MSMPI 2.0
HPUX HPUX 11.11* PARISC F90 3.1 B.11.11.16 HP MPI 2.3
HPUX 11.23** Itanium 2 F90 3.1 A.06-02 HP MPI 2.2
Sun Solaris 5.10 *** Intel EM64T F90 8.4 CC 5.10 HPC 7.1
Solaris 5.10 SPARC F90 8.4 CC 5.10 HPC 5.0
Patches: * OS-Core. CORE-64SLIB, PHSS_28871.CORE-64SLIB
must be installed so the command:
what /usr/lib/pa20-64/dld.sl Displays:
PA64 B.11.66 PBO 080711
** 92453-07 linker dld is required.
***Patch 120754-08 is required
Vendor OS Also Works On
IBM (64-bit) AIX 5.3
Linux (32-bit)
Linux (64-bit)
RedHat AS 5.4 SuSe Linux 11
Microsoft (32-bit) Windows 7 Windows XP
Microsoft (64-bit) Windows 7 Windows XP
Main Index
5
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Changes to MSC Nastran 2012
Linux 32:
Linux (32-bit) is now built on RHEL 5.4.
Linux 64:
Linux (64-bit) is now built on RHEL 5.4
Windows 32:
Windows (32-bit) is now built on Windows 7
Windows 64:
Windows (64-bit) is now built on Windows 7
Main Index

6
The Directory Structure
The installation directory structure provides the following capabilities:
Multiple versions of MSC products, such as the current and prior versions of MSC Nastran.
Multiple computer architectures, such as IBM AIX, Sun SPARC Solaris, etc.
Figure 1-1 shows the structure of the install_dir directory, which is selected during installation.
Figure 1-1 Directory for install_dir
Multiple Products Support
The MSC Nastran installation directory structure supports multiple products by using product-dependent
and architecture-independent directories and files. For example, Figure 1-2 shows that the
install_dir/prod_ver/nast directory on UNIX and install-dir\prod_ver\nast on Windows contains the
product-dependent files for MSC Nastran while the util and access directories contain the
product-independent files for the various utilities and MSC.ACCESS.
Multiple Computer Architecture Support
The MSC Nastran installation directory structure also supports multiple computer architectures by using
architecture-dependent directories and files. Several directories that hold architecture-dependent files
are:
1. install_dir/prod_ver/arch on UNIX and install_dir\prod_ver\arch on Windows
Note: 1. This structure does not permit both UNIX and Windows installations to share the
same directory tree, e.g., on an NFS or Samba server.
2. If you create an installation by copying an existing installation, and the path is
different than the installation you are copying from, then rcmd will need to be
changed in the install_dir/prod_ver/arch/nastran.ini file to point to the
new path.
install_dir
acct bin conf
prod_ver
Main Index
7
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
2. install_dir/prod_ver/nast/beamlib/lib/arch, install_dir/prod_ver/nast/dr3/lib/arch,
install_dir/prod_ver/nast/spline_server/lib/arch on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\nast\beamlib\lib\arch, install_dir\prod_ver\nast\dr3\lib\arch,
install_dir\prod_ver\nast\spline_server\lib\arch on Windows.
where arch is the name of the architecture, e.g., aix, hpux, linux32 (see Table 3-1).
Figure 1-2 Directory for prod_ver
The install_dir/prod_ver/nast directory on UNIX and install_dir\prod_ver\nast directory on Windows
contains news, documentation, and sample problems for MSC Nastran. None of these files is architecture
dependent.
In MSC Nastran 2008, building beam servers and dresp3 servers used classic make utilities and required
source files and make utilities could be found at install_dir/prod_ver/bmsrv and
install_dir/prod_ver/dr3srv. With the replacement of make utilities with the SCons tool in MSC Nastran
2010, the old subdirectories are removed from install_dir/prod_ver directory and two new subdirectories
are created in the install_dir/prod_ver/nast/ directory for building beam server, dresp3 server as shown
in Figure 1-3. In addition, another new subdirectory is added for building spine server.
The root directory for beam library server: install_dir/prod_ver/nast/beamlib
The root directory for DRESP3 server: install_dir/prod_ver/nast/dr3
The root directory for Spline server: install_dir/prod_ver/nast/spline_server
The data structures of three external servers are described in Figure 1-5, Figure 1-7 and Figure 1-8.
Notice the ~lib/ director for each server directory is architecture dependent.
nast arch access util
prod_ver
doc
relnotes
linstat thermal dynamics desopt
error.doc
mddp
pdf_nastran
res
Marc
Dyna
getstart
Main Index

8
Figure 1-3 Directory for nast
The MSC.ACCESS directory (install_dir/prod_ver/access on UNIX and install_dir\prod_ver\access on
Windows) contains source and build files for the MSC.ACCESS sample programs (see Figure 1-4). All
architecture-dependent are located within the lib directory.
access
|-- SConopts
|-- SConscript
|-- SConstruct
|-- include
| |-- grdblk.cmn
| |-- grfist.cmn
| |-- ptrblk.prm
| |-- sysfil.cmn
| |-- vernum.prm
|
|-- lib
| |-- UNIX Architecture
| | |-- clkeys.o
| | |-- dbct.o
| | |-- libdbio.a
| | |-- libfmsc.o
| | |-- msort.o
| | |-- ngtarg.o
| |
| |-- Windows Architecture
| |-- clkeys.obj
| |-- dbct.obj
| |-- getargs.obj
| |-- dbio.lib
| |-- libfmsc.obj
| |-- msort.obj
| |-- ngtarg.obj
|
|-- src
|-- SConscript
|-- ddladd
| |-- SConscript
tpl demo rfa del
instest.dat
news.txt
nast
sssalter
beamlib
dr3
spline_server
Main Index
9
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
| |-- ddladd.F
| |-- ld2001.F
| |-- ld2004.F
| |-- ld66.F
| |-- ld67.F
| |-- ld675.F
| |-- ld68.F
| |-- ld681.F
| |-- ld69.F
| |-- ld70.F
| |-- ld705.F
| |-- ld706.F
| |-- ld707.F
|
|-- ddlprt
| |-- SConscript
| |-- ddlprt.F
|
|-- ddlqry
| |-- SConscript
| |-- ddlqry.F
|
|-- demo1
| |-- SConscript
| |-- demo1.F
|
|-- demo2
| |-- SConscript
| |-- demo2.F
|
|-- smplr
|-- SConscript
|-- smplr.F
Figure 1-4 Directory for access
The beam server directory (install_dir/prod_ver/nast/beamlib on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\nast\beamlib on Windows) contains three SCons configuration files, include,
library and source directories (see Figure 1-5) for the beam server sample programs. All architecture-
dependent files are located within the lib directory.
---- beamlib
|
--- SConopts
--- SConscript
--- SConstruct
--- Include
|-- include files
--- lib
|
----- < ARCH 1>
|
----- linux64
| -- libbmmain.a
Main Index

10
| -- libbmsrv.a
| -- cnxx.o
| -- semd.o
| -- initgmsrvcmns.o
| -- main.o
----- win64
| -- bmmain.lib
| -- bmsrv.lib
| -- cnxx.obj
| -- semd.obj
| -- getlserm.obj
| -- initgmsrvcmns.obj
| -- main.obj
----- < ARCH i>
--- src
| -- SConscript
| -- beamserv
| -- SConscript
| -- SConscript
| -- brtuc.F
| -- brtug.F
| -- brtui.F
| -- brtup.F
| -- bsbrc.F
| -- bsbrg.F
| -- bsbri.F
| -- bsbrp.F
| -- bsgrq.F
| -- bsgrt.F
| -- bscon.F
| -- bsmsg.F
| -- mevbr.F
| -- msbrc.F
| -- msbrg.F
| -- msbri.F
Figure 1-5 Directory for bmsrv
The utility programs directory (install_dir/prod_ver/util on UNIX and install_dir\prod_ver\util on
Windows) contains source and make files (see Figure 1-6) for the utilities that are also delivered in source
form. None of these files is architecture dependent.
Figure 1-6 Directory for util
makefile source files
util
util
Main Index
11
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
The dr3 server directory (install_dir/prod_ver/nast/dr3 on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\nast\dr3 on Windows) contains three SCons configuration files, include, library and
source directories (see Figure 1-7) for the dr3 server sample programs. None of theses files is architecture
dependent except the lib directory, i.e., install_dir/prod_ver/nast/dr3 /lib/arch on UNIX
and install_dir\prod_ver\nast\dr3\lib\arch on Windows.
---- dr3
|
--- SConopts
--- SConscript
--- SConstruct
--- Include
|-- ftncalls.h
|-- stdmsc.h
|-- stdsystm.h
--- lib
|
----- < ARCH 1>
|
----- linux64
| -- libdr3srv.a, libdr3main.a
| -- cnxx.o
| -- initgmsrvcmns.o
| -- main.o
| -- semd.o
----- win64
| -- dr3srv.lib
| -- cnxx.obj
| -- semd.obj
| -- getlserm.obj
| -- initgmsrvcmns.obj
| -- main.obj
| -- semd.obj
------ <ARCH i>
---- src
| -- SConscript
| -- dr3serv
| | -- SConscript
| | -- r3sgrt.F
| | -- r3svald.F
| | -- r3svals.F
|
| -- additional directories for other sample problems
Figure 1-7 Directory for dr3 server
The spline server directory (install_dir/prod_ver/nast/spline_server on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\nast\spline_server on Windows) contains three SCons configuration
files, include, library and source directories (see Figure 1-7) for the spline server sample programs. None
of theses files is architecture dependent except the lib directory, i.e.,
install_dir/prod_ver/nast/spline_server/lib/arch on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\nast\spline_server\lib\arch on Windows.
---- spline_server
|
--- SConopts
--- SConscript
Main Index

12
--- SConstruct
--- Include
|-- ftncalls.h
|-- stdmsc.h
|-- stdsystm.h
--- lib
|
----- < ARCH 1>
|
----- linux64
|-- libspxsrv.a
|-- cnxx.o
|-- initgmsrvcmns.o
|-- main.o
|-- semd.o
|--win64
|-- spxsrv.lib
|-- cnxx.obj
|-- getlserm.obj
|-- initgmsrvcmns.obj
|-- main.obj
|-- semd.obj
------ <ARCH i>
|
--- src
|-- SConscript
|-- spxsrva
| |-- SConscript
|-- scmsg.c
|-- sxsevda.c
|-- spxsrvb
|-- SConscript
|-- mkgmat.F
|-- spxaport.h
|-- sxmsg.c
|-- sxsevdb.c
|-- sxsevdb.h
Figure 1-8 Directory for spline server
Main Index
Ch. 2: Installing MSC Nastran MSC Nastran 2012 Installation and Operations Guide
2
Installing MSC Nastran
Overview 14
Installing MSC Nastran on UNIX Systems 15
Console Installation 18
Silent Installation 19
Installing MSC Nastran on Windows Systems 20

Main Index

14
Overview
This chapter discusses the MSC Nastran interactive installation script, and includes installation
procedures for UNIX and Windows systems.
Main Index
15
CHAPTER 2
Installing MSC Nastran on UNIX Systems
This section begins with a brief set of installation notes and general information regarding MSC Nastran
and the FLEXlm License Server Version 11.9. This section concludes with instructions on how to repeat
a UNIX installation; this is useful when MSC Nastran is being installed on a number of computers.
GUI based (also known as standard or default) Console and silent modes of running installer are
currently supported. The GUI based mode requires a X windows environment and appropriately
configured DISPLAY variable.
Installation Notes
If you need a license file (served by FLEXlm), please contact your MSC account manager or
MSC account administrator for assistance.
MSC Nastran
Any run time libraries needed by MSC Nastran are included in this distribution.
The installation test option will only be performed on the current architecture.
You must install the MSC Nastran Utility Program Source option if you want to customize the
accounting procedures for your site.
If you install MSC Nastran in an installation base directory containing previous versions of
MSC Nastran, your current settings for the authorize, sdirectory, buffsize, and memory
keywords will be used as defaults.
To install MSC Nastran for Distributed Memory Parallel (DMP) operations, you must select one
of the following three installation schemes if you want to use more than one host in a single
MSC Nastran job:
Install MSC Nastran on a filesystem that is global to every host. This provides the easiest
installation and system administration, but may present network load issues when the
MSC Nastran is started and the delivery databases are being read.
Install MSC Nastran on every host on host-private file systems. This is harder to install and
administer, but reduces the network load when MSC Nastran is started.
A combination of the above.
With the exception of HP-UX and Intel Linux systems, you must obtain Message Passing
Interface (MPI) software from your hardware vendor and install it prior to running an
MSC Nastran DMP job. See DMP System Prerequisites on page 141 to determine the MPI
software requirements.
Note: In all cases, the nastran command must have the same pathname, or be in the default
PATH of every host that will run a DMP job. Recall that your .profile and .login
files are not used for rcp and rsh operations.
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16
FLEXlm License Server Version 11.9
In general, you should only install the FLEXlm License Server on one computer. Advanced
licensing requirements may dictate more than one FLEXlm License Server.
See Managing MSC Nastran Licensing on page 31 for the systems supported by FLEXlm.
If you have a FLEXlm network or counted node-lock license file, identify the name of the
FLEXlm license server using FLEXlm Server option in the Authorization Information
menu.
If you have a FLEXlm uncounted node-lock license file, identify the pathname of the license.dat
file using the Authorization File option in the Authorization Information menu; the file will
be copied to install_dir/flexlm/licenses/license.dat.
If you have a node-lock authorization code file, identify the pathname of the file using the
Authorization File option in the Authorization Information menu; the file will be appended
to install_dir/conf/authorize.dat.
If you have a node-lock authorization code, enter the code using the Authorization Code
option in the Authorization Information menu; the code will be appended to
install_dir/conf/authorize.dat.
The default port number for the FLEXlm license server is 27500. You must select an alternate
port number if this port is already in use.
If you want the FLEXlm license server to be automatically started at system boot time, you must
run the installer as root. The installer will then be able to add an entry to your /etc/inittab file to
start lmgrd at system boot time.
After the installation is completed, see the URL
for information on configuring and using FLEXlm with MSC products. This file is part of the
FLEXlm HTML Documentation File option.
FLEXlm on-line documentation is available from Flexera, see the URL
Installation Procedures
The installer is self extracting binary that needs to be downloaded and run on your system to install all
the necessary components of MSC Nastran. You can download the binaries from:
file:install_dir/flexlm/htmlman/flexframe.html
http://support.flexerasoftware.com/doc/
Note: The above URL is not an MSC.Software Corporation site, and MSC has no control
over the sites content. MSC cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information on
this site and will not be liable for any misleading or incorrect information obtained
from this site.
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17
CHAPTER 2
https://mscsoftware.subscribenet.com
Installing using Downloaded Files
1. Login as root
2. cd to a temporary directory with enough disk space. Create a subdirectory and cd into the
subdirectory.
3. Download the delivery file from Solution Download Center. If you previously downloaded the
file please proceed to the next step.
4. Executing the installation binary may require adding execution privilege:
For MSC Nastran - chmod +x mscnastran_20xx_<platform>.bin
5. Execute the mscnastran_20xx_<platform>.bin script and follow the on screen prompts and the
instructions in the product installation guide for the remainder of the installation process.
For Example, to execute the installation binary:
6. Cleanup: After installation is complete you may remove the subdirectory created in
Step 2 above.
IBM: ./mscnastran_20xx_aix.bin
LINUX: ./mscnastran_20xx_linux32.bin
./mscnastran_20xx_linux64.bin
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18
Console Installation
The MSC Nastran installation supports console installations, which run in a xterm window with no
graphical interface. Installations running in Console mode require the same input as the GUI based
installer, but without needing the graphics display. MSC Nastran Console installations are generally used
to facilitate installations on machines without graphics displays on your network
Installing using Downloaded Files
1. Login as root
2. cd to a temporary directory with enough disk space. Create a subdirectory and cd into the
subdirectory.
3. Download the delivery file from Solution Download Center. If you previously downloaded the
file please proceed to the next step.
4. Executing the installation binary may require adding execution privilege:
For MSC Nastran - chmod +x mscnastran_20xx_<platform>.bin
5. Execute the mscnastran_20xx_<platform>.bin script in console mode. Follow the on screen
prompts and the instructions in the product installation guide for the remainder of the installation
process.
For Example, to execute the installation binary:
6. Cleanup: After installation is complete you may remove the subdirectory created in
Step 2 above.
IBM: ./mscnastran_20xx_aix.bin --mode console
LINUX: ./mscnastran_20xx_linux32.bin --mode console
./mscnastran_20xx_linux64.bin --mode console
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CHAPTER 2
Silent Installation
The MSC Nastran installation supports silent installations, which run in the background with no
graphical interface or interaction with the desktop. Installations running in Silent mode rely on a pre-
configured answer file to do the installation. Silent installations are generally used in a batch manner to
facilitate installation on many machines on a network
Creating the Answer file
To create the answer file you need to run the MSC Nastran installation in normal (GUI) mode with a
special switch which instructs the installation to record all of your answers in a specified answer file
(config.rec). The following example is for Linux. For other platforms use appropriate setup instead of
mscnastran_20121_CL#####_linux32.bin
To build a response file run the installer with the following options:
For MSC Nastran - mscnastran_20121_CL#####_linux32.bin -record
An on-screen popup message will show the directory where the answer file (config.rec) will be saved.
The config.rec response file will be generated at the very end of the installer run.
Running the Silent mode installation
For the silent installation to run, the installer and the config.rec file must be in the same directory. The
installer will automatically look for config.rec and start the installation. To run installation in silent mode
use the following command:
For MSC Nastran - mscnastran_20121_CL#####_linux32.bin -mode silent
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20
Installing MSC Nastran on Windows Systems
This section discusses the MSC Nastran Windows installation. The installation notes contain information
regarding performance and disk space requirements, directory structures and setup information.
Installation Notes
You must have one of the following systems to install and run MSC Nastran:
Intel 486DX or later processor (or compatible) running Windows XP, XP-64, Vista, Vista 64,
Windows 7 and Windows 7-64, with at least 1 Gigabyte RAM, and 4 Gigabytes available disk
space to install the system.
To build the Utility Programs using the supplied source, you must also have a suitable set of
compilers. Refer to Using the Utility Programs on page 189 and System Descriptions on
page 117 for details.
The default directory (called the install_dir) for MSC Nastran products is c:\msc.software.
This can be changed to a new or existing directory of your choice.
The default for the MSC Nastran scratch file directory is c:\scratch. Having this directory on a
separate drive from the system swap file can help performance.
The default program group (folder) is named MSC.Software; you can have the icons installed in
a different group if you choose. On Windows XP or later systems, this group is created as a
common group if the user doing the installation has administrator authority. Otherwise, this
group is created as a private group.
To run MSC Nastran from any directory, you must add the path install_dir\bin to your PATH.
You can change your path in Windows by selecting the control panel, and then system.
Then, click on the Path variable and add the following to text in the Value box.
Select set, then OK, and your path will be updated.
Installation Procedure
If you are downloading from the Solutions Download Center, download the self-extracting archive
(.exe). You can download the binaries from:
Note: To install MSC Nastran on Windows, it is a required that you be a member of the
Administrator group.
Note: The disk space listed above is for installation of the system only. Additional disk
space is required to run MSC Nastran, dependent on the problem run. MSC Nastran
has been fully tested using Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.
install_dir\bin
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CHAPTER 2
https://mscsoftware.subscribenet.com
Then follow these steps:
1. Download the self-extracting installer (.exe) file to a subdirectory with enough disk space where
the file can be executed.
2. Double clicking on the Product Installer will start the installation process. For the remainder of
the installation process follow the instructions in the product installation guide.
3. Cleanup: You may remove the installer file from the subdirectory used in step 1 after the
installation is complete. If you remove the installer, you will have to download or copy the
installer back onto your computer to repair or modify your MSC Nastran installation.
Uninstalling MSC Nastran can be done using either the installer, or from Add/Remove Programs
in the Control Panel.
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22
Main Index
Ch. 3: Configuring MSC Nastran MSC Nastran 2012 Installation and Operations Guide

3
Configuring MSC Nastran
Overview
System-Specific Tuning
Using the msc20121 Command
Using the mscinfo Command (UNIX)
Managing MSC Nastran Licensing
Activating MSC Nastran Accounting
Determining System Limits
Managing Remote and Distributed Hosts
Limiting memory Requests
Customizing the News File
Defining a Computer Model Name and CONFIG Number
Generating a Timing Block for a New Computer
Customizing Queue Commands (UNIX)
Customizing the Templates
Using Regular Expressions

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24
Overview
This chapter is intended for system administrators or anyone who needs to manage an MSC Nastran
installation. It starts with information on tuning your system for better performance. The chapter then
concentrates on configuring MSC Nastran for your system. Licensing must be configured before
MSC Nastran will run. Other items that may require configuration include system resource limits, the
command initialization file, runtime configuration files, timing blocks, and queue commands.
Two documentation conventions are used throughout the remainder of this document (typically in
directory specifications). The string install_dir indicates the directory where MSC Nastran was
installed; on UNIX, this might be /msc, and on Windows c:\msc. The string arch indicates the
MSC.Software architecture name for your computer; they are generally based on the operating system
name on UNIX, while on Windows, they describe the processor. The architectures are as follows:
Throughout this document, while file pathnames and sample commands for Windows systems will use
the standard backslash \ directory separator character, MSC Nastran also accepts pathnames using the
slash / character as a replacement.
Table 3-1 Architecture Names
Computer arch
HP HP-UX PA-Risc hpux
HP HP-UX Itanium hpuxipf
IBM AIX pSeries aix
Intel Linux IA32 linux32
Intel Linux x86-64 linux64
Intel Linux Itanium linuxipf
Intel Windows IA32 win32
Intel Windows x86-64 win64
Sun Solaris SPARC solaris
Intel Solaris x86-64 solarisis8664
Note: On Windows operating systems, the command shell, CMD.EXE does not accept slash /
characters as the first character in a pathname.
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CHAPTER 3
System-Specific Tuning
This section presents some information on system-specific tuning that can help MSC Nastran
performance. Additional tuning information may be available in the Read Me file
on UNIX, or
on Windows.
All Systems
All systems benefit from ensuring the I/O system is configured for the highest possible bandwidth.
Setting up disk striping, or RAID-0, for use with MSC Nastran databases is one of the most effective I/O
performance improvements that can be made for MSC Nastran.
AIX
AIX provides a utility, vmtune, that can be used by root to display and adjust AIXs memory and paging
behavior. The current values are obtained by running vmtune without options. For example,
The parameters of interest to MSC Nastran tuning are
install-dir/ver_num/README.txt
install-dir\ver_num\readme.txt
/usr/samples/kernel/vmtune
Parameter
Command
Option
Default
Value Comments
minperm -p 20 Preferred physical memory reserved for
persistent storage buffers (%).
maxperm -P 80
minpgahead -r 2 File read-ahead (number of 4KB pages)
maxpgahead -R 8
minfree -f 120 Free list size (number of 4KB pages)
maxfree -F 128
maxrandwrt -W 0 Random writes of persistent storage buffers.
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By default, AIX allocates 20% to 80% of physical memory for persistent storage buffers. With a memory-
intensive, high-I/O bandwidth program like MSC Nastran, this is too large, resulting in too few pages
allocated for working sets. More appropriate values for a system primarily running MSC Nastran are set
with the command
This sets minperm and maxperm to 5% and 10% of physical memory, respectively.
The minimum and maximum read ahead values, minpgahead and maxpgahead, are measured in 4KB
pages. Proper settings for MSC Nastran are a function of BUFFSIZE and physical memory size. The
minfree and maxfree values are the minimum and maximum number of free pages. Better settings
for average MSC Nastran workloads using the default BUFFSIZE are
Heavy MSC Nastran workloads using larger BUFFSIZE values (e.g., buffsize=32767 or larger) on a
large memory system (e.g., 1GB physical memory) will benefit from a larger maximum read-ahead and
free-page list, for example
Users with multi-processor (SMP) system can benefit from writing persistent storage pages
asynchronously by setting maxrandwrt. This can be added to any of the above examples,
The vmtune command can be run at any time to change parameters, even several times during the day to
suit demands of changing workloads.
The changes made by vmtune are not persistent across system restarts, you may want to set these values
via an /etc/inittab entry. A sample entry is:
where options is the list of options you want to set.
/usr/samples/kernel/vmtune -p5 -P10
/usr/samples/kernel/vmtune -p5 -P10 -r8 -R32 -f120 -F280
/usr/samples/kernel/vmtune -p5 -P10 -r8 -R128 -f120 -F560
/usr/samples/kernel/vmtune -p5 -P10 -W128
/usr/samples/kernel/vmtune -p5 -P10 -r8 -R32 -f120 -F280 -W128
/usr/samples/kernel/vmtune -p5 -P10 -r8 -R128 -f120 -F560 -W128
vmtune:23456:once:/usr/samples/kernel/vmtune options > /dev/console 2>&1
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CHAPTER 3
HP-UX
HP-UX 11 and PA-RISC 2.0
The maximum allocatable memory is controlled by the maxdsiz kernel parameters. It must be large
enough to accommodate the memory requests of each MSC Nastran job. If this value is not large enough,
MSC Nastran will not be able to allocate open core memory and will terminate with the following
message in the LOG file:
where mem is the memory allocation request. The limit can be increased using the sam(1M) utility. The
value is found in Configurable Parameters under Kernel Parameters.
Intel
MSC Nastran makes very high memory bandwidth demands, and particular attention should be paid to
the memory subsystem. A faster memory bus is more important to MSC Nastran performance than a
faster processor with a slower memory bus.
Windows Server 2003
By default, Windows Server 2003 is configured to cache files as much as possible. This can cause an
MSC Nastran job to appear to hang a system running on Windows Server 2003.
To correct this problem, open the Network Connections Control Panel and right-click on Local Area
Connection. Select Properties from the menu. Click on File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft
Networks and click on the Properties button. Make sure the Maximize Throughput for File Sharing
radio button is not selected (this is the default). Instead select either Balance or Maximize Throughput
for Network Applications. Changing this option will require you to restart Windows Server 2003.
Windows Vista and Windows 7
MSC Software has found performance issues on Windows with models greater than 100 thousand DOF.
These issues may be addressed using MAPIO options. Please see Using File Mapping in Chapter 5 of
the MSC Nastran 2012 Installation and Operations Guide for more information.
Systems Running on Intel Processors with Hyper Threading
The Intel
Pentium
4 processor introduces a feature called Hyper Threading, where a single physical

processor can support more than one logical instruction stream, simulating multiple logical processors
on a single physical processor. For many applications and environments, this capability may offer
performance improvements over non-Hyper Threading processors. If multiple MSC Nastran analysis
memory allocation error: unable to allocate mem words
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28
jobs are running concurrently, however, there may be performance degradations. If an installation
determines this to be the case, hyper threading should be disabled. This can be done on a permanent basis
through BIOS operations or, for Windows platforms, hyper threading may be disabled on a process by
process basis using the hyperthreads keyword.
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CHAPTER 3
Using the msc20121 Command
The msc20121 command is shown as a prefix for most of the programs and commands described in
this document, for example:
By ensuring the prod_ver command is in each users PATH, all the commands and utilities in this release
are uniformly available. The prod_ver command also permits version-dependent utilities, such as
TRANS, to be easily accessed.
The msc20121 command is located in
on UNIX, and
on Windows.
msc20121 nastran ...
Note: For simplicity, the symbol prod_ver will be used for msc20121.
install-dir/bin/prod_ver
install-dir\bin\prod_ver
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30
Using the mscinfo Command (UNIX)
The mscinfo command is available on UNIX systems to display various hardware and software
configuration info. This utility is run with the command
mscinfo will display hardware and software configuration report, including
Hostname.
MSCID.
Computer Manufacturer.
OS Name, version, and patches.
Computer Model.
Processor type, number, and speed.
Window manager, Motif version, and graphics board.
Physical and virtual memory sizes.
Temporary directory sizes.
Local disk sizes.
Due to the machine-dependent nature of the information, the report will vary between computer
architectures.
prod_ver mscinfo
Note: Root access is required to generate the complete report on some systems. If you are not root
when mscinfo is run, those items requiring root access will be noted in the report.
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CHAPTER 3
Managing MSC Nastran Licensing
In order to run, MSC Nastran requires one of the following licensing methods:
The name of a network license server (if your computer supports FLEXlm).
The pathname of a file containing FLEXlm licenses (if your computer supports FLEXlm).
The pathname of a file containing one or more node-locked authorization codes.
When selecting the licensing method, MSC Nastran will use the first non-null value that it finds in the
following hierarchy:
1. The value of the authorize keyword (p. 48) on the command line.
2. The value of the MSC_LICENSE_FILE environment variable.
3. The value of the authorize keyword in an RC file.
4. The install_dir/flexlm/licenses/license.dat file, if it exists.
5. The install_dir/conf/authorize.dat file, if it exists.
6. The value of the LM_LICENSE_FILE environment variable.
If a non-null value cannot be found, the following User Fatal Message (UFM) is displayed by the nastran
command:
UFM 3060
If a non-null value is found for the authorize keyword, your MSC Nastran job will be started. If the
licensing information is later determined to be invalid or insufficient for the analysis, a UFM3060 error
message is printed in the .f06 file:
Note: FLEXlm documentation can be found at the following URL:
http://support.flexerasoftware.com/doc/
This is not an MSC.Software Corporation site and MSC has no control over the sites
content. MSC cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information on this site and will not be
liable for any misleading or incorrect information obtained from this site.
*** USER FATAL MESSAGE (nastran.validate_authorize)
authorize="" (program default)
The keyword shall not be blank or null.
*** USER FATAL MESSAGE 3060, SUBROUTINE MODEL - OPTION opt NOT IN APPROVED LIST.
SYSTEM DATE (MM/DD/YY): mm/dd/yy
SYSTEM MSCID: d (DECIMAL) h (HEXADECIMAL) SYSTEM MODEL NUMBER: m, SYSTEM OS
CODE: c
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32
where opt is a keyword indicating the specific capability requested. The initial authorization check is for
option NAST, subsequent checks request specific features as required by your job. Other information
pertinent to this failure will be found in the LOG file.
FLEXlm Licensing
FLEXlm is available on the following MSC Nastran platforms:
HP-UX
IBM pSeries - AIX
Intel - Linux IA32, Linux IPF, HP-UXIPF
Intel - Linux x86-64
Intel - Windows
Sun SPARC - Solaris
Clients with network-licensed MSC software installations are encouraged to employ the most recent
versions of the FLEXlm and MSC licensing daemons (lmgrd/lmutil/msc).
The binaries maintain downward compatibility, and regular upgrades are recommended, regardless of
whether the current software application level required the upgrade. Updates are available at:
http://www.mscsoftware.com/support/software_updates/licserver.cfm
or from the MSC external ftp site:
ftp://ftp.mscsoftware.com/msc-products/system_util/flexlm/
A license server on either UNIX or Windows can serve licenses for any number of UNIX and/or
Windows systems.
FLEXlm offers two types of node-locked licensing: counted and uncounted licenses. An uncounted
license does not require a license server, is the easiest to install and maintain, and offers unlimited
concurrent MSC Nastran jobs. A counted license requires a license server on the MSC Nastran platform
and limits the number of concurrent MSC Nastran jobs. In either case you will need to determine the
MSCID of the system running MSC Nastran.
A FLEXlm concurrent license always requires a license server that can communicate with every
computer that will run MSC Nastran.
Determining the MSCID of the FLEXlm License Server
If you are using a counted node-locked license or a concurrent license, the MSCID of the computer that
will run the FLEXlm License Server is required. The MSCID is obtained with the command:
Note: Windows: The FLEXlm License Server must be accessed via TCP/IP.
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CHAPTER 3
The command will output a line similar to
where n is a hexadecimal number.
Installing a FLEXlm license.dat File
A FLEXlm license.dat file is a text file that can be manipulated as any text file. Its default location is
on UNIX, and
on Windows.
A FLEXlm license can be installed during the initial installation or any time thereafter.
UNIX
If the old license used a license server, i.e., there was a SERVER and/or DAEMON line in the file, you
will need to stop and restart the FLEXlm License Server. To stop the server, enter the command
It may take a few minutes for the shutdown to complete.
The new license.dat file is installed with the command:
prod_ver mscid
Please wait...
MSC ID: n
install_dir/flexlm/licenses/license.dat
install_dir\flexlm\licenses\license.dat
Note: The only lines that can be altered are the SERVER, DAEMON, and comment lines;
FEATURE lines, in particular, cannot be altered. On the SERVER line, the HOSTID field
cannot be altered.
install_dir/bin/flexlm lmdown
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34
where license.dat is the new license file. This file may be an E-mail message that has been saved to disk
but still contains the E-mail headers. If an existing license file is found, it will be versioned. In addition,
alternate port number and options information from the SERVER and DAEMON lines will be
automatically copied to the new file.
If the new license is a counted node-lock or concurrent license, restart the FLEXlm License Server with
the command
where the default log files is
An alternate log file can be specified with the -l option, e.g.,
Windows
If the file was sent as an E-mail message, you will need to extract the license file portion of the message
text. The actual license text is contained between the Start of License File and End of License File
sentinel lines as shown:
prod_ver flex license.dat
install_dir/bin/flexlm lmgrd
install_dir/flexlm/lmgrd.log
install_dir/bin/flexlm lmgrd -l log_file
.
.
.
------- Start of License File -------
SERVER hostname hostid port
DAEMON MSC pathname
FEATURE ...
.
.
.
------- End Of License File ---
.
.
.
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CHAPTER 3
All lines from the beginning of the file to the Start sentinel (inclusive), and all lines from the End
sentinel to the end of the file (inclusive) must be deleted. You may also need to delete a forwarding
prefix from the start of each line; this is typically the two character sequence > .
Before overwriting it, you should examine the previous file to determine if any customizations were
present on the SERVER or DAEMON lines. Copy these customizations to the new license file using any
text editor.
Uncounted Node-locked License
Copy the new file to
Counted Node-locked or Concurrent License
Open the Control Panel applet FLEXlm License Manager. On the Control tab, select the Stop
button to stop the FLEXlm License Server. Select the Setup tab to display the path name of the current
license file. Copy the new file to the location shown; by default, the location is
Return to the Control tab and select the Start button to restart the FLEXlm License Server with the
new file.
Automatically Starting a FLEXlm Server
UNIX
The FLEXlm server can be automatically started at system boot time by entering one of the following
lines in the /etc/inittab file.
Note: Be sure you update the hostname, port, and pathname lines of the SERVER and DAEMON
lines to correctly reflect your installation. You cannot alter the hostid on the SERVER line.
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36
Using FLEXlm Licensing
The following table describes various keywords that control MSC Nastrans licensing subsystem.
Platform User Entry
AIX non-root
msclmgrd:23456:once:su user -c (umask 022;
install-dir/bin/flexlm lmgrd)
root
msclmgrd:23456:once:install-dir/bin/flexlm lmgrd
Solaris non-root
ml:23456:once:su user -c (umask 022;
root
ml:23456:once:install-dir/bin/flexlm lmgrd
Others non-root
mscl:23456:once:su user -c (umask 022;
root
mscl:23456:once:install-dir/bin/flexlm lmgrd
Notes: 1. The entries in the table above should be coded in /etc/inittab as one line.
2. MSC.Software and Flexera strongly recommend that lmgrd is not run as root. Root
privilege is unnecessary and could compromise system security.
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CHAPTER 3
The authorize keyword is used to indicate the licensing source. The value can be any of the following:
Examples are:
Table 3-2 MSC Nastran Keywords Related to Licensing
Keyword Comments
authorize The license specification.
authqueue The number of minutes to wait for licenses if the license server cannot
immediately honor a license request, with 0 (zero) indicating no licensing
queuing. If not specified, 20 minutes is the MSC Nastran default.
authinfo The level of licensing diagnostic messages written to the MSC Nastran log
file, in the range of 0-9 with 0 indicating minimal diagnostics, and 9
indicating extensive diagnostic output.
a.port The default port number for FLEXlm licensing. The default value is
"27500". If a.port is set to an integer value greater than 0, FLEXlm license
specifications in the form "@node" are converted to "port@node", where
port is the value of the keyword a.port.
If a.port is set to the value "no" or "0", FLEXlm license specifications in the
form "@node" are passed to the licensing subsystem without change. This
allows use of the FLEXlm "default port scanning" feature.
Value Comments
@node The specified node is the license server using the default port number
27500. See the description of the a.out keyword above for details.
port@node The specified node is running a license server listening on the specified port.
filename The specified file is used for authorization. This file may contain FLEXlm
licensing information for either a node-locked or network license.
value,value,value A quorum of three FLEXlm license server nodes.
value:value:... UNIX: A list of FLEXlm licensing files, license server nodes, or quorums.
value;value;... Windows: A list of FLEXlm licensing files, license server nodes, or
quorums.
auth=install_dir/flexlm/licenses/license.dat
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38
on a UNIX system, and
on a Windows system, the specified FLEXlm license file will be used. If this license file contains one or
more SERVER lines, the file is only used to identify the server(s). If not, the file will be treated as a
FLEXlm node-lock license file.
Node troll is a FLEXlm license server using the default port number. If a.port is set to "no", node "troll"
is a FLEXlm license server using a port number in the FLEXlm default range of 27000-27009.
Node troll is a FLEXlm license server using the specified port number.
For UNIX:
For Windows:
Two alternate network license servers, banana1" and banana2", will be used to provide network
licensing services.
Manually Starting and Stopping the FLEXlm License Server
UNIX
The FLEXlm License Server is started with the command
where the default license and log files are
auth=install_dir\flexlm\licenses\license.dat
auth=@troll
auth=27500@troll
auth=27500@banana1:27500@banana2
auth=27500@banana1;27500@banana2
install_dir/bin/flexlm lmgrd
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CHAPTER 3
An alternate license file is specified with the -c option, e.g.,
An alternate log file is specified with the -l option, e.g.,
Use the following command to shut down the license server.
or
It may take a few minutes for the shut down to complete.
Windows
To start the FLEXlm License Server, open the Control Panel applet FLEXlm License Manager. On the
Control tab, select the Start button to start the FLEXlm License Server.
To stop the FLEXlm License Server, open the Control Panel applet FLEXlm License Manager. On the
Control tab and select the Stop button to stop the FLEXlm License Server with the new file.
Node-locked Authorization Codes
The node-locked licensing system is available on all systems running MSC Nastran; it remains
unchanged from earlier versions.
install_dir/flexlm/licenses/license.dat
install_dir/flexlm/lmgrd.log
install_dir/bin/flexlm lmgrd -c license-file
install_dir/bin/flexlm lmgrd -l log-file
install_dir/bin/flexlm lmdown
install_dir/bin/flexlm lmdown -c license-file
Note: Do not shut down the FLEXlm license server using the kill(1) command.
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40
Using Node-locked Authorization Codes
A node-locked authorization code is entered into a text file, usually install-dir/conf/authorize.dat on
UNIX and install-dir\conf\authoriz.dat on Windows. Any number of authorization codes for any number
of computers can be present in one file. The authorize keyword is used to specify the files pathname, e.g.,
on UNIX, or
on Windows.
Installing a Node-locked Authorization Code
An MSCID is required for the computer that will run MSC Nastran. The MSCID is printed in the UFM
3060 message in the .f06 file when a run fails due to licensing problems. See UFM 3060 on page 31.
The MSCID can also be obtained with the command
This command will output a line similar to
where n is a hexadecimal number.
A node-locked authorization code is installed by entering the code into the authorization file using any
text editor. Any number of authorization codes for any number of computers can be present in one file.
The standard node-locked authorization code file is
on UNIX and
on Windows.
authorize=install-dir/conf/authorize.dat
authorize=install-dir\conf\authoriz.dat
prod_ver mscid
Please wait...
MSC ID: n
install_dir/conf/authorize.dat
install_dir\conf\authoriz.dat
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CHAPTER 3
Activating MSC Nastran Accounting
MSC Nastran provides a simple accounting package that collects usage information from each job and
saves a summary of the job in the accounting directory, i.e., install_dir/acct on UNIX systems and
install_dir\acct on Windows systems.
To activate MSC Nastran accounting, set the keyword acct=yes in any RC file or on the command line.
Placing the keyword in the System RC file will enable accounting for all jobs. The location of the System
RC files is described in Command Initialization and Runtime Configuration Files on page 2 in Appendix
A.
Instructions for generating usage summaries from the MSC accounting data are provided in the section
titled Using the Basic Keywords on page 80.
Enabling Account ID and Accounting Data
The acid and acdata keywords are supported by the nastran command to provide hooks for a site to
track additional accounting data. The acid keyword may be used to specify an account ID. The
acdata keyword may be used to specify any additional accounting data needed by a site.
These keywords are activated as follows:
1. Activate accounting by putting the line acct=yes (page 46) in the command initialization file
or a system RC file.
2. The account validation keyword, acvalid (page 46), can be used to validate the acid keyword.
If acvalid is not defined in the command initialization file, MSC Nastran will not require the
acid keyword; if the acvalid keyword is defined, MSC Nastran will require a valid acid.
See Enabling Account ID Validation on page 41 for a complete description of this capability.
Enabling Account ID Validation
Account ID validation is enabled by defining a non-null value for the acvalid keyword in the command
initialization file. Specifying Parameters on page 2 in Appendix A contains additional information.
There are two types of account ID validation available. The nastran commands built-in regular
expression facility can be used if the account ID can be described by a regular expression (see Using
Regular Expressions on page 71). Otherwise an external program can be used.
Validating an Account ID with a Regular Expression
To use a regular expression, the first character of the acvalid value must be f or w and the
remainder of the value is the regular expression. The f indicates that an acid value that is not matched
Note: Users must be able to read, write, and create files in the accounting directory.
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42
by the regular expression is a fatal error, while w indicates that an unmatched value is only a warning.
Note, the regular expression is always constrained to match the entire account ID string.
For the following examples, assume acvalid=f was set in the initialization file and an account ID is not
defined in any RC file.
This job will fail with a message indicating an account ID is required.
This job will be permitted to start. Since a regular expression was not defined, any non-null account ID
is valid.
For the following examples, assume acvalid=w is set in the initialization file and an account ID is not
defined in any RC file.
A warning message will be issued indicating an account ID is required, but the job will be permitted to
start.
This job will be permitted to start. Since a regular expression was not defined, any non-null account ID
is valid.
For the following examples, assume the following line is set in the command initialization file and an
account ID is not defined in any RC file:
This regular expression requires the account ID to be composed of a single upper- or lower-case letter
followed by six digits
This job will fail with a message indicating an account ID is required.
prod_ver nastran example
prod_ver nastran example acid=123
acvalid=f[A-Za-z][0-9]\{6\}
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CHAPTER 3
This job will fail with a message indicating the account ID is not valid.
This job will be permitted to start.
Validating an Account ID with an External Program
To use an external program, the first character of the acvalid value must be a grave, and the
remainder of the value is a simple command to execute the external program. The command may include
keyword references but must not include pipes or conditional execution tokens.
The program must examine the account ID and write zero or more lines to its standard output indicating
the result of the examination. A null output indicates a valid account ID. The non-null output is
composed of two optional parts. The first part is indicated by an equal sign = as the first non-blank
character. If this is found, the next blank delimited token is taken as a replacement account ID. With this,
the external program can replace the users account ID with any other account ID. The second part is
indicated by an f or w character. If either of these two characters are present, the remainder of the
line and all remaining lines of output are taken as the body of an error message to be issued to the user.
If no message text is provided, but the f or w are present, a generic message is written.
Before we discuss the external program, lets first consider some examples of the external programs
output.
This job will be permitted to start after the account ID is silently replaced with Z123456".
This job will fail with the above message.
prod_ver nastran example acid=Z123456
=Z123456
f
The account ID is not valid.
See your Program Manager for a valid account ID.
= Z123456
w
The account ID is not valid, it has been replaced by the standard
overhead charge. See your Program Manager for a valid account ID.
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44
This job will be permitted to start after the account ID is replaced with Z123456" and the above warning
message is issued.
Sample Account Validation Programs
The account validation program can be written in any language that can process the command line. Two
samples have been provided below. The Korn shell version is primarily intended for UNIX systems; the
Perl version can be used on any UNIX or Windows systems that have Perl installed.
Note: You must have Perl installed on your system to use the Perl sample account validation
program. Perl is available from numerous sources, including the URL
http://www.perl.com
This is not an MSC.Software Corporation site and MSC has no control over the sites
content. MSC cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information on this site and will not be
liable for any misleading or incorrect information obtained from this site.
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45
CHAPTER 3
The Korn shell version is:
On UNIX, this program is activated with the following
#!/bin/ksh
#
# THIS PROGRAM IS CONFIDENTIAL AND A TRADE SECRET OF MSC.SOFTWARE
# CORPORATION. THE RECEIPT OR POSSESSION OF THIS PROGRAM DOES
# NOT CONVEY ANY RIGHTS TO REPRODUCE OR DISCLOSE ITS CONTENTS,
# SELL, LEASE, OR OTHERWISE TRANSFER IT TO ANY THIRD PARTY,
# IN WHOLE OR IN PART, WITHOUT THE SPECIFIC WRITTEN CONSENT OF
# MSC.SOFTWARE CORPORATION.
#
# Sample site-defined account validation program.
#
# usage: ksh checkac.ksh _account_file_ _account_id_
#
# If the file containing the list of valid account ID's is not specified
# or cannot be opened, report a fatal error.
#
if [[ $#argv -lt 1 || $#argv > 2 ]] ; then
print "f"
print "Illegal usage. See System Administrator."
elif [[ ! -r $1 || ! -s $1 ]] ; then
print "f"
print "Account data file \"$1\" cannot be opened."
print "See System Administrator."
#
# If no argument is specified, issue a warning and use the default
# account ID of Z123456
#
elif [[ -z $2 ]] ; then
print "= Z123456"
print "w"
print "An account ID has not been specified."
print "The standard overhead charge has been assumed."
print "See your Program Manager for a valid account ID."
else
#
# The file is organized with one account ID per line.
# Make sure the account ID is in the file.
#
acid=$(fgrep -ix $2 $1 2>/dev/null)
[[ -n $acid ]] && {
print "$acid"
exit
}
#
# If we get here, the account is invalid.
#
print "f"
print "The account ID is not valid."
print "See your Program Manager for a valid account ID."
fi
acvalid=install-dir/bin/checkac install-dir/acct/account.dat %acid%
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46
The Perl version is:
On Windows, this program is activated with the following
#!/usr/local/bin/perl
#
# THIS PROGRAM IS CONFIDENTIAL AND A TRADE SECRET OF MSC.SOFTWARE
# CORPORATION. THE RECEIPT OR POSSESSION OF THIS PROGRAM DOES
# NOT CONVEY ANY RIGHTS TO REPRODUCE OR DISCLOSE ITS CONTENTS,
# SELL, LEASE, OR OTHERWISE TRANSFER IT TO ANY THIRD PARTY,
# IN WHOLE OR IN PART, WITHOUT THE SPECIFIC WRITTEN CONSENT OF
# MSC.SOFTWARE CORPORATION.
#
# Sample site-defined account validation program.
#
# usage: perl checkac.pl _account_file_ _account_id_
#
# If the file containing the list of valid account ID's is not specified
# or cannot be opened, report a fatal error.
#
if( $#ARGV < 0 or $#ARGV > 1 ) {
print "f\n";
print "Illegal usage. See System Administrator.\n";
} elsif( ! open AC, $ARGV[0] ) {
print "f\n";
print "Account data file \"$ARGV[0]\" cannot be opened.\n";
print "See System Administrator.\n";
#
# If no argument is specified, issue a warning and use the default
# account ID of Z123456
#
} elsif( $#ARGV < 1 ) {
print "= Z123456\n";
print "w\n";
print "An account ID has not been specified.\n";
print "The standard overhead charge has been assumed.\n";
print "See your Program Manager for a valid account ID.\n";
} else {
#
# The file is organized with one account ID per line.
# Make sure the account ID is in the file.
#
$acid = lc "$ARGV[1]";
while( $line = <AC> ) {
chomp $line;
if( $acid eq lc "$line" ) {
print "= $line\n";
exit
}
}
#
# If we get here, the account is invalid.
#
print "f\n";
print "The account ID is not valid.\n";
print "See your Program Manager for a valid account ID.\n";
}
acvalid=perl install-dir\bin\checkac.pl install-dir\acct\account.dat %acid%
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47
CHAPTER 3
Securing the Accounting ID Settings and Files
To secure the account ID settings, you must set the account ID keywords in a write-protected file and
lock the values to prevent changes. For example, the following keywords can be set in the command
initialization or system RC file
UNIX
UNIX sites can also secure the accounting files to prevent unauthorized modification or inspection of the
accounting data. This can be done by making the accounting logging program,
install_dir/prod_ver/arch/acct, a set uid program.
The following commands may be executed (as root):
where secure-user is the userid that will own the files and secure-group is the groupid of the group that
will own the files.
acct=yes
lock=acct
lock=accmd
acvalid=some-value-appropriate-to-your-site
lock=acvalid
Note: Before making install_dir/prod_ver/arch/acct a set-uid program, MSC.Software
recommends that you carefully review the install_dir/prod_ver/util/mscact.c source code,
ensure that you have built install_dir/prod_ver/arch/acct in a controlled and repeatable
manner, and have performed adequate testing to ensure correct functionality.
chown secure-user install_dir/prod_ver/arch/acct
chgrp secure-group install_dir/prod_ver/arch/acct
chmod ug+s install_dir/prod_ver/*/acct
chmod o= install_dir/acct
chmod o= install_dir/acct/*
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48
Determining System Limits
System resources can have a profound impact on the type and size of analyses that can be performed with
MSC Nastran. Resources that are too low can result in excessive time to complete a job or even cause a
fatal error. The current resource limits on the local computer are obtained with the following command:
On UNIX, the resource limits on a remote computer that has MSC Nastran installed are obtained with:
Sample output from this command for the various computers used to port MSC Nastran follows.
HP-UX
prod_ver nastran limits
prod_ver nastran limits node=remote_computer
Note: 1. The limits can vary among users and computers. If a queuing system such as NQS
or NQE is installed, different limits may also be found on the various queues.
2. The output from the limits special function may specify unlimited on UNIX
systems. In this context, unlimited means there is no limit on your use of a
resource that is less than those architectural limits imposed by the processor or the
operating system.
For example, on an IBM RISC System/pSeries, an unlimited virtual memory
address space is limited by the smaller of the 2 gigabyte address space or the
swap space configured in the operating system.
A more important interpretation of unlimited occurs when describing file size
limitations. Table 4-7 lists those systems that support large files, i.e., in excess
of 2 gigabytes. In this case, unlimited can mean 2**32-1 (4 294 967 295) bytes
if large files are not supported, or upwards of 2**64-1
(18 446 744 073 709 551 615) bytes if large files are supported.
Current resource limits:
CPU time: unlimited
Virtual address space: unlimited
Working set size: unlimited
Data segment size: 1048576 KB
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49
CHAPTER 3
IBM pSeries - AIX
Intel IA-32 - Linux
Intel IA-32 - Windows
Stack size: 8192 KB
Number of open files: 60
File size: unlimited
Core dump file size: 2047 MB
CPU time: unlimited
Data segment size: unlimited
Stack size: unlimited
Core dump file size: unlimited
CPU time: unlimited
Stack size: 10240 KB
Core dump file size: 0 MB
Physical memory: 255 MB
Physical memory available: 192 MB
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50
Intel IPF-Linux
Intel 64 - Linux
Paging file size: 504 MB
Paging file size
available:
423 MB
Virtual memory: 2074 MB
Virtual memory available: 2033 MB
CPU time: unlimited
Stack size: 8192 KB
(hard limit:1024)
Core memory available: unlimited
CPU time: unlimited
Stack size: 10240 KB
(hard limit:1024)
Core memory available: unlimited
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51
CHAPTER 3
Sun SPARC - Solaris
CPU time: unlimited
Data segment size: 2097148 KB
Stack size: 8192 KB
Core dump file size: unlimited
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52
Managing Remote and Distributed Hosts
Your site can control the hosts available to remote and distributed (DMP) jobs by creating host accept
or deny utilities that list the hosts that a remote or DMP job may or may not use respectively.
For remote jobs, specified by node=node-name, the two utilities are
install-dir/prod_ver/arch/rmtaccept and install-dir/prod_ver/arch/rmtdeny.
For DMP jobs, specified by dmparallel=number, the two utilities are
install-dir/prod_ver/arch/dmpaccept and install-dir/prod_ver/arch/dmpdeny.
The rmtdeny and dmpdeny utilities list those hosts that cannot be used by a remote or DMP job. The
rmtaccept and dmpaccept utilities lists those hosts that can be used by a remote or DMP job. At most
one and only one of these utilities will be used. The nastran command will first look for the deny utility.
If it exists and is executable, it will be run and its stdout parsed any host listed cannot be selected by
the job. If the deny utility does not exist, the nastran command will look for the accept utility. If it
exists and is executable, it will be run and its stdout parsed only those hosts listed can be selected by
the job. If neither utility exists, any host will be accepted.
The required output format of these utilities is one host per line of output. For example, consider the
following output:
If written by a deny utility, neither banana1 nor banana2 will be available to an MSC Nastran job;
if written by an accept utility, only these two hosts will be available.
See Sample dmpdeny Implementation (AIX) on page 52 for a special format supported only for the
dmpdeny utility on AIX.
Sample dmpdeny Implementation (AIX)
MSC.Software has provided a default install-dir/prod_ver/aix/dmpdeny utility that converts the output
of the IBM Parallel Environment for AIX command
into a form usable by the nastran command. The format of the dmpdeny output on AIX is:
banana1
banana2
jmstatus -j
host:adapter
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53
CHAPTER 3
where host is the name of a host where the jmstatus output is listed as DEDICATED, and adapter is
the name of an adapter where the jmstatus output is listed as DEDICATED. The utility has been
annotated to describe this process.
This sample implementation provides a trivial job control facility that can be used as-is, replaced with
code more appropriate to your site, or removed.
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54
Limiting memory Requests
The nastran command provides a memorymaximum keyword that permits you to specify a maximum
memory request on a site-wide, per-architecture, or per-node basis. This value can be set to any legal
memory size.
The default values are
on UNIX, and
on Windows. If this limit is exceeded, the nastran command will issue a UWM and reduce the memory
request.

You may leave the default limits in place, or specify any value or values appropriate to your site.
It may be advisable to lock this keyword to ensure the limit is not removed. This is accomplished with
the RC file entry
memorymaximum=0.8*physical
memorymaximum=1.2*physical
lock=memorymaximum
Note: Be sure you specify this line after any specification of the memorymaximum keyword.
Main Index
55
CHAPTER 3
Customizing the News File
MSC delivers a news file (install_dir/prod_ver/nast/news.txt on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\nast\news.txt on Windows) that briefly describes important new features of the
release. You can also use news file to distribute information to the users of MSC Nastran.
There are two ways the news file can be viewed. The most common way is by specifying news=yes
or news=auto on the command line or in an RC file. This specification will cause the news file to be
printed in the .f06 file just after the title page block. The other method is by using the news special
function
This will display the news file on the screen.
prod_ver nastran news
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56
Customizing the Message Catalog
MSC Nastran uses a message catalog for many messages displayed in the .f06 file. The standard message
catalog source file is
on UNIX and
on Windows. This file may be modified to meet the needs of a site or a user.
When reviewing the analysis.txt file, note the use of system(319), also called keyword XMSG, to provide
a mechanism for printing additional information associated with messages. If the I in Information is a
lower case i and XMSG=1, then the additional information will be printed.
Once the changes have been made, a message catalog is generated using the command
where myfile.txt is the message catalog source file. This command will generate a message catalog in
the current directory with the name myfile.msg. The message catalog is identified with the msgcat
keyword (p. 74), and can be tested using the command
Once the message catalog has been validated, it may be installed with the command
on UNIX, or
on Windows, where install_dir is the installation base directory and arch is the architecture of the system
using the message catalog. You will need write permission to the architecture directory to do this.
install_dir/prod_ver/util/analysis.txt
install_dir\prod_ver\util\analysis.txt
prod_ver msgcmp myfile
prod_ver nastran msgcat=myfile.msg other_nastran_keywords
cp myfile.msg install_dir/prod_ver/arch/analysis.msg
copy myfile.msg install_dir\prod_ver\arch\analysis.msg
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CHAPTER 3
Note: Message catalogs are computer-dependent. Table 6-1 identifies the systems that are binary
compatible; binary compatible systems can use the same message file.
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58
Defining a Computer Model Name and CONFIG
Number
If the nastran command cannot identify a computer, the following message will be written to the screen
before the MSC Nastran job begins:
There are two possible resolutions to this warning message. The preferred solution is to create the file
install_dir/conf/arch/model.dat on UNIX or install_dir\conf\arch\model.dat on Windows with the model
name and configuration number of the computer. This file contains zero or more lines of the form:
where
Any values in this table will override the default values built into the nastran command.
An alternative solution to creating this file is to set the config keyword (page 50) in the node RC file;
see Command Initialization and Runtime Configuration Files on page 2 in Appendix A and Customizing
Command Initialization and Runtime Configuration Files on page 16 in Appendix A. Note, however, this
will not set a model name.
*** SYSTEM WARNING MESSAGE (nastran.validate_local_keywords)
s.config=0 (program default)
Default CONFIG value.
A config number for this computer could not be
determined. Defining this computer in the model file
install_dir/conf/arch/model.dat, using rawid=rawid; or
defining <config> in an RC file may correct this
problem.
model, proc, rawid, config
model is the name of the computer model. This string should be enclosed in quote marks if it
contains spaces or commas.
proc is the file type of the alternate executable. This value is set to null to select the standard
executable. The system special function reports this name.
rawid is the rawid value reported in the above message text or by the system special function.
config The CONFIG number used to select the timing constants. If this value is null, rawid is used
as the CONFIG number.
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CHAPTER 3
Generating a Timing Block for a New Computer
MSC Nastran uses timing constants to determine the fastest algorithm or method to perform certain
numerically intensive operations. Timing constants are installed by MSC.Software for a variety of
computers. If constants are not installed for your particular computer, MSC Nastran will select default
timing constants and display the following warning message:
Ignoring the message may result in excessive runtimes. Proper timing constants for a specific computer
may be generated and installed by running a job that measures the timing constants of the computer and
stores them in the delivery database.
Use the following steps to add timing constants for your computer to the delivery database:
1. Determine the MSC architecture name of your system by consulting Table 3-1 or executing the
command
2. Change the working directory to the architecture directory of your computer.
on UNIX, or
on Windows, where DUFKwas determined in Step 1 above.
3. Copy the Structured Solution Sequence files to be modified by the gentim2 run with the
commands:
*** USER WARNING MESSAGE 6080 (TMALOC)
THE TIMING CONSTANTS DATA BLOCK TIMEBLK NOT FOUND ON THE DELIVERY DATABASE FOR:
MACHINE = 5 CONFIG = 56 OPERASYS = 3 OPERALEV = 7 SUBMODEL = 1
LOADING DEFAULT TIMING CONSTANTS DATA BLOCK FOR:
MACHINE = 5 CONFIG = 56 OPERASYS = 3 OPERALEV = 5 SUBMODEL = 1
MODULE TIMING ESTIMATES INACCURATE AND MAY CAUSE INEFFICIENT JOB EXECUTION
prod_ver nastran system
cd install_dir/prod_ver/arch
cd install_dir\prod_ver\arch
cp SSS.MASTERA gentim2.MASTERA
cp SSS.MSCSOU gentim2.MSCSOU
cp SSS.MSCOBJ gentim2.MSCOBJ
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60
on UNIX, or
on Windows.
4. Issue the command
on UNIX, or
on Windows.
This command runs the job DELDIR:gentim2.dat, where DELDIR is a pre-defined logical
symbol pointing to the directory containing the solution sequence source files. The value of the
Bulk Data parameter PARAM is set to 7 by default, as shown in the partial listing of
gentim2.dat below
In general, the larger the value of PARAM, the longer the gentim2 job runs and the more
accurate the timing results. If gentim2 runs for more than one hour, you may choose to reduce the
value of PARAM. This will shorten the elapsed time of the gentim2 job.
copy SSS.MASTERA gentim2.MASTERA
copy SSS.MSCSOU gentim2.MSCSOU
copy SSS.MSCOBJ gentim2.MSCOBJ
prod_ver nastran DELDIR:gentim2 old=yes scratch=no batch=no
prod_ver nastran DELDIR:gentim2 old=yes scratch=no
NASTRAN MESH SYSTEM(124)=-1
PROJ LTC LOAD TIMING CONSTANTS
INIT MASTER,LOGICAL=(MASTERA(5000))
INIT SCRATCH(NOMEM)
TIME 2000
SOL GENTIMS
CEND
BEGIN BULK
PARAM,PARAM,7
.
.
.
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CHAPTER 3
5. If there are no errors, replace the old DBsets with the new DBsets created by the gentim2 run. Do
this with the following commands:
on UNIX, or
on Windows.
mv gentim2.MASTERA SSS.MASTERA
mv gentim2.MSCOBJ SSS.MSCOBJ
mv gentim2.MSCSOU SSS.MSCSOU
copy gentim2.MASTERA SSS.MASTERA
copy gentim2.MSCOBJ SSS.MSCOBJ
copy gentim2.MSCSOU SSS.MSCSOU
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62
Customizing Queue Commands (UNIX)
The nastran command runs an MSC Nastran job by validating the command line and RC files, generating
a job script that will run the MSC Nastran executable, and running that script. When the queue
keyword is specified, the corresponding submit keyword defines the command used to run the job
script. The submit keyword (p. 93), only specified in RC files, consists of a list of queue names
followed by the command definition for the queues as shown below:
or
When specified, the queue_list contains one or more queue names separated by commas. If a queue list
is not supplied (as shown in the second example), the command_definition applies to all queues.
The command_definition of the submit keyword value defines the command used to run a job when a
queue keyword is specified that matches a queue name in a submit keywords queue_list. The
command_definition can contain keyword names enclosed in percent % signs that are replaced with
the value of the keyword before the command is run.
Consider the following example:
In this example, the qsub command is used to run a job when queue=small, queue=medium, or
queue=large is specified.
Any keyword used by the nastran command may be specified in the submit keywords command
definition. The most common keywords used in the command definition are:
submit=queue_list=command_definition
submit=command_definition
Note: 1. When defining queue commands, it may be useful to build the job script but not
actually execute it. Use the -n option, for example
prod_ver -n nastran myjob queue=myqueue
2. The examples presented below are only intended to illustrate the submit, qopt
and queue keywords. The examples may not work with your queuing software.
3. The Korn shell must be used to run the script generated by the nastran command.
submit=small,medium,large=qsub -q %queue% -x -eo -s /bin/ksh %job%
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Using the previous example, the command
runs the job script using the command:
The %queue% keyword reference is replaced by the specified queue, and the %job% keyword reference
is replaced by the name of the execution script.
Keyword references can also contain conditional text that is included only if the value of the keyword is
not null, or matches (does not match) a regular expression. A complete description of the keyword
reference syntax is described in Keyword Reference Examples on page 68. To check for a nonnull
value, use the form
where kwd is the name of the keyword and condtext is the conditional text to be included. If the value of
the keyword is null, the keyword reference is removed from the command. If the value of the keyword
is not null, the keyword reference is replaced with the contents of condtext. Within condtext, the value
of the keyword is represented by an open-close brace pair {}.
Keyword Value
after Value specified with the after keyword
cputime Value specified with the cputime keyword.
job Name of the job script file built by the nastran command.
log Name of the LOG file.
ppc Value of ppc, i.e, (%cputime% - %ppcdelta%).
ppm Value of ppm, i.e., (%memory% + %ppmdelta%).
prm Value of prm, i.e., (%ppm% + %prmdelta%).
qclass This can be used to define an optional queue class in the command definition.
qoption This can be used to define any option not directly represented by the other variables
or not explicitly included in the command definition.
username User name
prod_ver nastran example queue=small
qsub -q small -x -eo -s /bin/ksh example.J12345
%kwd:condtext%
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For example:
In this example, the aft keyword is references with conditional text. Using this example, the command
runs the job script using the following qsub command:
Using the same submit keyword, the command
runs the job script using the following command:
In this case, the after keyword was not specified and the entire contents of the %after% keyword
reference was removed from the qsub command line.
Special Queues
When the queue keyword is not specified, the following three special queues are used:
submit=s=qsub -q %queue% %after:-a {}% -x -s /bin/ksh %job%
prod_ver nastran example queue=s after=10:00
qsub -q s -a 10:00 -x -s /bin/ksh example.J12345
prod_ver nastran example queue=s
qsub -q s -x -s /bin/ksh example.J12345
Keyword Queue Name Command Definition
after -aft | at %after%
batch=yes -bg %nice=^$:nice %%j.nice:{} %%job%"
batch=no -fg %j.nice:{} %%job%
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Changing the command definitions of these queues (using the submit keyword) will change the way
the nastran command runs a job under the after and batch keywords.
Note: 1. If the first character of the command is the UNIX pipe character, |, the contents of
job script will be piped into the command.
2. The command for the -bg queue is always executed in the background; the -fg
and -aft commands are always executed in the foreground.
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Customizing the Templates
The nastran command relies on several templates to construct the job script (UNIX) or control file
(Windows) that is built for every MSC Nastran job. Note that, for UNIX, the job script includes the
necessary commands to build the control file. Several templates are provided:
For UNIX, the following files are used. Note that the installed template files are the same for all
architectures. The file names in the arch directory are linked to files in the bin directory.
install_dir/prod_ver/arch/nastran.dmp is used for DMP jobs.
At installation time, this name is linked to install_dir/bin/nast2012.dmp.
The keyword defining this file name is 0.dmp.
install_dir/prod_ver/arch/nastran.lcl is used for serial or SMP jobs run on the local system.
At installation time, this name is linked to install_dir/bin/nast2012.lcl.
The keyword defining this file name is 0.lcl.
install_dir/prod_ver/arch/nastran.rmt is used for serial or SMP jobs run on a remote system
using the "node" keyword. At installation time, this name is linked to
install_dir/bin/nast2012.rmt.
The keyword defining this file name is 0.rmt.
install_dir/prod_ver/arch/nastran.srv is used for Toolkit jobs.
At installation time, this name is linked to install_dir/bin/nast2012.srv.
The keyword defining this file name is 0.srv.
The templates provided by MSC support all versions of MSC Nastran since MSC.Nastran 68.0 for all
UNIX platforms.
For Windows, two file names are listed for each template. The file used is the first one found.
install_dir\prod_ver\i386\nastran.lcl or install_dir\bin\nast2012.lcl is used for serial or SMP
jobs run on the local system.
The keyword defining this file name is 0.lcl.
install_dir\prod_ver\i386\nastran.rmt or install_dir\bin\nast2012.rmt is used for serial or SMP
jobs run on a remote system using the "node" keyword. Currently, the remote system must be a
UNIX system running the "rshd" daemon.
The keyword defining this file name is 0.rmt.
install_dir\prod_ver\i386\nastran.srv or install_dir\bin\nast2012.srv is used for Toolkit jobs.
The keyword defining this file name is 0.srv.
The templates provided by MSC support all versions of MSC.Nastran since Version 70.0 for Windows
platforms.
These templates may be modified to suit your needs. For UNIX, if you modify these files, you may either
replace the link in the arch directory with your changes if your changes only affect a single architecture
or you may change the file in the bin directory if your changes are valid for all architectures. For
Windows, if you modify these files, make sure your changes are used by putting them in the i386
directory or by modifying or replacing the appropriate file in the bin directory. Alternatively, you may
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use the appropriate keyword, specified either in the INI file or on the command line, to specify the
location of your modified template file.
Keyword Reference Syntax
The script templates use the keyword reference syntax that was partially introduced in the previous
section. Table 3-3 provides examples.
Note: When customizing the templates, it may be useful to build the job script or control file but
not actually execute it. Use the "-n" option, e.g.,
prod_ver nastran -n myjob
The name of the generated file will be echoed to stdout.
Table 3-3 Keyword Syntax
Syntax Value Side effects
%% %
%keyword% Value of keyword.
%keyword:condtext% condtext
%keyword=re% Value of the parenthetic
expression if specified in the re,
otherwise the string matched by
the re.
%keyword=re:condtext% condtext if re is matched.
%keyword!re:condtext% condtext if re is not matched.
%keyword:% Kill remainder of line if
keyword has null value. In a
case construct, the default case.
%keyword=re:% Kill remainder of line if re does
not match.
%keyword!re:% Kill remainder of line if re does
match.
%keyword?:% Start of case construct.
See Using Regular
Expressions on page 71.
%keyword>cmp:context% condtext if keyword is > than
cmp
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Keyword Reference Examples
The keyword reference syntax is described using the following examples from the UNIX
"install_dir/bin/nast2012.lcl file. The same syntax is supported for the Windows control file templates.
Unconditional Keyword Substitution
The keyword reference %MSC_BASE% will be replaced by the value of the MSC_BASE keyword.
The keyword reference %dbs=$.*$/% will be replaced with the value of the parenthetic regular
expression. For example, given the keyword value onedir/anotherdir/myfile, the parenthetic expression
is onedir/anotherdir, and the substituted line would read:
%keyword>=cmp:condtext% condtext if keyword is > than
cmp
%keyword<cmp:condtext% condtext if keyword is < than
cmp
%keyword=<cmp:condtext% condtext if keyword is < than
cmp
%keyword>cmp:% Kill remainder of line if
keyword is not > than cmp
%keyword>=cmp% Kill remainder of line if
keyword is not > than cmp
%keyword<cmp:% Kill remainder of line if
keyword is not < than cmp
%keyword<=cmp:% Kill remainder of line if
keyword is not < than cmp
export MSC_BASE=%MSC_BASE%
export DBSDIR=%dbs=$.*$/%
export DBSDIR=onedir/anotherdir
Table 3-3 Keyword Syntax (continued)
Syntax Value Side effects
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CHAPTER 3
Conditional Keyword Substitution
The keyword reference %sysfield:SYSFIELD={}% will be replaced by the string
SYSFIELD=keyword-value if and only if the keyword is not null.
The keyword reference %dcmd=dbx:run% will be replaced by run if and only if dcmd=dbx was
specified. If the equal sign in the keyword reference was replaced by an exclamation mark, i.e.,
%dcmd!dbx:run%, then the keyword reference will be replaced by run if and only if dcmd was set
to a nonnull value not equal to dbx.
Conditional Inclusion
Conditional inclusion is indicated by a null conditional text string; i.e., the colon is immediately followed
by a percent sign. This capability is generally used with a regular expression to include the remainder of
the line if a keyword value matches or does not match a regular expression. In the first line, the remainder
of the line will be included if the MSC_ARCH keyword contains the string aix while the remainder
of the second line will be included if MSC_ARCH does not contain the string aix. More than one
conditional inclusion keyword reference can be used on a line to create more complex tests.
The rm command will included if and only if prt=yes and pdel=yes.
A case structure is specified as follows:
%sysfield:SYSFIELD={}%
%dcmd=dbx:run%
%MSC_ARCH=aix:%startdate=date +%%a %%h %%d %%H:%%M:%%S %%Z %%Y
%MSC_ARCH!aix:%startdate=date
%prt=y:%%pdel=y:%/bin/rm %out%.f04 %out%.f06 %out%.log
...%s.model?:%
...%s.model=IP.$:% SGI_ISA=mips1; export SGI_ISA
...%s.model=IP12:% SGI_ISA=mips1; export SGI_ISA
...%s.model=IP15:% SGI_ISA=mips1; export SGI_ISA
...%s.model=:% SGI_ISA=mips2; export SGI_ISA
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This sequence will result in the line
if s.model is IP followed by a single character (using the second line), or IP12" (using the third line),
or IP15" (using the fourth line), otherwise
will be generated using the last line. Case constructs can be nested, but a keyword may only be active in
one case at a time.
Greater and less-than comparisons can be used instead of regular expression matching to control
conditional inclusion. These comparisons are done with integer, floating, or string values based on the
types of the two values.
The CONFIG statement will be included if a.release is greater than 68.
Nested Keyword Values
One level of nested keywords may occur anywhere within the %.*% string. Only unconditional keywords
substitutions are supported for nested keywords. Nested keywords are specified as \%keyword\%.
This sequence will cause the #@ node .. text to be included if the value of the dmparallel keyword
is greater than the value of the maxnode keyword.
SGI_ISA=mips1
SGI_ISA=mips2
%a.release>68: %CONFIG=%config%
%dmparallel>\%maxnode\%:%#@ node = %maxnode%
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Using Regular Expressions
The regular expression syntax supported by the nastran command is compatible with the standard ed(1)
regular expression syntax with the exception that only one parenthetic expression is permitted. The
syntax follows.
One-character Regular Expressions
Any character, except for the special characters listed below, is a one-character regular
expression that matches itself.
A backslash, \, followed by any special character is a one-character regular expression that
matches the special character itself. The special characters are: period, ., asterisk, *, and
backslash \, which are always special except when they appear within brackets; circumflex,
^, which is special at the beginning of a regular expression or when it immediately follows the
left bracket of a bracketed expression; and dollar sign $, which is special at the end of a
regular expression.
A period, ., is a one-character regular expression that matches any character.
A nonempty string of characters enclosed within brackets, [ and ], is a one-character regular
expression that matches one character in that string. If, however, the first character of the string
is a circumflex, ^, the one-character regular expression matches any character except the
characters in the string. The circumflex has this special meaning only if it occurs first in the
string. The dash, -, may be used to indicate a range of consecutive characters. The dash loses
this special meaning if it occurs first (after an initial circumflex, if any) or last in the string. The
right square bracket, ], does not terminate such a string when it is the first character within it
(after an initial circumflex, if any).
Regular Expressions
A one-character regular expression is a regular expression that matches whatever the
one-character regular expression matches.
A one-character regular expression followed by an asterisk, *, is a regular expression that
matches zero or more occurrences of the one-character regular expression. If there is any choice,
the longest left most string that permits a match is chosen.
A one-character regular expression followed by \{m\}, \{m,\}, or \{m,n\} is a regular
expression that matches a ranges of occurrences of the one-character regular expression. The
values of m and n must satisfy ; \{m\} exactly matches m occurrences;
\{m,\} matches at least m occurrences; \{m,n\} matches any number of occurrences between
m and n inclusive.
A concatenation of regular expressions is a regular expression that matches the concatenation of
the strings matched by each component of the regular expression.
A regular expression enclosed between the character sequences $ and $ defines a
parenthetic expression that matches whatever the unadorned regular expression matches. Only
one parenthetic expression may be specified.
0 m n 254 s s s
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The expression \1" matches the same string of characters as was matched by the parenthetic
expression earlier in the regular expression.
Constraining Regular Expressions
A circumflex, ^, at the beginning of an entire regular expression constrains the regular
expression to match an initial segment of a string.
A dollar sign, $, at the end of an entire regular expression constrains the regular expression to
match a final segment of a string.
The construction ^re$ constrains the regular expression to match the entire string.
The construction ^$ matches a null string.
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Ch. 4: Using the Basic Functions of MSC Nastran MSC Nastran 2012 Installation and Operations
Guide

4
Using the Basic Functions of
MSC Nastran
Overview
Using the nastran Command
Using the Basic Keywords
Specifying Memory Sizes
Determining Resource Requirements
Using the Test Problem Libraries
Making File Assignments
Using Databases
Using the INCLUDE Statement
Using the SSS Alter Library
Resolving Abnormal Terminations

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Overview
This chapter is directed to the engineer running MSC Nastran, and discusses how the basic functions of
MSC Nastran are used. It covers using the nastran command, including file types, filenames, logical
symbols, the help facility, and other functions. In addition, this chapter provides an overview of the basic
keywords, outlines resource requirements, describes how to specify memory sizes, introduces the sample
problem libraries, and how to make file assignments, as well as how to use databases, how to apply the
INCLUDE statement, and how to resolve abnormal terminations.
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CHAPTER 4
Using the Basic Functions of MSC Nastran
Using the nastran Command
MSC Nastran jobs are run using the nastran command. The basic format of this command is
prod_ver nastran input_data_file keywords
where input_data_file is the name of the file containing the input data and keywords is zero or more
optional keyword assignments. For example, to run an MSC Nastran job using the data file example.dat,
enter the following command:
Various options to the nastran command are available using keywords described in Keywords on
page 46. Keyword assignments consist of a keyword, followed by an equal sign, followed by the
keyword value, for example:
Keyword assignments can be specified on the command line or included in RC files.
The following sets of RC files are controlled by you:
The user RC files are used to define parameters applicable to all MSC Nastran jobs you run.
The local RC files should be used to define parameters applicable to all MSC Nastran jobs that
reside in the input data files directory, and are located in the same directory as the input data
file. If the rcf keyword is used, this local RC file is ignored.
The locations and names of these RC files are described in Command Initialization and Runtime
Configuration Files on page 2 in Appendix A.
prod_ver nastran example scratch=yes
Note: In Windows you can use a hash mark # instead of the equal sign. This is useful if the
nastran command is being placed in a .bat file.
prod_ver nastran example scratch#yes
Note: 1. The UNIX tilde (~) shorthand is not recognized within RC files.
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File Types and Versioning
MSC Nastrans default input and output files use the following types: For a more comprehensive list,
refer to FORTRAN Files and Their Default Attributes on page 47 of the MSC Nastran Quick Reference
Guide.
2. Environment variables are only recognized when used in the context of a logical
symbol (see Using Filenames and Logical Symbols on page 77) or when used to
initialize user defined keyword (see User-Defined Keywords on page 8 in
Appendix A).
3. When a keyword is specified on the command line, embedded spaces or special
characters that are significant to the shell must be enclosed in quote marks; quotes
marks should not be used within RC files unless they are significant to the
keywords value.
Type Type of File Description of File
.dat Input Input Data File
.f04 Output Execution Summary File
.f06 Output Output Data File
.log Output Job Log File
.op2 Input Output OUTPUT2 File
.pch Output Punch File
.plt Output Binary Plot File
.xdb Output Results Database
Note: 1. If the input file is specified as example and the files example.dat and example
both exist, the file example.dat will be chosen. In fact, it is impossible to use a file
named example as the input data file if a file named example.dat exists.
2. The jidtype keyword may be used to specify an alternate default suffix for the
input data file. For example, jidtype=bdf will change the default file type to
.bdf.
3. The XDB file is not versioned.
4. The oldtypes keyword may be used to specify a list of additional file types that
are versioned. For example, oldtypes=xdb will cause the XDB file to be
versioned.
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CHAPTER 4
When a job is run more than once from the same directory, the previous output files are versioned, or
given indices. The indices are integers appended to the filename; the same integer will designate files for
the same job. For example,
The files listed (according to time of execution from oldest to newest) are:
Using Filenames and Logical Symbols
Several of the parameters used by MSC Nastran, including command line arguments, initialization and
RC file commands, and statements within MSC Nastran input files, specify filenames. The filenames
must follow your systems standard filename conventions, with the addition that filenames can include
a logical symbol component, i.e., the filename can be specified in either of the following forms:
Logical symbols provide you with a way of specifying file locations with a convenient shorthand. This
feature also allows input files containing filename specifications to be moved between computers
without requiring modifications to the input files. Only the logical symbol definitions that specify actual
file locations need to be modified.
Only one logical symbol name may be used in a filename specification. This logical symbol must be the
initial component of the filename string, and it must be separated from the filename by a colon :. If the
symbol has a non-null value, the actual filename is created by replacing the symbol name with its value
and replacing the colon with a slash; otherwise, both the symbol name and the colon are left as is.
v2401.f04 v2401.f04.1 v2401.f04.2 v2401.f04.3
v2401.f06 v2401.f06.1 v2401.f06.2 v2401.f06.3
v2401.f04.1 v2401.f06.1
v2401.f04.2 v2401.f06.2
v2401.f04.3 v2401.f06.3
v2401.f04 v2401.f06
filename
logical-symbol:filename
Note: 1. A logical symbol can be defined using any environment variable or previously
defined symbol. Use the standard environment variable reference convention, i.e.,
$name or ${name} on UNIX and %name% on Windows.
2. Logical symbols must be more than one character long, i.e., the filename reference
D:\temp\myfile.dat will be interpreted on Windows as a drive reference followed
by a pathname.
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For example, assume that your home RC file contains the line
on UNIX, or
on Windows, and a job is submitted with the command
Since MSC Nastran automatically sets the OUTDIR environment variable to the value of the out
keyword, if DATADIR is defined as above, the filenames
will reference the files
on UNIX and
on Windows respectively, see symbol on page 94 for more information.
Several other symbols are automatically created by the nastran command. These include DELDIR,
DEMODIR, TPLDIR, and SSSALTERDIR to access the delivery database source directory, and DEMO,
TPL, and SSSALTER libraries, respectively.
3. MSC Nastran will accept Windows pathnames using the slash / character as a
replacement for the backslash \.
SYMBOL=DATADIR=/dbs/data
SYMBOL=DATADIR=d:\dbs\data
prod_ver DATADIR:nastran example
'DATADIR:myfile.dat'
'OUTDIR:testdata.info'
/dbs/data/myfile.dat
./testdata.info
d:\dbs\data\myfile.dat
.\testdata.info
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CHAPTER 4
Using the Help Facility and Other Special Functions
Several special functions are supported by reserved input data filenames. If these names are specified as
the input data file, the nastran command will execute the special function and exit.
The special functions are invoked as follows:
This request will display the basic help output. Additional help capabilities are described in the basic help
output.
This request will display help for the keywords listed on the command line.
This request will display the current UNIX resource limits.
This request will display the news file.
This request will display system information about the current computer.
On UNIX, these requests can be executed on a remote computer that has MSC Nastran installed by also
specifying the keyword node=nodename, for example:
Note: If you need to use one of these reserved names as an actual input filename, you must either
prefix the filename with a path or append a file type to the filename.
prod_ver nastran help
prod_ver nastran help keyword1 [keyword2 ...]
prod_ver nastran limits
prod_ver nastran system
prod_ver nastran system node=thatnode
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Using the Basic Keywords
The following table is a partial list of the basic keywords that may be used on the command line or placed
into RC files as appropriate. More advanced keywords are listed in Using the Advanced Keywords on
page 111, and a complete list of all keywords and their syntax is listed in Keywords on page 46.
All Systems
UNIX Systems
Queuing (UNIX)
Keyword Purpose
append Combines the .f06, .f04, and .log files into a single file after the jobs
completes.
dbs Specifies an alternate name for user database files.
memory Specifies the amount of memory to be used by the job.
old Renames existing output files with version numbers or deletes existing output
files.
out Specifies an alternate name for output files.
rcf Specifies an alternate name of the local RC file.
scratch Indicates databases are to be deleted when job completes.
sdirectory Specifies an alternate scratch file directory.
symbol Defines a symbolic name and value.
Keyword Purpose
after Holds the job until the specified time.
batch Runs the job in background or foreground.
xmonast Automatically runs the Motif-based output file monitor.
Note: These capabilities depend upon the queue submission commands defined by the submit
keyword and your queuing system. The keywords may not work on your system.
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CHAPTER 4
Keyword Purpose
cputime Specifies maximum CPU time to be allowed.
queue Specifies name of queue where the job will be submitted to.
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Specifying Memory Sizes
Several nastran keywords specify memory sizes. In all cases, the value can be specified either as the
number of words (64-bit words on i8/ILP64 platforms when mode = i8, and 32-bit words on all others)
or as a number followed by one of the following modifiers:
where: on i8/ILP64 supported platforms when mode = i8, and on all other
platforms; physical is the computers physical memory, i.e., the RAM; and virtual is the swap size
on UNIX systems, and the maximum paging file size on Windows systems.
Table 4-1 Memory Size Specifications
Specification Size (Words)
n*physical, nxphysical
n*virtual, nxvirtual
nT nTW ,
n 1024
4
( )
nTB
n
1024
4
( )
bpw
-------------------
nG nGW ,
n 1024
3
( )
nGB
n
1024
3
( )
bpw
-------------------
nM nMW ,
n 1024
2
( )
nMB
n
1024
2
( )
bpw
-------------------
nK nKW ,
n 1024 ( )
nKB n 1024 ( )
bpw
--------------------
n memory
physi cal
n memory
vi rt ual
bpw 8 = bpw 4 =
Note: In order to use the physical and virtual specifications, the computers physical memory
and swap file size must be known to the nastran command. The nastran command always
knows both these sizes on Windows systems. On UNIX systems, the physical memory is
known on Linux, and Solaris. The computers physical and virtual memory sizes can also
be set via the s.pmem and s.vmem keywords respectively.
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CHAPTER 4
Examples are
Set the memory request to one gigabyte, 1024 megabytes, 1048576 kilobytes, 1073741824 bytes,
134217728 words for i8/ILP64 or 268435436 words on all other systems.
Set the memory request to 50% of the computers physical memory.
Maximum Memory Size
Table 4-2 lists the maximum memory size for MSC Nastran platforms. A memory request larger
than this value results in an error as the job starts.
Table 4-2 Maximum Memory Size
prod_ver nastran memory=1gb
prod_ver nastran memory=0.5xPhys
Note: The actual maximum value you can specify depends on several factors, including the
physical memory systems and the swap file size on UNIX systems, the paging file size on
Windows systems, and your virtual memory limit on most UNIX systems. You must also
deduct from the maximum value the size of the executable, listed in System Descriptions
in Appendix D, and space required for the various operating system and Fortran runtime
libraries. Jobs submitted with mode=i8 on platforms that support it, have unlimited
memory.
Platform Memory
AIX 8 GB
HPUXIPF 8 GB
HPUX 8 GB
Linux32 2 GB
Linux64 8 GB
Linuxipf 8 GB
Solaris 8 GB
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Solaris8664 8 GB
Win32 1.5 GB
Win64 8 GB
Platform Memory
Note: When running with mode = i8 or ILP64 on platforms that support it, the maximum memory
is limited by system limits and virtual address space.
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CHAPTER 4
Determining Resource Requirements
For most models of moderate size (up to 10000 grid points for static analysis), you need not be concerned
with resource requirements since the default MSC Nastran parameters allocate sufficient resources. The
analysis of larger models may require you to check the resource requirements and the various options
that are available to manage memory and disk resources.
There are several tools available to assist you in determining the resource requirements of your job.
Table 4-3 and Table 4-4 are the simplest tools, they present gross estimates of the memory and total disk
space requirements of static analyses using default parameters with normal output requests. Other
solution sequences will generally have greater requirements.
Table 4-3 Estimated Memory Requirements of Static Analyses
Table 4-4 Estimated Total Disk Requirements of Static Analyses
More detailed resource estimates can be obtained from the ESTIMATE program, described in
ESTIMATE on page 191. ESTIMATE reads the input data file and calculates the job's memory and disk
requirements. The ESTIMATE program is most accurate in predicting the requirements of static analyses
that don't have excessive output requests. The memory requirements for normal modes analyses using
the Lanczos Method are reasonably accurate; however, the disk requirements are dependent upon the
number of modes. This is a value that ESTIMATE does not know. Memory and disk requirements for
other solutions are less accurate.
Degrees of Freedom
Memory
Requirements
Others
3 MW
5 MW
10 MW
22 MW
44 MW
Degrees of Freedom Total Disk Space Requirements
90 MB
500 MB
1000 MB
2000 MB
4000 MB
DOF 10000 <
10000 DOF < 50000 s
50000 DOF < 100000 s
100000 DOF < 200000 s
200000 DOF < 400000 s
DOF 10000 <
10000 DOF < 50000 s
50000 DOF < 100000 s
100000 DOF < 200000 s
200000 DOF < 400000 s
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The best estimates of the memory requirements for a job are available in User Information Message 4157,
described in User Information Messages 4157 and 6439 on page 129, but this requires an MSC Nastran
run.
Estimating BUFFSIZE
Table 4-5 presents recommendations for BUFFSIZE based on model size. These values have been
chosen to represent the best compromise between database access speed and storage requirements for
typical problems. An excessively large BUFFSIZE can result in more I/O data transferred and wasted
space in the database for smaller problems; an excessively small BUFFSIZE can result in increases I/O
counts for larger problems. You may be able to achieve higher performance or smaller databases using
other values.
Table 4-5 Suggested BUFFSIZE Values
Degrees of Freedom BUFFSIZE
8193
16385
32769
DOF 100000 s
100000 DOF < 200000 s
DOF 400000 >
Note:
The actual I/O transfer size is where bpw is 8 on i8/ILP64 and
bpw is 4 on all other systems.
BUFFSIZE 1 ( ) bpw
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CHAPTER 4
Using the Test Problem Libraries
Three libraries of test problems are delivered with MSC Nastran.
These files are accessible via the DEMODIR symbol, or via the path
install_dir/prod_ver/nast/demo on UNIX and install_dir\prod_ver\nast\demo on Windows.
The test problem library (TPL) contains a general selection of MSC Nastran input files showing
examples of most of the MSC Nastran capabilities. In general, these files are not documented.
The files are accessible via the TPLDIR symbol, or via the path install_dir/prod_ver/nast/tpl on
UNIX, and install_dir\prod_ver\nast\tpl on Windows.
The DEMO and TPL libraries contain demoidx.dat and tplidx.dat respectively. These files contain
one-line descriptions of the library members. Also included are files named tplexec and demoexec,
which are scripts used to run the problems on UNIX, or tplexec.bat and demoexec.bat, which are
batch files used to run the problems on Windows.
If you only want to run a job from the DEMO or TPL libraries, the easiest method is to use either the
DEMODIR or TPLDIR symbols, running the command from any convenient directory. For
example,
If you want to experiment with the file, copy the file to your own directory and then execute the problem.
Note that several of the library files have INCLUDE files that should also be copied if they too will be
modified, or they can be referenced as-is via the standard INCLUDE file processing; see Using the
INCLUDE Statement on page 97.
Some example problems contain references to files that are qualified with the following logical symbols:
TPLDIR
DEMODIR
DBSDIR
OUTDIR
Unless they already exist in your environment as environment variables, the logical symbols DEMODIR
and TPLDIR automatically point to the DEMO and TPL libraries respectively. DBSDIR and OUTDIR
are always based on the dbs and out keywords respectively.
prod_ver nastran DEMODIR:d10101d
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Making File Assignments
Using the ASSIGN statement in your input file, you can assign physical files used by MSC Nastran to
FORTRAN units or DBset files or you can modify the properties of existing or default file assignments.
The ASSIGN statement is documented in the File Management Statements in Chapter 2 of the MSC
Nastran Quick Reference GuideMSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide.
ASSIGN Statement for FORTRAN Files
For FORTRAN files, the format of the ASSIGN statement is
Currently, there are no values of the SYS field defined for FORTRAN files on any system. For a list of
the FORTRAN files and their default attributes, please refer to Table 2-1 in the File Management
Statements in Chapter 2 of the MSC Nastran Quick Reference GuideMSC Nastran Quick Reference
Guide. For more information about byte-ordering within binary files (the "endian" of a file), please refer
to Binary File Byte Ordering (Endian) in Appendix D.
ASSIGN Statement for DBsets
ASSIGN logical-name[=filename|*}] [TEMP] [DELETE] [SYS='sys-spec']
See Using the SYS Field on page 118 for details on the SYS field for DBsets.
Scratch DB Set Names
The default base name for scratch DB Sets uses the base name of the input data file as a prefix; this will
permit you to more easily identify the job that created specific files in the scratch directory.
The SCRATCH DBset names will be named /tmp/example.T<unique>.* on the UNIX systems and
c:\temp\example.T<unique>.* on Windows systems where <unique> is a string created from the
process ID of the nastran command and the current time.
ASSIGN logical-key[={filename|*}] [UNIT=u] [[STATUS=]{NEW|OLD|UNKNOWN}]
[[FORM=]{FORMATTED|UNFORMATTED|BIGENDIAN|LITTLEENDIAN|LTLEND|<ostype>}] [DEFER]
[{TEMP|DELZERO}] [DELETE] [SYS='sys-spec']
UNIX: prod_ver nastran example sdir=/tmp
Windows: prod_ver nastran example sdir=c:\temp
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The following tables give information about the DBALL and SCRATCH DBset default allocations.
where:
DBset Memory BUFFSIZE Physical File Attribute
Type Size Units Assignable Size
Logical
Name
Physical
Name Size
MASTER RAM 200000 Words YES 8193 MASTER dbs.MASTER 5000
DBALL N/A - YES 8193 DBALL dbs.DBALL See Table 4-6
OBJSCR N/A - NO 8193 OBJSCR sdir.OBJSCR 5000
SCRATCH SMEM See note GINO
Blocks
YES 8193 SCRATCH sdir.SCRATCH See Table 4-6
SCRATCH N/A - YES 8193 SCR300 sdir.SCR300 See Table 4-6
User DBset N/A - YES 8193 DBset dbs.DBset 25000
Note: The default SMEM value is 100 for all platforms.
DBset The DBset name.
Memory The size of open core memory (in words) used by the RAM of the MASTER
DBset. The size may be modified using the FMS statement, INIT MASTER
(RAM = value).
BUFFSIZE The buffer size (words) used for I/O transfer for each DBset. This size may be
changed if YES is in the Assignable column.
Logical Name The logical name of the DBset. This name may be set with the ASSIGN or
INIT statement.
Physical Name The name of the file as known to your operating system. This name may be
changed by using the ASSIGN statement.
Size The default maximum file size (in GINO blocks) allowed for each DBset.
This size may be changed by using the INIT statement.
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Table 4-6
Default Maximum DBALL and SCRATCH DBset Sizes in GINO Blocks
Memory (MEM) BUFFSIZE
BUFFSIZE <
32769
32769 < BUFFSIZE
< 65537 BUFFSIZE = 65537
MEM < 32 MW 250,000 250,000 250,000
32 MW < MEM < 64 MW 500,000 1,000,000 1,000,000
MEM > 64 MW 1,000,000 2,000,000 2,000,000
Note: These values will be reduced, if necessary and without any information messages, to the
maximum file size supported by the filesystem on which the file was allocated. For
example:
For Windows XP using a FAT filesystem, the maximum file size is 2 GB.
For Windows XP using a FAT32 filesystem, the maximum file size is 4 GB.
For AIX using a non-largefile enabled JFS filesystem, the maximum file size is
2 GB.
For AIX using a largefile enabled JFS filesystem, the maximum file size is
63.88 GB.
Default Maximum DBALL and SCRATCH DBset Sizes in GB for Specific BUFFSIZE
Values
Memory (MEM) BUFFSIZE
8193 32769 65537
MEM < 32 MW 7.63 GB 30.52 GB 61.04 GB
32 MW < MEM < 64 MW 15.26 GB 122.07 GB 244.14 GB
MEM > 64 MW 30.52 GB 244.14 GB 488.28 GB
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CHAPTER 4
Using Databases
MSC Nastran uses a database for the storage and subsequent retrieval of matrices and tables. This facility
consists of several database sets (DBsets) that conform to the following specifications:
The MSC Nastran limit on the maximum number of DBsets for an analysis is 200. Your
computer may have a lower limit on the maximum number of open files that a process can open.
This limit is displayed as the Number of open files by the limits special function. See Using
the Help Facility and Other Special Functions on page 79.
Each DBset may consist of 1 to 20 physical files. Again, this is subject to the maximum number
of open files that your system permits.
The maximum size of each DBset is machine dependent. There are several factors affecting the
maximum size a given file can reach. Among these are: the jobs file resource limit; the
available space of the file system containing the file; the maximum file size supported by the
operating system, and the BUFFSIZE. On UNIX systems, the if command lists the maximum
space and available space in a file system. Your resource limit is displayed by as the Maximum
file size by the limits special function.
Notes:
1. Large files are available if the file system containing the file supports large files. See your system
administrator to determine which file systems, if any, support large files.
2. Large files can only be created on file systems supporting large files (the flags value from df -
g must show the 0x10 bit set).
3. Large files are available on Solaris 2.6 or later if the file system containing the file supports large
files. See your system administrator to determine which file systems, if any, support large files.
Table 4-7 Database I/O Capabilities
Computer Large File File Mapping
Buffered
I/O Async I/O
AIX
Yes
1
No Yes No
HPUX
Yes
2
No Yes No
HPUXIPF
Yes
2
No Yes No
Intel Linux32
Yes
No Yes Yes
Intel Linuxipf Yes No Yes
Yes
4
Intel Linux64 Yes No Yes
Yes
5
Intel Windows Yes
Yes
Yes Yes
Solaris
Yes
3
Yes Yes Yes
Solaris8664 Yes No Yes
No
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4. Supported on SGI Altix IA64 only.
5. MIO is available with an MIO license from IBM.
The default database provides for five DBsets that are subdivided into two categories (scratch and
permanent DBsets) as follows:
Three DBsets are scratch DBsets that are typically deleted automatically at the end of a run. The
logical names for these DBsets are SCRATCH, SCR300, and OBJSCR.
The remaining two DBsets have the default names of dbs.MASTER and dbs.DBALL, where dbs
is set by the dbs keyword.
The database may be defined in two different ways:
1. Using the dbs keyword on the command line; see Using the dbs Keyword on page 92.
2. Using ASSIGN statements in the FMS Section of the input data file. See ASSIGN Statement for
DBsets on page 88 and Using the ASSIGN Statement on page 94.
Using the dbs Keyword
To illustrate the use of the dbs keyword, see the TPL file am762d.dat
To run this job, enter
The default value for dbs in this example is ./am762d on UNIX and .\am762d on Windows. The
DBALL and MASTER DBsets are created in your directory as am762d.DBALL and
ID MSC, AM762D $ JFC 30SEP88
$ DBS=AM762D SPECIFIED WHEN JOB SUBMITTED
TIME 2
SOL 101 $ SUPERELEMENT STATICS
CEND
TITLE = EXAMPLE: SPECIFY DBS=AM762D WHEN JOB SUBMITTED AM762D
SUBTITLE = COLD START
LOAD = 11
DISPLACEMENT = ALL
ELFORCE = ALL
BEGIN BULK
CBEAM,1,1,10,20,0.,1.,0.
FORCE,11,20,,100.,1.,.8,1.
GRID,10,,0.,0.,0.,,123456
GRID,20,,10.,0.,0.
MAT1,100,1.+7,,.3
PBEAM,1,100,1.,.08,.064,,.1
ENDDATA $ AM762D
prod_ver nastran TPLDIR/am76:am762d
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am762d.MASTER respectively; and the output files are am762d.f04, am762d.f06, and
am762d.log.
To restart from the previously created DBsets, use the following command:
The input data for the restart is TPL file am762r.dat. The dbs keyword is set to am762d. The
following is sample input for the am762r.dat file:
The existing DBALL and MASTER DBsets created in your directory by the am762d job are used. The
output files from this job are am762r.f04, am762r.f06, and am762r.log.
prod_ver nastran TPLDIR/am76:am762r dbs=am762d
RESTART VERSION = 1 $ RESTART FROM AM762D
$ DBS=AM762D SPECIFIED WHEN JOB SUBMITTED
ID MSC, AM762R $ JFC 30S3088
TIME 2
SOL 101
CEND
TITLE = EXAMPLE: RESTART, ATTACH DATABASE VIA DBS=AM762D AM762R
SUBTITLE = RESTART WITH LARGER LOAD
SELG = ALL $ GENERATE NEW LOAD
SELR = ALL $ REDUCE NEW LOAD
LOAD = 11
DISPLACEMENT = ALL
ELFORCE = ALL
BEGIN BULK
FORCE,11,20,,100.,1.,.8,1.
ENDATA $ AM762R
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94
Using the ASSIGN Statement
This section contains two examples using the ASSIGN statement. The first example, TPL file
am763d.dat shows how to use the ASSIGN statement to create the database files. The second example
shows how to use the ASSIGN statement to assign database files in a restart job.
Before you submit this job, create a dbs directory in your current working directory and set the
DBSDIR environment variable to dbs as follows:
in the Korn shell,
in the C-shell, or
on Windows.
Once the DBSDIR environment variable is set, the job is submitted with the command:
ASSIGN MASTER=DBSDIR:am763d.MYMASTER
ASSIGN DBALL=DBSDIR:am763d.MYDBALL
$
$ DBSETS CREATED WITH DIRECTORIES AND NAMES AS ASSIGNED ABOVE.
$ THIS IS ALTERNATE METHOD TO BE USED INSTEAD OF SPECIFYING DBS = AM763D
$ WHEN JOB IS SUBMITTED.
$
ID MSC, AM763D $ FILENAME CHANGED 16SEP88 -- JFC
TIME 2
SOL 101 $ STRUCTURED SUPERELEMENT STATICS WITH AUTO RESTART
CEND
TITLE = EXAMPLE: DATABASE CREATED VIA ASSIGN CARDS AM763D
SUBTITLE = COLD START.
LOAD = 11
DISPLACEMENT = ALL
ELFORCE = ALL
BEGIN BULK
CBEAM,1,1,10,20,0.,1.,0.
FORCE,11,20,,100.,1.,.8,1.
GRID,10,,0.,0.,0.,,123456
GRID,20,,10.,0.,0.
MAT1,100,1.,.08,.064,,.1
ENDDATA
export DBSDIR=dbs
setenv DBSDIR dbs
set DBSDIR=dbs
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The DBsets mydball and mymaster are created in the dbs directory with the names
am763d.MYMASTER and am763d.MYDBALL respectively. The output files am763d.f04,
am763d.f06, and am763d.log are created in the current working directory.
The second example (TPL file am763r.dat) illustrates a restart that uses the ASSIGN statement:
To submit the above file, issue the command:
The DBsets am763d.MYMASTER and am763d.MYDBALL created by the previous job in the
dbs directory are used. The output files am763r.f04, am763r.f06, and am763r.log are created in
the current working directory.
Using the INIT Statement
DBsets are created using the INIT statement, which is documented in the The File Management Section
(FMS) on page 35 of the MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide. For example,
prod_ver nastran TPLDIR/am76:am763d
RESTART $ RESTART FROM AM763D, SAVE VERSION 1 ON DATABASE
$ ATTACH AM763D DATABASE WITH ASSIGN COMMANDS BELOW
ASSIGN MASTER=DBSDIR:am763d.MYMASTER
ID MSC,AM763R $ FILENAME CHANGED 16SEP88 -- JFC
TIME 2
SOL 101
CEND
TITLE = EXAMPLE: RESTART, DATABASE ATTACHED VIA ASSIGN CARDS AM763R
SUBTITLE = RESTART -- ADD STRESS RECOVERY COEFFICIENTS TO PBEAM
LOAD = 11
DISPLACEMENT = ALL
ELFORCE = ALL
STRESS = ALL
BEGIN BULK
$ WITH STRUCTURED SOLUTION SEQUENCES (SOL 101+), ALL BULK DATA IS STORED
$ ON DATABASE.
$ ON RESTART, ONLY INCLUDE ADDITIONAL CARDS OR CHANGED CARDS.
/,6 $ DELETE OLD PBEAM CARD ON DATABASE, ADD STRESS RECOVERY COEFFICIENTS
$ AND REPLACE AS FOLLOWS.
PBEAM,1,100,1.,.08,.064,,.1,,+PBEAM1
+PBEAM1,0.0,0.5,0.0,-0.5,0.3,0.0,-0.3,0.0,+PBEAM2
+PBEAM2,YES,0.5,1.0,.08,.064,,.1,,+PBEAM3
+PBEAM3,0.0,0.5,0.0,-0.5,0.3,0.0,-0.3,0.0
ENDDATA $ AM763R
prod_ver nastran TPLDIR/am76:am763r
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96
creates and allocates two members DBALL1 and DBALL2 to the DBALL DBset with a maximum size
of 2000 GINO blocks for DBALL1 and a maximum size of 300 kilobytes for DBALL2. The maximum
size can be specified either as the number of GINO blocks or as a number followed by one of the
following modifiers:
where bpw is 8 when mode = i8; 4 on all others. The modifier may be specified using any case
combination.
INIT DBALL LOGICAL=(DBALL1(2000),DBALL2(300KB))
M or Mw
Multiply the size by , round up to a BUFFSIZE multiple.
Mb
K or Kw Multiply the size by 1024, round up to a BUFFSIZE multiple.
Kb
w Round the size up to a BUFFSIZE multiple.
b Divide the size by bpw, round up to a BUFFSIZE multiple.
1024
2
1024
2
bpw ( )
1024 bpw ( )
Note: This syntax is similar to, but not the same as, the syntax described in Specifying Memory
Sizes on page 82.
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CHAPTER 4
Using the INCLUDE Statement
The INCLUDE statement is used to insert a specified file into the input file. This statement is especially
useful when you want to partition your input into separate files. The format is:
INCLUDE filename
or
INCLUDE logical-symbol:filename
The file name must be quoted in single quotes if the name contains spaces, commas, special characters
or dollar signs or, on UNIX; lowercase characters. for example,
INCLUDE 'filename'
The file name may include a directory specification, where directory levels are indicated using a using a
directory level separator character ("/" on Unix and "/" or "\" on Windows).
Specifying the INCLUDE Filename
The filename can be continued, if necessary, on multiple lines of the input file. The filename is obtained
from an INCLUDE, RFALTER, or RFINCLUDE statement as follows:
1. The filename is built up by concatenating tokens. A token is either a blank- or comma-delimited
unquoted word or a quoted string (which can be continued across lines).
2. Token are separated by blanks or commas. The blanks or commas separating the tokens are
ignored.
3. Statements may be continued by following the last token on a line by a comma, or specifying an
incomplete quoted string (i.e., the closing quote is missing from the line). All trailing blanks on
the incomplete quoted strings initial line, all leading and trailing blanks on the incomplete quoted
strings intermediate lines, and all leading blanks on the incomplete quoted strings final line are
ignored.
4. Comments may be specified after the last filename token of a line that is not within an incomplete
quoted string. The comment is started with an unquoted dollar sign $, and continues to the end
of the current line.
5. Only the first 72 columns of a line are scanned, i.e., any characters from column 73 and onward
are ignored.
These rules are best explained via some examples.
Note: The RFINCLUDE and RFALTER statements may be used instead of the INCLUDE
statement to insert a specified file into the input file. Except for the directory searching
order specified below, these statements are processed in the same manner that the
INCLUDE statement is processed.
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include datafile.dat
The filename is DATAFILE.DAT.
include 'c:\abc\def\ghi.include'
The filename is c:\abc\def\ghi.include.
include '/mydir' /level1 /level2/ 'myfile.x'
The filename is /mydir/LEVEL1/LEVLEL2/myfile.x.
RFAlter '/mydir
/level1
/level2
/level3/mydata'
The filename is /mydir/level1/level2/level3/mydata.
include '/proj
/dept123
/sect 456
/joe/flange.bdf'
The filename is /proj/dept123/sect 456/joe/flange.bdf.
rfinclude c:\project,
$ A comment line
'\Data Files' \subdir\thisfile
The filename is C:\PROJECT\Data Files\SUBDIR\THISFILE.
include 'MYTESTDIR:*/mytestfile.dat'
If the logical symbol MYTESTDIR has the value "/myfiles/test", the expanded filename is
"/myfiles/test/*/mytestfile.dat". Note that this filename includes a subdirectory search request, explained
below.
The following examples illustrate what happens when comments or quotes are incorrectly placed.
Note: The following examples contain a mixture of UNIX and Windows pathnames. The
concepts demonstrated by each example are valid on both systems.
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include 'TPLDIR:alter.file $ comment
stmt 2 $ word ' $ comment 3 ' info
The filename is TPLDIR:alter.file $commentstmt 2 $ word .
include '/proj, $ Proj Name
'/dept123, $ Dept Name
'/sect456, $ Sect Name
'/myfile.dat $ File Name
The filename is /proj, $ Proj Name/DEPTNAME/sect 456, $ Sect Name/MYFILE.DAT.
Requesting Subdirectory Searching
MSC Nastran has the ability to search subdirectories when attempting to locate an INCLUDE file. This
can be requested in two ways:
1. Specify "*" as the last directory component within the filename specification. For example,
include '/testdir/dir1/dir2/*/myfile.dat'
says that the directory "/testdir/dir1/dir2" and all of its subdirectories, including nested
subdirectories, are to be searched for the file to be included. Note that the "*" specification must
be followed by a directory level separator character as described above and, if it is not the first
character in the file name, must be preceded by a directory level separator character.
2. Omit any directory specifications on the filename specification and specify "*" as the last
directory component of a directory in the directory list specified by the "jidpath" keyword. See
the description of the jidpath keyword in the Keywords and Environment Variables in
Appendix C.
Locating INCLUDE Files
Once the filename has been obtained from the include statement and any logical symbols have been
expanded, up to four filenames on UNIX systems and two filename on Windows systems will be
searched for. The filenames are:
1. The filename as specified by the include statement. If filename does not end in the file type
specified by the jidtype keyword, it is appended.
2. UNIX: The filename constructed immediately above, converted to lower-case, unless filename is
already all lower-case (i.e., it was specified as a quoted string).
3. The filename as specified by the include statement, without the file type specified by jidtype.
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100
4. UNIX: The filename specified above, converted to lower-case, unless filename is already all
lower-case (i.e., it was specified as a quoted string).
For example, consider the statement
include File1
and assume jidtype=dat was specified or defaulted. MSC Nastran will consider the following filenames
on UNIX in the order specified:

FILE1.dat
file1.dat
FILE1
file1
and the following filenames on Windows in the order specified:
file1.dat
file1
For another example, consider the statement
include 'File1.bdf'
and assume jidtype=dat was specified or defaulted. MSC Nastran will consider the following filenames
on UNIX in the order specified:
File1.bdf.dat
file1.bdf.dat
File1.bdf
file1.bdf
and the following filenames on Windows in the order specified:
File1.bdf.dat
File1.bdf
Here is an example with a directory specification. Consider the statement
Note: Recall that character-case is insignificant to Windows file names.
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CHAPTER 4
include 'mydir/File1.dat'
and assume jidtype=dat was specified or defaulted. MSC Nastran will consider the following
filenames on UNIX in the order specified:
mydir/File1.dat
mydir/file1.dat
and the following filename on Windows:
mydir/file1.dat
If filename contains a directory component, MSC Nastran will attempt to locate one of the four UNIX
or two Windows filenames in the specified directory as follows.
If there is no subdirectory search request specified, MSC Nastran will look in the specified
directory for the file.
If there is a subdirectory search request specified, MSC Nastran will look for the file first in the
specified directory then in all of its subdirectories
If none of the names exist or are not readable, a UFM will be issued and the job will exit.
If filename does not contain a directory component, MSC Nastran will attempt to locate one of the four
UNIX or two Windows filenames by searching the following directories or search paths:
the current working directory (the "." directory, i.e., the directory where the nastran command
was run).
If an RFALTER or RFINCLUDE statement is being processed
the directory specified by the RFADIR environment variable, if that variable is defined.
the directory specified by the SSSAALTERDIR environment variable, if that variable was
defined.
the directory containing the file that specified the INCLUDE, RFALTER or RFINCLUDE
statement.
If file that specified the INCLUDE, RFALTER or RFINCLUDE statement itself was included,
the directory containing the parent file will be searched. This nesting will continue until the
directory containing the input data file has been searched.
the list of directories specified by the jidpath keyword will be searched in order, noting that
one or more of the directories in this list may specify subdirectory searching.
If an INCLUDE statement is being processed:
the directory specified by the RFADIR environment variable, if that variable is defined.
the directory specified by the SSSALTERDIR environment variable, if that variable was
defined.
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If no readable file can be found in any of these directories, a UFM will be issued and the job will exit.
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CHAPTER 4
Using the SSS Alter Library
The SSS Alter directory, install_dir/prod_ver/nast/sssalter on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\nast\sssalter on Windows, contains alters (modifications to MSC Nastran solution
sequences) and associated support files that represent client-requested or prototype features that are not
yet implemented in MSC Nastran's standard solution sequences. These alters can be inserted using the
INCLUDE statement and the SSSALTERDIR symbol. For example,
INCLUDE 'SSSALTERDIR:zfreqa.dat'
Note: The SSSALTERDIR specification is not required since the directory specified by the
SSSALTERDIR is one of the directories automatically searched as part of INCLUDE file
processing. However, using the SSSALTERDIR specification is suggested to ensure that
the file in the SSS Alter directory is the one actually used instead of a file with the same
name located in one of the other directories in the INCLUDE file search paths.
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104
Resolving Abnormal Terminations
MSC Nastran generates a substantial amount of information concerning the problem being executed. The
.f04 file provides information on the sequence of modules being executed and the time required by each
of the modules; the .log file contains system messages. A list of known outstanding errors for
MSC Nastran is delivered in the file install_dir/prod_ver/doc/error.lis on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\doc\error.lis on Windows. Please consult this file for limitations and restrictions.
MSC Nastran may terminate as a result of errors detected by the operating system or by the program. If
DIAG 44 is set (see the keyword diag on page 54 and the MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide), MSC
Nastran will produce a dump of several key internal tables when most of these errors occur. Before the
dump occurs, there may be a fatal message written to the .f06 file. The general format of this message is
This message is issued whenever an interrupt occurs that MSC Nastran is unable to satisfactorily process.
The specific reasons for the interrupt are usually printed in the .f06 and/or .log file; n is an error code
that is explained in Chapter 16 of the MSC Nastran Reference Manual.
Whenever the System Fatal Error 4275 or 4276 is associated with a database error, further specific
information is written to the .f06 file as follows:
The FILE and/or BLKNBR lines may not be present, depending upon the bio-function issuing the
message.
Interpreting System Error Codes
If an operating system error occurs, an attempt is made to catch the error and place the error number in
the .log file. A description of these error numbers may be obtained with the following command:
***SYSTEM FATAL ERROR 4276, subroutine-name ERROR CODE n
bio-function ERROR - STATUS = errno, FILX = i, LOGNAME = logical, NSBUF3 = j
FILE = filename
BLKNBR = k
ERROR MESSAGE IS --
error-message-text
IBM cat /usr/include/sys/errno.h
Sun man -s2 intro
Other UNIX man 2 intro
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CHAPTER 4
Terminating a Job
There may be instances when a running job must be prematurely terminated; this is accomplished using
one of the following procedures:
Job Running in the Foreground (batch=no on UNIX; all jobs on Windows)
Use the interrupt sequence (on Silicon Graphics systems this sequence is usually Ctrl-\; on other
systems Ctrl-C).
Job Running in the Background (batch=yes or after=time on UNIX)
Use the ps command to find the process ID (PID) of the MSC Nastran job (i.e., the
install_dir/prod_ver/arch/analysis executable) and issue the command
where pid is the process ID.
Job Running Under NQS or NQE (queue=queue_name on UNIX)
1. Use qstat -a to find the request-id of your job.
2. Use qdel request-id to delete a job that has not yet started; or use qdel -k request-id to kill a
job that has already started where request-id is the request ID.
Flushing .f04 and .f06 Output to Disk (UNIX)
As MSC Nastran writes to the .f04 and .f06 files, the FORTRAN runtime libraries will buffer this I/O in
memory to reduce the amount of time consumed by disk I/O. When the buffers are filled (i.e.,
MSC Nastran has written a sufficient amount of information to the .f04 or .f06 file), the buffers will be
flushed to the files by the FORTRAN runtime libraries. In a large job, some modules may do
substantially more computation than I/O. As a result, the I/O may remain in the FORTRAN buffers
(possibly for several hours) before they are written to disk.
AIX, HP-UX, and Linux computers support asynchronous flushing of the .f04 and .f06 files. To do this,
enter the command
where pid is the process ID of the running MSC Nastran job (i.e., the install_dir/prod_ver/arch/analysis
executable). There may be a time delay between the time you issue the kill command and the time the
files are actually updated.
kill pid
kill -USR1 pid
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Common System Errors
The most common system errors encountered during an MSC Nastran job are described below.
UNIX Disk I/O Errors
ERRNO 1 (EPERM) - no permission to file (all systems).
Please check the ownership and mode of the file or directory with the ls -l command. Change
either the ownership or permissions of the file or the directories along the path. The chgrp(1)
command is used to change the group of a file, chmod(1) is used to change permissions of the
file, and chown(1) is used to change ownership of the file.
ERRNO 27 (EFBIG) - file is too large (all systems)
This error occurs if a file's size exceeds a resource limit. The resource limits in effect during the
job's execution are printed in the .log file under the heading Current Resource Limits. Increase
the -If and -IF parameters on your qsub command if you are running NQS or NQE; ask your
system administrator to increase your File Size limit (all platforms).
ERRNO 28 (ENOSPC) - disk space is completely filled (all systems).
MSC Nastran deletes its scratch files at termination even if the disk space fills up. Therefore, the
df(1) command may show a large amount of free space even though the job failed due to lack of
disk space. Both the current working directory and the scratch directory need to be checked.
Move your files to a disk with more space (see the out, dbs, and sdirectory keywords), or
delete unnecessary files from the disk.
Inability to Allocate the Requested Amount of Memory (OPEN CORE Allocation Failed)
Temporary lack of swap space (all systems).
This error may be caused by too many processes running at the same time. Decrease the number
of processes or increase the available swap space.
The data segment of the process has exceeded the UNIX resource limit (UNIX).
The resource limits in effect during the job's execution are printed in the .log file under the
heading Current Resource Limits. Ask your system administrator to increase your Data
Segment Size (all), Maximum break size (HP-UX), or Virtual Address Space (all others).
memory allocation error: unable to allocate n words (HP-UX).
The resource limits in effect during the job's execution are printed in the .log file under the
heading Current Resource Limits. Check your Maximum break size; if this is smaller than
the requested memory, ask your system administrator to increase your limit.
If your limit is large enough, the system wide shmmax and maxdsize kernel parameters may
be too small. These parameters must be large enough to accommodate all simultaneously
executing MSC Nastran jobs plus all others users of shared memory. These values are modified
using sam(1M), see Kernel Parameters under Configurable Parameters.
It may also be possible to correct these errors with the following:
Reduce the amount of memory requested by the memory keyword.
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Increase the -lm and -lM parameters if you directly submitted your job to NQS or NQE
using a qsub command.
Increase the prmdelta or ppmdelta keyword values if you submitted your job to NQS or
NQE using the nastran commands queue keyword.
EAG FFIO Errors (Altix)
The following error message may appear on LINUXIPF systems when FFIO is being used:
This message is a consequence of not having enough memory for the eie cache pages. System memory
requirements are as follows:
If the job was directly submitted with the qsub command, then the error can be avoided by increasing
the NQS lm and lM parameters. The value should be at least 6.5 MW plus the value specified by the
memory keyword plus the amount needed for eie. To determine the amount needed for FFIO, consider
the following ff_io_opts request:
This request requires an additional:
If the job was submitted with the nastran commands queue keyword, the nastran command
automatically adjusts the memory request based on the ff_io_cachesize keyword. The eie open
failure message should only appear if the user modified the ff_io_defaults or ff_io_opts keywords
without modifying the ff_io_cachesize keyword. This error can be avoided by increasing the value set
by the ppmdelta keyword (see ppmdelta (UNIX) on page 80) to 6.5 MW plus the amount of memory
for FFIO.
See the URL
eie open failure : Not enough space for cache pages
Description Size Where Documented
executable 6.5 MW System Descriptions on page 115
opencore memory keyword Keywords and Environment Variables on page 45
and Managing Memory on page 116
EIE buffers/ Cache Keywords and Environment Variables on page 45
(eie:128:16:1:1:1:0,set:0:0)
file://install_dir/prod_ver/arch/ffio.html
128 blocks page ( ) 16 pages ( ) 512 words block ( ) 1048576W 1MW = =
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where arch is linuxipf, for a complete description of EAG FFIO.
Main Index
Ch. 5: Using the Advanced Functions of MSC Nastran MSC Nastran 2012 Installation and Operations
Guide

5
Using the Advanced Functions
of MSC Nastran
Overview
Using the Advanced Keywords
Using the NASTRAN Statement
Managing Memory
Managing DBsets
Interpreting the .f04 File
Running a Job on a Remote System
Running Distributed Memory Parallel (DMP) Jobs
Configuring and Running SOL 600
SOL 600 Parallel Processing on Windows
Running an ISHELL Program
Using the ISHELL-INCLUDE Statement (!)
Improving Network File System (NFS) Performance (UNIX)
Creating and Attaching Alternate Delivery Databases

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Overview
This chapter discusses the NASTRAN statement, as well as how to manage MSC Nastrans internal
memory allocations and databases. It also shows how to interpret performance related information in the
.f04 file and some of the lower-level database messages, how to run a job on a remote system, run a DMP
job, use the ISHELL module, and finally, how to create alternate delivery databases.
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CHAPTER 5
Using the Advanced Functions of MSC Nastran
Using the Advanced Keywords
The following is a partial list of the advanced keywords that may be used on the command line or placed
into RC files as appropriate. More basic keywords are listed in Using the Basic Keywords on page 80;
keywords specific to remote processing are listed in Running a Job on a Remote System on page 132,
while keywords specific to distributed processing are listed in Running Distributed Memory Parallel
(DMP) Jobs on page 141. Finally, a complete list of all keywords and their syntax is listed in
Keywords on page 46.
All Systems
UNIX Systems
Keyword Purpose
buffsize Specifies the size of database I/O transfers.
bpool Specifies the number of GINO blocks set aside for buffer pooling.
delivery Specifies an alternate delivery database name.
ifpbuff Specifies the size of IFPStar database I/O transfers
exe Specifies an alternate solver executable.
nastran Specifies NASTRAN statements.
proc Specifies an alternate solver executable file type.
rank Specifies the rank size for the sparse solvers.
smem Specifies the number of GINO blocks to set aside for MEMFILE portion
of the SCRATCH DBset.
sysfield Specifies global SYS parameters. See Using the SYS Field on page 118.
sysn Specifies SYSTEM cell values.
parallel Specifies the number of SMP tasks to use in certain numeric modules.
Keyword Purpose
post Specifies UNIX commands to be executed after the job completes.
pre Specifies UNIX commands to be executed before the job begins.
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All Systems
AIX and Linux64 Only
LINUX IPF (SGI Altix) Only
Solaris Only
Queuing (UNIX)
Keyword Purpose
parallel Specifies the number of SMP tasks to use in certain numeric modules.
Keyword Purpose
mio-cachesize Specifies the size of the MIO cache to be used.
Keyword Purpose
ff_io Enables the FFIO high performance I/O system.
ff_io_cachesize Specifies the size of the FFIO cache.
Keyword Purpose
sun_io Enables the SUN_IO high performance I/O system and specifies the
parameters.
Note: These capabilities are dependent upon the queue submission commands defined by the
submit keyword and your queuing system. The keywords may not work on your system.
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CHAPTER 5
Keyword Purpose
ppcdelta Specifies the per-process CPU time limit delta.
ppmdelta Specifies the per-process memory limit delta.
prmdelta Specifies the per-request memory limit delta.
qclass Specifies an optional queue class.
qoption Specifies other queue command options.
submit Defines queues and their associated submittal commands.
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Using the NASTRAN Statement
The NASTRAN statement allows you to change parameter values at runtime.
The format of NASTRAN statements is
An input file may contain more than one NASTRAN statement. A full description of these keywords is
found in The NASTRAN Statement on page 12 of the MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide. A brief
description of a few of the keywords follows:
AUTOASGN
AUTOASGN is used to determine which DBsets are automatically assigned (see the following table).
The default is AUTOASGN=7, which specifies that all DBsets are to be automatically assigned.
BUFFPOOL, SYSTEM(114)
See the bpool command line keyword, (page 49).
NASTRAN KEYWORD1=A, KEYWORD2=B, ... KEYWORDi=I for MSC Nastran
Value Default DBsets Delivery DBsets
DBLOCATEd
DBsets
0
1 X
2 X
3 X X
4 X
5 X X
6 X X
7 (Default) X X X
Note: 1. Default DBsets are the user-default DBsets and any DBsets specified by INIT
statements (see Table 4-7).
2. Delivery DBsets contain the Structured Solution Sequences.
3. DBLOCATEd DBsets are the DBsets specified by DBLOCATE statements. See
DBLOCATE on page 74 of the MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide.
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CHAPTER 5
BUFFSIZE, SYSTEM(1)
See the buffsize command line keyword, (page 49).
IFPBUFF, SYSTEM(624)
See the "ipfbuff" command line keyword (page 50).
PARALLEL, SYSTEM(107)
See the parallel command line keyword, (page 79).
SYSTEM(128)
SYSTEM(128) specifies the maximum interval of CPU time (in minutes) between database directory
updates to the MASTER DBSET when the INIT MASTER(RAM) option is being used. The default is
5 minutes on all systems. See DBUPDATE on page 81 of the MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide for
more information.
SYSTEM(198), SYSTEM(205)
See the rank keyword, (page 84).
SYSTEM(207)
See the LOCK SYS field keyword, (page 96).
SYSTEM(275)
SYSTEM(275) sets the time-out for an ISHELL program to complete its work. If the value is negative
(the default is -1), the ISHELL module will wait until the executable finishes, i.e., there is no time-out.
If the value is positive, the ISHELL module will wait for the specified number of seconds.
If the value is zero, the ISHELL module will determine if an executable can be found, and return a zero
status if found and a non-zero status if it cant be found.
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Managing Memory
Memory is dynamically allocated at runtime with the memory keyword of the nastran command. The
memory can be partitioned in a variety of ways (see the memory map at the top of the .f04 file for the
actual memory allocation used in a job). To make the most effective choice of the sizing parameters, see
the following map of MSC Nastrans memory:
As can be seen in this diagram, the memory available for use by MSC Nastran modules (user open core)
is the amount specified by the memory keyword (open core size) less the space required by memory
resident files and executive tables. The actual user open core is calculated as follows
UserOpenCore = MEM (EXEC + RAM + SMEM X BUFFSIZE + BUFFPOOL X (BUFFSIZE + 10 ))
MEM The total size of open core. There is no default. Set by the memory keyword,
(p. 70).
EXEC
The executive system work area. The size is words.
RAM NDDL tables. The default is 30000. Set by the FMS statement
INIT MASTER (RAM=value).
User Open Core
Executive System
Work Area
MASTER(RAM)
SCRATCH(MEM) Area
Buffer pool Area
Amount Specified by
memory Keyword.
Memory Resident File
and Executive Tables
70409 4 BUFFSIZE +
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The INIT statement may be used to size MASTER and SCRATCH memory. Several examples of the
INIT statement, along with an explanation of their uses, follow:
1. If the available memory is a critical resource, then using the following selection reduces memory
requirements at the expense of increased CPU and wall-clock time.
2. Performance gains may be made by increasing the memory-resident area for the scratch and
permanent DBset(s) as follows. Note that the default RAM is sufficiently large and need not be
increased.
3. If disk space is critical, then all DBsets may be deleted at the end of the job by specifying S on
the INIT MASTER statement as follows:
This statement is identical to specifying scratch=yes on the command line.
4. If disk space is critical, but data recovery restarts are required, then a database may be created that
will support data recovery restarts by setting scratch=mini on the command line.
SMEM The memory-resident file space for temporary database files. The default is 100. If
mem=max is specified on a supported SOL sequence, then SMEM will be set to
an estimated maximum. See the MEM keyword for more details. Set by the FMS
statement INIT SCRATCH (MEM=value) or the smemory keyword, (p. 91).
BUFFSIZE The maximum BUFFSIZE used for all the DBsets referenced by the job. The default
is 8193. Set by the buffsize keyword, (p. 49).
BUFFPOOL The buffer pool area for permanent database files. The default size is 50. Set by the
bpool keyword, (p. 49).
INIT SCRATCH(NOMEM) $ temporary database files
NASTRAN BUFFPOOL=70
INIT SCRATCH
(MEM=200)
$ increase permanent DBsets
$ increase scratch memory
INIT MASTER(S) $ delete DBsets at end of job
prod_ver nastran example scratch=mini for MSC Nastran
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Managing DBsets
I/O Performance Libraries
Several of the vendors have provided enhanced I/O libraries for use with MSC Nastran database I/O. The
specific keywords enabling or controlling these keywords are:
Please see Keywords on page 46 for additional information on these keywords.
Using the SYS Field
The SYS field is used to specify computer-dependent parameters on ASSIGN statements. If your
computer does not recognize a particular parameter, it is silently ignored. This keyword is specified as a
comma separated list of keyword=value pairs. For example, file locking may be disabled on for a
particular DBset with the following statement:
ASSIGN =DBALL=mydball.DBALL= SYS='LOCK=NO'
A global SYS field for all DBsets can be specified by the sysfield keyword, (page 111).
The following tables describe the SYS field parameters. A complete description of parameters and their
syntax is available in SYS Parameter Keywords on page 102.
All Systems
Table 5-1 I/O Performance Library Keywords
System Keyword
AIX mio-cachesize (page 73)
HP-UX use_aio, (page 99
Linux IPF (SGI Altix) ff_io, (page 59)
Linux 64 (with mio license) mio-cachesize (page 73)
Solaris, Primepower sun_io, (page 93)
Keyword Purpose
lock Lock database files.
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CHAPTER 5
Systems Supporting File Mapping (see Table 4-7)
Systems Supporting Buffered I/O (see Table 4-7)
Systems Supporting Async I/O (see Table 4-7)
Keyword Purpose
mapio Use the virtual memory system to map database files to memory.
wnum Specifies the default number of maps used on database files.
wsize Specifies the default size of maps used on database files.
Keyword Purpose
buffio Use intermediate buffers to hold database file records
wnum Specifies the default number of buffers used for database files
wsize Specifies the default size of buffers used for database files
raw RAW=YES to specify that no intermediate buffering of file data is to be done for the
next file to be opened/created. Because of restrictions imposed by the operating
system on the use of this capability, RAW=YES will only be honored when:
Buffered or asynchronous I/O is being used. That is, BUFFIO=YESor
"ASYNC=YES" must also be specified.
The record length of the file (i.e., the RECL value specified when the file is created
or opened), when converted to bytes, must be an exact multiple of the disk sector size
(normally 512 bytes) of the disk containing the file.
If either of these conditions is not met, RAW=NO will be forced.
RAW=NO to specify that intermediate buffering of file data is to be allowed for the
next file to be opened/created. This is the default.
Keyword Purpose
async Use intermediate buffers to hold database file records, doing predictive read-ahead
wnum Specifies the default number of buffers used for database files
wsize Specifies the default size of buffers used for database files
raw See note for raw keyword in Systems Supporting Buffered I/O (see Table 4-7) on
page 119.
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Using File Mapping
Notes:
1. See Table 4-8 to determine if file mapping is available on your computer.
2. Altix users can use the ff_io parameters (page 59) as an alternative to file mapping.
File mapping is a way to tell the operating system to use the virtual paging system to process a file. From
the perspective of the process, file mapping effectively changes the file I/O operations from synchronous
to asynchronous because the paging functions of the operating system perform the I/O as part its normal
virtual memory management. File mapping can be used for both permanent and temporary DBsets.
The wsize and wnum parameters, described in SYS Parameter Keywords on page 102, specify the
size of the window mapping the file to memory and the number of windows or maps that will be used for
each file. The larger the window, the less often it must be moved when the file is sequentially read or
written. Multiple maps allow several I/O streams to be active in the same file.
File mapping is controlled globally using the sysfield command line keyword (page 111) and, for
individual DBsets, using the ASSIGN statement SYS field or the logical-name capability of the
"sysfield" command line keyword. These same statements can be used to specify the number and size of
the windows using the "wnum" and "wsize" keywords.
As an example, if file mapping is to be enabled for all files, the sysfield keyword in the command
initialization or RC file or on the command line is:
sysfield=mapio=yes
If file mapping is to be disabled for all files, the sysfield keyword is:
sysfield=mapio=no
Enabling file mapping for all but a specified set of DBsets may be done in either of the following ways:
using both the sysfield keyword and ASSIGN specifications. In the command initialization
file, RC file, or on the command line, specify:
sysfield=mapio=yes
and, in the MSC Nastran data file, specify:
ASSIGN logical-name=filename, SYS='MAPIO=NO'
for those files to be processed using normal disk I/O processing.
using the logical-name capability of the "sysfield" keyword. In the command initialization file,
RC file, or on the command line, specify:
sysfield=mapio=yes,logical-name(mapio=no)
If more than one file is to be processed using normal disk I/O processing, the other logical-names may
be specified on the same "sysfield" statement, on subsequent "sysfield" statements or using the
"wildcard" capabilities of the logical-name capability. For example, if there are two user DBsets, USER1
and USER2, that are to be processed using normal disk I/O processing, specify:
sysfield=mapio=yes,user*(mapio=no)
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Disabling file mapping for all but a specified set of DBsets may be done in either of the following ways:
sysfield=mapio=no
ASSIGN logical-name=filename, SYS='MAPIO=YES'
for those files to be processed using file mapping.
sysfield=mapio=no,logical-name(mapio=yes)
If more than one file is to be processed using file mapping, the other logical-names may be specified on
the same "sysfield" statement, on subsequent "sysfield" statements or using the "wildcard" capabilities
of the logical-name capability. For example, if the scratch DBsets, SCRATCH and SCR300, are to be
processed using file mapping, specify:
sysfield=mapio=no,scr*(mapio=yes)
Using Buffered I/O
Notes:
1. See Table 4-7 to determine if buffered I/O is available on your computer.
2. SGI IA64 Altix users should use the ff_io parameters (page 59) as an alternative to buffered
I/O.
Buffered I/O instructs MSC Nastran to buffer or use intermediate memory areas to hold records of a
file before either writing them out to disk or copying them to the MSC Nastran internal areas. The
primary purpose for using buffered I/O is to increase data reuse and, in some cases, to increase the actual
read/write data lengths beyond that normally used by MSC Nastran. Buffered I/O can be used for both
permanent and temporary DBsets.
size of the buffer to be used to hold file records and the number of such buffers to be used. The larger the
buffer, the less often actual physical read/write operations are needed when the file is sequentially read
or written. Multiple buffers allow several I/O streams to be active in the same file.
Buffered I/O is controlled globally using the sysfield command line keyword (page 111) and, for
"sysfield" command line keyword. These same statements can be used to specify the number and size
of the buffers using the "wnum" and "wsize" keywords.
As an example, if buffered I/O is to be enabled for all files, the sysfield keyword in the command
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sysfield=buffio=yes
If buffered I/O is to be disabled for all files, the sysfield keyword is:
sysfield=buffio=no
Enabling buffered I/O for all but a specified set of DBsets may be done in either of the following ways:
sysfield=buffio=yes
ASSIGN logical-name=filename, SYS='BUFFIO=NO'
sysfield=buffio=yes,logical-name(buffio=no)
If more than one file is to be processed using normal disk I/O processing, the other logical-names may
be specified on the same "sysfield" statement, on subsequent "sysfield" statements or using the
"wildcard" capabilities of the logical-name capability. For example, if there are two user DBsets, USER1
and USER2, that are to be processed using normal disk I/O processing, specify:
sysfield=buffio=yes,user*(buffio=no)
Disabling buffered I/O for all but a specified set of DBsets may be done in either of the following ways:
sysfield=buffio=no
ASSIGN logical-name=filename, SYS='BUFFIO=YES'
for those files to be processed using buffered I/O.
sysfield=buffio=no,logical-name(buffio=yes)
If more than one file is to be processed using buffered I/O, the other logical-names may be
specified on the same "sysfield" statement, on subsequent "sysfield" statements or using the
"wildcard" capabilities of the logical-name capability. For example, if the scratch DBsets,
SCRATCH and SCR300, are to be processed using buffered I/O, specify:
sysfield=buffio=no,scr*(buffio=yes)
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CHAPTER 5
Using Asynchronous I/O
Notes:
1. See Table 4-7 to determine if asynchronous I/O ("Async I/O") is available on your computer.
2. SGI IA64 Altix users should use the ff_io parameters (page 59) as an alternative to
asynchronous I/O.
Asynchronous I/O instructs MSC Nastran to use a predictive "read-ahead" algorithm to detect read
patterns within a file (either forwards or backwards) and to issue asynchronous reads to bring data in
from the file in anticipation of its later use. These reads use buffers or intermediate memory areas to
hold the records of a file before they are actually used, i.e., copied to the MSC Nastran internal areas.
The primary purpose for using asynchronous I/O is to have records already in buffers when they are
requested by MSC Nastran through the use of the predictive logic. A secondary purpose, just as for
buffered I/O, is to increase data reuse and in some cases, to increase the actual read/write data lengths
beyond that normally used by MSC Nastran. Asynchronous I/O can be used for both permanent and
temporary DBsets.
size of the buffer to be used to hold file records and the number of such buffers to be used. Because the
number of buffers affects how much actual "read-ahead" is possible, it is important that the number of
available buffers be as large as possible. Typically, this value should be at least twice the number of
expected different read patterns in file (some MSC Nastran operations may be accessing as many as four
different portions of the scratch files at a time). More buffers allow more read-ahead and allow several
I/O streams to be active in the same file.
Asynchronous I/O is controlled globally using the sysfield command line keyword (page 96) and, for
"sysfield" command line keyword. These same statements can be used to specify the number and size
of the buffers using the "wnum" and "wsize" keywords.
As an example, if asynchronous I/O is to be enabled for all files, the sysfield keyword in the command
sysfield=async=yes
If asynchronous I/O is to be disabled for all files, the sysfield keyword is:
sysfield=async=no
Enabling asynchronous I/O for all but a specified set of DBsets, specifying that sixteen buffers are to be
used when it is enabled, may be done in either of the following ways:
sysfield=async=yes,wnum=16
ASSIGN logical-name=filename, SYS='ASYNC=NO'
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sysfield=async=yes,wnum=16,logical-name(async=no)
If more than one file is to be processed using normal disk I/O processing, the other logical-names
may be specified on the same "sysfield" statement, on subsequent "sysfield" statements or using
the "wildcard" capabilities of the logical-name capability. For example, if there are two user
DBsets, USER1 and USER2, that are to be processed using normal disk I/O processing, specify:
sysfield=async=yes,wnum=16,user*(async=no)
Disabling asynchronous I/O for all but a specified set of DBsets and, for those DBsets, that
sixteen buffers are to be used, may be done in either of the following ways:
sysfield=async=no
ASSIGN logical-name=filename, SYS='ASYNC=YES,WNUM=16'
for those files to be processed using asynchronous I/O.
sysfield=async=no,logical-name(async=yes,wnum=16)
If more than one file is to be processed using asynchronous I/O, the other logical-names may be
specified on the same "sysfield" statement, on subsequent "sysfield" statements or using the
"wildcard" capabilities of the logical-name capability. For example, if the scratch DBsets,
SCRATCH and SCR300, are to be processed using asynchronous I/O, specify:
sysfield=async=no,scr*(async=yes,wnum=16)
Interpreting Database File-Locking Messages (UNIX)
All database files are locked using the operating system function fcntl(2). This prevents two or more
MSC Nastran jobs from interfering with one another; however, this does not prevent any other program
or operating system command from modifying the files.
A read-write (exclusive) lock is requested for every database file that is to be modified. A read-only
(shared lock) is requested on every database file that is not modified, e.g., DBLOCATEd databases. If the
lock request is denied because another MSC Nastran job is using the file in a potentially conflicting
manner, the following fatal error message is written to the .f06 file:
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where lock-type-explanatory-text is:
lock_type is read-only:
lock_type is read-write:
Some systems will deny a file lock because of an internal resource limit. In these cases, the job is allowed
to continue, and the following message will be written to the .f06 file:
where computer-specific-text is:
bio-function ERROR - STATUS = errno, FILX = i, LOGNAME = logical, NSBUF3 = j
FILE = filename
ERROR MESSAGE IS --
Unable to acquire a lock_type lock.
lock-type-explanatory-text
Process ID pid is holding a conflicting lock.
This operation failed because another process already holds a read-
write lock on this file.
This operation failed because another process already holds a
read-write or read-only lock on this file.
bio-function WARNING - STATUS = errno, FILX = i, LOGNAME = logical, NSBUF3 = j
FILE = filename
ERROR MESSAGE IS --
Unable to acquire a lock_type lock.
computer-specific-text
advisory-text
AIX The file appears to be in a Parallel Filesystem
partition, and file locking is not supported in PFS
partitions.
or
The system wide maximum number of file locks has
been exceeded. See ENOLCK in SC23-2198 Call and
Subroutine Reference.
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and advisory-text is:
lock_type is read-only
lock_type is read-write
Disabling File Locking
File locking can be disabled by:
Setting sysfield=lock=no in an RC file or on the command line; see Using the Advanced
Keywords on page 111. This affects all DBsets in the job.
Setting SYSTEM(207) to a nonzero value using the NASTRAN statement; see Using the
NASTRAN Statement on page 114. This affects all DBsets in the job.
The following informational message is written to the .f06 file:
Setting SYS=LOCK=NO on an FMS INIT statement; see Using the SYS Field on page 118.
This only affects the specific DBset (s).
HP-UX The file appears to be an NFS file, and remote file
locking was denied. See ENOLCK in man 2 fcntl for
further information.
Solaris The system wide maximum number of file locks has
been exceeded. See ENOLCK in man -s 2 fcntl.
All others The system wide maximum number of file locks has
been exceeded. See ENOLCK in man 2 fcntl.
If another job modifies this file during this run, there is the
potential for incorrect results to occur in this job.
If another job accesses this file during this run, there is the
potential for the file to be damaged and/or incorrect results to
occur in both jobs.
*** SYSTEM INFORMATION MESSAGE - BIO
SYSTEM(207).NE.0 - File locking suppressed.
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Interpreting the .f04 File
MSC Nastran writes information to the .f04 file that aids in monitoring and tuning the performance of
your job. An overview of the complete .f04 file can be found in Section 9.2, Output Description, of the
MSC Nastran Reference Manual. This section contains more detailed explanations of selected portions
of the .f04 file.
Summary of Physical File Information
This summary table describes the physical files used for the DBsets. A sample of this table, located near
the top of the .f04 file, is shown below.
In this summary, ASSIGNED PHYSICAL FILENAME is the physical FILENAME with any symbols
translated; RECL is the record length in bytes; MODE is the file access mode, R/W is read-write
mode, R/O is read-only mode. The FLAGS column will contain various letters depending on the
capabilities of the platform and user requests, the text below the table indicates flag values that are
possible on the specific platform.
In this example, an INIT statement was used to create the DBALL DBset with two files using the logical
names DBALL and DBALL2.
Below the summary is a message indicating if large files (see Using Databases on page 91) are
available on this platform. On AIX, HP-UX, and Solaris, the actual file system containing the file must
support large files; this fact is not indicated in the message.
S U M M A R Y O F P H Y S I C A L F I L E I N F O R M A T I O N
ASSIGNED PHYSICAL FILE NAME RECL (BYTES) MODE FLAGS
------------------------------------------------------------ ------------ ---- ---
--
/tmp/65872_57.SCRATCH 8192 R/W L
/tmp/65872_57.OBJSCR 8192 R/W L
/tmp/65872_57.MASTER 8192 R/W L
/tmp/65872_57.DBALL 8192 R/W L
/tmp/65872_57.DBALL2 8192 R/W L
/tmp/65872_57.SCR300 8192 R/W L
/MSC.msc691/aix/SSS.MASTERA 8192 R/O L
/MSC.msc691/aix/SSS.MSCOBJ 8192 R/O L
FLAG VALUES ARE --
F FFIO INTERFACE USED TO PROCESS FILE
H HPIO INTERFACE USED TO PROCESS FILE
L FILE HAS BEEN LOCKED
M FILE MAPPING USED TO PROCESS FILE
R FILE BEING ACCESSED IN RAW MODE
** PHYSICAL FILES LARGER THAN 2GB FILES ARE NOT SUPPORTED ON THIS PLATFORM
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Memory Map
Immediately following the Summary of Physical File Information is a map showing the allocation of
memory. This map is also described in Managing Memory on page 116.
In this table USER OPENCORE is the amount of memory available to the module for computation
purposes; EXECUTIVE SYSTEM WORK AREA is the space reserved for the executive system;
MASTER(RAM) is the space reserved to cache datablocks from the MASTER DBset;
SCRATCH(MEM) AREA is the space reserved to cache datablocks from the SCRATCH and SCR300
DBsets; BUFFER POOL AREA is the space reserved for the buffer pool; TOTAL MSC Nastran
MEMORY LIMIT is the total space allocated to MSC Nastrans open core using the memory
keyword.
Day Log
The Day Log portion of the .f04 is a DMAP execution summary. This log, in table format, contains the
vast majority of the information in the .f04. The beginning of the Day Log is shown below:
In the Day Log, DAY TIME is the time of day of the entry; ELAPSED is the elapsed time since the
start of the job; I/O MB is the megabytes of I/O to the databases since the start of the job; DEL_MB
is the delta I/O since the previous entry; CPU SEC is the total CPU seconds since the start of the job;
DEL_CPU is the delta CPU since the previous entry; SUB_DMAP/DMAP_MODULE indicates the
DMAP statement being executed; and MESSAGES are any messages issued by the module, BEGN
is the start of the module and END is the end.
** MASTER DIRECTORIES ARE LOADED IN MEMORY.
USER OPENCORE (HICORE) = 3804612 WORDS
EXECUTIVE SYSTEM WORK AREA = 78605 WORDS
MASTER(RAM) = 30000 WORDS
SCRATCH(MEM) AREA = 204900 WORDS ( 100 BUFFERS)
BUFFER POOL AREA (GINO/EXEC) = 76183 WORDS ( 37 BUFFERS)
TOTAL MSC Nastran MEMORY LIMIT = 4194300 WORDS
DAY TIME ELAPSED I/O MB DEL_MB CPU SEC DEL_CPU SUB_DMAP/DMAP_MODULE MESSAGES
10:32:16 0:16 13.6 .3 .8 .0 SESTATIC 20 IFPL BEGN
10:32:16 0:16 13.7 .1 .8 .0 IFPL 29 IFP1 BEGN
10:32:16 0:16 13.7 .0 .8 .0 IFPL 39 XSORT BEGN
Note: 1. The I/O MB value is computed by multiplying SYSTEM(85), which is
incremented by one for each GINO I/O, by BUFFSIZE. This value will lose
accuracy if the DBsets do not have the same BUFFSIZE.
2. If SYSTEM(84) is set to 0, the I/O MB column will be the number of GINO I/Os.
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User Information Messages 4157 and 6439
The UIM 4157 text provides decomposition estimates upon completion on the preface of the
decomposition module. This message has a counterpart, UIM 6439, which provides actual information
from the completed decomposition process. These two messages are interspersed within the Day Log at
each decomposition. The following example is from a sparse decomposition.
The most important elements of the UIM 4157 message are the MINIMUM MEMORY
REQUIREMENT, which is an estimate of the user open core memory that will allow the decomposition
to run, but with heavy spilling to disk. The MEMORY REQRD TO AVOID SPILL will allow the
decomposition to run in in core, i.e., without spilling to disk. These two values represent the extremes
of memory requirements, the memory for optimal CPU performance is between the two. The
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM FRONT SIZE, a function of the model, affects the memory estimates; the
minimum memory is a function of the front size, and the memory to avoid spill is a function of the square
of the front size. The NUMBER OF NONZEROES is the size of the input matrix, multiply this value
by 8 to estimate the size of the input file in bytes. The sum of EST. INTEGER WORDS IN FACTOR
and EST. NONZERO TERMS is the size of the output matrix, multiply the integer value by 4 on all
machines, and the nonzero value by 8 to estimate the size of the output file in bytes. The RANK OF
UPDATE is the number of rows that will be simultaneously updated during the decomposition. This
value is set by either the rank keyword or SYSTEM(205).
In UIM 6439, SPARSE DECOMP MEMORY USED states the actual memory used in the
decomposition process. Based on the execution of the module, the SPARSE DECOMP SUGGESTED
MEMORY will result in optimal throughput performance.
3. The I/O MB column will be scaled by gigabytes and a G will be appended after
each number if the value is greater than or equal to 100 000.
4. Prior to Version 69, the I/O SEC value was computed by multiplying
SYSTEM(85) by SYSTEM(84) (a pseudo-I/O rate).
*** USER INFORMATION MESSAGE 4157 (DFMSYN)
PARAMETERS FOR SPARSE DECOMPOSITION OF DATA BLOCK KLL ( TYPE=RDP ) FOLLOW
MATRIX SIZE = 726 ROWS NUMBER OF NONZEROES = 16926 TERMS
NUMBER OF ZERO COLUMNS = 0 NUMBER OF ZERO DIAGONAL TERMS = 0
CPU TIME ESTIMATE = 0 SEC I/O TIME ESTIMATE = 0 SEC
MINIMUM MEMORY REQUIREMENT = 58 K WORDS MEMORY AVAILABLE = 6978 K WORDS
MEMORY REQRD TO AVOID SPILL = 133 K WORDS MEMORY USED BY BEND = 20 K WORDS
EST. INTEGER WORDS IN FACTOR = 48 K WORDS EST. NONZERO TERMS = 79 K TERMS
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM FRONT SIZE = 210 TERMS RANK OF UPDATE = 6
*** USER INFORMATION MESSAGE 6439 (DFMSA)
ACTUAL MEMORY AND DISK SPACE REQUIREMENTS FOR SPARSE SYM. DECOMPOSITION
SPARSE DECOMP MEMORY USED = 133 K WORDS MAXIMUM FRONT SIZE = 210 TERMS
INTEGER WORDS IN FACTOR = 8 K WORDS NONZERO TERMS IN FACTOR = 79 K TERMS
SPARSE DECOMP SUGGESTED MEMORY = 91 K WORDS
Note: Setting SYSTEM(69)=64 will cause MSC Nastran to terminate after printing UIM4157.
This can be useful for determining a jobs memory and disk space requirements.
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Memory and Disk Usage Statistics
These tables are written after the job has completed, and indicate the maximum memory used by any
sparse numerical module and the maximum disk used by any module during the job. A sample follows.
In the left hand table, HIWATER WORDS is the maximum amount of open core used by certain sparse
numerical modules; DAY_TIME is the time of day the module ran. SUB_DMAP NAME is the name
of the SUBDmap; DMAP MODULE indicates the line number and module name that made the
maximum request. Similarly, in the right hand table, HIWATER (MB) is the maximum amount of disk
space used by any module; DAY_TIME is the time of day the module ran. SUB_DMAP NAME is
the name of the SUBDmap; DMAP MODULE indicates the line number and module name that made
the maximum request.
Database Usage Statistics
These statistics, provided in table format, summarize the I/O activity for the DBsets.
Where:
This statistical table contains two parallel tables. The "LOGICAL DBSETS" table lists each DBset while
"DBSET FILES" tables lists the component files of the DBset. In these tables:
LOGICAL DBSETS:
DBSET is the name of the DBset
ALLOCATED is the MSC Nastran DBset size limit in blocks
BLOCKSIZE is the BUFFSIZE of the DBset minus one.
USED (BLOCKS) and USED % are the number of blocks and percent of the DBset used. For
SCRATCH it is the amount used during cleanup. Refer to HIWATER for total use.
DBSET FILES:
+---------- SPARSE SOLUTION MODULES -----------+ +------------- MAXIMUM DISK USAGE -------------+
HIWATER SUB_DMAP DMAP HIWATER SUB_DMAP DMAP
(WORDS) DAY_TIME NAME MODULE (MB) DAY_TIME NAME MODULE
517786 04:35:44 SEKRRS 18 DCMP 15.625 04:35:48 SESTATIC 186 EXIT
*** DATABASE USAGE STATISTICS ***
+---------------- LOGICAL DBSETS ----------------+ +------------------------------ DBSET FILES -----------------------------+
DBSET ALLOCATED BLOCKSIZE USED USED FILE ALLOCATED ALLOCATED HIWATER HIWATER I/O TRANSFERRED
(BLOCKS) (WORDS) (BLOCKS) % (BLOCKS) (GB) (BLOCKS) (GB) (GB)
MASTER 5000 65536 52 1.04 MASTER 5000 2.44 152 0.074 1.449
DBALL 2000000 65536 3 0.00 DBALL 2000000 976.56 3 0.001 0.003
OBJSCR 5000 8192 374 7.48 OBJSCR 5000 0.31 374 0.023 0.529
SCRATCH 4000100 65536 291 0.01 (MEMFILE 100 0.05 100 0.049 0.000)
SCRATCH 2000000 976.56 28297 13.817 209.438
SCR300 2000000 976.56 1992 0.973 24.080
==============
TOTAL: 235.498
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FILE is the file's logical name associated with the DBset to the left.
ALLOCATED is the number of BLOCKS/Gb allocated by MSC Nastran for the file
HIWATER is the number of BLOCKS/Gb actually used in the file.
I/O TRANSFERRED is te amount if I/O to the file.
In this example, the MASTER and OBJSCR DBsets are each composed of one file. The MASTER,
DBALL and OBJSCR are each composed of one file. The SCRATCH DBset has three components,
MEMFILE, SCRATCH, and SCR300.
This table can be used to determine if the DBsets and files are appropriately sized and the amount of I/O
activity associated with each file. Best elapsed time performance can be obtained if the files with the
greatest activity are on different physical devices (and better yet, separate I/O controllers or busses).
Summary of Physical File I/O Activity
This summary describes the physical file I/O for each database file.
In this summary, ASSIGNED PHYSICAL FILENAME, RECL, and MAP WSIZE and NUM are
repeated from the Summary of Physical FIle Information table. READ/WRITE COUNT is the
number of GINO reads and writes that were performed on the file and MAP COUNT is the number of
times the map window had to be remapped (these columns are only present on systems supporting
mapped I/O).
This summary can be used to tune I/O performance. For mapped I/O systems, if the map count
approaches the number of reads and writes, the map size and/or the number of maps should be increased.
Increasing the number of maps is suggested if a module simultaneously accesses more data blocks or
matrices in a file than there are windows. Increasing the size of the windows is suggested if a file contains
very large data blocks or matrices. Best elapsed time performance, with or without mapping, can be
obtained if the files with the greatest activity are on different physical devices (and better yet, separate
I/O controllers or busses).
*** SUMMARY OF PHYSICAL FILE I/O ACTIVITY ***
ASSIGNED PHYSICAL FILENAME RECL (BYTES) READ/WRITE COUNT MAP WSIZE (NUM) MAP COUNT
------------------------------------------------------------ ------------ ----------- --------------- -----------
/tmp/65872_57.SCRATCH 8192 1 128KB ( 4) 1
/tmp/65872_57.OBJSCR 8192 378 128KB ( 4) 24
/tmp/65872_57.MASTER 8192 1247 128KB ( 4) 11
/tmp/65872_57.DBALL 8192 26 128KB ( 4) 1
/tmp/65872_57.SCR300 8192 1 128KB ( 4) 1
/MSC.msc691/aix/SSS.MASTERA 8192 162 N/A N/A
/MSC.msc691/aix/SSS.MSCOBJ 8192 202 N/A N/A
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Running a Job on a Remote System
The nastran command offers a mechanism to run simple jobs on a computer other than the computer you
are currently logged onto via the "node" keyword, (page 76). In the descriptions that follow, the "local"
node or system is the computer you issue the nastran command on; the "remote" node or system is the
computer named by the "node" keyword, i.e., the system where the MSC Nastran analysis will run.
The method used to communicate between the local and remote nodes depends on the operating system
on the remote node:
If the remote node is a UNIX system (or a similar system such as Linux), the "rsh/rcp"
communications programs may be used.
If the remote node is a Windows system (i.e., a system running Windows 7), the
"MSCRmtCmd/MSCRmtMgr" communications programs must be used. (See
Installing/Running MSCRmtMgr on page 139.)
Following are some general requirements for running remote jobs:
MSC Nastran must be properly installed on the remote system.
The input data file must be accessible on the local host.
INCLUDE files must be local-to, or visible-from, the remote system unless the "expjid" keyword
is used (or taken by default).
All default output files, i.e., those without ASSIGN statements, will be written to a directory
accessible to the local host.
In a restart, i.e., a job that uses an existing database, the DBsets must be local-to, or visible-from,
the remote system.
If the rsh/rcp communications programs are to be used:
You must have "remote execution" privileges on the remote system. That is, a password must
not be required to execute a remote copy (rcp) or remote shell (rsh or remsh) command. See
your system administrator for information on this. You can test this with the following
command:
where "<node>" is the name of the remote node and "<username>" is an alternative username on the
remote system if your current username is not valid. For example:
rsh node1 date
The output from the above command should be a single line containing the current date on node1 in a
format similar to:
Tue Jul 16 15:05:47 PDT 2002
remsh <node> [-l <username>] date # HP-UX only
rsh <node> [-l <username>] date # All others
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If any other output is present, please determine the source of the output and correct the problem. If you
cannot eliminate the output, you will not be able to use the remote execution capabilities of the nastran
command for the specified remote node.
If the MSCRmtCmd/MSCRmtMgr communications programs are to be used:
The MSCRmtMgr program must be running on the remote system, either as an installed and
started service or as a console mode program running in a Command Prompt window (started
with the "-noservice" command line option). You can test this with the following command:
where "<instdir>" is the installation directory for the local MSC Nastran installation and "<node>"
is the name of the remote node. For example:
The output from the above command(s) should be a single line containing configuration information for
node1 in a format similar to:
If any other output is present or if the request fails, please determine the source of the output and correct
the problem. If you cannot eliminate the output, you will not be able to use the remote execution
capabilities of the nastran command for the specified remote node.
If the node specified by the "node" keyword is the same as the local node, the "node" keyword is ignored
and processing will continue as if "node" had not been defined.
<instdir>\bin\prod_ver mscrmtcmd -h <node> -i (from Windows)
<instdir>/bin/prod_ver MSCRmtCmd -h <node> -i (from UNIX)
c:\msc\bin\prod_ver mscrmtcmd -h node1 -i (From Windows)
/msc/bin/prod_ver MSCRmtCmd -h node1 -i (From UNIX)
1@2@"C:/WINNT40/system32/cmd.exe" (If node1 is Windows)
2@1@"/bin/ksh" (If node1 is UNIX)
2@2@"/bin/bsh" (If node1 is Linux)
Note: Recall that, for remote UNIX nodes, remote executions do not run a "login" shell. That is,
your ".profile" or ".login" script is not executed. This is true regardless of the
communications programs (rsh/rcp or MSCRmtCmd/MSCRmtMgr) being used.
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If the local node is a Windows system and if rsh/rcp is to be used, the nastran command attempts to locate
the rsh.exe program in the
%SYSTEMDRIVE%%SYSTEMROOT%\system32
directory before using the search path because "rsh" may be a "restricted shell" program installed as part
of a UNIX commands package such as MKS Toolkit.
If the local node is a Windows system, MSC supplies a replacement for the standard Windows rsh.exe
program, MSCrsh.exe. This program is a full functional replacement for the standard rsh.exe program
with the addition of support for "Toolkit" mode. Toolkit mode requires that the stdin and stdout streams
used for communications between the local and remote systems be "binary" data streams. The standard
Windows rsh.exe program treats these streams as "text" streams, which is not compatible with Toolkit
mode. See the MSC Nastran Toolkit User's Guide for more information on Toolkit mode. The nastran
command will use MSCrsh.exe instead of rsh.exe if it can be found. Also, there are some circumstances
where the Windows rsh.exe and rcp.exe commands do not perform reliably. Alternatively, use the
MSCrsh.exe program.
The MSCRmtCmd/MSCRmtMgr communications programs may also be used when the remote node is
a UNIX system. However, there are no inherent advantages over using the rsh/rcp programs.
When running a remote job, nastran keywords are processed on both the local and remote systems.
Keywords that control the job's output and interaction with you are processed on the local system
Keywords that specify information about the remote system's installation or that affect the actual analysis
are processed on the remote system. MSC suggests that those keywords that specify information about
the remote system's installation be defined in conditional Initialization or Runtime Configuration File
sections based on the "node" keyword and that those keywords that specify information about the local
system's installation be defined in conditional Initialization or Runtime Configuration File sections based
the "s.hostname" keyword.
The following table lists some of the keywords that affect remote processing. These keywords are
described in detail in Keywords on page 46.
Table 5-2 Remote Processing Keywords
Keyword Purpose
append Requests the .f06, .f04 and .log files to be concatenated.
batch Requests the job is to be run in the background. (UNIX only.)
delete Unconditionally deletes files after job completion.
display Specifies the DISPLAY for XMONAST. (UNIX only.)
expjid Specifies data file expansion on the local system.
lsymbol Specifies logical symbol values to be used on the local system.
ncmd Specifies an alternate notification command.
node Specifies the node the job will be processed on.
notify Requests notification when the job completes.
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The "sdirectory"/"rsdirectory" keywords are special, as the command line, RC files on the current host
and RC files on the remote host will all be considered when establishing a scratch directory. As part of
its processing, the nastran command may generate temporary files on both the local system (e.g., as part
of "expjid" processing) and on the remote system (e.g., the location where temporary RC files are placed
and where output files are generated). These files are placed in the "scratch" directories on the local and
remote systems. If the "rsdirectory" keyword is not specified, the "sdirectory" location must be valid on
both the local and remote systems. (Note that this is not possible if the systems are running different
types of operating systems.) All other keywords specifying path/file names will only be scanned on the
remote system and must specify path/file names appropriate for that system.
Once "node=remotenode" is processed, the following processing takes place:
1. Process the RC files on the local system if the "version" keyword has been defined in the
command initialization file or the command line.
2. Process the RC file specified by the "rcf" keyword if it was defined on the command line.
3. Reprocess the command initialization file and any RC files if any contained conditional sections.
(See Resolving Duplicate Parameter Specifications on page 13 for a more complete description
of Command Initialization file and Runtime Configuration file processing.)
old Specifies versioning or deletion of previously existing output files.
oldtypes Specifies additional user file types to be version or deleted.
out Specifies an alternate output file prefix.
rcmd Specifies the nastran command path on the remote system.
rostype Specifies the remote node operating system type.
rrmtuse Specifies the communication programs to be used.
rsdirectory Specifies the directory on the remote system to contain MSC Nastran
temporary files.
scratch Specifies the DBsets are to be deleted at job completion
sdirectory Specifies the directory on the local system to contain MSC Nastran
temporary files. If "rsdirectory" is not specified, this directory will also be
used on the remote system.
symbol Specifies logical symbol values to be used on the remote system.
trans Requests translation of the .xdb file.
username Specifies an alternate username on the remote host.
xhost Request xhost(1) to be executed to allow XMONAST to display on the
current host. (UNIX only)
xmonitor Requests XMONITOR to monitor the job's progress. (UNIX only)
Table 5-2 Remote Processing Keywords (continued)
Keyword Purpose
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4. Determine the full pathname of the input file so that its visibility from remotenode can be tested.
5. If the "rmtdeny" utility, i.e., install-dir/prod_ver/arch/rmtdeny on UNIX and install-
dir\prod_ver\i386\rmtdeny.exe on Windows, exists and is executable, run it and examine its
output. If remotenode is listed, display an error and cancel the job.
6. If the "rmtaccept" utility, i.e., install-dir/prod_ver/arch/rmtaccept on UNIX and install-
dir\prod_ver\i386\rmtaccept.exe on Windows, exists and is executable, run it and examine its
output. If remotenode is not listed, display an error and cancel the job.
7. Verify that remotenode exists and you are able to run a command on that system. This process
also determines the communications programs to be used and the remotenode operating system
type. Although the nastran command can determine this information dynamically, processing
may be much faster if you specify the proper information using the "rrmtuse" and/or "rostype"
keywords (for example, in an INI or RC file conditional section). The information is set as
follows:
8. If the "MSCRmtCmd/MSCRmtMgr" communications programs are selected (by either defining
"rrmtuse=mscrmtcmd" or defining "rostype=windows" or dynamically selected), the remotenode
operating system type is determined automatically.
9. If the "rsh/rcp" communications programs are selected (by either defining "rrmtuse=rsh" or
defining "rostype=unix" or dynamically selected), the remotenode operating system type is
assumed to be UNIX.
10. If both the local node and remote node operating system types are UNIX, create a "touch" file in
the specified output file so that its visibility from remotenode can be tested.
11. If "rsdirectory" has not been defined or contains multiple values, set it as follows:
12. If "rsdirectory" has been defined but contains multiple values, change its value to the first value.
13. If "sdirectory" has not been set and the local system is Windows, set "rsdirectory" to "c:\tmp" if
the remotenode operating system is Windows and to "/tmp" otherwise.
14. If "sdirectory" has not been set and the local system is UNIX, set "rsdirectory" to "c:\tmp" if the
remotenode operating system is Windows and to the path defined by the "TMPDIR" environment
variable otherwise.
15. If "sdirectory" has been set "rsdirectory" to the first (or only) value defined by "sdirectory".
16. Ensure "scratch=no" was set if the "dbs" keyword was set.
17. If the "rcmd" keyword was specified, attempt to execute that command on remotenode, displaying
an error and canceling the job if it fails.
Otherwise, attempt to execute the pathname of the current nastran command on remotenode. If it
fails, attempt to run the basename of the current nastran command on remotenode. Display an
error and cancel the job if both checks fail.
18. Run the remote nastran command identified in the previous step to determine:
If the directory specified by "rsdirectory" is valid.
If "scratch=no" is set, if the directory specified by "dbs" is valid.
19. The numeric format of the remote system.
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20. The location of the TRANS program on the remote system.
If both the local and remote modes are UNIX, the following tests are also made:
If the input data file is visible.
If the "touch" file is visible.
If "expjid" was specified, if the "expjid" expand directory is visible.
21. Display an error and cancel the job if an "rsdirectory" was identified on the command line or in
a local RC file, but does not exist on the remote node.
22. Display an error and cancel the job if the "dbs" directory was identified on the command line or
in a local RC file, but does not exist on the remote node.
23. If a "touch" file was created above, delete it.
24. Make sure a RECEIVE executable exists on the local node if "trans=yes" was specified or
"trans=auto" was specified and the numeric formats of the local and remote nodes differ.
If the local system is a UNIX system, the following steps are done in a background process (possibly
some time later if "batch=yes" or "after" was specified). If the local system is a Windows system, the
following steps are done from within the nastran command itself.
25. Copy the input data file (or the expanded file if "expjid" processing was performed) to the remote
system's scratch directory if the remote host could not see the file or if the local and remote
operating system types are different.
26. Set the "out" to the remote system's scratch directory if the remote host could not see the output
directory or if the local and remote operating system types are different.
27. Copy the remaining keywords on the command line that were not processed to a local RC file in
the scratch directory on the remote node.
28. Run the job on the remote node.
29. Process the "old" and "oldtypes" keywords on the local node.
30. If the output directory was not visible from the remote node or if the local and remote operating
system types are different, copy the output files (.f04, .f06,.log, .ndb, .pch, .plt) to the directory
specified by the "output" keyword and delete the files from the remote node.
31. Process the "append" keyword on the local node.
32. If the output directory was not visible from the remote node or if the local and remote operating
system types are different and if an .xdb file was created on the remote node, run the RECEIVE
program if required by the "trans" keyword or copy the .xdb file to the directory specified by the
"output" keyword and delete the .xdb file from the remote node.
33. Process the "notify" keyword on the local node.
Once the job has completed, the .f06, .f04, .log, .ndb, .op2, .plt, .pch and .xdb files will be present as if
the job were run locally. Binary files, i.e., .op2 and .plt, will only be usable on the local node if the local
and remote nodes use the same numeric format. The .xdb file will be translated via TRANSMIT and
RECEIVE unless "trans=no" was specified.
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Several examples are provided.
This job will run on node "othernode". The .f04, .f06, .log, .pch, .plt, and .xdb files will be brought
back to the current node as if the job were run locally. (Note that Windows systems do not support the
use of the "batch" keyword.)
This job will also run on "othernode" (assumed to be a UNIX system) but the path to the nastran
command has been specified explicitly.
This job will also run on "othernode" (assumed to be a Windows system) but the path to the nastran
command has been specified explicitly. Note the use of forward slashes ('/') in the "rcmd" value. If the
local system is a Windows system, either forward slash ('/') or back slash ('\') characters may be used. If
the local system is a UNIX system, forward slash ('/') characters must be used or the entire rcmd
specification must be enclosed in quotes to prevent the shell from interpreting the back slash ('\')
characters as "escape" characters. When the rcmd specification is used on "othernode", the forward slash
characters will be changed to back slash characters as needed.
This job will also run on "othernode" (assumed to be a UNIX system) but will use the
"/dbs/example.*" DBset files. These files must exist on "othernode" prior to running this
command if this is a restart job. Once the job completes, the DBset files will be left as is.
Note: No attempt is made to copy DBset files between the local and remote systems. If this is
required, you must handle this yourself and set the "dbs" keyword as required.
prod_ver nastran example node=othernode batch=no (UNIX)
prod_ver nastran example node=othernode (Windows)
prod_ver nastran example node=othernode rcmd=/some/path/bin/nast2012
prod_ver nastran example node=othernode rcmd=d:/a/path/bin/nast2012
prod_ver nastran example node=othernode dbs=/dbs
prod_ver nastran example node=uxsrv rsdir=/tmp sdir=/scratch
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This example will run a job on UNIX node "uxsrv" using the nastran command in the default PATH
with all scratch files on the local system residing in /scratch and all scratch files on the remote system
residing in /tmp. Note that the "sdir" and "rsdir" keywords could have been set in an RCF file.
This job will use the default scratch directory on "uxsrv".
This job will use the nastran command /msc/bin/nast2012 on "uxsrv".
Installing/Running MSCRmtMgr
The MSCRmtMgr program provides the server-side communications support used by the MSCRmtCmd
client-side program. That is, MSCRmtMgr provides functions equivalent to the UNIX rshd/rexec
services. MSCRmtMgr is primarily intended for use on Windows XP systems.
For Windows systems, MSCRmtMgr may only be run on Windows XP. MSCRmtMgr may be run as a
command-mode program or as a service, providing the same functionality in either case.
Running MSCRmtMgr as a Command-mode Program
This is the simplest way to run MSCRmtMgr but is the least flexible in that MSCRmtMgr must be
restarted every time the operating system is restarted. In this mode, MSCRmtMgr is started in a
"Command Prompt" window that is left open as long as the Windows system is to act as a server. The
command is:
<instdir>\bin\prod_ver MSCRmtMgr -noservice
The "-noservice" operand is required and tells MSCRmtMgr that it is not to attempt to run as a
Windows service program. In this mode, MSCRmtMgr will run using the authorization and access
control provided by the currently logged on user. MSCRmtMgr may be terminated using <CNTL-C> or
by using the Task Manager.
Installing and Running MSCRmtMgr as a Windows Service
The MSCRmtMgr program may also be run as a Windows Service program. Doing this requires the
Microsoft Windows Resource Kit SC.exe (Services Control) utility program, available from Microsoft,
and run from a command prompt. Install MSCRmtMgr as a service using the following command:
sc create MSCRmtMgr type= own start= auto
binpath= <instdir>\prod_ver\i386\mscrmtmgr.exe
prod_ver nastran example node=uxsrv rsdir=
prod_ver nastran example node=uxsrv rsdir= rcmd=/msc/bin/nast2012
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where:
Note the blanks between the equal sign following the option and the actual value. These blanks are
required.
Once MSCRmtMgr has been installed as a service, it may be started or stopped using the Services
Administrative Tools program or using SC.exe as follows:
To start MSCRmtMgr:
sc start MSCRmtMgr -service -name "MSCRmtMgr"
To stop MSCRmtMgr:
sc stop MSCRmtMgr
If MSCRmtMgr is no longer required, it may be deleted as a service using SC.exe as follows:
sc delete MSCRmtMgr
Note that this will remove MSCRmtMgr as a service but will not actually delete the executable. It may
be reinstalled as a service using the command described above.
type= own indicates that MSCRmtMgr is to be run in its own process
start= auto indicates that MSCRmtMgr is to be automatically started at boot time.
This may also be specified as "start= demand".
binpath= ... specifies the full path to the MSCRmtMgr program.
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CHAPTER 5
Running Distributed Memory Parallel (DMP) Jobs
MSC Nastran offers the ability to run certain solution sequences (see the MSC Nastran Quick Reference
Guide) in parallel using the Message Passing Interface (MPI), an industry-wide standard library for C
and Fortran message-passing programs. MPI programs can be run on SMP computers, NUMA
computers, distributed computers, and any collection of computers supported by the MPI package.
In most cases, MSC Nastran uses the hardware vendors MPI implementation. While this usually results
in the highest performance levels, it also presents a limitation--a DMP job can only run on computers
supported by the vendors MPI package. As an example, you cannot use a mixture of IBM and Sun
machines to run a single MSC Nastran DMP job.
The following table lists the hardware and software prerequisites for every host that will take part in
running an MSC Nastran DMP job:
Note: Further information on the MPI standard can be obtained online at the URL
http://www.mpi-forum.org
This is not a MSC.Software Corporation sites and MSC has no control over the sites
content. MSC cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information on these sites and will not
be liable for any misleading or incorrect information obtained from these sites.
Table 5-3 DMP System Prerequisites
Platform System Prerequisites
AIX Processor
OS
MPI
Any
AIX 5.3
POE 4.2
AMD/Intel Linux Processor
OS
MPI
Any
RHEL 5.4
OpenMPI 1.2.2
HP/MPI 2.2.5 (Default)
Intel/MPI 4.0.1(Linux 64 & Linux ipf only)
AMD/intel Solaris Processor
OS
MPI
Opteron/EMT64T
5.10
HPC 7.1
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In the descriptions that follow, the local node is the computer you issue the nastran command on, the
master node is the first computer named by the hosts keyword, the slave nodes are the remaining
systems listed in the hosts list.
The following are some general comments and requirements for running MSC Nastran DMP jobs:
1. MSC Nastran must be properly installed on, or accessible to, all the hosts listed by the hosts
keyword.
2. With the exception of HP-UX systems, the MPI program start command (dmprun on HP-UX,
poe on AIX, mprun on Sun, mpiexec on Windows, and mpirun on others) must be
available on the PATH of the local host.
3. For Linux/UNIX systems you must have r-command access to each system you want to access in
a distributed job.
You can test this with the following command:
AMD/Intel Windows Processor
OS
MPI
.NET Framework
Opteron/EM64T
Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition with CCS
Intel-MPI
All nodes must have the same .NET version.
The following environment variable is
required to run Nastran with DMP using the
"hosts=" option:
Environment Variable: CHKCCS.
Value yes
(Note that the value is in lower case)
HP-UX Processor
OS
MPI
PA-RISC 2.0
HP-UX 11.11, 64-bit
No additional software is required.
Solaris Processor
OS
MPI
UltraSPARC
Solaris
HPC 7.1
remsh <node> [-l <username>] date # HP-UX only
rsh <node> [-l <username>] date # All others
Table 5-3 DMP System Prerequisites (continued)
Platform System Prerequisites
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where <node> is the name of the node and <username> is an alternate username on the
remote system if your current username is not valid. For example:
The output from the above command should in a single line containing the current date on node1
in a format similar to:
If any other output is present, please determine the source of the output and correct the problem.
If you cannot eliminate the output, you will not be able to use the distributed execution
capabilities of MSC Nastran.
4. On Altix, the use of multiple hosts requires Array Services to be configured for each possible
host.
5. On AIX, you must set resd=no and eulib=ip on the command line or in an RC file. If not, the
job may fail to start with the following error message:
The following system error may be reported when the distributed job has completed:
It can be ignored
6. On AIX running on a cluster of workstations, you must set euidevice=ip and resd=yes on the
command line or in an RC file if you run on a cluster of workstations. Also, in AIX systems, the
current directory must be visible to all nodes.
7. The input data file must be accessible on the local host.
8. For Windows systems, a working directory accessible to all nodes must be available for use by
the CCS Job Scheduler.
9. On Windows systems, all pathnames will be converted, if necessary, to Universal Naming
Convention (UNC) format for all accessibility tests. If a pathname has no equivalent UNC name,
it will be considered not accessible. Also, if ccsnodesmust=no is specified, the input data file
and output directory must be visible from all nodes specified by the hosts keyword.
10. On all systems, you must have write access to the output directory.
11. INCLUDE files must be local-to, or visible-from, each host.
rsh node1 date
Thu Sep 30 13:06:49 PDT 1999
ERROR: 0031-149 Unable to load shared objects objects required
for LoadLeveler
ERROR: 0031-636 User requested child or EOF termination of pm-
command
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12. All default output files, i.e., those without ASSIGN statements, will be written to a directory
accessible to the local host.
13. The scratch directory can be a global or local file system. MSC recommends the scratch directory
be local to each host, i.e., you specify per-host sdirectory values. See Managing Host-Database
Directory Assignments in DMP Jobs on page 151 for more information.
14. The pathname of the nastran command must be the same on all hosts, or on the default PATH of
each host, used in the analysis.
15. For Linux/Unix systems you must have remote execution privileges on all the hosts listed by
the hosts keyword. That is, a password must not be required to execute a remote copy (rcp) or
remote shell (rsh or remsh) command. See your system administrator for information on this.
16. For Windows systems, you must be running on the head node of the Windows Compute Cluster
and all of the hosts listed by the hosts keyword must be nodes in the same Compute Cluster.
Note, however, that the head node of the Compute Cluster does not have to be in the list of hosts
specified by the hosts keyword.
17. On Windows systems, commands and jobs, including those run on remote hosts, are run using the
Windows CCS QueueJob interface, waiting for the queued job to complete before continuing,
since this interface does not required any special privileges. The only exception to this is when all
DMP tasks are to be run on the same node and that node is the head node of the CCS cluster. In
this case, the CCS Job Scheduler is not used, instead the DMP tasks are run using the mpiexec
command directly.
18. If you execute a restart, you must specify the identical values for dmparallel and hosts as were
used on the cold start.
19. In a restart, i.e., a job that uses an existing database, the DBsets must be local-to, or visible-from,
the remote system.
When running a DMP job, nastran keywords are processed on both the local and master/slave systems.
Keywords that control the jobs output and interaction with you are processed on the local system. These
are:
Note: For Linux/UNIX systems recall that remote executions do not run a login shell. That is,
your .profile or .login script is not executed.
Table 5-4 DMP Processing Keywords
Keyword Purpose
adapter_use AIX: Specifies use of adapter by job.
append Requests the .f06, .f04, and .log files to be concatenated.
ccsnodesmust Windows: Specifies whether the hosts listed by the hosts keyword must
be allocated by the CCS scheduler or are only a list of possible nodes.
ccstempdir Windows: Specifies a network-visible working directory for use by the
Windows CCS Job Scheduler
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cpu_use AIX: Specifies use of CPU by job.
display Linux/UNIX: Specifies the DISPLAY for XMONAST.
euidevice AIX: Specifies adapter device name.
euilib AIX: Specifies adapter library.
hostovercommit Requests more tasks per host than CPUs.
hosts Specifies list of hosts to use. Separate hosts with a comma or with the
PATH separator, i.e., : on Linux/UNIX and ; on Windows.
maxnode AIX: Specifies the maximum number of hosts to use when a pool request
is being used. This is required if the hosts have more than one processor
and you want more than one DMP task to run on a single host.
mergeresults Specifies the results from each DMP task are to be merged into the
standard files from the master host.
ncmd Linux/UNIX: Specifies an alternate notification command.
notify Requests notification when the job completes.
old Specifies versioning or deletion of previously existing output files.
oldtypes Specifies additional user file types to be versioned or deleted.
out Specifies an alternate output file prefix.
rcmd Specifies the nastran command path on the master/slave systems.
resd AIX: Requests resource manager assign job.
rmpool AIX: Pool ID to be used when LoadLeveler Version 2.1 queue submittal is
being used to run a DMP job.
rmtdiskmsg Enables or disables the sdir and/or dbs disks are remotely mounted
message.
scratch Specifies the database DBsets are to be deleted at job completion.
sdirectory Specifies each per-host directory to contain MSC Nastran temporary files.
Separate directories with a comma or with the PATH separator, i.e., : on
Linux/UNIX and ; on Windows.
slaveout Specifies the .f04 and .f06 files from the slave tasks are to be appended to
the .f04 and .f06 files of the master task.
xhost Linux/UNIX: Request xhost(1) to be executed to allow XMONAST to
display on the current host.
xmonitor Linux/UNIX: Requests XMONITOR to monitor the master tasks
progress.
Table 5-4 DMP Processing Keywords (continued)
Keyword Purpose
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The sdirectory keyword is special, as the command line, RC files on the current host, and RC files on
the each master and slave host will all be considered when establishing a scratch directory. All remaining
keywords are only scanned on the master and slave systems.
Once dmparallel=number is processed, the following processing takes place:
1. Process the RC files on the local system if the version keyword has been defined in the
command initialization file or the command line.
2. Process the RC file specified by the rcf keyword if it was defined on the command line.
3. Determine the full pathname of the input file so that its visibility from the master and each slave
host can be tested. For Windows, this full pathname will be converted to UNC format, if
necessary.
4. Create a touch file in the specified output directory so that its visibility from the master and each
slave host can be tested.
5. If the dmpdeny utility, i.e., install-dir/msc2012/arch/dmpdeny, exists and is executable, run it,
and save its output.
6. If the dmpaccept utility, i.e., install-dir/prod_ver/arch/dmpaccept, exists and is executable, run
it, and save its output.
7. Ensure scratch=no was set if the dbs keyword was set.
8. Determine every possible pairing of host and sdirectory by scanning each list in a round-robin
order. That is, the first host is paired with the first sdirectory, the second host with the second
sdirectory, and so on.
9. For Windows systems, if any host specified using the hosts keyword is not the head node, then
locate a working directory to be used by the CCS Job Scheduler. This working directory must be
network-accessible and must be available, in write-mode, to all of the hosts specified using the
hosts keyword. The directory is located as follows:
a. If there is a directory specified using the ccstempdir keyword, it is used, converting the
specified directory to UNC format, if necessary. An error will be generated if this directory
cannot be converted to UNC format and processing will be terminated.
b. If the ccstempdir keyword was not specified, a network-accessible directory will be
searched for using the following search order:
i. Check the directory specified by the sdirectory keyword.
ii. Check the directory portion of the location specified by the out keyword, either the
value explicitly set by the user or the internally generated location.
iii. Check the current directory.
iv. Check the directory specified by the TEMP environment variable.
v. Check the directory specified by the TMP environment variable.
If no network-accessible directory could be located using this search, an error will be
generated and processing will be terminated.
Any temporary files needed by the CCS Job Scheduler and by the mpiexec program will be stored
in this directory.
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10. Execute the following steps for each host-sdirectory pair determined above until host-sdirectory
pairs have been assigned to each of the tasks requested by the dmparallel keyword or no more
host-sdirectory pairs are available. Steps a. through i. are executed only once per host-sdirectory
pair.
a. Verify that host exists. For Linux/UNIX systems, verify that you are able to run a command
on that system. For Windows systems, verify that host is a member of the Compute Cluster.
b. If the rcmd keyword was specified, attempt to execute that command on host, display an
error and cancel the job if it fails.
c. Otherwise attempt to execute the pathname of the current nastran command on host. If it fails,
attempt to execute the basename of the current nastran command on host. Display an error and
cancel the job if both checks fail. For Windows systems, these pathnames are converted to
UNC format, if necessary, before they are used.
d. For Windows systems, if the rcmd keyword is specified, its value must be suitable for all
specified hosts. Normally, this means it must be specified in UNC format. It is not
automatically converted to UNC format.
e. Run the remote nastran command identified in the previous step to determine: if the input data
file is visible; if the touch file is visible; if the sdirectory (if identified on the local system)
exists; if the dbs directory (if identified on the local system) exists; the sdirectory value
in the RC files defined on host; and finally the numeric format of host.
f. Drop this host-sdirectory pair from further consideration if a scratch directory was identified
on the command line or in a local RC file and that specified a list of directories, but the
sdirectory does not exist on host.
g. For Windows, if ccsnodesmust=no is specified, drop this host-sdirectory pair from further
consideration if either the input file or the output directory is not visible on host.
h. Display an error and cancel the job if the numeric format of host differs from the numeric
format of the local host or if the operating system type of host differs from the operating
system type of the local host, i.e., you cannot mix Linux/UNIX hosts with Windows hosts.
i. Display an error and cancel the job if the directory specified by a dbs keyword on the
command line or in a local RC file does not exist on host.
j. Assign the current host-sdirectory pair to the next task; save the sdirectory value and the
per-host visibility flags and rcmd value.
11. Display an error and cancel the job if one or more of the tasks requested by the dmparallel
keyword have not been assigned.
12. Delete the touch file created above.
13. For Linux/UNIX systems, the remaining steps are done in a background process (at possibly
some time later) if batch=yes or after was specified. For Windows, if ccsnodesmust=no is
specified, note that none of the copy steps that send files to or from hosts are done because all
files must be visible.
a. Copy the input data file to the scratch directory of any host that could not see the input data
file.
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b. Set out to the host-specific scratch directory value of every host that could not see the output
directory.
c. Copy the remaining keywords on the command line that were not processed to a local RC file
in the out directory. Copy this RC file to the host-specific scratch directory on any host that
could not see the output directory.
d. Process the old and oldtypes keywords on the local node.
e. Run the DMP job using the systems MPI startup command. Note that each task will write to
task-specific names. For Windows systems, the MPI startup command will be scheduled using
the CCS job scheduler unless all tasks are to be run on the same node and that node is the
head node.
f. If the master task could not see the output directory, copy the output files (.f04, .f06, .log, .ndb,
.pch, .plt) from the master node to the output directory (the directory specified by the output
keyword) and delete the files from the master node.
g. Process the append keyword on the local node.
h. For Linux/UNIX systems, process the notify keyword on the local node.
Once the job has completed, the .f06, .f04, .log, .ndb, .op2, .plt, .pch, and .xdb files from the master task
will be present as if the job were run locally.
Determining Hosts Used by DMP Jobs
The examples that follow use the Linux/UNIX syntax. Nevertheless, unless specifically noted otherwise,
the discussion and examples are applicable to Windows. The only change needed in the examples to
make them applicable to Windows is to replace the colon (:) separator character with a semi-colon (;)
separator character. Alternatively, you may use a comma (,) as a separator character on any platform.
The nastran command uses the following hierarchy to determine the list of hosts to use:
1. The nastran command hosts keyword on the command line
2. System-dependent environment variable.
AIX: MP_HOSTFILE
HP UNIX: DMPI_HOSTFILE.
3. The nastran command hosts keyword in an RC file.
4. AIX: The MP_RMPOOL environment variable.
5. The local host.
Consider the following examples:
Note: No attempt is made to copy DBset files between the local and master/slave systems. If this
is required, you must handle this yourself and set the dbs keyword appropriately.
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This job will run on the local host.
This job will run on the first four available nodes from the set node1, node2, node3, node4,
node5.
This job will read the file my.host.list.
The nastran command provides a simple host allocation method. If a host listed by the hosts keyword
is unavailable, it will be skipped and the next host considered. As long as at least the number of
processors specified by the dmparallel keyword are available on one or more of the listed hosts, the
job will be allowed to run.
Hosts (AIX)
The hosts keyword can now coexist with the LoadLeveler queue submittal process if your distributed
jobs must be submitted via IBMs LoadLeveler. To submit a job via LoadLeveler, the hosts keyword
must use the syntax host=@queue_name.
Example:
In this example, four hosts will be assigned by LoadLeveler after the nastran command submits the job
to queue ll.
To use this feature, you must define queue submittal commands in an RC file using the submit
keyword.
prod_ver nastran example dmparallel=4
prod_ver nastran example dmparallel=4 hosts=node1:node2:node3:node4:node5
prod_ver nastran example dmparallel=4 hosts=my.host.list
Note: This uses features of the nastran commands standard queue submittal process, but you do
not set the queue keyword.
prod_ver nastran example dmp=4 hosts=@ll
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Example:
The previous example nastran command will submit a job to the ll queue using the sites ll_submit
command.
.
Pool Request (AIX)
A pool request can be specified using the hosts keyword with either of the following forms:
where pooli or pool is a number. The second form assigns all tasks to the specified pool number. See your
system administrator for information on the pools available at your site.
This job runs two tasks each on pools 1 and 2.
This job runs all tasks on pool 3.
If you are using LoadLeveler Version 2.1 or greater to process your pool request you may also need to
use the maxnode keyword. This is required if you want more than one DMP task to run on a single host.
This job runs eight tasks on four hosts from pool 1. This assumes that the hosts have at least two
processors.
submit=ll=ll_submit %job%
Note: You may also need to modify the <install-dir>/bin/nast2012.dmp file if job queuing
information must be embedded in the job stream.
A hypothetical example is included.
THE SAMPLE QUEUING INFORMATION MAY NOT WORK WITH YOUR SITES
QUEUING REQUIREMENTS
hosts=@pool1:@pool2:...:@pooln
hosts=@pool
prod_ver nastran example dmparallel=4 hosts=@1:@1:@2:@2
prod_ver nastran example dmparallel=4 hosts=@3
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CHAPTER 5
nastran Command hosts Keyword (Distributed Jobs Under LSF)
The hosts keyword will default to the value set by LSF when running as a distributed job and no other
value for hosts was set on the command line or in an RC file.
Example:
This job will use four hosts selected by LSF. Note, the number of tasks appears twice: once for use by
LSF, and once for use by MSC Nastran.
Managing Host-Database Directory Assignments in DMP Jobs
The performance of the disk subsystem containing the permanent and SCRATCH DBsets can have a
significant impact on MSC Nastran performance. In the case of a DMP job, the impact can be even
greater if multiple tasks are using the same file system. For SCRATCH DBsets, there are two ways in
which this can be handled: one by specifying host-specific scratch directory values in an RC file and one
by specifying a list of scratch directories using the sdirectory keyword. For DBsets, you may specify
a list of DBset locations using the dbs keyword. When the list method is used to specify multiple
scratch directories or DBsets, the entries are paired with the host keyword specified host names in a
round-robin order. With these capabilities, you can finely control the use of disk I/O access paths by your
job.
In the case of SCRATCH DBsets, the simplest method of specifying individual directory paths for each
host is to use the RC file method, reserving the sdirectory list method for situations where you are
assigning multiple DMP tasks to a single host and you want to separate the SCRATCH DBsets, placing
each on a separate file system. The following is an example of an RC file that defines the default
SCRATCH directory for each node in a four-node configuration with node names node1, node2,
node3 and node4. This example assumes that the MSC Nastran installation directory is available to
and is used by each node. The following would, typically, be included in the RC file in the conf
directory, noting that the technique is available on all platforms, where customizing the node-specific
SCRATCH directory pathnames being the only change needed:
# Define node-specific scratch directories
[ s.hostname = node1 ]
sdir=/nodel/scratch
sdir=/node2/scratch
sdir=/node3/scratch
sdir=/node4/scratch
bsub -n 4 prod_ver nastran example dmp=4
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Note that none of the sdirectory keyword values should be in list format, that is, contain multiple
directories separated by a comma or colon (Linux/UNIX) or semi-colon (Windows) unless you wish that
specification to be used whenever DMP processing is requested and when you are sure that the list will
match the order in which host names are specified in the hosts keyword.
The following examples show the effect of the round-robin ordering. These examples are the
Linux/UNIX syntax. Nevertheless, unless specifically noted otherwise, the discussion and examples are
applicable to Windows. The only change needed in the examples to make them applicable to Windows
is to replace the colon (:) separator character with a semi-colon (;) separator character. Alternatively,
you may use a comma (,) as a separator character on any platform. Also, for Windows, round-robin
ordering is ignored if ccsnodesmust=no is specified since the host on wich a particular DMP task will
run is unpredictable.
This example will assign the following host-sdirectory pairs (assuming hosts a and b each have at
least two processors):
If directory /ba was not available for writing by you on host b, the tasks assignments would be
(assuming host a has at least three processors):
prod_ver nastran example dmparallel=4 hosts=a:b sdirectory=/aa:/ba:/ab:/
bb dbs=/aa:/ba:/ab:/bb
Task Host
Scratch
Directory
DBS
Directory
1 a /aa /aa
2 b /ba /ba
3 a /ab /ab
4 b /bb /bb
Task Host
Scratch
Directory
DBS
Directory
1 a /aa /aa
2 a /ab /ab
3 b /bb /bb
4 a /aa /aa
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CHAPTER 5
Managing Files in DMP Jobs
When an MSC Nastran DMP job is running, the input file is directly read by each MPI task that can read
the file, e.g., via NFS. Each host that cannot read the input file will read a local copy of the file that is
copied, via rcp(1) or scp(1) for Linux/UNIX or using MSC developed utilities on Windows, to the jobs
scratch directory (sdirectory keyword) before the job begins.
A similar check is made for the output directory. Any host that can write to the output directory (out
keyword) will directly write its .f04, .f06, .log and other default output files to that directory. Any host
that cannot see the output directory will write its default output files to the jobs scratch directory. For
Linux/UNIX systems, these files will then be copied, again via rcp(1) or scp(1) for Linux/UNIX or using
MSC developed utilities on Windows, back to the output directory at the end of the job.
If the sdirectory keyword is not specified on the command line or in an RC file on the local host or is
not specified in list format, i.e., with multiple directory specifications separated by commas or colons
(Linux/UNIX) or semi-colons (Windows), each master or slave host will use its own scratch directory.
This directory is determined on the master and each slave host by examining its command initialization
file and version-specific RC files if the version keyword was defined.
DO NOT use an ASSIGN statement for any file that will be written by MSC Nastran in a Distributed
Memory Parallel (DMP) job. Instead, use the sdirectory and dbs keywords to specify names of the
SCRATCH and permanent DB Sets.
DMP Performance Issues
In addition to the normal performance issues associated with a serial or SMP job, a DMP job adds
communication bandwidth as a critical performance characteristic. The basic communications channels,
are:
Shared memory - SMP and NUMA systems.
Interconnect, adapter, or switch - NUMA and distributed systems.
High-speed special-purpose network, e.g., HIPPI - all systems.
Note: AIX: If a pool host assignment is requested, the input file and output directory must be
global to all hosts in the pool this will not be validated by the nastran command.
Windows: If ccsnodesmust=no is specified, the input file and output directory must be
global to all requested hosts. This is validated by the nastran command after converting
each to UNC format, if necessary.
Note: The nastran command will perform these tests by converting your pathname value to an
absolute pathname. As a result, a path that varies depending upon the host will be labeled
as unreadable. On Windows, your pathname value will be converted to UNC format, if
necessary.
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TCP/IP network - all systems.
The performance of any MSC Nastran job is very much dependent on CPU, memory subsystem, and I/O
subsystem performance. A Distributed Memory Parallel (DMP) job on an SMP or NUMA system is
extremely sensitive to I/O subsystem performance since each task independently accesses the I/O
subsystem.
You are especially encouraged on SMP and NUMA systems to partition your scratch directory and
database assignments on DMP jobs using the sdirectory and dbs nastran command keywords.
Example:
The following assignments will be made in this job:
The preceding example will perform substantially better than the following job, which uses the default
assignments for the sdirectory and the dbs keywords.
Example:
While the ultimate effect of the communications channel on job performance is dependent upon the
solution sequence, for best overall job performance, you should try to use the fastest communications
channels available.
Additional DMP tuning information may be available in the Read Me file
on UNIX, or
prod_ver nastran example dmp=4 sdir=/scr1:/scr2:/scr3:/scr4\
dbs=/dbs1:/dbs2:/dbs3:/dbs4
Task sdirectory dbs
1 /scr1 /dbs1
2 /scr2 /dbs2
3 /scr3 /dbs3
4 /scr4 /dbs4
prod_ver nastran example dmp=4
install-dir/prod_ver/README.txt
install-dir\prod_ver\readme.txt
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on Windows.
HP-UX Systems
HP has created a web site that lists many tuning parameters specific to MSC Nastran performance. The
URL is
Windows Systems
Currently, MSC Nastran DMP only runs on multiple hosts with Windows Compute Cluster Systems
(CCS). On these systems, DMP tasks are scheduled using the CCS job scheduler. As of the date of this
documentation (April, 2012), the only parameter used by the CCS job scheduler to allocate tasks to hosts
(the CCS term for hosts is nodes) is the number of processors (logical CPUs) needed for a job. For
relatively small MSC Nastran DMP jobs, this may not be an issue but for large MSC Nastran DMP jobs,
having significant disk space and memory requirements, this can be a severe restriction. The only way
to force the CCS job scheduler to assign tasks to all requested hosts is to tell it that the total number of
processors required for the DMP job is the sum of all processors (logical CPUs) available on all of the
requested nodes. The result of this is that the CCS job scheduler will run the DMP job only when no other
jobs (whether MSC Nastran jobs or jobs queued by other applications) are running on the requested hosts
and will not assign jobs to these nodes while the MSC Nastran DMP job is running.
The way you tell MSC Nastran which of the job scheduling methods to use is through the use of
ccsnodesmust keyword. By default (ccsnodesmust=yes), MSC Nastran tells the CCS job scheduler
that an MSC Nastran DMP job is to run using all requested nodes. This can be changed, however, by
specifying ccsnodesmust=no. In this case, MSC Nastran tells the CCS job scheduler that the number
of processors needed is just the value of the dmparallel keyword. The list of nodes to be used is the
value of the hosts keyword but there is not guarantee that the CCS job scheduler will use all of the
nodes, although none the DMP tasks will be run on any nodes not in the hosts list. Note, however, that
the input file and output directory must be visible from all specified hosts since the host on which a
particular DMP task is run is unpredictable.
This is, perhaps, best illustrated by considering the following examples. In these examples, assume that
the Windows Cluster has four nodes (named n1, n2, n3 and n4), each with two dual core CPUs and with
1,000 GB disk space available on each node in a local scratch file system.
Example 1
Four DMP jobs are to be run, each requiring approximately 100GB disk space and each to be run with
dmparallel=4 specified. Since the total resources required by these jobs does not exceed the total
resources available on any single mode, the following procedure could be used:
Submit the jobs in four separate Command Prompt windows, using the following command in
each window (modifying the job name appropriately):
http://www.hp.com/go/msc
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msc20121 nastran <jobname> dmp=4 hosts=n1,n2,n3,n4
ccsnodesmust=no <other options as appropriate>
Each job will be submitting telling the job scheduler that four processors are required. Assuming no other
jobs are running on the cluster, these jobs will be run concurrently, where the job scheduler determines
which nodes are to be used for each job. Note, however, that MSC Nastran will ignore any per-task
sdirectory or dbs requests since the node on which a DMP task is run is unpredictable.
Example 2
One DMP job is to be run with four DMP tasks, each task required approximately 600GB disk space. The
DMP job is expected to run about 10 hours. Since it is not possible for more than one DMP task to run
on a single node, each DMP task must run on a separate node. The following procedure could be used.
Submit the job in a Command Prompt window, using the following command, noting that
ccsnodesmust=yes is the default.
msc20121 nastran <jobname> dmp=4 hosts=n1,n2,n3,n4
<other options as appropriate>
The job will be submitted telling the job scheduler that 16 processors (or 32 processors if
hyperthreading is supported and enabled on each node) are required. If there are any other jobs,
the job scheduler will not start this job until all other jobs have finished running.
It is important to note that there is no way the jobs in the two examples can be run at the same time, even
though there are enough resources in the cluster to support this. The current version of the CCS job
scheduler only considers number of processors required in scheduling jobs.
Alternatives to HP/MPI on Linux
Linux provides three methods of DMP. HP/MPI is the default. There are also implementations of
OpenMPI and Intel/MPI. MSC has found no performance advantages gained by either of these, but they
are provided to users at the hardware vendors request.
To run with OpenMPI add the following parameters to the command line:
mpiimp=openmpi
To run with Intel/MPI add the following parameters to the command line:
mpiimp=intelmpi
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Hardware and Software Requirements
The table below shows the default version of MPICH used for SOL 600 on supported platforms. For
LINUX, both HP/MPI and Intel/MPI are provided.
Use the maintain script in the tools directory to switch between the two MPI options. To use the
Intel/MPI, do the following:
1. Create a .mpd.conf file in your home directory with the following line:
secretword=<your mpd password>
where <your mpd password> can be any arbitrary string.
Change mode of the .mpd.conf file to 600 using the chmod command.
Vendor OS Hardware Default MPI
Also
Works On
HP (64-bit)
4
HPUX 11.11 PA2.0 HP MPI 2.0
HP (64-bit)
4
HPUX 11.23 Itanium 2 HP MPI 2.2
IBM (64-bit)
4
AIX 5.3 Power 6 MPICH
1
SGI (Altix 64-bit)
2, 4, 10
Linux 2.6.5-7.139-sn2 Itanium 2
(Propack 4.0)
SGI MPT 1.11.1
Sun (64-bit)
4, 10
Solaris 10 UltraSparc III MPICH
1
Sun (64-bit)
4, 10
Solaris 10 x86 SUN HPC 7.1
Linux (32-bit)
8, 9
RedHat AS 5.4 Intel Pentium or
equiv.
HP MPI 2.3
5
Linux (64 bit)
4, 8
RedHat AS 4.5 Itanium 2 HP MPI 2.2.5.1
5
Linux (64-bit)
4, 8
RedHat AS 5.4 Intel EM64T Intel MPI 4.0.1
6
AMD Opteron, SuSE 10,
RedHat 5
Intel (32-bit)
8, 9
Windows 7 Intel Pentium or
equiv.
Intel MPI 3.1 Vista 32, Windows 7, Intel 11.0,
Intel 11.1
12
Intel (64-bit)
4, 8, 9
Windows 7 Intel EM64T Intel MPI 3.1
7
Windows XP 64, Vista 64,
Windows 7, Intel 11.0, Intel
11.1
12
1
Hardware MPI version also available (via maintain in /tools directory).
2
Supports Solver 6.
3
Supports multi-threading.
4
Supports true 64-bit version.
5
Supports the Intel MPI 3.1
6
Supports the HP MPI 2.3
7
Supports the Microsoft MPI 1.0 (SP1).
8
Supports the PARDISO Solver
9
Supports the MUMPS Solver
10
DMP (network DDM) is not supported
11
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 must be installed
12
Newer version of Intel Fortran Version 11.1 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 is not supported
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2. Setup a mpd.hosts file in your home directory containing the nades of the nodes to be used. Put
one name per line, e.g.
node1
node2
node3
Although no specific hardware requirements exist for MSC Nastran to run in shared memory parallel or
distributed memory parallel mode, it is preferable to have fast network connections between the
machines if more than one machine is used. It is recommended that the network should have a speed of
at least 100 MBit per second. If only two machines are to be used, you can use a hub or a cross-over cable
to connect them. If more than two machines are to be used, a switch is preferable. TCP/IP is used for
communications.
Compatibility
MSC Nastran supports connection of homogeneous networks with machines of the same type. Two
machines are compatible if they can both use the same executables. Some examples of compatible
machines are:
1. Several machines with exactly the same processor type and O/S.
2. One HP J-Class/HPUX-11.x and one HP C-Class/HPUX-11.x.
Definitions
1. Root machine: The machine on which the job is started.
2. Remote machine: Any machine other than the root machine that is part of a distributed parallel
run on the network.
3. Shared installation: MSC Nastran is installed in an NFS shared directory on one machine only.
Other machines can access the executables since the directory is shared.
4. Distributed installation: MSC Nastran is installed on all machines. Each machine accesses its own
versions of the executables.
5. Distributed execution: SOL 600 is run on multiple machines that are connected with a network.
Each machine loads the executables either from shared or local directories and then executes
them.
6. Shared Memory Execution: More than one processor is used to run a parallel execution of SOL
600 on the same physical computer.
7. Shared I/O: MSC Nastran reads and writes data in an NFS shared directory. Each executable
running on the network reads and writes to the same directory.
8. Distributed I/O: MSC Nastran reads and writes data in a directory located on each machine. You
must make the input available in each directory before the analysis and collect the results files
after the analysis.
9. NFS Network File System.
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Network Configuration
MSC Nastran only needs to be installed on the root machine where the installation directory is shared
via NFS (shared installation). It can also be installed on the remote Machines, which then use their own
executables (distributed installation). The root machine is the one on which the SOL 600 job is started.
The remote machines can be located anywhere as long as they are connected to the network. The working
directory on each machine can be a shared directory on any machine on the network (shared I/O) or it
can be a local directory on the hard disk of each machine in the analysis (distributed I/O). User Notes
on page 170 in this chapter provide instructions for specifying the working directory to use.
Installation Notes
This part describes the specific steps needed to install and set up a network version of SOL 600.
For shared memory parallel, there are no specific installation steps necessary. When running the job, all
that is necessary is to add one input line to the Bulk Data of the form:
PARAMARC,ID,,NP
where ID is an arbitrary integer and NP is the number of processors to be used (can not exceed the
number on the computer).
For distributed parallel, install MSC Nastran on the root machine and, if needed, on the remote machines.
MSC Nastran only needs to be installed on the root machine if it is a shared installation. There is nothing
special that needs to be done related to the installation itself for the network version.
In order to run parallel jobs on machines connected over the network, jobs have to be set up properly. If
any of the remote hosts do not have MSC Nastran installed, the installation directory on the root machine
needs to be shared using NFS or some other mechanism so that all executables are available from the
remote machines. Users need to be able to connect between the machines using rlogin without
having to provide a password.
For some computer systems such as SUN, IBM SP, and Itanium 2, it is necessary to activate hardware
MPI. To do that, change to the ~/tools directory (for example
/usr/nastran/prod_ver/marc/hpuxiaipf/marc2012/tools), make a backup copy of the original include file,
then run the maintain program. At the first prompt, enter 2 (Maintenance utilities). At the next prompt,
enter 2.1 (Modify MPI setting of Marc). At the next prompt, enter the desired type of MPI for your
system (for example, 2.1.5 for HP MPI). If it is not obvious which version of MPI to use, enter 1.2.1 to
select MPICH. Then enter 0 as many times as necessary to exit the maintain program.
IBM SP machines may require special handling. Some use various types of special network switches and
forms of communication software such as IBMs loadleveler. If your system uses loadleveler, manually
edit the include file in the ~/tools directory to choose the proper switch name and change other quantities.
Be sure to make a backup of the original include file before editing. If you are an IBM expert, you might
be able to do this from the comments in the include file. If not, contact MSC technical support for help.
Once the modified include file is setup, the IBM system will automatically choose which nodes to use,
depending on the workload of the machine and a hostfile will not be required. You can bypass the
loadleveler by using the Maintain program to choose Hardware MPI (which is POE for IBM) and setup
a hostfile, as described below for other computer systems.
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Assume that there are two machines with hostnames host1 and host2 that are to be used in a parallel job
over the network. MSC Nastran has been installed on host1 and the job is to be started from this machine.
A hypothetical naming convention is used for shared directories where a directory name on any machine
starts with /nfs/hostname, where hostname is the name of the machine on which the directory is located.
First, test the installation for single processor execution. Change to an empty directory, copy pt6003.dat
from the Nastran ~/tpl directory to the empty directory. Execute the single processor job using the
command
nastran pt6003 scratch=yes
The job should complete normally and produce a file pt6003.marc.sts with an exit code (near the end of
the file) of 3004. A file named pt6003.f06 should be produced with displacements and no FATAL errors
or Severe Warning messages.
Next, test the installation for shared memory multi-processor execution. Copy pt6003.dat to pt6003p.dat.
Edit pt6003p.dat and add the following lines after BEGIN BULK and before ENDMODEL
param,marctemp,0
param,marcoutr,1
PARAMARC,123,,2
Save the modified input file and execute the job using the command:
nastran pt6003p scratch=yes
This job should produce files such as 1pt6003p.marc.dat, 1pt6003p.marc.out, 2p6003p.marc.dat,
2pt6003p.marc.dat, pt6003p.marc.sts and pt6003p.f06. The pt6003p.marc.sts file should be similar to the
previous pt6003.marc.sts file with exit code 3004. The pt6003p.f06 file should have displacements that
are nearly identical to those in the pt6003.f06 file.
Next, test the installation for distributed memory multi-processor execution. Copy pt6003p.dat to
pt6003pp.dat Change the SOL 600 Executive Control statement to read as follows:
SOL 600,106 path=3 outr=f06
Copy pt6003p.f06 to a file named marc.pth. Edit marc.pth and search for the string executed. Delete
all lines from the beginning up to and including that line. Skip down one line and delete all other lines so
that only one line remains in the file. The one line should look similar to :
/usr/nastran/prod_ver/marc/hpuxiaipf/marc2012/tools/run_marc jid pt6003p.marc.dat nps 2 v no
iam nanl b no
Change this line to read as follows:
/usr/nastran/prod_ver/marc/hpuxiaipf/marc2012/tools/run_marc jid pt6003pp.marc.dat nps 2 v no
iam nanl ho hostfile b no
Save the marc.pth file. It needs to be in the same directory as the MSC Nastran input file, pt6003pp.dat
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Next, setup a hostfile (which we will name hostfile) with two processors for the two machines you wish
to use. The hostfile would have the following lines:
host1 1
host2 1 shared_directory_for_files shared_directory_where_marc_is
The shared_directory_where_marc_is should be of the form:
/usr/nastran/prod_ver/marc/hpuxipf/marc2012r1
Run the pt6003pp model the same as was done for the pt6003p model. The same files as produced by the
pt6003p model should be produced. The values in the last column (max displacement) of the
pt6003pp.marc.sts file should be the same as those for pt6003.marc.sts and pt6003p.marc.sts. The
displacements in pt6003pp.f06 should also be the same as for pt6003.f06 and pt6003p.f06.
Running shared memory is much easier than distributed memory parallel and should be faster as well,
however, the computers cost more.
How to Run a Network Job
This section assumes that MSC Nastran has been successfully installed on at least one of two machines
that are to be used in a distributed analysis, and that the appropriate SOL 600 licenses are in order.
Assume that host1 is the host name of the machine on which the job is to be started (the root machine).
The host name of the other machine (the remote machine) is host2.
Verify that the two machines are properly connected. From host1, access host2 with rlogin host2 If
a password needs to be provided to do the remote login, this has to be taken care of. If the rlogin is
not possible without providing a password, a network run will not be possible. Be sure that both host1
and host2 appear in your .rhosts files in your root directory. If they are present, see the
Troubleshooting section.
In order to perform an analysis over a network, a host file needs to be created by the user. This file
defines which machines are to be used, how many processes are to run on each, what working directory
should be used, and where the Marc executable can be found on each machine. No specific name or
extension is used for the host file except that the name jobid.host must be avoided since it is used
internally.
Specification of the Host File
The host file has the following general format:
host1 n1
host2 n2 workdir2 installdir2
Each line must start at column 1 (no initial blanks). Blank lines and lines beginning with a # (number
symbol) are ignored. The first entry is the host name of a machine to be used in the analysis. The root
machine must be listed first and each machine must only occur once.
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The second entry specifies the number of processes to run on the machine specified in the first entry. The
sum of the number of processes given in the host file must equal the number of domains used. In a five-
domain job, it is required that n1+n2+n3=5.
The third entry specifies the working directory to use on this host. This is where the I/O for this host takes
place. The results files for this machine are created in this directory.
The fourth entry specifies where the version of Marc that this host should use is located. This entry can
be omitted if the name is the same on all machines (which could be a shared directory on host1 with the
same name from host2 and host3). The directories in the third and fourth entries will be used from the
respective host. To check the correctness of the host file specification, log in to the respective machine
and list the directories as specified in the host file. For the host file given above, do:
rlogin host2
ls workdir2
ls installdir2
The second line should show the working directory to use on host2 and the third line the installation
directory that will be used by host2. The different domains of the job are associated with the different
machines as follows. Suppose a five-domain job test is run using a host file defined as
host1 2
host2 1 workdir2 installdir2
with appropriate definitions of the third and fourth entries, indicated below. (Note: SOL 600 usually
works with a Marc single file parallel input file that is the same as a single processor input file.
Internally, Marc will create six input files associated with this job: test.dat, 1test.dat, ...,
5test.dat and move them to the correct computer locations). Domains 1 and 2 will be associated with
host1, domain3 with host2 and domains 4 and 5 with host3.
Shared I/O
Suppose a job is to be run on host1 and host2. A shared directory on host1 is to be used for I/O and from
host2 its name is /nfs/host1/workdir (assuming a hypothetical naming convention for shared directories
which starts with /nfs/hostname). The installation directory is assumed to have the same name on both
machines. The host file for a two processor job would simply be
host1 1
host2 1 /nfs/host1/workdir
To verify the workdir given, do rlogin host2 ; ls /nfs/host1/workdir. The directory seen
should be the same one as the working directory on host1.
Distributed I/O
If the user wants to have the I/O to be local on host2, specify the host file as
host1 1
host2 1 /usr/people/myjob
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The I/O on host2 will now take place in the directory /usr/people/myjob on the hard disk of host2. For
this case, the input files are transferred to /usr/people/myjob on host2 before the job is started, and the
results files are transferred back after the analysis for postprocessing. This transfer of files is done
automatically. It is also possible to use only two entries in the host file. This requires that both the
working directory and the installation directory have the same names on all machines.
Shared vs. Distributed I/O
For jobs with very large post or restart files, it is sometimes more efficient to use distributed I/O. With
distributed I/O, the input files and the post files are located on the hosts local disks. Marc by default
automatically transfers the input files and the post files to and from the remote host if required.
Jobs with User Subroutine
User subroutines are fully supported using shared memory as well as distributed parallel.
The Fortran file with the subroutine is located in the working directory on the root machine. Marc
automatically creates the executable and makes it available on all remote hosts. There is no need to
modify the host file if it is correct for a job without a user subroutine. If the working directory is shared
for all remote hosts and only compatible machines are used in the analysis, the user subroutine is
compiled on the root machine and the executable is available in the shared working directory. If a remote
host is using a local working directory, the executable will be automatically copied over to the remote
machine using remote copy (rcp). Marc automatically knows if a directory is shared or local. If
incompatible machines are used, the compilation is done on each machine separately. If a shared working
directory is used, the host name is appended to the name of the executable. For local directories, the new
executable is placed in the local working directory. This is all done automatically.
Solver
Solver type 6 (hardware provided sparse) is available on HP and SGI. No specific input is needed for its
use in a parallel analysis. Marc makes use of the parallel features of these solvers. However, the use of
a hardware solver is not recommended in a network run. The equation solution is performed on the root
machine by starting multiple processes. This is done in order to utilize the parallel performance of the
solver (which is using multithreading). This is efficient on a single parallel machine, but if the root
machine of a network run does not have the number of processors available, it will not be efficient.
Solver types 0 (direct profile), 2 (sparse iterative), 4 (sparse direct), and 8 (multifrontal sparse) are
supported in parallel. Out-of-core solution is only supported in parallel for Solver 8.
The option OOC,,1 (or OOC,0,1) which equates to MSC Nastran Bulk Data entry param,marcoocc,2 is
not presently supported with DDM.
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Troubleshooting
Check that:
1. The network connection between the hosts is working by using the command SLQJKRVW.
2. A remote login using the command UORJLQcan be done between the hosts without providing a
password. If not, add all hosts to your .rhosts file in your login directory or contact your system
administrator.
3. The host names used in the hostfile are correct. It should be the same as the output from the
command hostnameon the respective host.
4. The working and installation directories on the host file are correct. Log onto the remote host,
change directory to these directories to verify the host file content.
Error messages:
1. The error message semget failed... at job start-up means that the communication
environment is not clean. This can be checked with the Unix command ipcs. If entries belonging
to specific users except root show up, they may need to be removed. Run the script
tools/mpiclean
Other:
1. On some machines, sometimes there are files called p4_shared_arena_xxxx, with xxxx
being some number, left in /var/tmp. These can eventually fill up the disk and should be
removed.
Note: This will kill all parallel jobs currently running under the current user. Only entries
belonging to the current user are deleted.
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SOL 600 Parallel Processing on Windows
For 32-bit Windows platforms, the only MPI supported is provided by the Intel MPI 3.1 for Windows.
For 64-bit Windows EM64T platforms, the default MPI is also the Intel MPI 3.1 for Windows.
The other MPI option for the 64-bit Windows platforms is MS/MPI using the Microsoft CCS utilities.
To switch from the default Intel/MPI to MS/MPI, perform the following tasks:
1. Go to the marc bin directory and type:
copy marc.exe_msmpi marc.exe
2. Go to the marc lib directory and type:
copy mdsrc.lib_msmpi mdsrc.lib
3. Go to the marc tools directory and edit (write) the include.bat file.
Change:
set MPITYPE=intel-mpi
rem set MPITYPE=ms-mpi
to
rem set MPITYPE=intel-mpi
set MPITYPE=ms-mpi
All the required components as listed in the include.bat file in the marc tools directory need to be
installed. Microsoft CCS SP1 (676 build) or above is required to run DMP.
In particular, as shown in the include file, the following is needed to run parallel jobs.
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Compute Cluster Pack\bin\mpiexec.exe
The mpiexec.exe and msmpi.dll are included in the Microsoft Compute Cluster Pack or CCP which
are on a separate CD from the operating system. If the files do not exist in your system, got to
http://www.microsoft.com/hpc and get information on how to download or order CDs (there is a link on
the left called How to Buy.)
Please turn off the Windows firewall in your cluster and shared marc directory with a general permission
to all users.
The host file for using the MS/MPI has a slightly different format than that for the Intel/MPI. A
headnode field is added where the headnode is the UNC name of the node where the Microsoft Job
Scheduler is installed.
host1 n1 workdir1 installdir1 neadnode
host2 n2 workdir2
host3 n3 workdir3
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For both workdir and installdir, use the UNC directory names as echoed by typing net share on
your system.
For example,
sv-emt1 2 \\sv-emt1\test1 \\sv-emt1\marc2012r1 \\sv-emt
sv-emt2 2 \\sv-emt2\test2
The DMP job will be run using two processors on node sv-emt1 in the shared directory test1 and 2
processors on node sv-emt2 in the shared directory test2 and the Microsoft Job Scheduler is installed
in node sv-emt.
Please note that the version of MS/MPI used to do the mar build requires that all processors within your
cluster be allocated (automatically done by the run_marc.bat script) even for running a job that
requires less than the total number of processors in the system.
Although no specific hardware requirements exist to run SOL 600 in parallel, it is preferable that for
distributed parallel processing to have fast network connections between the machines. It is
recommended that the network should have a speed of at least 100 MBit per second. If only two machines
are to be used, a hub or a cross-over cable can be used to connect them. If more than two machines are
to be used, a switch is preferable. TCP/IP is used for communications. Refer to the include.bat file in the
tools directory for requirements on O/S, compilers, etc. for running SOL 600 on Windows.
Definitions
2. Remote machine: Any machine other than the root machine that is part of a distributed run on the
network.
3. Shared installation: MSC Nastran is installed in a UNC shared directory on one machine only.
set of executables.
5. Distributed execution: MSC Nastran is run on multiple machines that are connected with a
network. Each machine loads the executables either from shared or local directories and then
executes them.
6. Shared I/O: Data is read and written to a UNC shared directory. Each executable running on the
network reads/writes to the same directory.
7. Distributed I/O: Data is read and written to a directory located on each machine.
Transfer of data files and post files between the root machine and remote machines is done
automatically.
8. UNC Uniform Naming Convention.
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MSC Nastran only needs to be installed on the root machine where the installation directory is UNC
shared (shared installation). MSC Nastran can also be installed on the remote machines, which then use
their own executable (distributed installation). The root machine is the one on which the job is started.
can be a local directory on the hard disk of each machine in the analysis (distributed I/O). The User Notes
describes how to specify what working directory to use.
Installation Notes
This section describes the specific steps needed to install and set up a network version of SOL 600.
Steps 14 Must be performed as Administrator or a user having administrator privileges.
Step 1: Install MSC Nastran on the root machine. The installation directory must be
shared such that it is available on the remote machines.
Step 2: To install Intel/MPI, do the following:
For the root machine, find the ~\tools directory, for example
d:\MSC.Software\MSC_Nastran\prod_ver\marc\tools
Find the file intel-mpi.bat in the tools directory. Using notepad or some other ASCII editor, change
the contents from the default specified to
set MPI_ROOT=d:\MSC.Software\MSC_Nastran\prod_ver\marc\intel_mpi
or similar directory depending on where you installed MSC Nastran
a. Root machine:
b. Use My Computer and find the location of the ~\intel_mpi\bin directory (for example)
d:\MSC.Software\MSC_Nastran\prod_ver\marc\intel_mpi\bin
c. Perform steps e to i below
Non-Root machines:
d. Change to the shared directory
d:\MSC.Software\MSC_Nastran\prod_ver\marc\intelmpi\sys\bin
where sys is one of linux32, linux64, linuxipf, win32 or win64
e. Type: wmpiregister
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f. Enter a valid login username and password when prompted. Also enter the domain name if
that is how you login to the system, or use local if you do not login through a domain. Note
that the installation program does NOT verify that the password you entered is valid, so make
sure that you enter exactly as the login password (either the local machine login or the domain
login). Note: If you change your system login password you must repeat steps e and f. If you
upgrade your Nastran version, you must repeat steps a to f.
g. Type: ismpd -install
On Windows systems, ismpd -install usually only provides one parallel run. If the same
parallel job is run again or if a different is run, an error will be found in jid.marc.log indicating
that mpi did not start. To overcome this, add the following line to the batch file used to run
Nastran SOL 600 runs:
d:\MSC.Software\MSC_Nastran\prod_ver\marc\intelmpi\sys\bin-ismpd -install
h. Change to the shared directory
d:\MSC.Software\MSC_Nastran\prod_ver\marc\intel_mpi\lib of the root machine
i. Copy impi.dll to your Windows\system32 directory
Step 3: Make sure that the installation directory on the remote host is properly shared. Use My Computer
and locate the directory to be shared. Right click on the directory and choose Sharing. Choose Share As
and give it a Share Name (this is the UNC name) and click OK.
Step 4: Test the installation for single processor execution: Change to an empty directory, copy
pt6003.dat from the Nastran ~/tpl directory to the empty directory. Execute the single processor job using
the command
nastran pt6003 scratch=yes
The job should complete normally and produce a file pt6003.marc.sts with an exit code (near the end of
the file) of 3004. A file named pt6003.f06 with displacements and no FATAL errors or Severe Warning
messages.
Step 5: If you have a multi-processor PC, test the installation for shared memory parallel execution: (If
you do not have multiple processors on you machine, perform the next steps up to execute the job and
skip to the next step. Copy pt6003.dat to pt6003p.dat. Edit pt6003p.dat and add the following lines after
BEGIN BULK and before ENDMODEL
param,marctemp,0
param,marcoutr,1
PARAMARC,123,,2
Note: The UNC name may have a maximum of 10 characters and the name of the shared
directory may have a maximum of 30 characters. If necessary, a directory higher up in the
path can be shared (for instance, d:\MSC.Software instead of
d:\MSC.Software\MSC_Nastran\prod_ver\marc\tools). It is sufficient that either
of the above or any path in-between be shared.
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Save the modified input file.
Execute the job using the command:
This job should produce files such as 1pt6003p.marc.dat, 1pt6003p.marc.out, 2p6003p.marc.dat,
2pt6003p.marc.dat, pt6003p.marc.sts and pt6003p.f06. The pt6003p.marc.sts file should be similar to the
previous pt6003.marc.sts file with exit code 3004. The pt6003p.f06 file should have displacements that
are nearly identical to those in the pt6003.f06 file.
Step 6: Test the installation for multi-processor, distributed execution.
Copy pt6003p.dat to pt6003pp.dat Change the SOL 600 e
Executive Control statement to read as follows:
SOL 600,106 path=3 outr=f06
Create a file named marc.pth which has the complete command to execute Marc in parallel. The file must
contain one line that looks similar to the following:
d:\MSC.Software\MSC_Nastran\prod_ver\marc\tools \run_marc jid
pt6003pp.marc.dat nps 2 v no iam nanl ho hostfile b no
Save the marc.pth file. It needs to be in the same directory as the MSC Nastran input file, pt6003pp.dat.
Next, setup a hostfile (which we will name hostfile) with two processors for the two machines you wish
to use. The hostfile will have the following lines:
host1 1 shared_directory_for_files shared_directory_where_marc_is
host2 1
The shared_directory_for_files as well as shared_directory_where_marc_is need to be in UNC
format.
For example, enter shared_directory_where_marc_is in the form:
\\host1\MSC.Software\MSC_Nastran\prod_ver\marc
Run the pt6003pp model using the command
The same files as produced by the pt6003p model should be produced and the values in the last column
(max displacement) of the pt6003pp.marc.sts file should be the same as for pt6003.marc.sts and
pt6003p.marc.sts. The displacements in pt6003pp.f06 should also be the same as for pt6003.f06 and
pt6003p.f06.
If the job stalls or hangs at start-up time, exit it by typing control-C in the window in which it was
started. See "User Notes" in this chapter.
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User Notes
This section assumes that MSC Nastran, including Intel/MPI, has been successfully installed on two
machines that are to be used in a distributed analysis and that the appropriate MSC licenses are in order.
Assume that host1 is the host name of the root machine from which the job is to be started and the host
name of the other machine (the remote machine) is host2.
How to Run a Network Job
First, make sure that the two machines are properly connected. From host1, access host2 with Network
Neighborhood. If this is not possible, a network run will not be possible. See "User Notes" in this case.
In order to perform an analysis over a network, a special file called a host file needs to be created by the
user. This file defines which machines are to be used, how many processes are to run on each, what
working directory should be used, and where the Marc executable can be found on each machine. No
specific name or extension is used for the host file except that the name jobid.host must be avoided since
it is used internally.
Specification of the Host File
The host file has the following general format:
host2 n2 workdir2
host3 n3 workdir3
machine must be listed first and each machine must only occur once. The second entry specifies the
number of processes to run on the machine specified in the first entry. The sum of the number of
processes given in the host file must equal the number of domains used. In a five-domain job, it is
required that n1+n2+n3=5.
The third entry specifies the working directory to use on this host. This is where the I/O for this host takes
place. The MSC Nastran input file for this machine must be in this directory and the results files for this
machine are created in this directory. The fourth entry gives the location of the directory where
MSC Nastran is installed.
The different domains are associated with the different machines as follows. Suppose a five-domain job
test is run using a host file, defined as
host2 1 workdir2
host3 2 workdir3
with appropriate definitions of the third entry, indicated below. Since SOL 600 uses a single file
parallel input, Marc will create six input files associated with this job such as test.dat,
1test.dat, ..., 5test.dat. Domains 1 and 2 will be associated with host1, domain3 with
host2 and domains 4 and 5 with host3.
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Shared I/O
Suppose a job is to be run on host1 and host2. A shared directory on host1 is to be used for I/O. The UNC
sharename for this directory is assumed to be dir7. The host file for a two processor job would simply be
host1 1
host2 1 \\host1\dir7
To verify the work directory given, enter Network Neighborhood from host2 and click through host1
-> dir7. The directory seen should be the same one as the working directory on host1.
It is also possible to use only two entries for each host in the host file (host name and number of
processes). This requires that the working directory is shared and that the sharing information is up to
date in the file tools\marc.net (see above where marc.net is created).
Distributed I/O
If the user wants to have the I/O to be local on host2, specify the host file as
host1 1
host2 1 \\host2\dir5
The I/O on host2 will now take place in the directory D:\users\dir5 on the hard disk of host2. For
this case, the input files are transferred to D:\users\dir5 on host2 before the job is started, and the
results files are transferred back after the analysis for postprocessing. This transfer of files is done
automatically.
Shared vs. Distributed I/O
For jobs with very large post or restart files, it is sometimes more efficient to use distributed I/O. With
distributed I/O, the input files, and the post files are located on the hosts local disks. Marc, by default,
automatically transfers the input files and the post files to and from the remote host if needed. To run a
job using distributed I/O, specify a local directory in the host file:
host1 2
host2 1 \\host2\workdir
Jobs with User Subroutine
User subroutines are available. If local directories are used on remote hosts (distributed I/O), the new
executable will be transferred automatically to the remote host if necessary.
Solver
Solver type 6 (hardware provided sparse) is not available on the Microsoft Windows platform. Solver
types 0 (direct profile), 2 (sparse iterative), 4 (sparse direct), and 8 (multifrontal sparse) are supported in
parallel. Out-of-core solution is only supported in parallel for Solver 8.
The option OOC,,1 (or OOC,0,1) which equates to MSC Nastran Bulk Data entry param,marcoocc,2 is
not presently supported with DDM.
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Troubleshooting
Check that:
1. Your user ID is recognized by the local or remote hosts. Also check that the password you entered
during the Intel/MPI installation process is the same as that for the local system or the domain.
The installation process does not verify that the password you entered is the same as the machine
or domain login password.
Also note that your password must not have any spaces in it or else the Intel/MPI installation
process will not handle your password correctly.
If you change your login password, you must register Intel/MPI by using:
wmpiregister.exe
2. The remote hosts have permission to read from and write to the root host. In particular, check that
the sharing is giving full access; that is, not being restricted to read only.
3. Your licenses including parallel processing are valid.
4. The host names are valid.
Running a Parallel Job when not Connected to the Network
If you disconnect your system from the network and want to run a parallel job on that system, you will
have to install the Microsoft Loopback Adapter. Follow these steps.
1. Go to Control Panel, Add/Remove Hardware.
2. Select the hardware task you want to perform:
Add/Troubleshoot a device
3. Choose a Hardware Device:
Add a new device
4. Do you want Microsoft Windows to search for your new hardware?
No, I want to select the hardware from a list
5. Select the type of hardware you want to install:
Network adapters
6. Select Network Adapter:
Manufacturers: Microsoft
Network Adapter: Microsoft Loopback Adapter
It will now install the loopback adapter. You will have to enable/disable the loopback adapter as you
remove/connect your machine to the network.
Running a Parallel job on Windows XP System when not a Member of a Domain
If you will be running a parallel job on a Windows XP system that is not a member of a domain, you will
have to modify a registry entry.
Using regedt32, look for the following key:
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HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa
"forceguest" : REG_DWORD : 00000001
If you find this key, change the REG_DWORD value to 0. The name may also appear as ForceGuest. If you
do not have this registry entry, your system will function properly.
Running a Parallel Job on Windows XP SP2
After you install or upgrade to Windows XP SP2, the RPC protocol does not permit anonymous requests
to the RPC Endpoint Mapper, but requires client requests to be authenticated. This will cause an "Access
is Denied" error when you attempt to run a parallel job. To workaround this problem:
1. Run gpedit.msc from a command prompt.
2. Select Computer Configuration, expand Administrative Templates and expand System.
3. Click Remote Procedure Call.
4. Double click RPC Endpoint Mapper Client Authentication. Change the value to Enabled.
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By default, SOL 700 parallel runs for UNIX uses platform native MPI versions. The exceptions are Linux
where Open MPI 1.2.5 and HP MPI 02.02.07.00 are provided and Windows 32 where MPICH Version 2
from Argonne National Laboratory is provided. (These are included on the MSC Nastran installation.)
Although no specific hardware requirements exist for MSC Nastran to run distributed memory parallel
mode, it is preferable to have fast network connections between the machines if more than one machine
is used. It is recommended that the network should have a speed of at least 100 MBit per second. If only
two machines are to be used, you can use a hub or a cross-over cable to connect them. If more than two
machines are to be used, a switch is preferable. TCP/IP is used for communications.
Compatibility
MSC Nastran supports connection of homogeneous networks with machines of the same type. Two
machines are compatible if they can both use the same executables. Some examples of compatible
machines are:
1. Several machines with exactly the same processor type and O/S.
2. One HP J-Class/HPUX-11.0 and one HP C-Class/HPUX-11.0.
Definitions
2. Remote machine: Any machine other than the root machine that is part of a distributed parallel
run on the network.
3. Shared installation: MSC Nastran is installed in an NFS shared directory on one machine only.
versions of the executables.
5. Distributed execution: SOL 700 is run on multiple machines that are connected with a network.
Each machine loads the executables either from shared or local directories and then executes
them.
6. Shared I/O: MSC Nastran reads and writes data in an NFS shared directory. Each executable
running on the network reads and writes to the same directory.
7. NFS Network File System.
MSC Nastran only needs to be installed on the root machine where the installation directory is shared via
NFS (shared installation). It can also be installed on the remote Machines, which then use their own
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executables (distributed installation). The root machine is the one on which the SOL 700 job is started.
can be a local directory on the hard disk of each machine in the analysis (distributed I/O). User Notes
on page 170 in this chapter provide instructions for specifying the working directory to use.
Installation Notes
This part describes the specific steps needed to install and set up a network version of SOL 700. For
distributed parallel, install MSC Nastran on the root machine and, if needed, on the remote machines.
MSC Nastran only needs to be installed on the root machine if it is a shared installation. There is nothing
special that needs to be done related to the installation itself for the network version. In order to run
parallel jobs on machines connected over the network, jobs have to be set up properly. If any of the
remote hosts do not have MSC Nastran installed, the installation directory on the root machine needs to
be shared using NFS or some other mechanism so that all executables are available from the remote
machines. Users need to be able to connect between the machines using rlogin without having to
provide a password. For some platforms, special attention requiring root access are required to make
SOL 700 jobs run which will be described in the next section.
Platform Specific MPI Configurations
HPUX11 RISC 2.0 & HPUX Itanium2
Linux X8664 & Linux i386 & Linux Itanium2 (HP MPI)
In order to properly run SOL 700 on both these platforms, the MPI directory must be made available in
the PATH. The proper HP MPI will be delivered with the MSC Nastran installation and is automatically
installed with the SOL 700 package. The user should set MPI_ROOT and add this to the PATH of each
machine in the cluster in the .cshrc file:
setenv MPI_ROOT /msc/msc2012/dyna/linux8664/hpmpi
set path = ($path $MPI_ROOT/bin )
After proper login the user can verify if the path is properly set by:
<> mpirun -version
The response should be (on Linux X8664):
mpirun: HP MPI 02.02.05.00 Linux x86-64
major version 202 minor version 5
The machine is now ready to be used for SOL 700. The working directory does not have to be a shared
directory.
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AIX
A full installation of the POE program must be installed before SOL 700 can be run on this platform. This
POE installation must be obtained from the platform vendor. Once installed, no further actions are
required by the user.
The working directory (the full path) must either exist or by NFS mounted on the remote machines.
SOLARIS
A full installation of the HPC program must be installed before SOL 700 can be run on this platform.
This installation must be obtained from the platform vendor. Once installed, no further actions are
required by the user.
The working directory (the full path) must either exist or by NFS mounted on the remote machines.
User Notes
This section assumes that MSC Nastran, including the MPI, has been successfully installed on two
machines that are to be used in a distributed analysis and that the appropriate MSC licenses are in order.
Assume that host1 is the host name of the root machine from which the job is to be started and the host
name of the other machine (the remote machine) is host2.
First, make sure that the two machines are properly connected. (On Windows: from host1, access host2
with Network Neighborhood.) If this is not possible, a network run will not be possible.
Command Line Option
SOL 700 may be run parallel in a manner similar to standard DMP parallel. If a user specifies dmp700=n
(where n is the number of processors) and does not have a sol700.pth file, then a temporary file is created
using the hosts specified by HOSTS= either in the command line or RC file. The sol700.pth file is used
if PATH=3 is specified on the SOL 700 entry.
PATH=3 Option
In order to perform an analysis over a network, a special file called a hostfile needs to be created by the
user. This file defines which machines are to be used, how many processes are to run on each, what
working directory should be used, and where the Marc executable can be found on each machine. No
specific name or extension is used for the host file except that the name jobid.hostfile must be avoided
since it is used internally.
Specification of the Hostfile
The hostfile has the following general format:
host1 n1 workdir1 exe1
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machine must be listed first and each machine must only occur once. The second entry specifies the
number of processes to run on the machine specified in the first entry. The default is 1 cpu for each
machine. The sum of the number of processes given in the hostfile will be equal the number of domains
used. In a five-domain job, it is will be n1+n2+n3=5.
The third entry specifies the working directory to use on this host. This entry is ignored for SOL 700, as
all I/O occurs on the working directory of the root machine.
The fourth entry specifies the location of the executable including to the full path to the executable. For
the first entry (the root machine), the MSC Nastran Installation can figure out automatically which exe
to take. The default for all subnodes is the same location as the location of the exe on the root machine.
In case the subnodes have a different MSC Nastran installation location, this can be specified here. In
case exe2, exe3, etc. are used, n2, n3 and workdir2, workdir3 are required input and can not be
skipped. In case the location of the executables on the remote machines is exactly the same as on the root
machine, the workdir and the exe location can be omitted from the hostfile.
Example of the Hostfile
The different domains are associated with the different machines as follows. Suppose a five-domain job
is run using a hostfile, defined as:
host1 2
host2 1
host3 2
Domains 1 and 2 will be associated with host1, domain3 with host2 and domains 4 and 5 with host3.
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Running an ISHELL Program
The ISHELL module allows you to invoke your own program from DMAP to perform custom
processing. Two features are provided to make running your program easier.
The first feature is the ability to construct a full named based on the up-to eight character name provided
by DMAP and a list of file-type associations. MSC Nastran will first attempt to find an executable in the
current directory using the name as-is from the DMAP call, i.e., all upper-case. On UNIX, if this name
cannot be found, another attempt is made by converting the name to all lower-case.
If a name was not found, the Command Processor Associations defined by the ishellext keyword will
be used to construct additional names by concatenating the DMAP name with each file-type in turn until
the name is found or the table is exhausted. The command processor extensions consist of pairs of file-
types and commands. On UNIX systems, the default command processor associations are:
On Windows, the default command processor associations are:
These tables are processed in the order shown.
If none of the names exist in the current working directory, MSC Nastran will resort to the second feature
design to assist in using the ISHELL module, the ishellpath keyword. If this keyword is set, MSC
File-Type Command Processor
null directly execute
.sh sh
.ksh ksh
.csh csh
.pl perl
.prl perl
File-Type Command Processor
.bat directly execute
.exe directly execute
.com directly execute
.pl perl
.prl perl
Note: While this capability is similar to the Windows File Type Associations, it does not use
that information.
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Nastran will repeat the search described above for each of the directories listed by the keyword. To aid
in using this keyword, the nastran command will set the default value for ishellpath as the directory
containing the input data file if you have not set the keyword on the command line, via the
MSC_ISHELLPATH environment variable, or in an RC file.
If a file has still not been found in either the current working directory or any of the directories listed by
the ishellpath keyword, the system PATH will be searched. Finally, if a suitable file was not found, a
UFM will be issued.
A sample ISHELL job is provided by the files TPLDIR/cc705:qaishell.dat, TPLDIR:QAISHELL, and
TPLDIR:qaishell.pl. The ISHELL call is
For the following example, assume the nastran command provides the default value for the ishellpath
keyword, i.e., the directory containing the input data file.
On UNIX, the following names will be checked (assuming the default command processor associations):
QAISHELL, qaishell, QAISHELL.sh, qaishell.sh, QAISHELL.ksh, qaishell.ksh, QAISHELL.csh,
qaishell.csh, QAISHELL.pl, qaishell.pl, QAISHELL.prl, and finally qaishell.prl. Since the file
QAISHELL exists in the same directory as the input file, it will be found after first looking for the
names in the current working directory.
On Windows, the following names will be checked (assuming the default command processor
associations): QAISHELL.BAT, QAISHELL.EXE, QAISHELL.COM, QAISHELL.PL, and finally
QAISHELL.PRL. Since the file qaishell.pl exists in the same directory as the input file, it will be found
after first looking for the names in the current working directory.
.
.
.
ISHELL//QAISHELL/S,N,IRTN/
NOINT/NOREAL/NOCMPX/NOCHAR/NOUNIT/
INT1/INT2/INT3/INT4/
REAL1/REAL2/REAL3/REAL4/
CMPL1/CMPL2/CMPL;3/CMPL4/
STRING1/STRING2/STRING3/STRING4/
/UNIT1/UNIT2/UNIT3/UNIT4 $
.
.
.
prod_ver nastran qaishell
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Defining Command Processor Associations
The nastran command treats each specification of the ishellext keyword as either an addition to,
modification of, or deletion from, the current definition. For example, using the default command
processor associations, specifying
will add a new processor, wish, for the file-type .tcl, after the last currently defined processor.
Specifying
will delete the current association of perl for the file-type .pl. Finally,
will replace the sh definition for the .sh file type on UNIX.
To change the processing order, delete the current entry and then respecify it (to append it to the end of
the table). For example, to force UNIX systems to find qaishell.pl before QAISHELL, specify
Note that this first deletes the null processor .=, and then re-specifies it as .=.
These two examples are the default associations for UNIX and Windows respectively.
Special Considerations (Windows)
On Windows, all executable files must have a non-null file type; this is why the QAISHELL script
cannot be used on Windows, even if you have a Korn shell installed.
You may need to define CMD.EXE on Windows as the command processor for certain .exe files.
Examples include 16-bit compiled Basic programs.
ishellext=tcl=wish
ishellext=pl=
ishellext=sh=ksh
ishellext=.=,.=
ishellext=.=,sh=sh,ksh=ksh,csh=csh,pl=perl,prl=prl
ishellext=bat=,exe=,com=,pl=perl,prl=perl
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Finally, you can use a hash mark, #, in place of the equals sign on Windows to facilitate setting the
processor association in a .bat file. For example,
is an alternate definition of the default Windows association.
ishellext#bat#,exe#,com#,pl#perl,prl#perl
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Using the ISHELL-INCLUDE Statement (!)
The ISHELL module provides a way to dynamically alter the instruction stream of a running DMAP,
making it easier to integrate your own programs, and simplifying the task of customizing MSC Nastran.
The ISHELL-INCLUDE statement (!) extends the ISHELL feature to the instruction stream of the
input file. This capability is derived by merging the features of both the ISHELL and the INCLUDE
statements (by first executing the external program and then including the output in the input stream).
The format is:
! embedded shell command.
! continuations are indicated simply by the presence
! of another ! in the first non-blank position of the next line.
! all characters following the ! are passed to the appropriate
! shell for evaluation.
The shell (or command processor) is determined by the MSC_ISHELLEXT environment variable, or by
the ishellext keyword from the command line or RC file (see Running an ISHELL Program for more
details). On UNIX systems, the command processor associated with the null file type is used for the
ISHELL-INCLUDE statement. In most cases this requires one of the following keyword assignments to
be added to the command line:
Like the INCLUDE statement, the ISHELL-INCLUDE statement can appear anywhere in the input file.
However, the output (captured from stdout) must be appropriate to the section in which it will be
included (i.e. the final input stream must constitute a valid MSC Nastran input file). Unlike the
INCLUDE statement, nested ISHELL-INCLUDE statements are not supported.
The processing of an embedded shell script is done as follows:
1. The entire script is extracted and written to a temporary file.
2. If the ISHELL-INCLUDE occurs within a DMAP alter, the processing is delayed until the DMAP
compiler is invoked.
3. Otherwise, the input file processing is suspended, and the external program is executed. Output
from the external program is captured to another temporary file which is immediately opened and
included into the input stream.
ishellext=.=/bin/csh # for csh scripts
ishellext=.=/bin/ksh # for ksh scripts
ishellext=.=/bin/sh # for sh scripts
ishellext=.=perl # for perl scripts
Note: The ISHELL-INCLUDE statement is currently not supported for Windows.
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4. Once the reading of the entire output is completed, processing of the input file is resumed.
The following additional processing steps are done for an embedded shell script located within a DMAP
alter:
1. The DMAP statements that are selected by the alter are extracted to an external file named:
ishell.stdin.
2. If stdout is written to, then that output is included in the alter; otherwise, ishell.stdin is read.
This allows an interactive program like vi to simply save the modified input buffer, and it is
automatically included in the alter.
An immediate benefit of the ISHELL-INCLUDE statement is the ability to customize the MSC Nastran
job to dynamically record (and/or respond) to the run time environment. The following example
captures the value of a few environment variables as comments in the f06 file:
example.dat:
echooff $ removes copy of the ishell script below from the f06
! echo "echoon" # just the results from the shell will be echoed
! echo $
! echo $ License File: `printenv MSC_LICENSE_FILE`"
! echo $ Job was run on host: `printenv HOST`"
! echo $ Nastran Version: `printenv MSC_VERSD`"
! echo $ Temporary Directory: `printenv MSC_SDIR`"
! echo $ TMPDIR: `printenv TMPDIR`"
! echo "$ Scratch: `printenv MSC_SCR`"
! echo "$ User: `printenv USER`"
! echo "$ Display: `printenv DISPLAY`"
! echo "$ Base: `printenv MSC_BASE`"
! echo "$ Path: `printenv MSC_JID`"
! echo "$ Memory: `printenv MSC_MEM`"
! echo "$ Assign File: `printenv MSC_ASG`"
! echo "$ Shell: `printenv SHELL`"
! echo "$ Ishell Ext: `printenv MSC_ISHELLEXT`"
! echo "$ Ishell Path: `printenv MSC_ISHELLPATH`"
! echo "$ Ishell File: $0"
! echo "$ "
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The example above should be executed with /bin/csh as the command processor:
> nastran example.dat scr=yes ishellext=.=/bin/csh
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CHAPTER 5
Improving Network File System (NFS) Performance
(UNIX)
The Network File System (NFS) is software allowing file systems on remote computers to appear as if
they were mounted on the local computer. There are two daemons that handle NFS traffic: nfsd handles
file system access requests by the local computer to remotely mounted file systems; biod handles
requests by remote computers to access local file systems.
These daemons have been designed so that multiple executing copies of each daemon increase NFS
traffic capacity. Two of the possible causes of poor NFS performance are a lack of sufficient daemons to
handle NFS requests made by the local computer to remotely mounted file systems (nfsd), or a lack of
sufficient daemons to handle NFS requests of local file systems by remote computers (biod). The default
number of daemons for nfsd and biod is typically four of each. This default is usually fine for a stand
alone workstation used by one person. If you or others are accessing many remote file systems or run
many MSC Nastran jobs accessing file systems on file servers or remote workstations, you may need to
increase the number of nfsd and biod daemons on both systems to increase NFS performance.
If you are running three or more MSC Nastran jobs accessing disks on remote computers via NFS,
MSC.Software recommends increasing both nfsd and biod daemons above the standard defaults. A good
starting point is twelve (12) nfsd daemons and eight (8) biod daemons per CPU on client and server
computers, respectively.
Your system administrator can change both systems configurations to start additional NFS daemons.
The administrator can also monitor network statistics with nfsstat to ensure network traffic is being
handled efficiently. Additional daemon tuning may be necessary for your specific network needs.
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Creating and Attaching Alternate Delivery Databases
MSC Nastran uses the Structured Solution Sequences (SSS), located in install_dir/prod_ver/arch on
UNIX and install_dir\prod_ver\arch on Windows, to specify the default solution sequences. You may
modify and store a tailored solution sequence by creating a new delivery database. This procedure is also
useful to eliminate unwanted solutions from the delivery database or add additional solution sequences.
The following files are delivered in the install_dir/prod_ver/nast/del/ directory on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\nast\del\ on Windows:
Using MSC-Supplied Source
To rebuild the delivery database using the MSC-supplied source, the following procedure is used:
1. Change the working directory to an empty work directory. For example,
on UNIX, or
on Windows.
2. Rebuild the delivery database.
Upon completion of this procedure, the delivery files SSS.MASTERA, SSS.MSCOBJ, and
SSS.MSCSOU are created. These files are attached with the delivery keyword, (p. 54).
Filename Description
buildsss UNIX script used to build delivery database
buildsss.bat Windows BAT file to build delivery database
*.dmap SubDMAP source
*.dck SubDMAP source that must be preprocessed by MSCFPP
*.ddl NDDL source
cd $HOME/new-del
cd %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%\new-del
prod_ver buildsss
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CHAPTER 5
These files may be installed in the master architecture directory (if you have write access) with the
command:
on UNIX, or
on Windows.
Using Modified Source
To build a modified delivery database, use the following procedure.
1. Change the working directory to an empty work directory. For example,
on UNIX, or
on Windows.
2. Copy the subDMAP and NDDL source files that are to be modified to the current directory.
on UNIX, or
on Windows where subDMAP and nddl are the specific files to be modified.
3. Modify the desired subDMAP and/or NDDL source files using a text editor.
cp SSS.* install_dir/prod_ver/arch
copy SSS.* install_dir\prod_ver\arch
cd $HOME/new-del
cd %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%\new-del
cp install_dir/prod_ver/nast/del/subDMAP.dmap .
cp install_dir/prod_ver/nast/del/subDMAP.dck .
cp install_dir/prod_ver/nast/del/nddl.ddl .
copy install_dir\prod_ver\nast\del\subDMAP.dmap .
copy install_dir\prod_ver\nast\del\subDMAP.dck .
copy install_dir\prod_ver\nast\del\nddl.ddl .
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4. Rebuild the delivery database.
prod_ver buildsss src=.
Upon completion of this procedure, the delivery files SSS.MASTERA, SSS.MSCOBJ, and
SSS.MSCSOU are created. These files are attached with the delivery keyword (page 54).
These files may be installed in the master architecture directory (if you have write access) with the
command:
on UNIX, or
on Windows.
cp SSS.* install_dir/prod_ver/arch
copy SSS.* install_dir\prod_ver\arch
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Ch. 6: Using the Utility Programs MSC Nastran 2012 Installation and Operations Guide
6
Using the Utility Programs
Overview
ESTIMATE
F04REPRT
HEATCONV
MSCACT
MSGCMP
MultiOpt
NEUTRL
OP4UTIL
OPTCONV
PLOTPS
RCOUT2
RECEIVE
TRANS
XMONAST (UNIX)
XNASTRAN (UNIX)
Building the Utilities Delivered in Source Form

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Overview
This chapter describes how to use the various MSC Nastran utility programs. Table 6-1 groups these
utilities by function.
Sections ESTIMATE on page 191 through XNASTRAN (UNIX) on page 232 describe each utility (in
alphabetical order), and present applicable keywords and examples. Building the Utilities Delivered in
Source Form on page 235 contains instructions on how to build the source code utilities.
Table 6-1 Utility Program Functions
Utility Function
ESTIMATE Estimates system requirements of an MSC Nastran job and suggests
performance improvements.
F04REPRT Perl script to summarize or compare .f04 files.
HEATCONV Reformats MSC Nastran Version 67 heat-transfer and optimization data files into
current formats.
OPTCONV
MSCACT Accumulates and summarizes MSC Nastran accounting data.
MSGCMP Compiles the message catalog.
MultiOpt
NEUTRL Converts MSC Nastran plot files to PostScript or neutral format.
MSCPLOTPS MSCPLOTPS is very similar to PLOTPS in that it reads plotting commands
from a single MSC Nastran binary- or neutral-format plot file. The primary
difference is that MSCPLOTPS automatically determines the format of the input
file.
OP4UTIL OP4UTIL may be used to validate, copy or reformat binary files created using
the MSC Nastran OUTPUT4 module.
OPTCONV OPTCONV may be used to reformat an existing optimization Bulk Data file used
in MSC.Nastran prior to Version 68 into a format compatible with Version 68 or
later.
PLOTPS PLOTPS reads plotting commands from a single MSC Nastran binary- or
neutral-format plot file and produces a file that can be printed on a PostScript
device.
RCOUT2 Converts neutral-format OUTPUT2 files to binary format.
RECEIVE Moves results database (XDB) files between dissimilar computers.
TRANS
XMONAST Graphical user interface that submits and monitors MSC Nastran jobs on UNIX
systems.
XNASTRAN
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ESTIMATE
ESTIMATE may be used to estimate the memory and disk requirements for MSC Nastran jobs and make
suggestions on improving the performance of these jobs. ESTIMATE will read the input data file and
estimate the jobs memory and disk requirements. The ESTIMATE program is most accurate in
predicting the requirements of static analyses that do not have excessive output requests. The memory
requirements for normal modes analyses using the Lanczos method are reasonably accurate; however,
the disk requirements are dependent upon the number of modes, this is a value that ESTIMATE cannot
determine. Memory and disk requirements for other solutions are less accurate.
The basic format of the estimate command is
where input_file is the name of the data file. If the file type of the input data file is .dat, it may be
omitted from the command line.
ESTIMATE processes keywords using the following precedence to resolve conflicts when keywords are
duplicated (with 1 representing the highest precedence):
1. The Bulk Data file.
2. The command line.
3. The nastran INI and RC files (if nastrc=yes is specified).
4. data-file-directory/.estimaterc on UNIX, or data-file-directory\estimate.rcf on Windows, where
data-file-directory is the directory containing the input data file.
5. $HOME/.estimaterc on UNIX, or %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%\estimate.rcf file on
Windows.
6. estimate.ini in the directory containing the ESTIMATE executable.
Please be aware that the Bulk Data file can only contain statements that are accepted by MSC Nastran.
The following keywords will be recognized by ESTIMATE when they appear in the Bulk Data file on
NASTRAN statements:
util_ver estimate input_file [keywords]
buffpool, buffsize, real
Note: "buffsize=estimate" is NOT accepted on a NASTRAN statement.
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The following Case Control statements will be recognized by ESTIMATE when they appear in the bulk
data file:
Similarly, the nastran INI and RC files can only accept keywords that are accepted by the nastran
command. The following nastran command keywords will be recognized by ESTIMATE when they
appear in nastran RC files if and only if "nastrc=yes" is also set:
The full set of ESTIMATE utility keywords can ONLY appear on the ESTIMATE command line or in
the ESTIMATE RC files, e.g., ".estimaterc" on UNIX and "estimate.rcf" on Windows.
Keywords
adapt, method, mpc, sp
Note: If these statements appear multiple times, e.g., in subcases, only the first occurrence of
each case control statement will be recognized.
bpool, buffsize, memory, real, realdelta, smemory, version
adapt adapt=number Default: None
Selects an ADAPT set for adaptivity jobs if an ADAPT Case Control command
is not present or multiple ADAPT Case Control commands are present in the data
file. By default, ESTIMATE will choose the first ADAPT found.
bpool bpool=value Default: 37 (all others)
Same as MSC Nastran keyword, see bpool on page 49. This keyword cannot
appear in an ESTIMATE RC file if nastrc=yes is specified.
buffsize buffsize=number Default: 8193
Same as MSC Nastran keyword, see buffsize on page 49. This keyword cannot
dballco dballco=value Default: 1
Allows you to scale DBALL estimates. This scale factor is applied before the
"dballmin" value, that provides a lower bound for DBALL estimates.
Example: util_ver estimate example dballco=2
This will double the DBALL disk estimate and then apply the "dballmin" lower
bound.
Example: util_ver estimate example dballco=0.5
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CHAPTER 6
This will halve the DBALL disk estimate. An estimate less than than the lower
bound specified by "dballmin" will be set to the lower bound.
dballmin dballmin=value Default: 1mb
Allows you to define the lower bound for all DBALL estimates. This bound is
applied after the "dballco" value, that multiplies the actual estimate by a
"conservatism" factor.
Example: util_ver estimate example dballmin=2mb
This will set the minimum DBALL disk estimate to 2 MB.
dskco dskco=value Default: 1
Allows you to define a factor to scale total disk estimates. This scale factor is
applied before the "dskmin" value, that provides a lower bound for total disk
estimates.
Example: util_ver estimate example dskco=2
This doubles the total disk estimate and then applies the "dskmin" lower bound.
Example: util_ver estimate example dskco=0.5
This will halve the total disk estimate. An estimate less than the lower bound
specified by "dskmin" will be set to the lower bound.
dskmin dskmin=value Default: 1mb
Allows you to define the lower bound for all total disk estimates. This bound is
applied after the "dskco" value, that multiplies the actual estimate by a
Example: util_ver estimate example dskmin=2mb
This will set the minimum total disk estimate to 2 MB.
enable The enable keyword can be used to explicitly enable rules. This may be useful
to enable a rule that was automatically suppressed when a value was assigned.
For example, the following command will now calculate the estimated memory
requirements for a job even though a value for memory was specified on the
command line:
Example: util_ver estimate example memory=5mb
enable=10
estimatedof estimatedof=yes,no Default: No
Indicates if the number of degrees of freedom are to be estimated. By default,
ESTIMATE will count the DOF. This process takes time, but it is generally more
accurate. Specifying estimatedof=no will result in a less accurate, but faster,
estimate of the DOF. The presence of any MESH entries in the Bulk Data will
force estimatedof=yes.
memco memco=number Default: 1.0
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Allows you to specify a constant factor that is either more or less conservative
than the default.
Example: util_ver estimate example memco=2
This setting will double the memory estimate.
memmin memmin=value Default: 16mb
Allows you to define the lower bound for all memory estimates. This bound is
applied after the "memco" value, that multiplies the actual estimate by a
Example: util_ver estimate example memmin=8mb
This will set the minimum memory estimate to 8 MB.
memory memory=size Default: 4MW
Same as MSC Nastran keyword, see memory on page 70. This keyword
cannot appear in an ESTIMATE RC file if nastrc=yes is specified.
method method=number Default: None
Selects a METHOD for dynamics jobs if a METHOD Case Control command is
not present or multiple METHOD Case Control commands are present in the data
file. By default, ESTIMATE will choose the first METHOD found.
mode mode=keyword Default: suggest
Selects the program operating mode. Specifying mode=estimate will result in
memory and disk estimates only. Specifying mode=suggest, the default, will
estimate memory and disk requirements for the current job configuration, suggest
modifications to improve the performance, and provide estimates for the memory
and disk requirements of the suggested configuration. Specifying
mode=modify does all that mode=suggest does plus actually make the
suggested changes to your data file. See out to specify the new data files name
and information on organizing your input file.
Note: If mode=modify is specified, and ESTIMATE detects errors in the input file or
encounters valid Bulk Data that is not understood by ESTIMATE, the program will revert
to mode=suggest.
Example: util_ver estimate example
mode=estimate
The memory and disk requirements for the current job are displayed.
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CHAPTER 6
The memory and disk requirements for the current job, suggestions for improving
performance, and memory and disk requirements for the suggested configuration
are displayed.
mode=modify
The memory and disk requirements for the current job, suggestions for improving
performance, and estimates of memory and disk requirements for the suggested
configuration are displayed. If, and only if, modifications to example.dat are
suggested, the original input file is versioned (given indices) and the revised data
file is written to example.dat.
mpc mpc=number Default: None
Selects an MPC if an MPC Case Control command is not present or multiple
MPC Case Control commands are present in the data file. By default,
ESTIMATE will choose the first MPC found.
nastrc nastrc=yes,no Default: Yes
The nastrc keyword allows you to select the type of RC file processing invoked
by the ESTIMATE utility. Setting nastrc=yes, the default, will process the
standard MSC Nastran RC files before the standard ESTIMATE RC files, i.e.,
$HOME/.estimaterc and data-file-directory/.estimaterc on UNIX, and
%HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH\estimate.rcf and
data-file-directory/estimate.rcf on Windows, are processed. Setting
nastrc=no will only process the standard ESTIMATE RC files.
out out=pathname Default: input filename
Specifies the name of the output file if mode=modify is specified and
modifications of the data file are actually required. By default, the original file is
versioned (given indices) and the revised data file is written to the original input
files name. See Using Filenames and Logical Symbols on page 77
mode=modify
If modifications to example.dat are suggested, the original input file is
versioned (given indices) and the revised data file is written to example.dat.
mode=modify \
out=modified
The revised data file is written to modified.
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Note: In order to minimize the amount of data duplicated between the original input file and the
modified file, MSC recommends that the Bulk Data that is not subject to modification by
ESTIMATE (i.e., all Bulk Data except PARAM and EIGRL entries) be placed in an
INCLUDE file.
An example of the recommended input file organization is:
NASTRAN statements
FMS statements
Executive
CEND
Case Control
BEGIN BULK
PARAM,...
$
EIGRL,...
$
INCLUDE file.bulk
$
ENDDATA
pause pause=keyword Default: No
Pause ESTIMATE before exiting to wait for the Enter or Return key to be
pressed. This can be useful when ESTIMATE is embedded within another
program. The values are fatal, information, warning, yes, and no.
Setting pause=yes will unconditionally wait; pause=fatal will only wait if a
fatal message has been issued by ESTIMATE; pause=information and
pause=warning will similarly wait only if an information or warning message
has been issued. The default is pause=no, i.e., do not wait when ESTIMATE
ends.
real real=value Default: See text.
Same as MSC Nastran keyword, see real on page 85. This keyword cannot
realdelta realdelta=value Default: See text.
Same as MSC Nastran keyword, see realdelta on page 85. This keyword cannot
report report=keyword Default: Normal
Specifies the programs report format. The report=normal format is intended to
be read by you. The report=keyword format is intended to be read by a
program.
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scr300co scr300co=value Default: 1
Allows you to define a factor to scale SCR300 estimates. This scale factor is
applied before the "scr300min" value, that provides a lower bound for SCR300
estimates.
scr300co=2
This will double the SCR300 disk estimate and then apply the "scr300min" lower
bound.
scr300co=0.5
This will halve the SCR300 disk estimate. An estimate less than the lower bound
specified by "scr300min" will be set to the lower bound.
scr300min scr300min=value Default: 1mb
Allows you to define the lower bound for all SCR300 estimates. This bound is
applied after the "scr300co" value, that multiplies the actual estimate by a
scr300min=2mb
This will set the minimum SCR300 disk estimate to 2 MB.
scratchco scratchco=value Default: 1
Allows the user to define a factor to scale SCRATCH estimates. This scale factor
is applied before the "scratchmin" value, that provides a lower bound for
SCRATCH estimates.
scratchco=2
This will double the SCRATCH disk estimate and then apply the "scratchmin"
lower bound.
scratchco=0.5
This will halve the SCRATCH disk estimate. An estimate less than the lower
bound specified by "scratchmin" will be set to the lower bound.
scratchmin scratchmin=value Default: 1mb
Allows you to define the lower bound for all SCRATCH estimates. This bound is
applied after the "scratchco" value, that multiplies the actual estimate by a
scratchmin=2mb
This will set the minimum SCRATCH disk estimate to 2 MB.
smemory smemory=size Default: 100 (all others)
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Same as MSC Nastran keyword, see smemory on page 91. This keyword
cannot appear in an ESTIMATE RC file if nastrc=yes is specified.
spc spc=number Default: None
Selects an SPC if an SPC Case Control command is not present or multiple SPC
Case Control commands are present in the data file. By default, ESTIMATE will
choose the first SPC found.
suppress suppress=list Default: None
Specifies rules that are to be suppressed when mode=suggest or
mode=modify is specified. See Rules on page 199 for the list of rules. If no
value is specified, i.e., suppress=, then any rules previously suppressed are
enabled. Multiple rules can be suppressed by using the keyword multiple times
or by specifying a comma-separated list.
suppress=1
Suppress rule 1, the rule controlling BUFFSIZE.
Examples: util_ver estimate example
suppress=1,6
util_ver estimate example
suppress=1 suppress=6
suppress=2 suppress= \
suppress=1,6
Suppress rules 1 and 6.
verbose verbose=yes,no Default: No
Specifies the amount of information to be displayed. Specifying verbose=yes
will generate a much larger amount of output. The additional information
includes a more detailed summary of the input file, the parameters used in
estimating the memory and disk requirements, and the estimates for the original
file, even when mode=suggest or mode=modify is specified.
version version=string Default: 2006
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CHAPTER 6
Rules
ESTIMATE has a fixed rule base that it uses to make suggestions for improvement. Any of the rules may
be suppressed with the suppress keyword. The current rules are:
1. Set recommended BUFFSIZE.
2. Use default BPOOL.
3. Suppress symmetric decomposition if not enough memory for sparse.
SYSTEM(166)=0
4. Make all open core available to modules.
Delete HICORE.
Specifies the version of MSC Nastran for which the estimates are to be targeted.
The version will affect the estimated memory requirements and the actions of
various rules, see Rules on page 199. This keyword cannot appear in an
ESTIMATE RC file if nastrc=yes is specified.
wordsize wordsize=number Default: 32
64 if mode = i8 supported
Specifies the word size of the estimates target computer. By default,
ESTIMATEs calculations will be appropriate the current computer. This
keyword may be used to specify estimates for a computer with a different word
size. A comma-separated list of values may be specified when estimates and
suggestions for multiple machines are desired. If mode=modify was specified,
the modification are based on the last word size specified.
BUFFSIZE=8193
BUFFSIZE=16385
BUFFSIZE=32769
DOF 100000 s
100000 DOF < 400000 s
DOF 400000 >
BPOOL=37
BPOOL=20
BPOOL=27
wordsize 32 =
wordsize 64 version 70.5 < ; =
wordsize 64 version 70.5 > ; =
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200
5. Select the sparse solver.
6. Force default rank size.
Delete SYSTEM(198)
Delete SYSTEM(205)
7. Do not sequence.
8. Use default Lanczos parameters.
EIGRL,...,V1=
EIGRL,...,MAXSET=15
9. Use default SMEMORY.
10. Use estimated memory size.
memory=estimated-memory
11. Use default RAM.
INIT MASTER (RAM=30000)
12. Real.
Delete REAL.
13. Do not use Supermodule.
Delete PARAM,SM,YES.
14. Do not use Parallel Lanczos.
Delete NUMSEG.
Delete SPARSE
Delete USPARE
SPARSE=1
USPARSE=0
density 12.0 s
density 12.0 >
PARAM,NEWSEQ,-1
version 69.0 <
INIT SCRATCH (MEM=100)
INIT SCRATCH (MEM=0)
wordsize 32 =
wordsize 64 =
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CHAPTER 6
Examples
The ESTIMATE program can be used in several ways. The default mode will make suggestions on
improving the performance of MSC Nastran and estimate the resource requirements of the job assuming
the suggested parameters.
To get an estimate of the job using the current parameters, use the command:
To have a new input file generated with the suggested changes, use the command:
To run MSC Nastran with the memory estimated by ESTIMATE, use:
util_ver estimate example mode=estimate other_estimate_keywords
util_ver estimate example mode=modify other_estimate_keywords
util_ver nastran example memory=estimate other_nastran_keywords
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F04REPRT
The F04REPRT utility is a Perl script that will summarize and/or compare .f04 files. The utility can
determine the CPU time consumed by various MSC Nastran modules, i.e., as a DIAG 49 replacement,
or compare the relative performance of one or more jobs under various configurations.
The basic format of the F04REPRT command is
or
where -s selects the summary mode, -d selects the comparison mode, options are zero or more of the
options listed below, pathname is a pathname, and oldi and newi are pathnames. If a pathname is a
directory, all .f04 files in the directory are summarized/compared.
Running F04REPRT without any arguments will display a help message explaining the utilitys options.
Notes: 1. You must have Perl installed on your system to use this utility. Perl is available from
numerous sources, including the URL
http://www.perl.com
This is not an MSC.Software Corporation site and MSC has no control over the
sites content. MSC cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information on this site
and will not be liable for any misleading or incorrect information obtained from this
site.
2. Previously, MSC Nastrans DIAG 49 provided a summary of CPU time spent in
various modules. That DIAG has been removed, and replaced by this utility.
util_ver f04reprt.pl -s [options] pathname [pathname ...]
util_ver f04reprt.pl -d [options] old1 new1 [oldn newn...]
Note: Alternatively, you can run F04REPRT with the command
perl install-dir/prod_ver/util/f04reprt.pl arguments ...
on UNIX, or
perl install-dir\prod_ver\util\f04reprt.pl arguments ...
on Windows if perl is in your PATH. UNIX users can also use the command
install-dir/prod_ver/util/f04reprt.pl arguments ...
if your Perl executable is /usr/local/bin/perl, or the shbang line was updated to the
appropriate path.
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Options
-c -c Default: No
Indicates module times are to be accumulated in a single entry, rather than
separate entries for each module occurrence
-d -d Default: None
Requests a comparison (difference) between each pair of oldi and newi
pathnames specified on the command line. If only one pair of pathnames are
specified, the -d is optional.
-e Specifies that module elapsed times are to be used for ordering entries instead of
CPU times.
-f -f c Default: Space
Specifies a field separator character to separate field in the comparison report.
This character may be inclosed in either single or double quotes to protect it from
the command shell.
-m -m number Default: 0.05
Specifies the minimum CPU time threshold for comparisons or summaries. CPU
times less than this threshold will be ignored.
-o -o file-type Default: None
Specifies an output file-type. If specified, each comparison or summary report
will be written to a separate file in the current working directory with the name
basename.ext where basename is the base name of the pathname or oldi.
If not specified, output will be written to stdout with each report separated by a
form feed Ctrl-L character.
-r -r number Default: 5
Specifies the delta percentage used for FASTER and SLOWER comments
in comparison (-d) output.
Any old versus new comparisons that exceed this delta from 100%,eg.,
, will print the appropriate comment.
-s -s Default: None
Requests a summary report for each pathname specified on the command line. If
only one pathname is specified, the -s is optional.
-x -x file-type Default: f04
Specifies an alternate input file type.
delta 95% < ( ) or delta 105% > ( )
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Examples
If ./example on UNIX, or .\example on Windows, is a subdirectory of the current directory,
F04REPRT will write a summary report to stdout for every .f04 file in the directory. Otherwise, if
./example.f04 on UNIX, or .\example.f04, on Windows is a file, a summary report of the one file is
written to stdout.
If old and new are subdirectories of the current working directory, F04REPRT will generate lists of
the .f04 files in each directory. Comparisons will be made between each pair of files with the same name
in the two directories. Non-.f04 files and unpaired .f04 files, i.e., .f04 files that exist in either old or
new but not both, will be ignored. Otherwise, if old.f04 and new.f04 are files, then a comparison
of these two files will be displayed.
util_ver f04reprt.pl example
util_ver f04reprt.pl old new
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HEATCONV
HEATCONV may be used to reformat an existing heat-transfer Bulk Data file used in MSC Nastran prior
to Version 68 into a format compatible with Version 68 or later. The operations performed by this
program are described in the MSC.Nastran Release Notes for Version 68. The basic format of the
heatconv command is
where input_file is the name of the heat-transfer data file. If the file type of the old data file is .dat, it
may be omitted from the command line.
Keywords
Examples
To execute the program, enter the following command:
The Version 68-compatible output is written to
The original data file is renamed to example.dat.old.
util_ver heatconv input_file [keywords]
output output=pathname Default: input_file
This option specifies the name of the reformatted data file. By default, the old
output file is renamed by appending the file type .old; the new file is the
original name of the input file. If an output file is specified using this option, the
original input filename is unchanged.
util_ver heatconv example
example.dat
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MSCACT
MSCACT may be used to generate usage reports from the accounting files generated by MSC Nastran
when the acct=yes keyword is used. The basic format of the mscact command is
where acc-file are the names of the accounting file(s) to be summarized.
Keywords
util_ver mscact [keywords] acc-file [acc-file ...]
Note: The keywords only affect files listed after the keyword.
perfile perfile=yes,no Default: No
Specifies the summary is to be printed on a per file basis. If perfile=yes is
specified, a summary of each file will be individually printed. By default, the
summary will include all files.
sortby sortby=keyword Default: Name
Sort the report as specified by the keyword. The keywords are:
Keyword Sort Order
count Sort by third report column.
cpu Sort by second report column.
name Sort by first report column.
none Do not sort report; report is ordered as
found in data file.
Setting sortby=none produces a report very similar to the previous versions of
this utility.
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Examples
All of the following examples assume your current working directory is the MSC Nastran accounting
directory, i.e., install_dir/acct on UNIX and install_dir\acct on Windows.
To summarize accounting data across all files:
where filei are the filenames, cpu-sec is the total CPU seconds across all files, and count is the number
of entries accumulated across all files.
summary summary=keyword Default: None
Selects the type of summary. If summary=none is specified, the total CPU for
all entries will be displayed. Otherwise, one of the following summary types may
be selected:
Keyword Type of Summary
acdata By acdata
acid By account ID (acid)
date By execution date
jid By job name
product By product name
sol By SOL
user By user name
version By product name and version
Note: Prior to MSC.Nastran V70.5, the UNIX syntax -s keyword was used; V70.5 dropped
support for that syntax.
util_ver mscact file1 file2
file1 file2:
Total: cpu-sec count
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To summarize accounting data from individual files:
where filei is the name of each file, cpu-sec is the total number of CPU seconds, and count is the number
of entries in each file.
To summarize accounting data in individual files by user:
where filei are the filenames of each file, useri are the names, cpu-seci are the total CPU seconds for each
user, counti are the number of entries accumulated for each user, cpu-sec is the number of total CPU
seconds, and count is the number of entries in each file.
Accounting File Format
A separate file is created for each month of each year and is named
on UNIX and
on Windows where yy are the last two digits of the year and mm is the month (01 to 12). Each months
file is independent of every other file.
util_ver mscact perfile=yes file1 file2
file1:
Total:cpu-sec count
file2:
Total:cpu-sec count
util_ver mscact summary=user perfile=yes file1 file2
file1:
user1:cpu-sec1 count1
...
Total:cpu-sec count
file2:
...
Total:cpu-sec count
install_dir/acct/mscyymm.acc
install_dir\acct\mscyymm.acc
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The accounting file begins with three header records followed by detail records, one detail record for
each MSC Nastran job run during the given month and year. Comments, indicated by a hash mark #
as the first character of the line, may be placed anywhere in the file after the header records.
Detail records (any non-comment line after the third line) include the following data:
1. The day the job was started (i.e., Sun., Mon., Tue., Wed., Thu., Fri., or Sat.).
2. The month the job was started (i.e., Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, Jun., Jul., Aug., Sep., Oct., Nov.,
or Dec.).
3. The date of the month the job was started (i.e., 01 through 31).
4. The time the job was started (i.e., hh:mm:ss, where hh is 00 through 23, mm is 00 through 59, and
ss is 00 through 59).
5. The time zone (i.e., the TZ environment variable).
6. The year the job was started (four digits).
7. The name of the user running the job.
8. The jobs output filename.
9. The analysis application, e.g., MSC Nastran.
10. The version of the application (e.g., 70.5).
11. The SOL used by the job (e.g., 101, 120).
12. The total CPU time, in seconds, of the job (from the .f04 file).
13. The cumulative CPU time, in seconds, of all detail records up to and including this record.
14. The cumulative CPU time, in minutes, of all detail records up to and including this record.
15. The account ID as specified by the nastran commands acid keyword.
16. The account data as specified by the nastran commands acdata keyword.
Note: The cumulative times (fields 13 and 14) are for historical purposes only. These values are
ignored.
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MSCPLOTPS
MSCPLOTPS is very similar to PLOTPS in that it reads plotting commands from a single MSC Nastran
binary- or neutral-format plot file and produces a file that can be printed on a PostScript device. The
primary difference is that MSCPLOTPS automatically determines the format of the input file, i.e.,
whether it is a binary- or a neutral-format plot file, and supports plot files generated on any platform and
in any processing mode. Otherwise, the processing capabilities of the two programs are the same. Except
as noted below, the use of MSCPLOTPS is the same as the use of PLOTPS. Please see PLOTPS on
page 220 and replace the word plotps with mscplotps. The basic format of the mscplotps command is:
util_ver mscplotps input_plot_file [keywords]
where input_plot_file is the name of the plot file generated by MSC Nastran or NEUTRL. A neutral-
format plot file can be read from stdin by specifying - as the filename. If the extension of the input file
is .plt or .neu, the extension may be omitted from tine input_plot_file specification.
All keywords are the same as for PLOTPS except that the format keyword is optional. If it is specified,
the specified type will be checked against the actual type, a warning message issued if the types do not
match, and the format specification ignored.
Note: MSCPLOTPS command is only used on UNIX systems.
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MSGCMP
MSGCMP compiles a text message file and generates a binary message catalog. The basic format of the
command is
util_ver msgcmp text_file [message_catalog]
where text_file is the name of an existing text message file or is - to read from stdin, and
message_catalog is the optional name of the message catalog that will be written. The type of the text
file must be .txt. If a message catalog is not named, the message catalog will be written in the local
directory as text_file.msg. The message catalog can be tested using the msgcat keyword (p. 74).
The utility can also regenerate a text file from an existing message catalog using the command
util_ver msgcmp message_catalog.msg [text_file]
where message_catalog.msg is the name of an existing message catalog and text_file is the optional
name of a text file that will be written. The type of the message catalog must be .msg and must be
entered on the command line. If a text file is not named, the text file is written to stdout.
The text source file for the standard message catalog is
install_dir/prod_ver/util/analysis.txt
on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\util\analysis.txt
on Windows. The standard message catalog is
install_dir/prod_ver/arch/analysis.msg
on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\arch\analysis.msg
on Windows.
Examples
The following command will compile the message catalog from a text file named myfile.txt
util_ver msgcmp myfile
The message catalog will be named myfile.msg. This catalog may be used with the nastran command
util_ver nastran myjob msgcat=myfile.msg other_nastran_keywords
Note: Message catalogs are machine dependent. Binary File Compatibility identifies the
systems that are binary compatible; binary compatible systems can use multiple copies of
the same message file.
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MultiOpt
The MultiOpt (Multiple Model Optimization) utility enables the combination of two or more related
optimization tasks into a single combined optimization task. MultiOpt is available only in MSC Nastran
and is not available with MSC Nastran. The MSC Toolkit driven process executes each of the separate
optimization tasks up to the point of obtaining the design sensitivities. The design tasks from the separate
models are then merged and a combined optimization is performed. The results of the optimization are
partitioned to the separate models and the process is repeated until a converged solution is achieved, the
specified number of design cycles have been executed or it is determined it is fruitless to attempt further
design iterations.
The most basic way to invoke MultiOpt is using a command line of the following form:
msc20121 MultiOpt nastran n deck1.dat
deckn.dat coef c1 c2 ..cn mem m1 m2..scr=sopt [options]
A more flexible form of the input, which supports all of the standard features, and also allows for running
jobs in parallel across different machines is:
msc20121 Multiopt file.xml
Where file.xml is of the form:
<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<rc name="MultiOpt" >
<path name="/nastran" />
<Job name="deck1" coef = "c1" blocking="bopt" node="platform1 " mem="m1"
scr="sopt" args=" " />
<Job name="deck2" coef = "c2" blocking="bopt" node="platform2" mem="m2"
scr="sopt" args=" " />
<Merge mem="mm" scr="sopt" args=" " />
</rc>
where:
Option Description
nastran A name to invoke the relevant Nastran executable (e.g., /nast/bin/nast2012)
N Number of models to be merged (1 < n < 6)
Jobname= For the xml form, indicates the subsequent data is a job name
deck1.dat Name of the first input data model
deckn.dat Name of the nth input data model
coef
coef=
A flag to indicate the following input is objective weighting coefficients
For the xml form, indicates the subsequent data is a coefficient for this model
c1 Coefficient that provides the objective weighting for the first model
(Default = 1.0)
c2 Coefficient that provides the objective weighting for the second model
(Default = 0.0)
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CHAPTER 6
Additional guidance on the use of the MultiOpt utility can be found in Special Topics in Chapter 2 of
the Design Sensitivity and Optimization Users Guide.
To run MultiOpt, you must set the environment variable MSC_LICENSE_FILE to either:
a. The location of an MSC license server (using the port@host format); or
b. The fully-qualified path name of a local license file.
Special Requirements for using MultiOpt on Windows
Platforms:
For the MSC Nastran 2012 release of MultiOpt on windows platforms there are three environment
variables that need to be set by the user:
For both windows 32 and 64 bit operating systems, the following environment variables need to be set:
set SCA_SERVICE_CATALOG={Nastran_install_path}\prod_ver\res\SCAServiceCatalog.xml
set SCA_RESOURCE_DIR={Nastran_install_path}\prod_ver\res
For windows 32 bit operating systems, the following environment additional variable needs to be set:
Cn Coefficient that provides the objective weighting for the nth model
(Default = 0.0)
Mem
Mem=
A flag to indicate the following input are memory requests for the individual
models. If this flag is not used all models require the same amount of memory.
For the xml form, indicates the subsequent data is a memory request for this
model
m1 Memory for the first model and also for the merge operation in the basic
MultiOpt invoking
m2 Memory for the second model
mn Memory for the nth model
Mm Memory for the merge operation
Node=platform For the xml form, indicates the this job is to be run on the indicated computer.
Default is to run on the local platform
Blocking=bopt For the xml form, indicates whether that job is to be run in parallel or serially.
Blocking =yes (Default) runs the job serially while blocking=no enables
running the job in parallel.
Scr=sopt Option for scr=yes or no. Scr=yes is recommended.
args=value Any command line option of the form args=value that is a valid Nastran
command line option.
Option Description
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set PATH={Nastran_install_path}\prod_ver\win32\lib;%PATH%
For windows 64 bit operating systems, the following environment additional variable needs to be set:
set PATH={Nastran_install_path}\prod_ver\win64\lib;%PATH%
For windows 32 bit operating systems with standard installation, the required commands are:
set PATH=install_dir\prod_ver\msc20121\win32\lib;%PATH%
set SCA_SERVICE_CATALOG=C:\MSC.Software\MSC_Nastran\20121\msc20121\res\SCAServiceCa
ta log.xml
set SCA_RESOURCE_DIR=install_dir\prod_ver\msc20121\res
For windows 64 bit operating systems with standard installation, these are the commands
set PATH=install_dir\prod_ver\msc20121\win64\lib;%PATH%

set SCA_SERVICE_CATALOG=install_dir\prod_ver\msc20121\res\SCAServiceCata log.xml
set SCA_RESOURCE_DIR=install_dir\prod_ver\msc20121\res
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CHAPTER 6
NEUTRL
NEUTRL converts a binary-format plot file into a neutral-format plot file. The basic format of the
neutrl command is
where binary_plot_file is the name of a binary plot file. If the file type of the plot file is .plt, it may be
omitted from the command line.
Keywords
Examples
util_ver neutrl example1
The name of the output file is
example1.neu
util_ver msgcmp myfile
dump dump=yes,no Default: no
This option enables a raw print of each plot command to be made before it is
processed. This print is used for debugging purposes only.
output output=pathname Default: binary_plot_file.neu
This option specifies the name of the neutral-format file. If out= is specified,
the neutral plot file is written to stdout. By default, the output file is the name of
the input file with the new type .neu.
verbose verbose=yes,no Default: yes Output is a disk file.
no Output is stdout.
This option specifies whether processing messages are to be written.
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OP4UTIL
OP4UTIL may be used to validate, copy or reformat binary files created using the MSC Nastran
OUTPUT4 module. It may also be used to dump the contents of any binary format file. The basic
format of the "op4util" command is:
This program is used as follows:
To generate a usage/help message:
To copy a file:
To dump a file or files:
To convert a file from big-endian to little-endian or vice-versa:
To convert a file from one endian format to a specified endian format:
To query a file or files to determine their format:
To validate (test) a file or files, i.e., to check their validity as OUTPUT4 files:
util_ver op4util <options> <file names>
util_ver op4util
util_ver op4util -h[elp]
util_ver op4util -?
util_ver op4util -c[opy] [-v[erbose]] <from_fname> <to_fname>
util_ver op4util -d[ump] [-v[erbose]] <fname_1> [... <fname_n>]
util_ver op4util [-x[change]] [-v[erbose]] [-m nnn] <from_fname> <to_fname>
util_ver op4util <endian_opt> [-v[erbose]] [-m nnn] <from_fname> <to_fname>
util_ver op4util -q[uery] [-v[erbose]] <fname_1> [... <fname_n>]
util_ver op4util -t[est] [-v[erbose]] [-m nnn] <fname_1> [... <fname_n>]
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CHAPTER 6
Keywords
-? Requests that usage information be written to stdout. This is the same as the
-h option.
-c[opy] Requests the copy option. This option copies the file specified by
<from_fname> to the file specified by <to_fname>, overwriting any
existing file and creating a new file if it does not exist. This option does not
validate <from_fname> or change its format in any way.
-d[ump] Requests the file dump option. This option lists the contents of each file,
including record number and record length information, in both hexadecimal
and character formats. Just as will the -query option, it checks each of the files
specified by <fname_1> to <fname_n> to see if it is a valid binary file and
reports its endian. The file need not be a valid OUTPUT4 file.
-h[elp] Requests that usage information be written to stdout.
-m nnn This parameter is only required when the -test, -xchange or <endian_opt>
options fail because of memory allocation errors. The nnn value is the size of
the memory to be used, in MB, and must be in the range 1 to 2047. The blank
between the -m and the nnn value is optional.
-q[uery] Requests the file query option. This option checks each of the files specified by
<fname_1> to <fname_n> to see if it is a valid binary file and reports its
endian. It does not test the actual file data to see if the file is a valid OUTPUT4
file.
-t[est] Requests the file validate (test) option. This option reads each of the file
specified by <fname_1> to <fname_n>, checking for a valid binary format
file containing matrices in the proper OUTPUT4 format.
-v[erbose] Requests "verbose" output. Normally, the -copy, -test, -xchange, and
<endian_opt> options do not generate any output and the -query and -test
options only write out a single line about each of the files they process. In
verbose mode, program headers and detailed file descriptions are generated, and
the -test, -xchange and <endian_opt> options will list the matrices in the
files along with their format and size.
-x[change] Requests the endian conversion option. <from_fname> will be checked to
see if it is a valid binary file and, if it is, is copied to the file specified by
<to_fname>, checking the data format as it copies the file and converting the
data from the <from_fname> endian to the opposite endian. That is, if
<from_fname> is a big-endian file, <to_fname> will be a little-endian file
and vice-versa. On long-word systems, the integer length of the input file will
be preserved. On short-word systems, long-word integer input files will be
converted to short-word output files having the opposite endian from the input
file.
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If more than one processing option is specified, the last one specified is the one that will be in effect.
The default options (if one of -c, -h, -q, -t, -x, -? or -b, -l or one of their synonyms are not specified) are
Error messages such as those describing invalid command options are written to stderr.
Examples:
1. Copy file infile_1.op4 to test_file.op4:
util_ver op4util -c infile_1.op4 test_file.op4
2. Copy file infile_big_endian.op4 to infile_little_endian.op4,
changing its endian:
util_ver op4util -xch infile_big_endian.op4 infile_little_endian.op4
3. Copy file input_file.op4 to win_file.op4, forcing win_file.op4 to have
Windows (little-endian) format. Also, generate verbose messages about the conversion process:
util_ver op4util -wind -v input_file.op4 win_file.op4
4. Dump files input_file.op4 and input_file.op2, generating verbose messages about
the file formats:
util_ver op4util -dump-v input_file.op4 input_file.op2
<endian_opt> Requests the endian conversion option. This option is very similar to the
-xchange option except that the endian of <to_fname> is explicitly specified.
If <to_fname> is to have big-endian format, <endian_opt> must be
-b[igendian] or one of the following synonyms: -aix, -hpux, or
-sol[aris]. If <to_fname> is to have little-endian format,
<endian_opt> must be -l[ittleendian] or one of the following
synonyms: -linu[x] or -wind[ows]. If <from_fname> already has the
desired endian format, a copy will be performed instead. On long-word systems,
<endian_opt> may have 64 appended to one of the valid options to
indicate that the -xchange output format is to be a long-word format. For
example, -aix64 will request a long-word big-endian format file.
-h If there are no file name options
-q If one or more than two file name options are specified
-x If exactly two file name options are specified.
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CHAPTER 6
OPTCONV
OPTCONV may be used to reformat an existing optimization Bulk Data file used in MSC.Nastran prior
to Version 68 into a format compatible with Version 68 or later. The operations performed by this
program are described in the MSC.Nastran Release Notes for Version 68. The basic format of the
optconv command is
where input_file is the name of the dynamic-optimization data file. If the file type of the old data file is
.dat, it may be omitted from the command line.
Keywords
Examples
The Version 68-compatible output is written to
The original data is renamed to example.dat.old.
util_ver optconv input_file [keywords]
output output=pathname Default: input-file
This option specifies the name of the reformatted data file. By default, the old
output file is renamed by appending the file type .old; the new file is the original
name of the input file. If an output file is specified using this option, the original
input filename is unchanged.
util_ver optconv example
example.dat
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PLOTPS
PLOTPS reads plotting commands from a single MSC Nastran binary- or neutral-format plot file and
produces a file that can be printed on a PostScript device. The basic format of the plotps command is
where input_plot_file is the name of the plot file generated by MSC Nastran or NEUTRL. A
neutral-format plot file can be read from stdin by specifying - as the filename. The plot file type .plt
does not have to be specified on the command line.
Keywords
util_ver plotps input_plot_file [keywords]
begin begin=number Default: 1
end end=number Default: 999999
Plots a selected range of plot frames.
color color=yes,no Default: No
Enables or disables color pens. Setting color=no, the default, will assign a
solid line to pen 1 and various dashed lines to pens 2, 3, and 4. Setting
color=yes will assign black to pen 1, red to pen 2, green to pen 3, and blue to
pen 4. All text and axes will always be written with a solid black pen.
cscale cscale=number Default: 1.0
Specifies a scale factor for all characters and special symbols on the plot. By
default, characters and special symbols are 9 points (about 0.125 inch). The
scale value, if specified, is also applied to characters and special symbols.
The cscale value is critical to the correct imaging of the plot if
optimizestrings=yes was specified. In general, you must specify the same
cscale value as was specified in the original MSC Nastran job that generated
the PLT file.
dump dump=yes,no Default: No
Enables a raw print of each plot command before it is processed. This print is
used for debugging purposes only.
format format=keyword Default: Binary
Specifies the input file format. If the file type of the input file is .neu or the
plot file is read from stdin, then format=neutral is assumed.
height height=number Default: 10.0 inches
Specifies the printable page height. The actual page is assumed to be 1 inch
larger.
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optimizestrings optimizestrings=yes,no Default: Yes
Indicates the string optimization feature is to be enabled. This feature can result
in a substantial reduction in plot file size, printer memory requirements, and
print speed.
If optimizestrings=no is set, PLOTPS will draw each character individually,
at the expense of PS file size and the memory and time needed by your
PostScript printer to image the file.
output output=pathname Default: plot-file.ps
Specifies the name of the PostScript output file. If a neutral-format plot file is
read from stdin, the default output filename is plotps.ps. If out= is
specified, the PostScript output is written to stdout. By default, the output file
is named the name of the input file with the new type .ps.
rotate rotate=keyword Default: Automatic
Controls the orientation of the generated image. If rotate=automatic is
specified, the program orients the image so that the long direction of the image
is aligned with the long direction of the page. If rotate=no is specified, the
image is generated with the horizontal axis aligned with the bottom edge of the
page. If rotate=yes is specified, the image is generated with the horizontal
axis aligned with the right edge of the page.
scale scale=number Default: 1.0
Specifies a scale factor for all elements of the plot.
Note: The program will not attempt to print a multipage image if this option is used to enlarge the
image beyond the size of the available page.
verbose verbose=yes,no Default: Yes Output is a disk file
No Output is stdout.
Specifies whether processing messages are to be written.
width width=number Default: 7.5 inches
Specifies the printable page width. The actual page is assumed to be 1 inch larger.
Note: The begin, end, dump, format and output keywords are not allowed for PostScript plot
generation in MSC Nastran. That is, these keywords may not be specified on the SYS=
describer or in the SYFIELD keyword for the PLOT logical name.
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Examples
To translate a binary-format plot file named example1.plt into PostScript, use
To translate a neutral-format plot file named example2.neu into PostScript, use
Using the String Optimization Feature
When the string optimization feature functions correctly, you can realize a substantial reduction in the
size of the PostScript file and a commensurate reduction in the memory and time needed by your
PostScript printer to image the file. However, there are some cases where the feature does not function
correctly, and generates an incorrect plot image.
The cscale value used in the MSC Nastran job that generated the PLT file is critical to the correct
operation of the optimizestrings feature. In general, you need to specify the same value in the PLOTPS
run. There are some cases, however, where the value should be left at the default, i.e., 1.0. You can
determine this by imaging and printing the first frame of the PLT file with the following two commands:
where plt-file is the MSC Nastran PLT file and cscale-value is the CSCALE value used in the
MSC Nastran job that generated the file. A visual comparison of the two PostScript images will identify
the correct setting. In general, it will be the first command, i.e., the one that set the CSCALE value to the
MSC Nastran jobs value.
util_ver plotps example1
example1.ps
util_ver plotps example2.neu
example2.ps
util_ver plotps plt-file end=1 out=value.ps cscale=cscale-value
util_ver plotps plt-file end=1 out=default.ps
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CHAPTER 6
RCOUT2
RCOUT2 is used to convert a neutral-format OUTPUT2 file generated by MSC Nastran into a
binary-format OUTPUT2 file. Since MSC Nastran can read and write binary-format and neutral-format
OUTPUT2 files, this utility is generally used to construct a binary OUTPUT2 file for a third-party
program that can only read a binary OUTPUT2 file. The basic format of the rcout2 command is
Keywords
Examples
util_ver rcout2 neutral_output2_file [keywords]
output output=pathname Default: neutral_file.op2
This option specifies the name of the binary OUTPUT2 file. By default, the
output file is the name of the input file with the new type .op2".
util_ver rcout2 example
example.op2
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RECEIVE
RECEIVE converts a neutral results database file (NDB) into a binary results database file (XDB). The
basic format of the receive command is
where neutral_xdb_file is the name of the NDB file. If - is specified as the neutral format database file,
the file is read from stdin. If the file type of the NDB file is .ndb, it may be omitted from the command
line.
Keywords
Examples
util_ver receive neutral_xdb_file [keywords]
Note: Prior to MSC.Nastran V70, the file type was .ntrl; V70 changed this to the more portable
.ndb.
output output=pathname Default: neutrl_xdb_file.xdb
This option specifies the name of the binary results database file. By default, the
output file is the name of the input file with the new type .xdb. If the neutral
format database file was read from stdin, the default output filename is
receive.xdb. A binary XDB file cannot be written to stdout.
verbose verbose=yes,no Default: YesOutput is a disk file
NoOutput is stdout.
util_ver receive example
example.xdb
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CHAPTER 6
On UNIX systems, an XDB file can be transferred directly from a remote system with the following
command
:
See the rsh(1) man page for further information.
HP-UX $ remsh node prod_ver trans binary_xdb_file out=- \
| prod_ver receive - out=binary_xdb_file
All Others $ rsh node prod_ver trans binary_xdb_file out=- \
| prod_ver receive - out=binary_xdb_file
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TRANS
A results database file (XDB) may be exchanged between computer systems that have binary file
compatibility as displayed in Table 6-2. Otherwise, the TRANS utility is required. TRANS converts an
XDB file that is generated by MSC Nastran to an equivalent character file that can be sent across a
network to another computer. RECEIVE converts the character file back into an XDB file for
postprocessing.
Binary File Compatibility
The following table lists the compatibility of binary files between various computer systems supported
by current or previous versions of MSC products. Note that not all of these combinations have been tested
by MSC. Please report any compatibility problems encountered to your MSC representative.
MSC
Nastran Architecture Postprocessor Platform
IEEE
Byte
Order
Word
Size
HP
Alpha
Compaq
VAX HP
IBM
pSeries SGI
Sun
SPARC Intel
HP
HP-UX
Yes Big 32 TR
Copy
1
TR Copy Copy Copy Copy TR
Copy
1
IBM pSeries
AIX
Yes Big 32 TR
Copy
1
Copy
1
SGI
IRIX
Yes Big 32 TR
Copy
1
Copy
1
Sun SPARC
Solaris
Yes Big 32 TR
Copy
1
Copy
1
Intel
Linux32,
LinuxIPF
Linux64
Solaris8664
Windows
Yes Little 32 Copy TR TR
Copy
1
TR
Copy
1
TR
Copy
1
TR
Copy
1
Copy
Notes: 1. Copy
1
indicates that using the 2001.0.1 or later released version of the DBIO
library, the XCB files produced by MSC Nastran can be transferred between the
systems without using the TRANS and RECEIVE programs.
2. Copy indicates that XDB files can be transferred between the systems without using
TRANS and RECEIVE.
3. TR indicates that XDB files must be transferred between the systems using TRANS
and RECEIVE.
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The first column on the left of the table lists various platforms that run MSC Nastran. The second and
third columns list basic architectural features of the computer, specifically whether the computer
conforms to ANSI/IEEE Standard 754-1985 (the IEEE Standard for Binary Floating-Point Arithmetic)
and byte ordering (big endian or little endian) used by the computer. The remaining columns list
postprocessor platforms.
Running TRANS
TRANS converts a binary results database file (XDB) into a neutral results database file (NDB) that may
be copied to any other computer. The basic format of the trans command is
where binary_xdb_file is the name of the XDB file. An XDB file cannot be read from stdin. If the file
type of the XDB file is .xdb, it may be omitted from the command line.
Keywords
Examples
util_ver trans binary_xdb_file [keywords]
alphabet alphabet=number Default: 64
Choose the 48- or 64-character conversion table.
output output=pathname Default: binary_xdb_file.ndb
This option specifies the name of the neutral format database file. If out=- is
specified, the neutral-format database file will be written to stdout. By default, the
output file name is the input file name with the new type .ndb. (Prior to
MSC.Nastran V70 the type .ntrl was used; V70 changed this to the more
transportable .ndb.)
verbose verbose=yes,no Default: Yes Output is a disk file
No Output is stdout.
util_ver trans example
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On UNIX systems, an XDB file can be transferred directly to a remote system with the following
commands:
See the remsh(1) or rsh(1) man pages for further information.
example.ndb
HP-UX prod_ver trans binary_xdb_file out=- \
| remsh node [-l user] prod_ver receive - out=binary_xdb_file
All others prod_ver trans binary_xdb_file out=- \
rsh node [-l user] prod_ver receive - out=binary_xdb_file
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CHAPTER 6
XMONAST (UNIX)
XMONAST is a simple OSF/Motif GUI to monitor MSC Nastran jobs. The Motif runtime libraries along
with an X-capable terminal/monitor are required to run XMONAST. The basic format of the xmonast
command is:
XMONAST is a point-and-click text file viewer that can view the output of your MSC Nastran job as it
progresses. The viewer can be started in three ways:
From the command line:
where list_of_files are text files that will be displayed. XMONAST will read stdin if - is
specified.
From the nastran command (with manual termination of XMONAST):
where only the .log file will be displayed. From the nastran command (with automatic
termination of XMONAST when the MSC Nastran job ends):
where only the .log file will be displayed.
See the xmonast keyword (page 101) for more details on these methods.
The selected files will be displayed in scrollable windows. Once the entire file as it currently exists has
been displayed, XMONAST will enter an infinite loop waiting for additional text. This process will
continue until the Exit push button is selected, or until the MSC Nastran job has completed if
XMONAST is started from the nastran command with xmon=kill.
You may temporarily suspend updates to the scrollable windows (e.g., to browse the output) by selecting
the Pause Output push button. To resume output, select the same button, now labeled Continue
Output.
If a .log file is being displayed, the Kill Job push button may be used to cancel a running MSC Nastran
job. This will send an interrupt kill signal (SIGKILL) to your MSC Nastran job. Unless started by
xmon=kill, you may still scroll through the output data files after terminating a job.
util_ver xmonast list_of_files &
util_ver xmonast list_of_files &
util_ver nastran input_file... xmon=yes
util_ver nastran data_file ... xmon=kill
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To exit XMONAST, select the Exit push button or select File --> Exit from the menu bar.
Menu Bar Commands
Buttons
Examples
To monitor the .f06, .f04, and .log files of an already running job named example, use:
File Re-Open Files Rereads the input files from the beginning (does not function
for stdin).
Exit Writes various resources to $HOME/Xmonast and exits
XMONAST.
Kill Sure Kill Sends signal SIGKILL (9) to the MSC Nastran job. This
command is only enabled if an MSC.Nastran Version 68.1 (or
later) .log file is being displayed in one of the panes. If more
than one .log file is being displayed, only one of the jobs will
be killed.
Help Online Documentation Starts the online documentation application. The command
used by XMONAST to start the application is specified by the
Xmonast*docname resource. The default value is mne,
i.e., the MSC Nastran Encyclopedia (a separately installed
product).
Program Version... Displays the program version in a pop-up window. Press the
OK button to dismiss the pop-up window.
Pause Output Suspends output to the panes so that they can be examined. The button will
change to Continue Output while the output is paused. Pressing
Continue Output will resume output to the panes.
Kill Sends signal SIGKILL (9) to the MSC Nastran job. The button is only
enabled if an MSC.Nastran V68.1 (or later) .log file is being displayed in
one of the panes. If more than one .log file is being displayed, only one of
the jobs will be killed.
Exit Writes the current resource settings to $HOME/Xmonast and exits.
prod_ver xmonast example.f06 example.f04, example.log &
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To run an MSC Nastran job named example in the background and monitor the .log file as the job
progresses, use:
XMONAST will continuously display the .log file until the Exit push button is selected.
Resources
The default resource file, /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/Xmonast, and, if it exists, your resource file,
$HOME/Xmonast, are read at application startup. Your resource file is completely rewritten if
XMONAST is terminated using the File->Exit menu item or the Exit button at the bottom of the
window. Your resource file is not written if you terminate XMONAST using the window->Close menu
item. Documentation of the XMONAST resources can be found in the standard MSC resource file,
install_dir/prod_ver/arch/Xmonast.
prod_ver nastran example batch=yes xmonast=yes
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232
XNASTRAN (UNIX)
XNASTRAN is a simple OSF/Motif Graphical User Interface to submit MSC Nastran jobs. The Motif
runtime libraries along with an X-capable terminal/monitor are required to run XNASTRAN. The basic
format of the xnastran command is:
The XNASTRAN command allows you to select the input file, set job options (i.e, command line
keywords), and submit the job to MSC Nastran.
Menu Bar Commands
Main Window Items
Each item in the main window includes a Help button. Selecting the help item will bring up a short help
dialog; the dialog is dismissed with the Close button.
prod_ver xnastran &
File Exit Exits XNASTRAN.
Setup MSC Nastran Version... Allows you to enter the MSC Nastran Version Label
defining the product name, the default is MSC Nastran
V2006 and the Run Command that submits a job, the
default is /usr/bin/prod_ver nastran. The Select File
button will bring up a standard file selection tool allowing you
to find the run command file. The Accept button will accept
the changes and cancel the dialog, the Cancel button will
cancel the dialog with making any changes, and the Help
button will bring up a help window; select the Close button
to dismiss the help dialog.
System Default Resets various defaults, including the window size, the MSC
Nastran Version Label, and the Run Command.
Save Writes all the current settings, including the various entries, to
the $HOME/Xnastran resource file. These values will be
reloaded the next time you enter XNASTRAN.
Help Online Documentation Starts the online documentation application. The command
used by XNASTRAN to start the application is specified by
the Xnastran*docname resource. The default value is
mne, i.e., the MSC Nastran Encyclopedia (a separately
installed product).
Program Version... Displays the program version in a pop-up window. Select the
OK button to dismiss the pop-up window.
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The items in the main window are listed below as they appear from the top of the window to the bottom.
Input Data FIle This subpane allows you to enter the name of the input file using the
keyboard or with a file selection tool if the Select File button is selected.
Scratch Directory This subpane allows you to enter the name of the scratch directory using
the keyboard or with a directory selection tool if the Select Directory
button is selected. This sets the sdirectory keyword.
Database Prefix This subpane allows you to enter the prefix of the database files using the
keyboard. This sets the dbs keyword; if the text field is empty, the dbs
keyword is not set.
Monitor Output This subpane allows you to start the XMONAST utility to monitor the
.f06, .f04, and .log files. This sets xmon=yes or xmon=no.
Background Process This subpane allows you to run the job in the background. This sets
batch=yes or batch=no.
Combine Files This subpane allows you to append the .f06, .f04, and .log files into a
single OUT file. This sets append=yes or append=no.
Delete Databases This subpane allows you to delete the user databases at the completion of
the MSC Nastran job or select a mini database. This sets scratch=yes,
scratch=no, or scratch=mini.
Display News This subpane allows you to display the MSC Nastran system news in the
.f06. This sets news=yes or news=no.
Print Output Files This subpane allows you to print the .f06, .f04, and .log files at the
completion of the MSC Nastran job. This sets prt=yes or prt=no.
Send Notification This subpane allows you to receive notification when the MSC Nastran
job completes. This sets notify=yes or notify=no.
Save Previous This subpane allows you to version old output files before the MSC
Nastran job begins. This sets old=yes or old=no.
Output Prefix This subpane allows you to enter the prefix of the output files using the
keyboard. This sets the out keyword; if the text field is empty, the out
keyword is not set.
Start Time This subpane allows you to select a job starting time using the keyboard.
This sets the after keyword; if the text field is empty, the after
keyword is not set.
Queue Name This subpane allows you to select the starting time of the job using the
keyboard. This sets the after keyword.
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Resources
The default resource file, /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/Xnastran, and, if it exists, your resource file,
$HOME/Xnastran, are read at application startup. Your resource file is completely rewritten if you
select the Setup->Save menu item. Documentation of the XNASTRAN resources can be found in the
standard MSC resource file, install_dir/prod_ver/arch/Xnastran.
Advanced Keywords This subpane allows you to enter any additional keywords using the
keyboard. You must enter the complete text of any keywords to be set. If
the text field is empty, no additional keywords are set.
Memory Size This subpane allows you to enter the memory allocation using the
keyboard. The pop-up menu allows you to select the units modifier, i.e,
none, Kb, Kw, Mb, Mw, Gb, Gw. This sets the memory
keyword.
Submit MSC Nastran This button submits the job using the parameters displayed in the window.
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CHAPTER 6
Building the Utilities Delivered in Source Form
Several of the utilities (i.e., PLOTPS, NEUTRL, RCOUT2, and MSCACT) are delivered in source and
executable form. The source code allows these utilities to be customized or built for other platforms. A
script and makefile are provided to build and install these utilities. The script determines the architecture
of current platform and invokes the make utility to perform the actual compilation, link, and installation.
The utility program source files are located in
on UNIX and
on Windows. This directory is an optional component of the MSC Nastran installation. This directory
includes the following files:
Three steps are required to build and install the source utilities. Make sure that you are in the utility
program source directory, i.e., install_dir/prod_ver/util on UNIX and install_dir\prod_ver\util on
Windows.
install_dir/prod_ver/util
install_dir\prod_ver\util
Table 6-2 Utility Program Source Files
File Description
acnaspat.pl
ld.F Source for RCOUT2 Utility Routines.
libfmsc.F Source for FORTRAN Utility Library Routines.
makefile Makefile to Build Source Utility Programs.
mattst.F Source for Sample OUTPUT4 File Reader TABTST (see Building and Using
TABTST on page 254).
mscact.c Source for MSC Accounting Programs.
neutrl.F Source for NEUTRL Utility.
ngtarg.F Source for Command Line Utilities.
plotps.F Source for PLOTPS Utility.
rcout2.F Source for RCOUT2 Utility.
tabtst.F Source for Sample OUTPUT2 File Reader MATTST (see Building and Using
MATTST on page 248).
util Script to Build Source Utility Programs.
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236
1. The first step compiles and links all of the source utility programs. Enter the command
If only one utility is to be built, use the name of the utility (i.e., mscact, neutrl, plotps, or
rcout2") instead of build. For example,
will only build the PLOTPS utility.
2. After the programs are generated in the current directory, you can install the executable programs
into the architecture directory for your computer (i.e., install_dir/prod_ver/arch on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\arch on Windows). Enter the command
3. The third step deletes all object files and temporary files created by the make process. Enter the
command
The building and installation process can be repeated if you want to build the utilities for other computer
architectures at your site.
To build the utilities on another computer that does not have MSC Nastran installed, copy the complete
utilities directory to the other computer. Since the util_ver command will not be available, you must run
the util script directly. Before you do, however, set the environment variable MSC_ARCH to the name of
a supported architecture as shown in Table 3-1. The install option cannot be used.
util_ver util build
util_ver util plotps
util_ver util install
util_ver util clean
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Ch. 7: Building and Using the Sample Programs MSC Nastran 2012 Installation and Operations Guide

7
Building and Using the Sample
Programs
Overview
Building and Using BEAMSERV
Building and Using DDLPRT
Building and Using DDLQRY
Building and Using DEMO1
Building and Using DR3SERV
Building and Using MATTST
Building and Using SMPLR
Building and Using a Spline Server
Building and Using TABTST
Beam Server Source Files
DRESP3 Server Source Files
MSC.Access Source Files

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238
Overview
This chapter describes how to build and use the various MSC Nastran sample programs. The sample
programs are grouped by function as follows:
Descriptions on building and using the sample programs follow in alphabetical order. If SCONS is being
used to build a standalone program, it can be installed as part of the MSC SDK.
Program Function
BEAMSERV Implements user-defined bar and beam elements for MSC Nastran.
DDLPPRT
Reads and displays XDB results database files. These sample programs are part
of MSC.Access and demonstrate how to use the database library routines.
DDLQRY
DEMO1
DEMO2
SMPLR
DR3SERV Implements user-defined responses for MSC Nastran.
MATTST
Reads and displays OUTPUT2 and OUTPUT4 files.
TABST
SPXSRVA Implements user-defined splines for MSC Nastran
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CHAPTER 7
Building and Using the Sample Programs
Building and Using BEAMSERV
BEAMSERV implements a user-defined beam element for MSC Nastran.
Unlike the other sample programs, a beam server is not a stand alone program that runs from the
command line. Instead, the beam server is started and controlled by MSC Nastran. In the current
implementation, communications between MSC Nastran and the beam server are accomplished through
pipes, with MSC Nastran reading and writing BEAMSERVs stdout and stdin units, respectively.
Building BEAMSERV
The BEAMSERV program source files are located in the directory
on UNIX and
on Windows (see Beam Server Source Files on page 256).
To build the program, change the working directory to the beamlib directory and enter the command:
Note: The sample beam server source code is only provided as a simple example illustrating basic
concepts. It is not intended to be a complete or usable program.
Notes: 1. The MSC Nastran job invoking the beam server and the beam server itself may run
on different computers but they have to be network mounted.
2. Your program may not read from stdin (FORTRAN logical unit 5) nor write to
stdout (FORTRAN logical unit 6).
3. The beam server cannot write to the .f06, .f04, or .log files of the MSC Nastran job
that started the beam server.
4. Debugging must be accomplished by writing to a disk file, or connecting to the
running beam server executable with a debugger (this may not be available on all
systems, and debug compiler options should be used).
install_dir/prod_ver/nast/beamlib/src/beamserv
install_dir\prod_ver\nast\beamlib\src\beamserv
scons opt=yes beamserv
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240
It will create beamserv on UNIX or beamserv.exe on Windows and store it in the
$APPS_LOCAL/arch/bin/ directory. To learn more about the build environment, please consult
SCASCons Build System on page 403 of the SCA Framework Users Guide.
Alternatively, you may copy the entire beamlib directory to another location, change the working
directory to ~new_path/beamlib/ and issue the command:
Using BEAMSERV
MSC Nastran is made aware of the beam server by the gmconn keyword and an external evaluator
connection file. Entries in the connection file for piped communications are formatted as follows:
where evaluatorname is the evaluator name defined on the CONNECT FMS statement and pathname is
the pathname of the beam server executable.
To use the sample beam server and data file, create the file samp_eval with the following line:
where pathname is the pathname of the beam server built above, e.g.,
$APPS_LOCAL/arch/bin/beamserv on UNIX or $APPS_LOCAL\arch\bin\beamserv.exe on
Windows.
MSC Nastran is then run using the following command:
scons opt=yes beamserv
evaluatorname,pipe,pathname
Note: The evaluator name on the CONNECT FMS statements and in the external evaluator
connection file must match exactly, including character case. To use a mixed or lower case
group name, the name on the CONNECT FMS statement must be in quote marks; the name
in the external evaluator connection file is never quoted.
LOCBMLS,pipe,pathname
prod_ver nastran sample gmconn=samp_eval
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CHAPTER 7
Building and Using DDLPRT
DDLPRT illustrates the mass retrieval of data from the MSC.Access Data Definition Language (DDL)
database.
Building DDLPRT
The DDLPRT program source code is in the file ddlprt.F (see MSC.Access Source Files on
page 258). To build the program, change the working directory to the access directory and type the
command:
If you do not have write access to the source directory, install_dir/prod_ver/access on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\access on Windows, copy the entire directory to another location, change the
working directory to the new location, and issue the SCONS command.
Using DDLPRT
DDLPRT is run with the ddlprt command. The format of the ddlprt command is
If the DDL XDB file is not specified, the program uses the default MSC.Access DDL file,
install_dir/prod_ver/arch/dbc.xdb on UNIX and install_dir\prod_ver\arch\dbc.xdb on Windows. The
optional keywords are:
To execute the program, enter the command:
SCONS opt=yes ddlprt
util_ver ddlprt [ddl_xdb_file] [keywords]
print=print_file Default: ddl_xdb_file.prt
This keyword specifies the name of the print file documenting
the format of every MSC.Access relation. By default, the print
file uses the basename of the input DDL XDB file with the
new file type .prt. Note, the size of this file is approximately
one megabyte.
toc=table_of_contents_file Default: ddl_xdb_file.toc
This keyword specifies the name of the print files table of
contents. By default, the toc file uses the basename of the
input XDB file with the new file type .toc.
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242
The program displays the filename, version, and compilation date of the DDL file as well as the names
of the print and table of contents files. Once these files are generated, the program exits. The print and
table of contents files may then be printed once DDLPRT has completed.
util_ver ddlprt
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CHAPTER 7
Building and Using DDLQRY
DDLQRY illustrates the interactive retrieval of data from the MSC.Access Data Definition Language
(DDL) database.
Building DDLQRY
The DDLQRY program source code is in the file ddlqry.F (see MSC.Access Source Files on
command:
If you do not have write access to the source directory, install_dir/prod_ver/access on UNIX or
Using DDLQRY
DDLQRY is run with the ddlqry command. The format of the ddlqry command is
If a file is not specified, the program uses the default MSC.Access DDL file,
install_dir/prod_ver/arch/dbc.xdb on UNIX and install_dir\prod_ver\arch\dbc.xdb on Windows.
The program displays the filename, version, and compilation date of the DDL file and prompts you for
the name of a DDL object:
After you enter the name of each object, the format of the object is displayed. The program repeats the
prompt until a blank line is entered.
SCONS opt=yes ddlqry
util_ver ddlqry [ddl_xdb_file]
Enter Object Name (null to quit)
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244
DEMO1 prints information about a results database (XDB) file produced by MSC Nastran.
Building DEMO1
The DEMO1 program source code is in the file demo1.F (see MSC.Access Source Files on
command:
Using DEMO1
DEMO1 is run using the demo1 command. The installed version of the program is run with the
command:
You are prompted for the input graphics database filename.
Running MSC Nastran with a101x.dat (in install_dir/prod_ver/access) produces a101x.xdb that may be
used as input to this program.
Note: The sample program source code is only provided as a simple example illustrating basic
scons opt=yes demo1
util_ver demo1
Enter the database path name:
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CHAPTER 7
DEMO2 prints information about a results database (XDB) file produced by MSC Nastran.
Building DEMO2
The DEMO2 program source code is in the file demo2.F (see MSC.Access Source Files on
command:
Using DEMO2
DEMO2 is run using the demo2 command. The installed version of the program is run with the
command:
You are prompted for the input graphics database filename.
Running MSC Nastran with a61x.dat (in install_dir/prod_ver/access) produces a101x.xdb that may be
scons opt=yes demo2
util_ver demo2
Enter the database path name:
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246
Building and Using DR3SERV
DR3SERV implements user-defined responses for MSC Nastran.
Unlike the other sample programs, a DRESP3 server is not a stand alone program that runs from the
command line. Instead, the DRESP3 server is started and controlled by MSC Nastran. In the current
implementation, communications between MSC Nastran and the DRESP3 server are accomplished
through pipes, with MSC Nastran reading and writing DR3SERVs stdout and stdin units, respectively.
Building DR3SERV
The DR3SERV program source files are located in the directory
on UNIX and
on Windows (see DRESP3 Server Source Files on page 257).
To build the program, change the working directory to the dr3 directory and enter the command:
Note: The sample DRESP3 server source code is only provided as a simple example illustrating
basic concepts. It is not intended to be a complete or usable program.
Notes: 1. The MSC Nastran job invoking the DRESP3 server and the DRESP3 server itself
may run on different computers but they have to be network mounted.
3. The DRESP3 server cannot write to the .f06, .f04, or .log files of the MSC Nastran
job that started the DRESP3 server.
running dresp3 server executable with a debugger (this may not be available on all
install_dir/prod_ver/nast/dr3/src/dr3serv
install_dir\prod_ver\dr3srv
scons opt=yes dr3serv
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CHAPTER 7
where dr3serv is the target program. This command will create program, dr3serv on UNIX or dr3serv.exe
on Windows and store it in the $APPS_LOCAL/arch/bin/ directory. To learn more about the build
environment, please consult SCASCons Build System on page 403 of the SCA Framework Users
Guide.
Alternatively, you may copy the entire dr3 directory to another location, change the working directory
to ~new_path/dr3 and issue the command:
scons opt=yes dr3serv
To build another server program, say dr3serva, change the working directory to dr3 directory and enter
the same build command with a new target name:
scons opt=yes dr3serva
Using DR3SERV
MSC Nastran is made aware of the DRESP3 server by the gmconn keyword and an external evaluator
the pathname of the DRESP3 server executable.
To use the sample DRESP3 server and data file, create the file samp_eval with the following line:
where pathname is the pathname of the DRESP3 server built above, e.g., of the DRESP3 server built
above, e.g., $APPS_LOCAL/arch/bin/dr3serv on UNIX or
$APPS_LOCAL\arch\bin\dr3serv.exe on Windows.
myrsp,pipe,pathname
util_ver nastran sample gmconn=samp_eval
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Building and Using MATTST
MATTST reads a binary format OUTPUT4 matrix.
Building MATTST
The MATTST program source code is in the file mattst.F (see Building the Utilities Delivered in Source
Form on page 235). To build the program, change the working directory to the util directory and type
the command:
If you do not have write access to the source directory, install_dir/prod_ver/util on UNIX or
install_dir\prod_ver\util on Windows, copy the entire directory to another location, change the working
directory to the new location, and issue the command:
on UNIX, or
on Windows. Note, the directory specification is required in this circumstance.
Using MATTST
MATTST is run with the mattst command. The installed version of the program is run with the
command:
You are prompted for the number of matrices.
util_ver util mattst
util_ver ./util mattst
util_ver .\util mattst
util_ver mattst
Please enter the number of matrices:
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CHAPTER 7
You are prompted for the input filename.
You are prompted for the output binary filename.
You are prompted for the output text filename.
Running the MSC Nastran job DEMODIR:um54.dat produces a file, um54.f11, that may be used as
input to this program.
Please enter the INPT4 FILENAME:
Please enter the output binary filename:
Please enter the output text filename:
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Building and Using SMPLR
SMPLR reads a results database (XDB) file produced by MSC Nastran.
Building SMPLR
The SMPLR program source code is in the file smplr.F (see MSC.Access Source Files on page 258).
To build the program, change the working directory to the access directory and type the command:
Using SMPLR
SMPLR is run using the smplr command. The installed version of the program is run with the
command:
Running MSC Nastran with a101x.dat (see MSC.Access Source Files on page 258) produces
a101x.xdb that may be used as input to this program.
scons opt=yes smplr
util_ver smplr
Enter the database name to process:
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CHAPTER 7
Building and Using a Spline Server
A spline server implements user-defined spline methods for MSC Nastran.
Unlike the other sample programs, a spline server is not a stand-alone program that runs from the
command line. Instead, the spline server is started and controlled by MSC Nastran. In the current
implementation, communications between MSC Nastran and the spline server are accomplished through
pipes, with MSC Nastran reading and writing the spline servers stdout and stdin units, respectively.
Building SPXSERVA
The spxserva program source files are located in the directory
on UNIX and
on Windows (see Spline Server Source Files).
To build the program, change the working directory to the spline_server directory and enter the
command:
Note: The sample spline server source code is only provided as a simple example illustrating
basic concepts. It is not intended to be a complete or usable program.
Note: 1. The MSC Nastran job invoking the spline server and the spline server itself may run
on different computers but they have to be network mounted.
3. The spline server cannot write to the .f06, .f04, or .log files of the MSC Nastran job
that started the spline server.
running spline server executable with a debugger (this may not be available on all
install_dir/prod_ver/nast/spline_server/src/spxsrva
install_dir\prod_ver\nast\spline_server\src\spxsrva
scons opt=yes spxserva
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252
where spxsrva is the targeted program. This command will create program, spxsrva on UNIX or
spxsrva.exe on Windows and store it in the $APPS_LOCAL/arch/bin/ directory. To learn more about the
build environment, please consult SCASCons Build System on page 403 of the SCA Framework Users
Guide.
Alternatively, you may copy the entire spline_server directory to another location, change the working
directory to ~new_path/spline_server and issue the command:
scons opt=yes spxsrva
Using the Spline Server
MSC Nastran is made aware of the spline server by the gmconn keyword and an external evaluator
the path name of the spline server executable.
To use the sample spline server and data file, create the file samp_eval with the following line:
where pathname is the path name of the spline server built above, e.g., my/path/to/spxserva or ./spxserva
on UNIX and my\path\to\spxserva or .\spxserva on Windows.
EXTSPLN,pipe,pathname
util_ver nastran sample gmconn=samp_eval for MSC Nastran
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CHAPTER 7
Spline Server Source Files
The spline server program source files are located in the spline server source directory, i.e.,
install_dir/prod_ver/nast/spline_server/src/spxsrva on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\nast\spline_server\src\spxsrva on Windows. This directory is an optional
component of the MSC Nastran installation.
There are source files for two example spline servers: spxserva and spxservb. The spxserva program is
implemented entirely in the C programming language. The spxservb program uses a mix of the C and
Fortran programming languages.
Table 7-1 lists files contained in the SPXSERVA directory
Table 7-2 lists files contained in the SPXSERVB directory
Table 7-1 Spline Server spxserva Sample Program Source Files
File Description
SConscript File that is used by scons to guide the build
sxmsg.c Sample source for the spline server.
sxsevda.c Sample source for the spline server.
Table 7-2 Spline Server spxservb Sample Program Source Files
File Description
mkgmat.F Sample source for the spline server.
spxaport.h Sample source for the spline server.
sxmsg.c Sample source for the spline server.
sxsevdb.c Sample source for the spline server.
sxsevdb.h Sample source for the spline server.
spxaport.h Sample source for the spline server.
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Building and Using TABTST
TABTST reads a binary format OUTPUT2 file (do not confuse this program with RCOUT2, described
in RCOUT2 on page 223).
Building TABTST
The TABTST program source code is in the file tabtst.F (see Building the Utilities Delivered in Source
Form on page 235). To build the program, change the working directory to the util directory and type
the command:
If you do not have write access to the source directory, install_dir/prod_ver/util on UNIX or
install_dir\prod_ver\util on Windows, copy the entire directory to another location, change the working
directory to the new location, and issue the command:
on UNIX, or
on Windows.
Using TABTST
TABTST is run with the tabtst command. The installed version of the program is run with the
command:
util_ver util tabtst
util_ver ./util tabtst
util_ver .\util tabtst
Note: The directory specification is required in this circumstance.
util_ver tabtst
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You are prompted for the output filename.
Running the MSC Nastran job TPLDIR/basic:tabtsta.dat produces a file, tabtsta.f11, that may be
Please type the INPUT2 filename:
Please type the output filename:
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256
Beam Server Source Files
The beam server program source files are located in the beam server source directory, i.e.,
install_dir/prod_ver/nast/beamlib/src/beamserv on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\nast\beamlib\src\beamserv on Windows. This directory is an optional
Table 7-3 lists files contained in this directory. The Arbitrary Beam Cross-Section (ABCS) in Chapter 4
of the MSC Nastran Linear Static Analysis Users Guide can replace this Beam Server.
Table 7-3 Beam Server Sample Program Source Files
File Description
SConscript File used by SCons to guide the build
brtuc.F Sample source for the beam server
brtug.F Sample source for the beam server
brtui.F Sample source for the beam server
brtup.F Sample source for the beam server
bsbrc.F Sample source for the beam server
bsbrg.F Sample source for the beam server
bsbri.F Sample source for the beam server
bsbrp.F Sample source for the beam server
bsgrq.F Sample source for the beam server
bsmsg.F Sample source for the beam server
bsbrt.F Sample source for the beam server
bscon.F Sample source for the beam server
mevbr.F Sample source for the beam server
msbrc.F Sample source for the beam server
msbrg.F Sample source for the beam server
msbri.F Sample source for the beam server
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CHAPTER 7
DRESP3 Server Source Files
The DRESP3 server program source files are located in the DRESP3 server source directory, i.e.,
install_dir/prod_ver/nast/dr3/src/dr3erv on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\nast\dr3\src\dr3serv on Windows. This directory is an optional
Table 7-4 lists files contained in this directory
Each server requires a separate source directory. In this delivery, 18 server directories are installed for
18 sample problems. For example, the source files, SConscript, r3sgrta.F, r3svalda.F and r3svalsa.F for
server dr3erva are stored in ~install_dir/prod_ver/nast/dr3/src/dr3serva directory.
Table 7-4 DRESP3 Server Sample Program Source Files
File Description
SConscript File used by SCons to guide the build.
r3sgrt.F Sample source for the DRESP3 server.
r3svald.F Sample source for the DRESP3 server.
r3svals.F Sample source for the DRESP3 server.
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MSC.Access Source Files
The MSC.Access sample source files are located in the MSC.Access source directory
install_dir/prod_ver/access on UNIX and install_dir\prod_ver\access on Windows. This directory is an
optional component of the MSC Nastran installation. The src directory contains one subdirectory for each
the six sample programs, listed in Table 7-5 through 7-?.
Table 7-5 Access Program ddladd Source Files
File Description
ddladd.F Main source file for program ddladd
ld2001.F Subroutine source file for program ddladd
Table 7-6 Access Program ddlprt Source Files
File Description
ddlprt.F Demonstration database dictionary print program
Table 7-7 Access Program ddlqry Source Files
File Description
ddlqry.F Demonstration database dictionary query program
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CHAPTER 7
Table 7-8 Access Program demo1 Source Files
File Description
demo1.F Source for sample MSC Nastran database reader.
Table 7-9 Access Program demo2 Source Files
File Description
demo2.F Source for sample MSC Nastran database reader.
Table 7-10 Access Program smplr Source Files
File Description
smplr.F Source for sample MSC Nastran database reader.
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260
Main Index
App. A: Configuring the Runtime Environment MSC Nastran Configuring the Runtime Environment

A
Configuring the Runtime
Environment
Specifying Parameters
User-Defined Keywords
Resolving Duplicate Parameter Specifications
Customizing Command Initialization and Runtime Configuration Files
Symbolic Substitution
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2
Specifying Parameters
Nastran execution is controlled by a variety of parameters, either keywords or special Nastran statements,
both required and optional. The purpose of this section is to describe how and where these parameters
may be specified, not to describe these parameters in detail. This is done in subsequent sections. The
Nastran parameters may be specified on the command line, in a command initialization (INI) file, in
runtime configuration (RC) files and, for some parameters, from environment variables. The information
from these sources is consolidated at execution time into a single set of values. Much of this information
is passed to analysis processing in a "control file", built using the templates (Customizing the
Templates on page 66). (The records in this control file are echoed to the .log file.) Examples of INI
and RC files are given in the User-Defined Keywords on page 8 and Customizing Command
Initialization and Runtime Configuration Files on page 16.
Command Initialization and Runtime Configuration Files
Although the purposes of the INI and RC files are somewhat different, the format of each file is the same.
All INI and RC files are processed twice, once (the "first" pass) to extract parameters (keywords and
other information) that are to be used for all Nastran jobs, and once (the "second" pass) to extract
parameters specific to a particular job. This is accomplished by separating the INI and RC files into a
series of "sections" identified by a "section header" and "subsections" within sections, identified by a
subsection "header." There are two types of sections: "unconditional" and "conditional." Subsections are
always "conditional."
An unconditional section is one that starts with the name of the section enclosed in square
brackets ("[","]"). Section names may not contain any embedded blanks but may be
separated from the square brackets by any number of blanks. As currently implemented, there
are three valid unconditional names: "General", "Solver" and "Nastran". (These section
names are case-insensitive.) In addition, there is an implicit "unnamed" section that consists of
all parameters in the INI or RC file that appear before the first named section or subsection.
There is no special meaning assigned to any of the unconditional sections. Their use is optional;
the section names are intended to be used for descriptive purposes.
A conditional section or subsection is one that starts with an expression in the form:
enclosed in section header identification characters. For a conditional section, the section header
identification characters are square brackets ("[","]"), just as for unconditional sections. For a
subsection, the section header identification characters are "less than" and "greater than" ("<",
">") characters. Keywords and values may not contain any embedded blanks but may be
separated from each other and from the enclosing section header identification characters (the
square brackets or "less than"-"greater than" characters) by any number of blanks. In the
expression:
<keyword><operator><value>
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APPENDIX A
Configuring the Runtime Environment
Parameters in unconditional sections, but not in subsections (which are always conditional) within
unconditional sections, are processed on the first pass through an INI or RC file. On the second pass,
these parameters are ignored (they are not reprocessed). Parameters in conditional sections and
subsections are ignored on the first pass. Parameters in conditional sections and subsections whose
expressions evaluate to "true" are processed on the second pass through an INI or RC file, thus allowing
conditional expressions to reference all of the valid keywords. Note that for subsections within
conditional sections, both the conditional expression for the section and the conditional expression for
the subsection must evaluate to "true" before parameters in the subsection are processed.
Parameter specifications in, either unconditional or conditional sections, may be continued, if necessary,
by specifying a backslash (\) character as the last non-blank character of the line. Note for Windows
users, if the parameter value itself ends with a backslash, the statement must have additional characters,
such as a comment, after the value specification. For example, a specification such as:
sdir=e:\
will not work properly. Instead, write the statement as:
sdir=e:\ $ Specify the scratch directory
In addition to parameters, INI and RC files may contain comment records. There are two types of
comment records: ignored and printed.
Ignored comments are records that start with a semi-colon (";") or pound sign ("#"). These
records are completely ignored. When running in Windows, there is a special form of ignored
comments that may be specified in an INI file (but not in RC files). These are records that start
with "REM", short for "REMARK". The test for "REM" is case-insensitive.
Printed comments are records that start with the currency symbol ("$"). These records are
passed on as part of the analysis information but are otherwise ignored.
<keyword> represents any valid internal keyword (see Keywords on page 46) or
user-defined keyword (see User-Defined Keywords on page 8).
<operator> specifies the comparison to be performed between <keyword> and
<value> as follows:
= equal (either string or numeric)
! not equal (either string or numeric)
!= not equal (either string or numeric)
< numerically less than
<= numerically less than or equal
> numerically greater than
>= numerically greater than or equal
<value> specifies the appropriate keyword value to be used in the comparison.
Keywords and values may be specified in any case.
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4
The list below specifies the INI and RC files that MSC Nastran uses. Any or all of these files may be
ommitted. Table A-1 lists the keywords that are generally set in the unconditional sections of the
command initialization file. Table A-2 lists the keywords that are generally set in RC files.
Note: Although sectioning within INI and RC files was first introduced in MSC Nastran 2004,
valid INI and RC files from prior versions of Nastran are fully compatible with this new
format. Since sections were not supported in previous versions (except for INI files on
Windows, which allowed unconditional sections), all parameters will be in the "unnamed"
implicit section (or, on Windows, in named unconditional sections) and will be processed
on the first pass through the file. No information will be extracted from these files on the
second pass.
Command Initialization (INI) File
This file is used to define keywords that are to be set whenever the nastran command is
executed. Typical keywords in the unconditional sections include the installation base
directory and the version of MSC Nastran. Conditional sections and subsections might
include keywords such as "rcmd" and "rsdirectory" in sections that are conditional upon the
value of the "node" keyword.
UNIX: install_dir/prod_ver/arch/nastran.ini
At installation time, this name is linked to install_dir/bin/nast2012.ini
Windows: install_dir\prod_ver\i386\nastran.ini or install_dir\bin\nastran.ini
Starting with MSC Nastran 2011, there are two possible RC files that may be defined in each of the
locations that are searched for RC files. The first name is a version independent name and the second
name is a version dependent name, where the version number is indicated by <vernum> in the file name
and the version number for MSC Nastran 2012 is 2012.
System RC Files
These files are used to define parameters that are applied to all MSC Nastran jobs using this
installation structure. Many of the parameters that might be specified in the INI file could,
alternatively, be specified in this file.
UNIX: install_dir/conf/nastran.rcf and
install_dir/conf/nast<vernum>rc
Windows: install_dir\conf\nastran.rcf and
install_dir\conf\nast<vernum>.rcf
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APPENDIX A
Please note that the UNIX shorthand "~", to refer to your or another user's home directory, cannot be used
in an RC file. In addition, environment variables are only recognized within the context of a logical
symbol definition.
Architecture RC Files
This files are used to define parameters that are applied to MSC Nastran jobs using this
architecture.
UNIX: install_dir/conf/arch/nastran.ini and
install_dir/conf/arch/nast<vernum>rc
Windows: install_dir\conf\arch\nastran.rcf and
install_dir\conf\arch\nast<vernum>.rcf
Node RC Files
These files are used to define parameters that are applied to MSC Nastran jobs running on
this node. Alternatively, the parameters in this file could be specified in a conditional
section in one of the previous files, using nodename as the value of the "s.hostname"
keyword in the conditional expression.
UNIX: install_dir/conf/net/nodename/nastranrc and
install_dir/conf/net/nodename/nast<vernum>rc
Windows: install_dir\conf\net\nodename\nast2012.rcf and
install_dir\conf\net\nodename\nast<vernum>.rcf
User RC Files
These files are used to define parameters that are applied to MSC Nastran jobs run by an
individual user.
UNIX: $HOME/.nastranrc and
$HOME/.nast<vernum>rc
Windows: %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%\nastran.rcf and
%HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%\nast<vernum>.rcf
Local RC Files
These files should be used to define parameters that are applied to Nastran jobs that reside
in the input data file's directory. This RC file is in the same directory as the input data file.
If the "rcf" keyword (page 84) is used, this local file is ignored.
UNIX: .nastranrc and
.nast<vernum>rc
Windows: nastran.rcf and
nast<vernum>.rcf
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6
Also, note that, on UNIX systems, the leading period (.) on the User RC Files and Local RC Files file
names cannot be deleted even if alternate names are specified using the a.urc and a.urcb keywords
as described below.
The file names listed above may be changed by the user using the a.rc, a.rcb, a.urc and a.urcb
keywords, noting that the directories in which the files are located may not be changed.
The a.rc keyword can be used to change the names of the version dependent RC file names for
the System RC Files, the Architecture RC Files and the Note RC File. The default for this
keyword is nast<vernum>rc for UNIX and nast<vernum>.rcf for Windows.
The a.rcb keyword can be used to change the names of the version-independent RC file names
for the System RC Files, the Architecture RC Files and the Node RC Files. The default for this
keyword is nastranrc for UNIX and nastran.rcf for Windows.
The a.urc keyword can be used to change the names of the version dependent RC file names
for the User RC Files and the Local RC Files. For UNIX, the default for this keyword is the
value of the a.rc keyword with a leading period (.) added. For Windows, the default for this
keyword is the value of the a.rc keyword.
The a.urcb keyword can be used to change the names of the version-independent RC file
names for the User RC Files and the Local RC Files. For UNIX, the default for this keyword is
the value of the a.rcb keyword with the leading period (.) added. For Windows, the default
for this keyword is the value of the a.rcb keyword.
In addition to keyword specifications, the following MSC Nastran statements (from the NASTRAN and
FMS Sections) may appear in RC files and conditional sections in an INI file: NASTRAN, ACQUIRE,
ASSIGN, CONNECT, DBCLEAN, DBDICT, DBDIR, DBFIX, DBLOAD, DBLOCATE, DBSETDEL,
DBUNLOAD, DBUPDATE, DEFINE, ECHOOFF, ECHOON, ENDJOB, EXPAND, INCLUDE, INIT,
PROJ, RESTART and RFINCLUDE. Except for minimal checking of the NASTRAN and PARAM
statements, the syntax of these statements is not validated These records are simply passed on for use in
Nastran analysis processing.
INI files and RC files also may contain PARAM statements that specify values that affect Nastran
analysis processing. The values associated with PARAM names may be specified using PARAM
statements in INI files and RC files or by using PARAM keywords, defined using the PARAM keywords
feature as described in User-Defined Keywords on page 8. PARAM statements must be specified in
"free-field format", i.e., in the Case Control PARAM format (PARAM,name,value), not in Bulk Data
fixed-field format. Please see Parameters in Chapter 5 of the MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide
for more information on PARAM names and statements and their usage.
Environment Variables
Several keywords may have their values set from associated environment variables. When this is the
case, the environment variable takes precedence over any INI or RC file keyword specification. A
command-line specification will over-ride the environment variable specified value. This same
precedence rule applies to user-defined keywords that may have their initial values taken from
environment variables, as described in the next section. A list of the keywords and their associated
Main Index
7
APPENDIX A
environment variables, along with a description of each keyword, may be obtained by using the
following command:
prod_ver nastran help env
Main Index

8
User-Defined Keywords
In addition to the internally defined keywords (see Keywords on page 46), Nastran allows users to
define their own keywords. There are two classes of user-defined keywords:
General keywords. These are intended for use in INI file or RC file conditional section clauses,
in user modifications to the run template files (nastran.dmp, nastran.lcl, nastran.rmt or
nastran.srv) and, for UNIX, in customized queue commands (submit keyword)..
PARAM keywords. These are keywords associated with a PARAM name. Using descriptive
keywords to set a PARAM value may be more convenient than specifying the PARAM statement
in an RC file. Also, keywords are not limited to a maximum of eight characters, as PARAM
names are, and may be more descriptive of the action being affected or requested.
User-defined keywords are supported by the "help" and "whence" functions.
General Keywords
These keywords are defined in the file specified by the "0.kwds" keyword. The default file names are:
The records in this file consist of:
Comment records. These are records that start with a comment character (hash, '#', semi-colon,
';', or currency symbol, '$') and are completely ignored.
Blank or null records. These records are ignored.
Keyword records. These records consist of the keyword name along with an optional value
descriptor and comment in the form:
where:
UNIX: install_dir/prod_ver/arch/nastran.kwds
At installation time, this name is linked to install_dir/bin/nast2012.kwds
Windows: install_dir\prod_ver\i386\nastran.kwds or
install_dir\bin\nast2012.kwds
The file used is the first one found.
keyword_name[,attributes] : value_descriptor comment
keyword_name is the name to be assigned to the user keyword. This name may not
contain any embedded blanks and may not be the same as any internal
keyword or previously specified user-defined keyword. It is also case-
insensitive except in the case when its initial value may be set from an
environment variable with the same name.
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9
APPENDIX A
There may be any number of leading blanks in the record and before and after the separating
colon.
General keywords and the values assigned to them only affect Nastran processing if:
there are customized INI and RC files that have conditional sections, using these keywords in
expressions, that specify other keywords and statements (e.g., NASTRAN and PARAM
statements) that modify Nastran processing to meet the requirements of a user's site and
installation.
they are used in customized templates (Customizing the Templates on page 66).
for UNIX systems, they are used in customized queue commands defined using the "submit"
keyword (Customizing Queue Commands (UNIX) on page 62).
PARAM Keywords
These keywords are defined in the file specified by the "0.params" keyword The default file names are:
attributes specifies optional attributes to be assigned to the keyword defined by
keyword-name. Currently, the only defined attribute is:
argv keyword and its value is to be added to the r.argv keyword
value
Any number of blanks may separate keyword_name, the separating
command and the attributes specification.
value_descriptor is optional. If specified, it should be as described in Value Descriptors
on page 10 and may not contain any embedded blanks. If this field is
not present, the separating colon may be omitted.. The default value
descriptor is "string". This field may also specify that the initial
value of this keyword be taken from an environment variable with the
same name.
comment is an optional comment field. If present, it must be separated from
value_descriptor or keyword_name by blanks or must
begin with a comment character.
UNIX: install_dir/prod_ver/arch/nastran.params
At installation time, this name is linked to install_dir/bin/nast2012.params
Windows: install_dir\prod_ver\i386\nastran.params or install_dir\bin\nast2012.params
The file used is the first one found.
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10
The records in this file consist of:
Comment records. These are records that start with a comment character (hash, '#', semi-colon,
';', or currency symbol, '$') and are completely ignored.
Blank or null records. These records are ignored.
Keyword-name records. These records consist of the keyword name, the associated PARAM
name, along with an optional value descriptor and comment in the form:
where:
There may be any number of leading blanks in the record and before and after the separating
colons.
Keyword names that are the same as PARAM names are allowed, as long as the keyword name is not an
internal or general user-defined keyword name.
Values associated with PARAM names, whether set using PARAM keywords or set using PARAM
statements (statements having the form PARAM,name,value), directly affect Nastran analysis
processing.
Value Descriptors
Value descriptors enable limited syntax checking for values assigned to general and PARAM user-
defined keywords. For general keywords, they may also specify that the initial value of the keyword be
set from the value associated with the environment variable having the same name as the keyword. There
keyword_name : param_name : value_descriptor comment
keyword_name is the name to be assigned to the PARAM keyword. This name is
case-insensitive, may not contain any embedded blanks and may not
be the same as any internal keyword, general user-defined keyword
or previously specified PARAM keyword.
param_name is the PARAM name to be associated with keyword_name. This
name is case-insensitive, may be a maximum of eight characters,
must begin with an alphabetic character and may not contain any
embedded blanks. Also, it may not be the same as any previously
specified PARAM name.
value_descriptor is optional. If specified, it should be as described in Value
Descriptors and may not contain any embedded blanks. If this field
is not present, the separating colon may be omitted. The default
value descriptor is "string".
comment is an optional comment field. If present, it must be separated from
value_descriptor or param_name by blanks or must begin
with a comment character.
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APPENDIX A
are two types of syntax checking available: value must be one of a list of entries or value must be
numeric. Also, the two forms can be combined. These are specified as follows:
List: {"val1","val2",...,"valn"}
That is, the acceptable values are enclosed in double quotes (") and separated from each other by
commas. The specification, including the various acceptable values, may not contain any embedded
blanks. Values are case-insensitive and any partial specification is acceptable and will be replaced by
the full value. For example, if a keyword may only have the values "preliminary", "check" and "final",
the value descriptor would be:
and a value specification of "Ch" would be accepted and replaced by "check".
Numeric: number
Values will be checked to see if they are valid numbers, either integer or floating point. For example,
valid keyword value specifications could be: "1", "-3.247", "4.e-5". "3.75.4", "4.24x" and "-
4-5" are invalid specifications.
Complex value: number,number
This format is only supported for PARAM keyword value descriptors. Values will be checked to see if
they consist of two valid numeric values, separated by a comma.
Combined: {"val1","val2",...,"valn",number}
In addition, for general keywords, if the value descriptor starts or ends with the string "env", specified
in any case and separated from the rest of the value descriptor with a comma (unless the value descriptor
is only "env"), the keyword value will be set using the value associated with the environment variable
having the same name as the keyword. The environment value will be subjected to the same syntax-
checking rules that an INI file, RC file or command line specification would be, with a warning message
generated if syntax checking fails. This occurs even if the keyword is specified on the command line.
Note that, for UNIX systems, since environment variable names are case-sensitive, the keyword name
must be specified exactly the same as the environment variable name. This is the only time that the
keyword name is case-sensitive. For Windows systems, since environment variable names are not case-
{"Preliminary","Check","final"}
Note: This checking does not support the NASTRAN "nnnseee" numeric format, where the 'e'
between the number and the signed exponent ("seee") is missing.
Note: This "combined" format does not support complex numbers.
Main Index

12
sensitive, this restriction does not apply. Keyword values set from environment variables over-ride
keyword values set in INI or RC files but do not over-ride keyword values set on the command line.
If a value descriptor is omitted or is not one of these formats, no syntax checking will be performed.
Examples:
1. The following value descriptor would accept a value of "test", "final" or a number:
Acceptable values would be: te (replaced by test), FIN (replaced by final), 7, 14.5, 3.e-
4, -5
2. The following value descriptor would accept only the strings "abc", "def", "ghi" and "glm":
Acceptable values would be: g (replaced by ghi), aB (replaced by abc), gl (replaced by glm),
D (replaced by def)
3. The following value descriptor, only valid for a PARAM keyword, would only accept a complex
number specification:
Acceptable values would be: 1,2, 7.54,3.14
4. The following value descriptors, only valid for a general keyword, would accept only the strings
"qrs", "test", and "xyz". In addition, the value descriptor requests that the keyword value be set
from the environment.
or
Acceptable values would be: q (replaced by qrs), xY (replaced by xyz), T (replaced by test)
{"Test","Final",Number}
{"abc","def","ghi","glm"}
number,number
enV,{"qrs","test","xyz"}
{"qrs","test","xyz"},Env
Main Index
13
APPENDIX A
Resolving Duplicate Parameter Specifications
Nastran processing information is obtained by scanning the various INI and RC files, the system
environment, and the Nastran command line in the following order:
1. Nastran command line, first pass. Only "program options", i.e., "-x" options, are processed
during this command line scan. For example, this is when the "-i ini_file_name" program option
is processed.
2. Environment variables, first pass. During this pass, the only keywords whose values are set are
those that may only be specified as environment variables. This includes keywords such as
HOME (for UNIX), HOMEDRIVE and HOMEPATH (for WINDOWS) and PWD.
3. INI file, first pass, if this file exists. During this pass, only unconditional sections are processed.
Generally, the only keywords processed in this pass are: 0.kwds, 0.params, accmd, acvalid, rcmd,
rsdirectory, sysmsg and version (although rcmd and rsdirectory probably should be in conditional
sections scanned during the second pass).
4. Environment variables, second pass. During this pass, only those keywords that may only be set
in global sections of the INI file or as environment variables are processed. This includes
keywords such as MSC_ARCH, MSC_BASE and MSC_VERSD.
5. Nastran command line, second pass. The only general use keywords processed during this
command line scan are: dmparallel, jid, jidpath, jidtype, node, pause, rcf, username, version and
whence. The processing of other command line keywords is deferred until later command line
scans.
This is the time that the user-defined keyword definition files (for both general use and PARAM
keywords), if any, are processed and the keyword specifications defined by these files are added to the
keywords tables. The keywords defined in these files may be used just as internal keywords are used.
(See User-Defined Keywords on page 8.)
6. System RC files, first pass, if these files exist. During this pass, only unconditional sections are
processed.
7. Architecture RC files, first pass, if these files exist. During this pass, only unconditional sections
are processed.
8. Node RC files, first pass, if these files exist. During this pass, only unconditional sections are
processed.
9. User RC files, first pass, if these files exist. During this pass, only unconditional sections are
processed.
10. Local RC files, first pass, if these files exist. During this pass, only unconditional sections are
processed.
11. Environment variables, third pass. During this pass, only "general" user-defined keywords that
have been flagged to be set from environment variables are processed. (This pass will be skipped
if there are no "general" user-defined keywords.)
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14
12. Nastran command line, third pass. Only "general" user-defined keywords are processed during
this command line scan. (This pass will be skipped if there are no "general" user-defined
keywords.)
At this point, all keyword values that can be used in conditional section expressions are known.
13. INI file, second pass, if this file exists and has conditional sections. During this pass, only the
conditional sections are processed.
14. System RC files, second pass, if these files exist and have conditional sections. During this pass,
only the conditional sections are processed.
15. Architecture RC files, second pass, if these files exist and have conditional sections. During this
pass, only the conditional sections are processed.
16. Node RC files, second pass, if these files exist and have conditional sections. During this pass,
17. User RC files, second pass, if these files exists and have conditional sections. During this pass,
18. Local RC files, second pass, if these files exist and have conditional sections and if they are not
ignored. During this pass, only the conditional sections are processed.
19. Environment variables, fourth pass. During this pass, all keywords that may be set from
environment variables and that have not been processed previously are now processed.
20. Nastran command line, fourth pass. All keywords not processed during the previous passes are
now processed. For example, this is when user-defined PARAM keyword specifications are
processed.
At this point, all information necessary to generate the "control file" has been collected. This file is
generated when the "script templates" (see Customizing the Templates on page 66) are processed.
21. NASTRAN, FMS and PARAM statements in the input file.
If duplicate keywords are encountered, the last specification found is the one used. That is, the above list
specifies the precedence order, from lowest precedence (number 1) to highest (number 21). The only
case in which the last keyword specification is not used is when keywords are "locked", i.e., when a
specification of the form
is processed. After this "lock" request is processed, any requests to set keyword, whether from INI
files, RC files, environment variables or command line arguments, are quietly ignored. That is,
processing proceeds as if any keyword specifications specified after the "lock=keyword" request do
not exist. Once a keyword has been "locked, there is no way to "unlock" it. (Note that it is valid to
"lock" the lock keyword itself.)
If duplicate NASTRAN and FMS statements are encountered, they are simply passed on for use in
Nastran analysis processing in the order in which they were encountered.
lock=keyword
Main Index
15
APPENDIX A
Thus, the general rule for resolution is:
Information specified in NASTRAN input data files always takes precedence over any other
values.
Command line parameters have the next highest precedence.
Environment variables associated with keywords and that have non-null values are next.
RC file parameter specifications are next.
INI file parameter specifications are last.
Generally, the only exceptions to this precedence ordering are "general" user-defined keyword
specifications. The command line values take precedence over values specified in unconditional INI file
and RC file sections but have lower precedence than values specified in conditional INI file and RC file
sections. Because the primary purpose for general user-defined keywords is for conditional section
selection, changing a general user-defined keyword in a conditional section may lead to unexpected
results. Such specifications should be used with care. Also, because user-defined PARAM keywords on
the command line are not processed until the last command line scan, PARAM keywords should not be
used in INI file and RC file conditional section expressions since command line specified values will not
be in effect when these expressions are evaluated.
Because PARAM values may be specified either using PARAM statements or using PARAM keywords,
they require further explanation. PARAM statements and PARAM keywords referring to the same
PARAM name are considered equivalent definitions for the PARAM name. As such, the last
specification, regardless of whether it was a PARAM statement or a PARAM keyword, is the one that is
used to establish the value associated with the PARAM name.
Main Index

16
Customizing Command Initialization and Runtime
Configuration Files
Table A-1 lists the keywords that are generally set in the unconditional sections of the command
initialization file.
Most of the command line keywords can be set in any of the RC files. Table A-2 lists keywords that are
generally set in the system, architecture, or node RC files:
Table A-1 Command Initialization File Keywords
Keyword Purpose
0.kwds Alternate name for user-defined keywords definition file.
0.params Alternate name for PARAM keywords definition file
acct Enables job accounting, see Enabling Account ID and Accounting Data on
page 41.
acvalid Activates account ID validation, see Enabling Account ID Validation on
page 41.
MSC_BASE Defines the installation base directory. Normally this is defined as an
environment variable by the prod_ver command.
version Specifies the default version of Nastran to be run.
Table A-2 RC File Keywords
Keyword Preferred RC File Purpose
accmd System Command line to invoke accounting logger
program.
acct System Enables job accounting.
acvalid System Enables account ID (acid) validation.
authorize System Specifies the licensing method.
lock Any Prevent further changes to a keyword's value.
memory Node Specifies a default memory allocation
memorymaximum Node Specifies a maximum "memory" request.
ncmd Architecture Specifies the notify command when
"notify=yes" is set.
news System Controls the display of the news file at the
beginning of the .f06 file.
post Architecture UNIX: Specifies commands to be run after
each job is completed.
Main Index
17
APPENDIX A
ppcdelta Architecture UNIX: Specifies the value that is subtracted
from the "CPU" keyword value to determine
the NQS per-process CPU time limit.
ppmdelta Architecture UNIX: Specifies the value that is added to the
"memory" keyword value to determine the
NQS per-process memory limit.
pre Architecture UNIX: Specifies commands to be run before
each job begins.
prmdelta Architecture UNIX: Specifies the value that is added to the
"ppm" value to determine the NQS per-
request (per-job) memory limit.
qoption Architecture UNIX: Specifies a string of additional
queuing options to be set in the queue
submittal command.
rcmd Any Specifies the remote Nastran command to be
used when "node" is specified. Should be in a
conditional section using "node" in the
conditional expression.
real Node Specifies the "REAL" parameter to limit
virtual memory usage.
rsdirectory Any Specifies the scratch directory to be used
when "node" is specified. Should be in a
conditional section using "node" in the
conditional expression.
scratch Any Specifies the default job status as scratch or
permanent.
sdirectory Node Specifies a default scratch directory.
submit Architecture UNIX: Defines queues and their associated
submittal commands.
sysn Any Specifies system cells. Can also be specified
using the synonym keywords, e.g., buffsize is
equivalent to sys1.
Table A-2 RC File Keywords (continued)
Keyword Preferred RC File Purpose
Main Index

18
Examples
The following (relatively simplistic) examples illustrate how unconditional and conditional sections
could be used.
Example 1:
Assumptions: There are three computer nodes, sysnode1, sysnode2 and sysnode3, that may be accessed.
On sysnode1:
MSC Nastran 2008 and MSC Nastran 2011 are installed:
MSC Nastran 2008 is accessed using "/local/msc/bin/nast2008"
MSC Nastran 2011 is accessed using "/local/msc/bin/nast2011"
The scratch directory is /local/temp
On sysnode2:
Only MSC Nastran 2008 is installed and is accessed using "/local1/msc/bin/nast2008"
The scratch directory is /local1/temp
On sysnode3:
MSC Nastran 2008 and MSC Nastran 2011 are installed:
MSC Nastran 2008 is accessed using "/local2/msc/bin/nast2008"
MSC Nastran 2011 is accessed using "/local2/msc/bin/nast2011"
The scratch directory is /local2/temp
All of this information could be specified in an INI file, identical on all three nodes, as follows:
;
; This is the MSC Nastran Command Initialization File
; The default version is to be set to 2011.
;
version=2011.0
; Define conditional sections giving the appropriate sdir
; values when MSC Nastran is run locally.
[ s.hostname = sysnode1 ]
sdir=/local/temp
sdir=/local1/temp
sdir=/local2/temp
; Define conditional sections giving the appropriate
; remote access keywords when a "node" value,
; requesting remote execution, is specified.
;
Main Index
19
APPENDIX A
[ node = sysnode1 ]
rsdir=/local/temp
< version = 2008.0 >
rcmd=/local/msc/bin/nast2008
< version = 2011.0 >
[ node = sysnode2 ]
rsdir=/local1/temp
< version = 2011.0 >
rcmd=/local1/msc/bin/nast2011
[ node = sysnode3 ]
rsdir=/local2/temp
< version = 2008.0 >
rcmd = /local2/msc/bin/nast2008
< version = 2011.0 >
;
; This is the end of the Command Initialization file
;
Alternatively, the information could be split between an INI file and a system RC file, identical on all
three nodes, as follows:
In the INI file:
;
; This is the MSC Nastran Command Initialization File
; The default version is to be set to 2011.
;
version=2011.0
; Define conditional sections giving the appropriate
; remote access keywords when a "node" value,
; requesting remote execution, is specified.
;
[ node = sysnode1 ]
rsdir=/local/temp
< version = 2008.0 >
< version = 2011.0 >
[ node = sysnode2 ]
rsdir=/local1/temp
< version = 2011.0 >
[ node = sysnode3 ]
rsdir=/local2/temp
< version = 2008.0 >
rcmd = /local2/msc/bin/nast2008
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20
< version = 2011.0 >
;
; This is the end of the Command Initialization file;
In the system RC file, identical on all three nodes:
;
; This is the MSC Nastran system RC file.
;
; Define conditional sections giving the appropriate sdir
; values when MSC Nastran is run locally.
sdir=/local/temp
sdir=/local1/temp
sdir=/local2/temp
;
; This is the end of the system RC file
;
Example 2:
Assumptions: User keywords defining "run type" and "data complexity" are needed and AUTOSPC,
AUTOSPCR, BAILOUT and ERROR PARAM values are to be set based on these keywords.
The nastran.kwds file could be:
; User Keywords
Runtype:{"prelim","development","final"};Analysis stage
Level : number # Data complexity level
;
The nastran.params file could be:
; PARAM keywords
Set_AutoSPC : AutoSPC : {"Yes","No"}
Set_AutoSP_CR : AUTOSPCR : {"yes","no"}
Bailout_Value : bailout : number
Set_Error : Error : number
;
Then, the system RC file could contain:
; RC file
[ runtype = prelim ]
set_autospc = yes
bailout_value = -1
set_error = 0
set_autosp_cr = yes
Main Index
21
APPENDIX A
[ runtype = development ]
set_autospc=yes
bailout_value=0
set_error=-1
[runtype=final]
set_autospc=no
param,bailout,0
param,error,-1
param,autospcr,no
[level < 3]
; basic data complexity parameters
[level >= 3]
<level>8>
; advanced data complexity parameters
<level<=8>
; intermediate data complexity parameters
; End of RC file
Main Index

22
Symbolic Substitution
Introduction
Symbolic Substitution is a capability added to Nastran that allows a user to effectively modify a Nastran
data file using command line and RC file keyword specifications without actually editing the file. This
capability is very similar to environment variable expansion that happens in various command prompt
shells such as the Linux/UNIX Bourne, Korn and C shells and the Windows Command Prompt shell
when scripts are processed. It is also analogous in some ways to the capabilities provided by
programming language preprocessors, for example, the CPP preprocessor used by the various C/C++
compilers. The key feature of symbolic substitution is that these modifications do not affect the actual
data file but present the data read from the data file to the processing program as if it was the modified
data that was being processed.
Generally, symbolic substitution means that a data record is scanned to see if it contains special data
strings (that identify the symbolic variables) that specify symbolic substitution requests. If such
strings are found, the record is modified to replace the special data strings with user-defined substitution
(replacement) strings (the values currently associated with the symbolic variables, i.e., the variable
values) and it is this modified record that is actually processed. This symbolic substitution happens
before any other processing of the record occurs, thus making it transparent to the rest of the program
processing the data record. In the case of Nastran, this symbolic substitution processing will happen
immediately after a record is read from the Nastran data file and before any other processing (with the
possible exception of special processing required to satisfy licensing requirements) is performed.
Simple Examples
Two very simple examples illustrate how this capability could be used in Nastran data files. Note that
the details of the syntax are completely described in the following sections and may be ignored for now.
Also note that the examples do not deal with things such as managing the output from multiple Nastran
runs. These issues, involving, among other techniques, using command line or RC file keywords such
as "out=", "append=" and "old=yes", are beyond the scope of this document.
Example 1:
Suppose you want to make several tests where the thickness of a PSHELL element is to be varied. You
could do this by defining the thickness of the PSHELL element as a "symbolic variable" (identified using
the string "%thickness%"), setting a default value (using the "%defrepsym" statement) and
specifying the desired thickness on the command line (using the "REPSYM=" keyword). A very simple
data file (sym.dat) could be (where most of the BULK entries are in an include file named
"model.bdf", not shown here):
%defrepsym thickness=5.0
SOL 103
CEND
TITLE = 1st perturbation, t = %thickness%
ECHO = NONE
Main Index
23
APPENDIX A
SUBCASE 1
METHOD = 100
SPC = 1
DISP = ALL
BEGIN BULK
EIGRL,100,,,6
PARAM,POST,0
PARAM,GRDPNT,0
$PBEAML Properties
PBEAML 2 1 I
70.0 60.0 60.0 3.3 5. 5.
$
$PSHELL Properties
$
pshell,1,1,%thickness%,1,,1
$
include 'model.bdf'
enddata
If the test is run using the following command line:
nast2008 sym repsym=thickness=1.0 ...
the test will run as if the "TITLE" and "pshell" records are:
TITLE = 1st perturbation, t = 1.0
and
pshell,1,1,1.0,1,,1
If the test is run using the following command line:
nast2008 sym repsym=thickness=3.5 ...
and
pshell,1,1,3.5,1,,1
If the test is run without specifying any REPSYM setting for "thickness", e.g., using the following
command line:
nast2008 sym ...
and
pshell,1,1,5.0,1,,1
Main Index

24
Example 2:
Suppose you have a test that contains two superelements, where the only difference between the data for
each superelement is the area of a PBAR element. Instead of having two different definitions, you could
have a single definition of the data in an include file, where the area of the PBAR is specified as a
symbolic variable. The include file (called "bar.bdf") could be:
%defrepsym area=1.
grid,2,,1.0,0.0,0.0
grid,3,,2.0,0.0,0.0
grid,4,,3.0,0.0,0.0,,123456
cbar,2,2,2,3,0.,1.,0.
cbar,3,2,3,4,0.,1.,0.
pbar,2,2,%area%,1.,1.,1.
mat1,2,1.e7,,.3
and the actual input file could be:
sol 101
cend
title=simple part se
echo=both
subcase 1
load=1
disp=all
elforce=all
begin bulk
grid,1,,0.0,0.0,0.0
grid,2,,1.0,0.0,0.0
cbar,1,1,1,2,0.,1.,0.
pbar,1,1,1.,1.,1.,1.
mat1,1,1.e7,,.3
force,1,1,,1.,1.,1.,1.
$
begin super=1
%setrepsym area=1.
include 'bar.bdf'
$
begin super=2
%setrepsym area=2.
include 'bar.bdf'
enddata
The first "include 'bar.bdf'" statement will be processed as if the pbar record is
pbar,2,2,1.,1.,1.,1.
and the second "include 'bar.bdf'" statement will be processed as if the pbar record is
pbar,2,2,2.,1.,1.,1.
Main Index
25
APPENDIX A
Detailed Specifications
The use of the Symbolic Substitution capability is defined by a number of rules. These rules are
given in the following sections and provide the complete specification. Following the rules, there is
information about requesting report information and about error handling. Finally, there are some (again
simple) examples showing usage.
Symbolic Substitution Rules
The following rules define the symbolic substitution user interface. The descriptions start with the rules
for variable naming, followed by the rules for defining the replacement width information, followed by
the various keywords and statements used to control symbolic substitution.
Variable Naming
The rules for naming symbolic substitution variables are:
Symbolic variable names are not case-sensitive, are a maximum of 32 characters long and may
not contain leading, trailing or embedded blanks or special characters including (_). Variable
names must start with an alphabetic character followed by zero or more alphabetic or numeric
characters. For example:
The variable name "VaRiaBLe1" is the same as "VARIABLE1" and "variable1"
The following variable names are valid:
The following variable names are not valid:
Unless symbolic variable values are quoted, they are not case-sensitive and may not contain
leading, trailing or embedded blanks or percent (''%') characters. The quoting rules are given
below.
abcdef
abc123
Name1
123abc Does not start with an alphabetic character
a bcd Contains an embedded blank
abc& Contains an invalid character ('&')
/def Does not start with an alphabetic character
_abc123 Uses an underscore in the name.
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26
Substitution Field Width Specification
The ability to control the appearance of any symbolic substitution is an important requirement when
generating data for a program such as Nastran. The result of a symbolic substitution request is identified
as a field. Substitution field width information can be taken by default, specified in the data file or
specified using command line and/or RC file keywords. These methods are explained below.
The rules for defining substitution field width information are:
Symbolic variable substitution is, by default, exact. That is, the number of characters occupied
by the symbolic symbol replacement is exactly the same as the replacement value. However,
this default replacement processing can be controlled by specifying the substituted field width,
the field precision and the justification within the field. This information is specified using the
syntax
-w.p
where the -, w and p are all optional and have the following meanings.
The field width specification (w) defines the minimum number of characters the field is to have
as a decimal integer value. If the replacement value has fewer characters than the field width,
it will be padded with spaces on the left (by default) or on the right (if the left justification flag
is specified). If the replacement value has more characters than the field width and if no
precision value was specified, the entire replacement string will be used. A field width value
of 0 (zero) is equivalent to omitting the width specification. Note that a negative width value
will be processed as if the left-justification flag was specified (see below) since a negative
field width is meaningless.
The field precision specification (p) defines the maximum number of characters the field is to
have. The format is a period (.) followed by a decimal integer value. If the replacement value
length exceeds the precision value, only the last p (by default) or the first p (if the left
justification flag is set) characters of the replacement value will be used. A field precision
value of 0 (zero) (or a negative value) is equivalent to omitting the precision specification.
If both field width and field precision are specified and are positive, the precision value cannot
be less than the width value. If it is, it will be reset to the field width.
The - character is the left-justification flag and specifies that the replacement value is to
be left-justified within the field. If this character is omitted, the replacement value will be
right-justified within the field.
For example, the width, precision and justification of a typical field in the Bulk Data portion of a
Nastran data file is:
-8.8
meaning that the field is exactly eight characters wide and that data is to be left-justified within
the field. For a wide-format Bulk Data record, this specification would be:
-16.16
The specification for an exact replacement, i.e., where the replaced field is exactly the size of the
replacement value, is:
0.0
Main Index
27
APPENDIX A
To simplify width specification for Nastran widths, the following (case-insensitive) synonyms
for common widths are available and may be used wherever a width specification can be used:
It is very important to note that there are two distinct portions to a Nastran data file, that part that is before
the first BEGIN statement and that has free format, and that part that is after the first BEGIN statement
(the Bulk Data Section) and often has fixed format fields. Because of this, two different sets of field
width information are maintained for use when field width information is not explicitly specified as part
of a symbolic substitution request, one for use before the first BEGIN statement and one for use after the
first BEGIN statement.
Defining Variable Values and Width Information
Symbol names and associated values and symbol width specifications may be set using keywords on the
command line or in RC files and may be set using special statements in the Nastran data file itself. Each
keyword and statement is explained in detail.
Using Command Line or RC File Keywords
Setting Variable Value Using REPSYM
Symbolic variables and associated values may be set on the Nastran command line or in RC files using
the keyword
repsym=<varname>=<varvalue>
where <varname> specifies the name of the symbolic variable and <varvalue> specifies the value
to be associated with the variable name. For example,
repsym=abc=1.23e-5
Setting Variable Width Information Using REPWIDTH
Symbolic variable substitution default width information may be set on the Nastran command line or in
RC files using the keyword
repwidth=<widthinfo1>,<widthinfo2>
where <widthinfo1> specifies the default width information for the portion of the Nastran data file
before the BEGIN statement and <widthinfo2> specifies the default width information for the
portion of the Nastran data file after the BEGIN statement. Each is specified using a -w.p specification
or as one of the synonyms, as described previously. If either width specification is omitted, the current
default for that section is not changed. Note that the separating comma is required if the Bulk Data
Section width value is to be set, i.e., if <witdhinfo2> is specified. For example,
repwidth=12,bulk
exact is equivalent to 0.0
bulk is equivalent to -8.8
wide is equivalent to -16.16
Main Index

28
specifies that symbolic substitution default width is to be 12.0 before the BEGIN statement is
encountered and -8.8 after the BEGIN statement is encountered and
repwidth=,bulk
specifies that symbolic substitution default width is to be EXACT (or 0.0, the default) before the BEGIN
statement is encountered and -8.8 after the BEGIN statement is encountered.
Just as with other Nastran command line or RC file keywords, the REPSYM and REPWIDTH keywords
are not case-sensitive.
Using Special Statements in a Nastran Data File
Setting Values Using setrepsym
Symbolic variables and associated values may be set in a Nastran data file using the following statement:
%setrepsym <varname>=<varvalue>
where the '%' character must be in column 1 and nothing else may appear in the record except for
optional comments following <varvalue>, where the start of the comment is indicated by a ' $'
(blank, currency symbol). The setrepsym string is not case-sensitive and at least one blank must
separate this string from the <varname> specification. For example,
%setrepsym abc=1.23e-5
Clearing ("Unsetting") Values Using unsetrepsym
A symbolic variable value set using the %setrepsym statement may cleared ("unset") in a Nastran data
file using the following statement:
%unsetrepsym <varname>
where the '%' character must be in column 1 and nothing else may appear in the record except for optional
comments following <varname>, where the start of the comment is indicated by a ' $'. The
unsetrepsym string is not case-sensitive and at least one blank must separate this string from the
<varname> specification. For example, to clear the variable abc, use
%unsetrepsym abc
Setting Default Values Using defrepsym
Default variable values can be set in a Nastran data file using the following statement:
%defrepsym <varname>=<varvalue>
comments following <varvalue>, where the start of the comment is indicated by a ' $'. The
defrepsym string is not case-sensitive and at least one blank must separate this string from the
<varname> specification. The specified value will be used only if a value for <varname> was not
previously set, i.e., by a repsym keyword on the command line or in an RC file or by a %setrepsym
statement previously specified in the data file that has not been unset by a %unsetrepsym statement.
For example,
Main Index
29
APPENDIX A
%defrepsym abc=2.46e+2
Clearing ("Unsetting") Default Values Using undefrepsym
The default value for a symbolic variable may cleared ("unset") in a Nastran data file using the following
statement:
%undefrepsym <varname>
optional comments following <varname>, where the start of the comment is indicated by a ' $'. The
undefrepsym string is not case-sensitive and at least one blank must separate this string from the
<varname> specification. For example, to clear the default value associated with variable abc, use
%undefrepsym abc
Setting Width Information Using setrepwidth
Symbolic variable substitution default width information may be set in a Nastran data file using the
following statement:
%setrepwidth <widthinfo1>,<widthinfo2>
optional comments following <widthinfo2>, where the start of the comment is indicated by a ' $'.
The setrepwidth string is not case-sensitive and at least one blank must separate this string from the
width specifications. There may not be any blanks within the width specifications. <widthinfo1>
specifies the width information for the portion of the Nastran data file before the BEGIN statement and
<widthinfo2> specifies the width information for the portion of the Nastran data file after the BEGIN
statement. Each is specified using a -w.p specification or as one of the synonyms, as described above.
If either width specification is omitted, the current width information for that section is not changed.
Note that the separating comma is required if the Bulk Data Section width value is to be set, i.e., if
<widthinfo2> is specified. For example,
%setrepwidth 0.0,wide
specifies that the symbolic substitution width specification is to be 0.0 before the BEGIN statement and
is to be -16.16 after the BEGIN statement.
Clearing ("Unsetting") Width Information Using unsetrepwidth
Symbolic variable substitution width information set using the %setrepwidth statement may be
cleared in a Nastran data file using the following statement:
%unsetrepwidth
optional comments following the unsetrepwidth string, where the start of the comment is indicated
by a $'. The unsetrepwidth string is not case-sensitive and must be followed by at least one blank.
This statement does not have any arguments and clears both width specifications.
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30
Setting Default Width Information Using defrepwidth
Default symbolic variable substitution width information may be set in a Nastran data file using the
%defrepwidth <widthinfo1>,<widthinfo2>
where the '%' character must be in column 1 and nothing else may appear in the record (except for
optional comments following <widthinfo2>, where the start of the comment is indicated by a ' $'.
The defrepwidth string is not case-sensitive and at least one blank must separate this string from the
width specifications. There may not be any blanks within the width specifications. <widthinfo1>
specifies the default width information for the portion of the Nastran data file before the BEGIN
statement and <widthinfo2> specifies the default width information for the portion of the Nastran
data file after the BEGIN statement. Each is specified using a -w.p specification or as one of the
synonyms, as described above. If either width specification is omitted, the current width information for
that section is not changed. Note that the separating comma is required if the Bulk Data Section width
value is to be set, i.e., if <widthinfo2> is specified. For example,
%defrepwidth 0.0,wide
specifies that default symbolic substitution is to be 0.0 before the BEGIN statement and is to be -
16.16 after the BEGIN statement.
Clearing ("Unsetting") Default Width Information Using undefrepwidth
Default symbolic variable substitution width information may be cleared in a Nastran data file using the
%undefrepwidth
comments following the undefrepwidth string, where the start of the comment is indicated by a $'.
The undefrepwidth string is not case-sensitive and must be followed by at least one blank. This
statement does not have any arguments and clears both default width specifications.
General Information For Special Statements
The %setrepsym, %unsetrepsym, %defrepsym, %undefrepsym, %setrepwidth,
%unsetrepwidth, %defrepwidth and %undefrepwidth statements are deleted, logically, from
the data file and will never be processed by the rest of Nastran unless an error is encountered while they
are being processed. This is discussed in the Error Handling on page 34.
Requesting Symbolic Substitution
Symbolic variable substitution will occur when a string having the form
%<varname>,<widthinfo>:<varvalue>%
is found anywhere within a Nastran data file, except that this string may not span records, i.e., the
substitution request must be on a single record (line). The leading and trailing '%' characters are required
as is the <varname> field. The <widthinfo> field is optional. If it is omitted, the comma (,)
separating it from the <varname> field may be omitted and the rules for determining what width
Main Index
31
APPENDIX A
specification will be used are discussed below. The <varvalue> field is optional and provides a way
of specifying a default value, i.e., the local default value, as described below. If it is omitted, the colon
(:) separating it from the <varname> (or <widthinfo>) field may be omitted. The rules for
determining what symbolic value will be used as the substitution value are discussed below. For
example, if the symbolic variable abc is to be replaced by its current value with no special processing
(or if default width processing is to be used), the substitution request would be:
%abc%
If the symbolic variable is to be replaced by its current value, with the minimum field width to be 12
characters and with the value always to be left-justified, the substitution request would be:
%abc,-12%
Quoting Rules For Symbolic Variable Values
If a symbolic variable value is case-sensitive, if it contains leading, trailing or embedded blanks
or if it contains percent characters, tab characters or other special characters, it must be quoted.
(Note that "escape" sequences such as '\t' or '\n' are not given any special treatment; that is,
they are left as is.)
If the value is part of a repsym keyword command-line specification, the quoting rules of
the command shell being used apply.
If the value is part of a repsym keyword specified in an RC file, it must be enclosed in single
quotes (').
If the value is part of a %setrepsym or %defrepsym record or if it specified as the local
default value in a symbolic substitution request, quoting a symbolic variable value means
enclosing the value in one of the following pairs of characters:
If the first non-blank character encountered in a variable value specification is one of the
starting quote characters, the variable value must be ended by the associated ending quote
character. The actual variable value will be the (possibly null) string between (but not
including) the starting and ending quote characters. If the variable value starts with one of the
starting quote characters, it must be quoted using an alternate quote character.
Starting Quote Character Ending Quote Character
" "
' '
/ /
\ \
[ ]
{ }
( )
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32
General Rules For Symbolic Variable Substitution
Nested symbolic substitution is not supported. Even if the value associated with a symbolic
variable name is, itself, in the format of a symbolic variable substitution request, that request will
be ignored. That is, after symbolic variable substitution has occurred, the substituted string is
not re-scanned.
Determining what symbolic variable value will be used when a variable substitution request is
encountered depends on where the variable value associated with the specified variable name
was set. The first value encountered in the following hierarchy is the value that will be used:
A value specified in the Nastran data file using the %setrepsym statement, if there is one
active, i.e., if it has not been deactivated by a %unsetrepsym statement.
A value specified on the Nastran command line or in RC files using the repsym keyword.
As part of the variable symbol substitution request, using the local default value, if there is
one.
A value specified in the Nastran data file using the %defrepsym statement, if there is one
active, i.e., if it has not been deactivated by a %undefrepsym statement.
This precedence follows normal Nastran ordering, i.e., "the data file wins," while still providing
great flexibility. Also, the ordering of the last two items in this hierarchy allows a user to set all
defaults except for special cases and follows the idea that the specification "closest" to the use is
the one used. If no replacement value is found, the substitution request will be ignored and the
record will be unchanged.
Determining what symbolic width specification will be used when a variable substitution request
is encountered depends on where the width information has been specified and on the part of the
Nastran data file that is being processed, i.e., is the variable substitution request before or after
the first BEGIN statement. The first width specification value encountered in the following
hierarchy is the specification that will be used:
A value specified in the symbolic substitution request itself, i.e., if a <widthinfo> entry
was specified as part of the symbolic substitution request.
A value specified on a %setrepwidth statement corresponding to the current section in the
Nastran data file, if there is one active, i.e., if it has not been deactivated by an
%unsetrepwidth statement.
A value specified on the Nastran command line or in RC files using the repwidth keyword
corresponding to the current section in the Nastran data file.
A value specified in the Nastran data file using the %defrepwidth statement corresponding
to the current section in the Nastran data file, if there is one active, i.e., if it has not been
deactivated by a %undefrepwidth statement.
The program default value of exact (0.0).
This precedence also follows normal Nastran ordering, i.e., "the record wins followed by the
data file wins," while still providing great flexibility.
When running in licensing "Interlock" mode, i.e., in CRC validation mode, the following
restrictions will be in effect. If a restriction is violated, Nastran processing will be terminated.
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APPENDIX A
The %setrepsym, %unsetrepsym, %defrepsym and %undefrepsym statements are
not allowed. Also, specifying a default value within the symbolic substitution request is not
allowed. That is, symbolic variable values may only be set using the repsym keyword on
the command line or in an RC file. Note that the %setrepwidth, %unsetrepwidth,
%defrepwidth and %undefrepwidth statements are allowed.
A maximum of two symbolic substitution specifications are allowed per record and a
maximum of ten symbolic substitution requests are allowed in the entire input data file.
Interlock CRC calculations will be made on the input record before symbolic substitution
occurs. Note that any alterations to the record made as part of the CRC calculation processing
will not affect symbolic substitution processing.
Requesting Symbolic Substitution Replacement Information Using REPINFO
A report of what symbolic substitutions were made is generated at the end of Nastran
processing, with the level of detail in the report controlled by an "information level" flag set
using the
repinfo=n
keyword, where n is an integer number that specifies the level of detail desired. The
meanings the various values for n are as follows:
The report is written to the .f06 file. If there is not enough dynamic memory available to save the
report information, the repinfo level may be reduced. When running in Nastran, the default
is repinfo=1. Otherwise, repinfo=0 will be forced.
Just as with other Nastran command line or RC file keywords, the REPINFO keyword is not
case-sensitive.
0 suppress the report altogether
1 report the various values assigned using the repsym keyword
2 same as 1 except add the various values assigned using the setrepsym statement
3 same as 2 except add the various values assigned using the defprepsym statement
4 same as 3 except add the various values assigned as local default values
5 same as 1 except add all locations where the specified repsym value was used
6 same as 2 and 5 except add all locations where the specified setrepsym value was
used
7 same as 3 and 6 except add all locations where the specified defrepsym value was
used
8 same as 4 and 7 except add all locations where local default values were used.
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34
Error Handling
If an error is encountered processing a setrepsym, unsetrepsym, defrepsym, undefrepsym,
setrepwidth, unsetrewidth, defrepwidth or undefrepwidth statement, a comment
string will be added to the record giving the error information and the record will be passed to Nastran
(or the application reading the data file) as if the record was a normal Nastran data record. If an error is
encountered in a record containing a symbolic substitution request, the symbolic substitution request will
not be processed and, if repinfo=1 or greater is in effect, a message giving information about the error
will be written to the .log file. It is expected that the statements in error will not be valid Nastran
statements and so will be flagged as an error.
Examples
1. The value on an OPTION statement is to be settable using the command line, taking a default
value of OPT1val (case-sensitive) if no command line value is set. The OPTION statement
could be
OPTION=%Option:OPT1val%
and the command line parameter that would be used to set OPTION to a different value, OP2VAL
(not case-sensitive), would be
RepSym=Option=op2val
2. An INCLUDE file contains records that are to be used four times in the Bulk Data Section of a
Nastran data file, with the only difference being the value in Field 3 of one record. The first time
the file is used, this field must contain the value 1.234, the second time this field must contain the
value 4.567 and the last two times this field must contain the value -12.578. In all cases, the
replacement field must be eight characters wide and the data must be left-justified in the field.
Assuming that the symbolic variable is DATFL3 and that the include file name is incl.data, this
could be done as follows:
In the include file, specify the following statements before the record to be modified:
%DefRepSym datfl3=-12.578
then the record to be modified could be specified as follows:
FL1 FL2 %datfl3%FL4 FL5 FL6
and, for completeness, specify the following record after the record to be modified:
%Undefrepsym datfl3
Then the data file would contain:
. . .
%setrepsym DATFL3=1.234
%DefRepWidth ,bulk
include incl.data
. . .
%setrepsym DATFL3=4.567
include incl.data
%Unsetrepsym datfl3
. . .
include incl.data
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35
APPENDIX A
. . .
include incl.data
Main Index

36
Main Index
App. B: Glossary of Terms MSC Nastran 2012 Installation and Operations Guide

B
Glossary of Terms
Main Index

38
3060 A User Fatal Message indicating that authorization to run MSC Nastran
has been denied (see Managing MSC Nastran Licensing on page 31).
6080 A User Warning Message indicating that timing blocks must be generated
for your computer (see Generating a Timing Block for a New Computer
on page 59).
acct MSC accounting file directory, install_dir/acct on UNIX and
install_dir/acct on Windows. Also, the program
(install_dir/prod_ver/arch/acct on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\arch\acct.exe on Windows) that updates the current
months accounting data file. See MSCACT for the program source.
architecture RC
files
The RC files residing in the install_dir/conf/arch directory on UNIX
and in the install_dir\conf\arch directory on Windows. See Command
Initialization and Runtime Configuration Files on page 2 in Appendix A for
information about the names of these files and Table 3-1 for a listing of
architecture names.
archive A test problem library (install_dir/prod_ver/misc/archive on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\misc\archive on Windows) that contains test decks
that are no longer part of either the DEMO or TPL libraries. These files
may be incompatible with MSC.Nastran V70.5 or may use features that
are no longer supported.
ASSIGN A File Management Section (FMS) statement that is used to assign
physical files to DBsets or FORTRAN files.
authorize Command line and RC file keyword that is used to set the authorization
code required to run MSC Nastran.
basename The part of a pathname exclusive of the directory and file type (e.g., the
basename of /temp/myfile.dat. is myfile).
buffer pool A disk cache of GINO blocks.
BUFFPOOL The NASTRAN statement keyword that sets the size of the buffer pool
(see The NASTRAN Statement on page 12).
BUFFSIZE One plus the number of words in a GINO physical record. Also, the
NASTRAN statement keyword that sets the default buffer size (see The
NASTRAN Statement on page 12).
conf The MSC configuration file directory (install_dir/conf on UNIX and
install_dir\conf on Windows) contains the system, architecture, and node
RC files and other site-specific files.
counted license A counted license is a FLEXlm license that limits the number of
concurrent executions of MSC Nastran. Counted licenses always require
a FLEXlm license server.
Main Index
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Appendix B
Glossary of Terms
daemon A UNIX program that runs in the background and provides services to the
operating system and to users. Daemons are generally started when the
system is bootstrapped and terminate when the system shuts down.
dat Default input data file type.
DBALL Default DBALL DBset file type. The DBALL DBset contains your model
and results.
DBL700 Specifies that SOL 700 will use double precision. This keyword is only
used if PATH=3 is specified on the SOL 700 entry and no sol700.pth file
exists. The default is dbl700=no. Note that significant performance
degradation will occur if dbl700=yes is specified.
DBset Database file set.
DDLPRT Utility program that prints the contents of the results database (XDB) data
definition language database (install_dir/prod_ver/arch/dbc.xdb on UNIX
and install_dir\prod_ver\arch\dbc.xdb on Windows) and illustrates the
batch recovery of the data definition language.
DDLQRY Utility program that prints the contents of the results database (XDB) data
definition language database (install_dir/prod_ver/arch/dbc.xdb on UNIX
and install_dir\prod_ver\arch\dbc.xdb on Windows) and illustrates the
interactive recovery of the data definition language.
del Delivery database library,
DEMO The demonstration problem library (install_dir/prod_ver/nast/demo on
UNIX and install_dir\prod_ver\nast\demo on Windows) contains a
selection of MSC Nastran input files that are documented in the MSC
Nastran Demonstration Problem Manual.
DEMO1 Sample program that prints information from a graphics database file.
DEMO2 Sample program that prints information from a graphics database file.
DMAP Direct Matrix Abstraction Program, which is the programming language
of the MSC Nastran solution sequences.
DMP Distributed Memory Parallel. In MSC Nastran, DMP execution is enabled
by the dmparallel keyword.
DMP700 Specifies the number of hosts for an SOL 700 run. This keyword is only
used if PATH=3 is specified on the SOL 700 entry and no sol700.pth file
exists. The default hosts are the same for MSC Nastran.
doc Documentation file directory.
EAG FFIO Engineering Applications Group Flexible File I/O, an asynchronous
database I/O library on linuxipf systems. See the ff_io keyword, (p. 59)
ESTIMATE Utility that estimates memory and disk requirement of a data file and make
suggestions on improving the performance of MSC Nastran.
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40
F04 The F04 file is created by MSC Nastran and contains a module execution
summary as well as a database information summary. The F04 file has the
file type.f04".
F06 The F06 file is created by MSC Nastran and contains the numerical results
of the analysis. The F06 file has the file type .f06".
file locking A mechanism to prevent multiple MSC Nastran jobs from interfering with
one another. For example, two jobs attempting to write to the same DBset
interfere with one another, whereas two jobs reading the delivery database
do not interfere with one another.
file mapping A mechanism to use the systems virtual paging system to access a file.
MSC Nastran can use file mapping to access GINO files. See Table 4-7
for a listing of systems that support file mapping.
FMS File Management Section of the input file, which is used to attach and
initialize DBsets and FORTRAN files.
gentim2 MSC Nastran job that determines the timing constants for your computer.
GINO The MSC Nastran database subsystem.
GINO block A block of data transferred by GINO.
HEATCONV Utility program that converts pre-MSC.Nastran V68 heat-transfer data
files to the MSC.Nastran Version 68 format.
HIPPI High Performance Parallel Interface. An ANSI standard (ANSI X3T9.3
document number X3T9.3/90-043, 1990) interface used in high-
performance environments.
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. A professional
society. The floating point formats and, to a lesser extent, algorithms used
on most MSC Nastran computers are defined by IEEE Standard 754.
IFPBUFF Specifies the physical record size, in words, of MSC Nastran IFPStar
database. The physical I/O size is IFPBUFF-1 words. The maximum value
of IFPBUFF is 65537 words.
INCLUDE A general MSC Nastran input file statement that inserts an external file
into the input file. INCLUDE statements may be nested.
INIT The INIT statement is part of the File Management Section (FMS) and is
used to create a temporary or permanent DBset.
large file A file on a 32-bit system that can be 2 gigabytes or larger. All files on a
64-bit system can be large files. See Table 4-7 for a listing of systems that
support large files.
local RC files The RC files residing in the directory containing the input data file. See
Command Initialization and Runtime Configuration Files on page 2 in
Appendix A for information about the names of these files.
Main Index
41
Appendix B
Glossary of Terms
LOG The LOG file is created by MSC Nastran and contains system information
as well as system error messages. The LOG file has the file type .log.
MASTER Default MASTER DBset file type. The MASTER DBset contains the
names of other database members and indices.
MATTST Sample program that reads the OUTPUT4 matrix files.
mem700 The default memory (in MegaWords) used the dynamic portion of
SOL 700 runs. This keyword is only used if PATH=3 is specified on the
SOL 700 entry and no sol700.pth file exists.
memory Command line keyword that is used to define the amount of memory
allocated for open core.
MPI Message Passing Library. An industry-standard library for message
passing programs.
MPL The module properties list is a table that defines the properties of DMAP
modules.
MSC.ACCESS FORTRAN-callable subroutine library that reads and writes results
database (XDB) files.
MSCACT Utility program that generates accounting reports. The source for this
utility and the accounting file update program are maintained in the same
file (install_dir/prod_ver/util/mscact.c on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\util\mscact.c on Windows).
MSGCMP Utility program that compiles a text file to create a message catalog.
NAO The Network Authorization Option of MSC Nastran. The implementation
in MSC.Nastran Version 70.5 is not compatible with earlier versions of
NAO.
ndb Default neutral-format results database file type.
neu Default neutral-format plot file type. Only created by NEUTRL.
NEUTRL Utility program that converts binary plot (.plt) files to neutral plot (.neu)
files.
node RC files The RC files residing in the install_dir/conf/net/nodename directory on
Unix and install_dir\conf\net\nodename directory on Windows. See
NUSR The node-locked license enforcement of the maximum number of users
concurrently running MSC Nastran. See Enabling Account ID Validation
on page 41 for additional information.
on2 Default neutral-format OUTPUT2 file type.
op2 Default binary-format OUTPUT2 file type.
open core Amount of working memory in words.
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42
OPTCONV Utility program that converts pre-MSC.Nastran V68 optimization and
design-sensitivity data files to the MSC.Nastran Version 68 format.
pch Default punch file type.
PLOTPS Utility program that converts binary (.plt) or neutral (.neu) plot files to
PostScript (.ps) files.
plt Default binary-format plot file type.
ps Default PostScript plot file type.
RC file Runtime configuration file that is used by MSC Nastran to control
execution parameters.
RCOUT2 Utility program that converts a neutral OUTPUT2 (.on2) file to a binary
OUTPUT2 (.op2) file.
RECEIVE Utility program that converts neutral results database (.neu) files to binary
results database (XDB) files.
RFA Rigid-format alter library, install_dir/prod_ver/nast/rfa on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\nast\rfa on Windows. (This directory is now
empty.)
SCR300 Default SCR300 DBset file type.
SCRATCH Default SCRATCH DBset file type.
sdir Keyword that is used to set the directory for temporary scratch files
produced by MSC Nastran.
SMEM Scratch memory area for memory-resident database files.
smemory Command line keyword to set SMEM.
SMP Shared Memory Parallel. In MSC Nastran, SMP execution is enabled by
the parallel keyword.
SMPLR Sample program that reads graphics database files.
SSS Structured Solution Sequences. The delivery database files
(SSS.MASTERA, SSS.MSCSOU, and SSS.MSCOBJ) are found in
install_dir/prod_ver/arch on UNIX and install_dir\prod_ver\arch on
Windows; the source files are found in install_dir/prod_ver/nast/del on
UNIX and install_dir\prod_ver\nast/del on Windows.
SSSALTER Additional alter and error corrections library,
install_dir/prod_ver/misc/sssalter on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\misc\sssalter on Windows.
SUN_IO An asynchronous database read library on Solaris systems. See the
sun_io keyword, (p. 93).
SYS An ASSIGN statement parameter that is used to specify special
machine-dependent information. File locking and file mapping of
database files are controlled through the SYS parameter.
Main Index
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Appendix B
Glossary of Terms
sysfield The global SYS parameter that can be specified on the command line or in
an RC file.
system RC files The RC files residing in the install_dir/conf directory on UNIX and in
the install_dir\conf directory on Windows. See Command Initialization
and Runtime Configuration Files on page 2 in Appendix A for information
about the names of these files.
SYSTEM(x) System cells that are used by MSC Nastran to control analysis parameters.
TABTST Sample program that reads binary-format OUTPUT2 files.
TPL The test problem library (TPL, install_dir/prod_ver/nast/tpl on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\nast\tpl on Windows) contains a general selection of
MSC Nastran input files showing examples of most of the MSC Nastran
capabilities, in general, these files are not documented.
TRANS Utility program that converts binary results database (XDB) files to neutral
results database (.neu) files.
type The part of the pathname exclusive of the directory and basename (e.g., the
file type of myfile.dat is .dat).
UFM A User Fatal Message that describes an error severe enough to terminate
the program.
UFM 3060 A User Fatal Message indicating that authorization to run MSC Nastran
has been denied (see Using the mscinfo Command (UNIX) on page 30).
UIM A User Information Message that provides general information.
uncounted license An uncounted license is a FLEXlm license that allows any number of
concurrent executions of MSC Nastran on a given node. An uncounted
license does not require a FLEXlm license server.
user RC files The RC files residing in the $HOME directory on UNIX and in the
%HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH% directory on Windows. See
util Utility program library, install_dir/prod_ver/util on UNIX and
install_dir\/prod_ver\util on Windows.
UWM A User Warning Message that warns of atypical situations. You must
determine whether a problem exists in the analysis.
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44
UWM 6080 A User Warning Message indicating that timing blocks must be generated
for your computer (see Generating a Timing Block for a New Computer
on page 59).
version A file is versioned by appending a dot followed by a version number to
the files name. The latest version of a file does not have a version number,
all earlier versions do, with the oldest having the smallest version number
and the latest having the highest version number.
XDB The XDB file is created by MSC Nastran and contains results information
for use by various post-processing programs. See the POST parameter
in Parameters on page 691 of the MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide
for further information on generating XDB files. XDB files are not
versioned. The XDB file has the file type .xdb.
Main Index
App. C: Keywords and Environment Variables MSC Nastran 2012 Installation and Operations Guide

C
Keywords and Environment
Variables
Keywords
SYS Parameter Keywords
Other Keywords
System Cell Keyword Mapping

Main Index

46
Keywords
The following is a complete list of the keywords that may be used on the command line or placed into
RC files as appropriate.
Keywords that use yes/no values accept partial specification and case-independent values. For example,
yes may be specified as y, ye, or yes using uppercase or lowercase letters.
acct acct=yes,no Default: No
Indicates solution accounting is to be performed. The new lock keyword
may be used to ensure that all jobs have solution accounting enabled.
For example, the following RC file lines force all jobs to use accounting:
Example: acct=yes
lock=yes
The first line turns accounting on. The second line ensures accounting is on for
every job; see the lock keyword for more details.
acdata acdata=string Default: None
Specifies site defined accounting data. See your system administrator to
determine if and how this keyword is to be used. See Enabling Account ID and
Accounting Data on page 41 for additional information.
acid acid=string Default: None
Specifies the site defined account ID for this job. See your system
administrator to determine if and how this keyword is to be used. See
Enabling Account ID and Accounting Data on page 41 for additional
information.
acvalid acvalid=string Default: None
Note: This keyword can only be set in the command initialization file, see the
sections titled Enabling Account ID and Accounting Data on page 41 and
Specifying Parameters on page 2 in Appendix A.
Indicates account ID validation is to be performed. If acvalid is not defined,
or is null, then no checks are made of the account ID. If acvalid is defined,
then account ID validation is performed. Enabling Account ID and Accounting
Data on page 41 contains more information on defining this keyword.
Main Index
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Appendix C
Keywords and Environment Variables
adapter_use adapter_use=keyword Default: See text
(AIX) Specifies how the nodes adapter is used in the IBM Parallel Environment for
AIX. The legal values are dedicated and shared.
The default is adapter_use=dedicated if euilib=us, otherwise it is
adapter_use=shared.
This keyword may also be set with the MP_ADAPTER_USE environment
variable. The environment variable overrides the RC files; the command line
overrides the environment variable.
after after=time Default: None
(UNIX) Holds the jobs execution until the time specified by time. See the description
of the at command in your system documentation for the format of time.
Example: prod_ver nastran example
after=10:00
The job is held until 10:00 AM.
append append=yes,no Default: No
Combines the F04, F06, and LOG files into a single file after the run completes.
If no is specified, the files are not combined. If yes is specified, the files
are combined into one file with the type .out.
append=yes
The F04, F06, and LOG files are combined into a file named example.out.
application application=NASTRAN
Specifies the application to be run.
Note: This keyword should always be set to NASTRAN, and may only be
specified on the command line or in the command initialization file. See
Specifying Parameters on page 2 in Appendix A.
attdel attdel=number Default: 0 (enables automatic
assigning)
Controls automatic assignment of the delivery database. See the nastran
Command and NASTRAN Statement on page 1 of the MSC Nastran Quick
Reference Guide for more information on this keyword.
autoasgn autoasgn=number Default: 7 (all)
Controls automatic assigning of DBsets. See the nastran Command and
NASTRAN Statement on page 1 of the MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide
for more information on this keyword.
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48
authinfo authinfo=number Default: 0
Specifies the amount of information written to the LOG during authorization
processing. Values greater than zero indicate additional information is to be
written.
authorize authorize=spec Default: UNIX:
install_dir/conf/authorize.d
at
Windows:
install_dir\conf\authoriz.dat
Selects the licensing method for MSC Nastran. The spec can take on several
forms. They include:
authorize=FLEXlm-license-spec
FLEXlm licensing has been selected. Please see
Automatically Starting a FLEXlm Server on page 35 for
information on specifying a FLEXlm license.
authorize=pathname
This specifies either a FLEXlm license file, see the above
reference, or a node-lock authorization code, see Using
Node-locked Authorization Codes on page 40 for
information on specifying a node-locked authorization code.
If only a directory is specified, the program assumes that
either authorize.dat or license.dat is in the specified
directory.
auth=myauthfile
The job runs using the node-locked authorization code in myauthfile.
authqueue authqueue=number Default: 20
All systems: Specifies the time in minutes to wait for a seat to become
available. If the seat becomes available before this specified time period
expires, the job will be allowed to continue. If not, the job will be terminated.
Note: When a job is waiting for a seat to become available, it consumes computer
resources such as memory, swap file space, disk space, etc. Too many jobs
waiting for licenses could have a severe impact on the system.
auth=myauthfile
The job runs using the node-locked authorization code in myauthfile. If a
seat is not available within 20 minutes of the start of the job, the job terminates.
auth=myauthfile
authqueue=10
Main Index
49
Appendix C
The job is run using the node-locked authorization code in myauthfile. If a
seat is not available within 10 minutes of the start of the job, the job will be
terminated.
batch batch=yes,no Default: Yes
(UNIX) Indicates how the job is to be run. If yes is specified, the job is run as a
background process. If no is specified, the job is run in the foreground. If the
aft or queue keywords are specified, the batch keyword is ignored. Jobs
submitted with batch=yes will run under nice(1).
Note: If the job is already running in an NQS or NQE batch job, the default is no.
batch=no
The job is run in the foreground.
bfgs bfgs=number Default: 0
Selects strategies of BFGS updates for the arc-length methods in non-linear
analysis. See the nastran Command and NASTRAN Statement on page 1 of
the MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide for more information on this
keyword.
bpool bpool=value Default: 37
Specifies the number of GINO and/or executive blocks that are placed in buffer
pool.
bpool=100
Space for 100 GINO buffers is reserved for the buffer pool.
buffpool buffpool=number Default: 37
Specifies the number of GINO and/or executive blocks that are placed in the
buffer pool. This keyword is a synonym for the "bpool" keyword. See the
description of the "bpool" keyword for more information.
buffsize buffsize=value Default: 8193
Specifies the physical record size, in words (1 word = 8 bytes when mode = i8;
4 bytes on all others), of all MSC Nastran DBsets except those specified with
INIT statements and MSCOBJ. The physical I/O size is BUFFSIZE-1 words.
If buffsize=estimate is specified, ESTIMATE will be used to determine
value.
See Estimating BUFFSIZE on page 86 for recommended BUFFSIZE values
based on model size.
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50
BUFFSIZE must reflect the maximum BUFFSIZE of all DBsets attached to the
job including the delivery database, which is generated with a BUFFSIZE of
8193. If you generate your own delivery database, this default may be different.
The maximum value of BUFFSIZE is 65537 words. BUFFSIZE must be one
plus a multiple of the disk block size. The disk default block size may be
determined with the system special function described in Using the Help
Facility and Other Special Functions on page 79; specific block size
information may be obtained from your system administrator.
buffsize=16385
The BUFFSIZE is set to 16385 words.
ipfbuff ifpbuff=value Default: 4096
Specifies the physical record size, in words, of MSC Nastran IFPStar database.
The physical I/O size is IFPBUFF-1 words. The maximum value of IFPBUFF
is 65537 words.
Example: prodver nastran example ifpbuff=8193
The IFPBUFF is set to 8193 words.
ccstempdir ccstempdir=directory Default:
(Windows) Specifies a network-visible working (scratch) directory for use by the
Windows CCS Job Scheduler. If this keyword is not specified, a search will be
made for a suitable directory by looking at: the directory specified by the
sdirectory keyword, the directory portion of the location specified by the
out keyword, the current directory, the directory specified by the TEMP
environment variable or the directory specified by the TMP environment
variable. A directory is network-visible if it is specified in UNC format or it if
can be converted to a UNC name. Processing is terminated if none of these
locations specified a network-visible directory and if a suitable directory was
not specified using this ccstempdir keyword.
config config=number Default: Computer dependent
Specifies the configuration (CONFIG) number used by MSC Nastran to select
timing constants. You can change this value to select the timing constants of a
different computer model. A configuration number of zero is considered
undefined by the nastran command. See Defining a Computer Model Name
and CONFIG Number on page 58 and Generating a Timing Block for a New
Computer on page 59 for additional information.
constitle constitle=yes, no Default: Yes
(Windows) Specifies whether or not the console title bar is to be modified to have the job
identification. This keyword is only applicable to Windows systems.
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Appendix C
cputime cputime=cputime Default: None
(UNIX)
Note: The following capability is dependent upon the queue submission commands
defined by the submit keyword and your queuing system. The capability or
examples may not work on your system.
Specifies the maximum amount of CPU time that the complete job is permitted
to use when the queue keyword is used. This time includes the execution of
the driver program, the MSC Nastran executable, plus any commands
specified by the pre and post keywords. See your systems queuing
documentation for the format of cputime.
The value can be specified as either hours:minutes:seconds,
minutes:seconds, or seconds; it will always be converted to seconds by the
nastran command.
queue=small cputime=60
This example defines the maximum CPU time for the complete job as 60
seconds.
queue=small cpu=1:15:0
queue=small cpu=75:0
queue=small cpu=4500
These examples all define the maximum CPU time for the complete job as one
hour and fifteen minutes.
cpu_use cpu_use=keyword Default: See text
(AIX) Specifies how the nodes CPU is used in the IBM Parallel Environment for
AIX. The legal values are unique and multiple.
The default is cpu_use=unique if euilib=us, otherwise it is
cpu_use=multiple.
This keyword may also be set with the MP_CPU_USE environment variable.
The environment variable overrides the RC files; the command line overrides
the environment variable.
cpyinput cpyinput=0,1 Default: 0
Indicates the input data file is to be copied to a temporary file before
processing. Setting cpyinput=1 will emulate the old MSC Nastran behavior of
copying the file, this will consume additional time and disk resources.
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52
dballco dballco=value Default: 1
Allows you to scale DBALL estimates. This scale factor is applied before the
"dballmin" value, that provides a lower bound for DBALL estimates.
Example: prod_ver estimate example
dballco=2
This will double the DBALL disk estimate and then apply the "dballmin"
lower bound.
dballco=0.5
This will halve the DBALL disk estimate. An estimate less than than the lower
bound specified by "dballmin" will be set to the lower bound.
dballmin dballmin=value Default: 1mb
Allows you to define the lower bound for all DBALL estimates. This bound is
applied after the "dballco" value, that multiplies the actual estimate by a
dballmin=2mb
This will set the minimum DBALL disk estimate to 2 MB.
dbs dbs=pathname Default: .
Creates database files (see Table 4-7) using an alternate file prefix. If dbs is
not specified, database files are created in the current directory using the
basename of the input data file as the prefix. If the dbs value is a directory,
database files are created in the specified directory using the basename of the
input data file as the filename.
Note: If dbs is specified and scratch=yes is specified, a warning will be issued
and scratch=no assumed.
In the following examples, assume the current directory includes sub-
directories mydir and other, and that an example.dat exists in both the
current directory and other. That is, ./example.dat, ./mydir, ./other, and
./other/example.dat exist on UNIX; and .\example.dat, .\mydir, .\other, and
.\other\example.dat exist on Windows.
Database files are created in the current directory with the name example,
e.g., ./example.DBALL on UNIX; and .\example.DBALL on Windows.
Example: prod_ver nastran
other/example
Database files are created in the other directory with the name example,
e.g., ../other/example.DBALL on UNIX and .\other\example.DBALL on
Windows.
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Appendix C
dbs=myfile
Database files are created in the current directory with the name myfile, e.g.,
./myfile.DBALL on UNIX and .\myfile.DBALL on Windows.
dbs=mydir
Database files are created in the mydir directory with the name example,
e.g., ./mydir/example.DBALL on UNIX and .\mydir\example.DBALL on
Windows.
dbs=mydir/myfile
Database files are created in the mydir directory with the name myfile, e.g.,
./mydir/myfile.DBALL on UNIX and .\mydir\myfile.DBALL on Windows.
dmp=4 host=a:b:c:d
dbs=/aa:/bb:/cc:/dd
This example will set the dbs directory to /aa on host a, /bb on host b,
/cc on host c, and finally /dd on host d.
Note: The use of distinct per-task database directories can have a significant impact
on elapsed time performance of DMP jobs on SMP and NUMA systems.
dbverchk dbverchk=0, 1 Default: 0 (check is performed)
Specifies whether or not database version checking is to be skipped. See the
nastran Command and NASTRAN Statement on page 1 of the MSC Nastran
Quick Reference Guide for more information on this keyword.
delete delete=yes, no, all, jid, list Default: No
Note: This keyword is only intended to be used when MSC Nastran is running in
server mode or is embedded within an other application. The deletion occurs
before the post commands are run.
Unconditionally delete files after an MSC Nastran job completes. Specifying
"delete=yes" will delete the F04, F06 and LOG files when the job completes;
"delete=all" will delete the F04, F06, LOG, NDB, OP2, PCH, PLT and XDB
files when the job completes. You can also specify a list of file types, e.g.,
"delete=f04,log,plt" will only delete the F04, LOG and PLT files. Note that,
on UNIX systems, this list of file types is case-sensitive. That is,
"delete=master" will delete files with an extension of "master" but not files
with an extension of "MASTER" and "delete=MASTER" will delete files with
an extension of "MASTER" but not files with an extension of "master".
delete=op2,plt
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54
After the MSC Nastran job has completed, the "example.op2" and
"example.plt" files will be unconditionally deleted. These files are normally
kept if they are not empty.
delete=plt,MASTER,DBALL
After the MSC Nastran job has completed, the "example.plt",
"example.MASTER" and "example.DBALL" files will be unconditionally
deleted. Normally, the "example.plt" file will kept if it is not empty and the
"example.MASTER" and "example.DBALL" files are kept unless
"scratch=yes" was specified.
delivery delivery=pathname Default: MSCDEF
Specifies an alternate delivery database option. See Creating and Attaching
Alternate Delivery Databases on page 186 for further information on alternate
delivery databases.
The special pathname MSCDEF indicates the standard MSC Nastran
delivery database.
del=mysss
The job runs using a solution sequence from the delivery database
mysss.MASTERA.
diag diag=flag,flag,... Default: None
Sets MSC Nastran diagnostics. This keyword may also be set with the DIAG
Executive Control Statement. See DIAG on page 113 of the MSC Nastran
Quick Reference Guide for information on the default value and legal values
for this keyword. The diagnostics set using this keyword are in addition to any
diagnostics set with the DIAG statement in the input file.
diag=5
The MSC Nastran job is run with DIAG 5 set.
diaga diaga=number Default: None
Set MSC Nastran diagnostic flags 1-32. The value specified over-rides any
previous "diag=n" values where n is in the range 1 to 32. These diagnostics are
set in addition to any diagnostics set via the Executive Control "DIAG"
statement in the input data file. See the nastran Command and NASTRAN
Statement on page 1 of the MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide for more
information on this keyword.
Main Index
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Appendix C
diagb diagb=number Default: None
Set MSC Nastran diagnostic flags 33-64. The value specified over-rides any
previous "diag=n" values where n is in the range 33 to 64. These diagnostics
are set in addition to any diagnostics set via the Executive Control "DIAG"
statement in the input data file. See the nastran Command and NASTRAN
disksave disksave=number Default: 0 (no save)
Specifies Lanczos High Performance Option controlling whether or not the
matrix/vector multiply is saved in a scratch file. See the nastran Command
and NASTRAN Statement on page 1 of the MSC Nastran Quick Reference
Guide for more information on this keyword.
display display=display_name Default: Current display
(UNIX) Specifies a display for XMONAST. This keyword may also be set with the
DISPLAY environment variable. The environment variable overrides the RC
files; the command line overrides the environment variable.
distort distort=number Default: 0 (terminate run)
Specifies element distortion fatal termination override. Applies to all
p-elements and the TETRA h-elements. See the nastran Command and
dmparallel dmparallel=number Default: 0
(See Table 5-3) Specifies the number of tasks for a Distributed Memory Parallel (DMP)
analysis. This value may only be set on the command line.
The value must be null or zero to cancel DMP processing, or a number greater
than zero to enable DMP processing.
See Running Distributed Memory Parallel (DMP) Jobs on page 141 for
additional information.
dmp=4
The job is run with four DMP tasks.
dskco dskco=value Default: 1
Allows you to define a factor to scale total disk estimates. This scale factor is
applied before the "dskmin" value, that provides a lower bound for total disk
estimates.
dskco=2
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56
This doubles the total disk estimate and then applies the "dskmin" lower
bound.
dskco=0.5
This will halve the total disk estimate. An estimate less than the lower bound
specified by "dskmin" will be set to the lower bound.
dskmin dskmin=value Default: 1mb
Allows you to define the lower bound for all total disk estimates. This bound
is applied after the "dskco" value, that multiplies the actual estimate by a
dskmin=2mb
This will set the minimum total disk estimate to 2 MB.
euidevice euidevice=device-name Default: css0
(AIX) Specifies the communications adapter to use in the IBM Parallel Environment
for AIX. This keyword is used when euilib=ip has been specified. The
specified device must exist as a character special device in /dev.
The default is euidevice=css0.
This keyword may also be set with the MP_EUIDEVICE environment
euilib euidevice=us,ip Default: us
(AIX) Specifies the CSS library implementation to use in the IBM Parallel
Environment for AIX. Setting euilib=us will select the User Space (US)
CSS; euilib=ip will select the Internet Protocol (IP) CSS.
The default is euidevice=css0.
This keyword may also be set with the MP_EUILIB environment variable. The
environment variable overrides the RC files; the command line overrides the
environment variable.
executable executable=pathname Default: Computer dependent
Specifies the name of an alternate solver executable. This keyword overrides
all architecture and processor selection logic. If a directory is not specified by
pathname and the file does not exist in the current directory, the default
architecture directory is assumed.
exe=analysis.um
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Appendix C
The job runs using the executable analysis.um. Since a directory was not
specified, this file must exist in either the current directory or
install_dir/prod_ver/arch on UNIX or install_dir\prod_ver\arch on Windows.
expjid expjid=no, yes, auto, pathname Default: Auto
Specifies whether or not the input file is to be "expanded" or not, that is,
whether or not the input file is to be read and all "include" files processed. If
"expjid=no" is specified, the input file will be used directly.
If "expjid=yes" is specified, the input file will be expanded and stored in the
location specified by "out", with an extension of "exp" added.
If "expjid=pathname" is specified, the input file will be expanded and stored
in the location specified by pathname. If pathname specifies a directory, the
expanded file will be stored using the base name of the input file, with an
extension of "exp" added. If pathname specifies a file name without an
extension, and extension of "exp" will be added.
If "expjid=auto" is specified (or taken by default):
If "node" is specified, the input file will be expanded only if it is not
visible from the remote node.
If "node" is not specified, the input file will not be expanded, i.e.,
processing will be as if "expjid=no" was specified.
If the input file is expanded:
If "node" is specified, the expanded file will be copied (if necessary) to
the remote node for processing and will be deleted from both the
remote and local nodes at the completion of processing.
If "node" is not specified, processing will terminate without actually
invoking the MSC Nastran analysis program and without storing any
other files.
extdefault extdefault=logname1(ext1),logname2(ext2),... Default: None
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58
Changes the default extension(s) associated with the specified logical name(s).
The logical name (lognamei) specification is case-insensitive. For
UNIX/Linux systems, the extension (exti) is casesensitive; for Windows
systems, it is not. This keyword may be specified as often as necessary and the
values will be comma-separated and appended. If the same logical name is
specified more than once, the extension in the last specification will be the one
used.
Example: extdefault=plot(myplot),punch(mypunch)
changes the default extension assigned to logical name PLOT from "plt" to
"myplot" and the default extension assigned to logical name PUNCH from
"pch" to "mypunch".
Restrictions:
1. Only FORTRAN files identified as "Assignable" may have their
default extension changed . See Table 2-1 in the MSC.Nastran Quick
Reference Guide, Volume 1.
2. The extension may not be one of the reserved extensions. These
reserved extensions are: f06, f04, log, MASTER, DBALL, OBJSCR,
SCRATCH and SCR300.
3. Extensions must be from one- to eight-characters long.
f04 f04=number Default: 4
Specifies FORTRAN unit number for Execution Summary Table. See the
f06 f06=number Default: 6
Specifies FORTRAN unit number for standard output file. See the nastran
fastio fastio=number Default: 0 (UNPACK/PACK)
Specifies Lanczos High Performance Option controlling input/output in
orthogonalization/normalization routines. See the nastran Command and
fbsmem fbsmem=number Default: See the MSC Nastran Quick
Reference Guide.
Reserves memory for faster solution of the Lanczos method of eigenvalue
extraction. This keyword may also be set with the sys146 command line
keyword. See the MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide for information on the
default value and legal values for this keyword.
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Appendix C
fbsopt fbsopt=number Default: See the MSC Nastran Quick
Reference Guide.
Selects the forward-backward substitution methods. This keyword may also be
set with the sys70 command line keyword. See the MSC Nastran Quick
Reference Guide for information on the default value and legal values for this
keyword.
ff_io ff_io=yes,no,append Default: Yes
Indicates EAG FFIO is to be enabled. EAG FFIO can provide a substantial
elapsed-time performance increase.
If ff_io=yes is set and ff_io_opts is not set, a default value for the
FF_IO_OPTS environment variable will be determined. This value will:
include both the default permanent and scratch DBsets; use the cache size
specified by the ff_io_cachesize keyword; consider the device geometries of
the disks containing the dbs and sdirectory directories.
If ff_io=append is set, the calculated FF_IO_OPTS value will be appended
to the users FF_IO_OPTS value.
If ff_io=no is specified, any values for FF_IO_OPTS and
FF_IO_DEFAULTS will be suppressed, and EAG FFIO will be disabled.
ff_io_cachesize ff_io_cachesize=size Default: 1MW
(SGI/Altix -
Linux/IPF)
Specifies the size of the EAG FFIO cache only if ff_io=yes is set and neither
the ff_io_opts keyword nor the FF_IO_OPTS environment variable is set.
This value will be added to the prm and ppm values.
The minimum cache size is 512 000 words.
The size is specified as a memory size, see Specifying Memory Sizes on
page 82.
ff_io=yes
ff_io_cachesize=2mw
The job is run with a 2 MW EAG FFIO cache.
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ff_io_defaults ff_io_defaults=string Default: None
(SGI/Altix -
Linux/IPF)
Specifies the EAG FFIO default options to be used. This value must be a valid
FFIO specification string; no error checking is performed before MSC Nastran
starts.
This keyword may also be set by the FF_IO_DEFAULTS environment
variable. The environment variable overrides the RC files, and the command
line overrides the environment variable.
ff_io_opts ff_io_opts=string Default: See ff_io
(SGI/Altix -
Linux/IPF)
Note: Because of the difficulty in setting the FF_IO_OPTS value, especially the
striping partitions, you are strongly urged to remove any FF_IO_OPTS
settings you may have been using.
Specifies the EAG FFIO options to be used. This value must be a valid
EAG FFIO specification string; no error checking is performed before
MSC Nastran starts.
This keyword may also be set by the FF_IO_OPTS environment variable. The
environment variable overrides the RC files, and the command line overrides
frqseq frseq=number Default: 0 (equal segments)
Specifies Lanczos High Performance Option controlling exponent for rational
function for segment boundaries. See the nastran Command and NASTRAN
gmconn gmconn=pathname Default: None
Specifies the name of the external evaluator connection file. External
geometric and bar or beam element evaluators may be specified. See the
MSC Nastran Version 69 Release Guide for additional information on external
bar or beam elements. Also, see Using BEAMSERV on page 240 for
information on running an MSC Nastran job using a beam server.
gmconn=mybeamserver
The job is run with the external evaluators specified in mybeamserver.
gpuid gpuid=id,id or gpuid=id:id Default: none
id: the ID of a licensed GPGPU device to be used in the analysis. Multiple IDs
may be assigned to Nastran distributed memory processor (DMP) runs.
Separate a list of IDs with a comma or a colon. Each DMP process will be
assigned a GPU ID in round robin fashion.
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Appendix C
gputhresh gputhresh=value Default 16000
value: an integer representing the minimum threshold for GPGPU computing
in the MSCLDL multi-frontal sparse factorization. If the product of the rank
size and the front size of each front is smaller than value, the rank update of the
front is processed on the CPU. Otherwise, the GPGPU device would be used
for the rank update of the front. This keyword may also be set with the
"sys647" command line keyword.
hicore hicore=memory_siz
e
Default: Dependent on "memory" and other
keywords
Specifies maximum working memory. See the nastran Command and
hostovercommit hostovercommit=y
es,no
Default: No
Allows this job to assign more tasks to a host than processors. This does not
prevent other MSC Nastran jobs or users from using the processors. See also
the hosts keyword below.
If hostovercommit=no is specified, at most one task will be assigned for each
processor on the host, i.e., a four processor system can only have four tasks
assigned.
If hostovercommit=yes is specified, tasks are assigned to hosts in a round-
robin order until all tasks are assigned, without regard to the number of
processors on the host.
Note: Assigning more tasks to a host than it has processors will impact the elapsed-
time performance of your DMP job.
In the following examples, assume that host1 and host2 each have two
processors.
Example: prod_ver nastran example dmp=6
hosts=host1:host2 hostovercommit=no
The job will not be started because a total of only four processors are available
on host1 and host.
hosts=host1:host2 hostovercommit=yes
The job will be allowed to start, with three tasks each assigned to host1 and
host2.
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hosts hosts=host:host:...
hosts=host;host;...
hosts=filename
Default: See text
Defines the list of candidate hosts to be used for a DMP analysis. This list is
scanned in a round-robin order until all tasks have been assigned to a host. If
hostovercommit=no is specified, at most one task will be assigned for each
processor on the host, i.e., a four processor system can only have four tasks
assigned.
Multiple hosts are specified in the standard manner for the PATH environment
variable, that is hosts=host1:host2:... on UNIX and hosts=host1;host2;...
on Windows.
The default is the current system.
In the following examples, assume that the current host, host1, and host2 each
have two processors.
The job will be run on the current host.
hosts=host1:host2
The first and third tasks will be assigned to host1, the second task will be
assigned to host2.
hosts=myhostfile
The file ./myhostfile on UNIX and .\myhostfile on Windows will be read to
determine the list of hosts to use.
hpio_param hpio_param=string Default: None
(Linux IPF) Specifies the HPIO control string. The control string is composed of one or
more filename-options pairs of the form:
file_template (p1:p2:p3:p4:p5:p6:p7)
where:
file_template Blank separated list of filename templates, there is no
default. Examples are *DBALL to match all files
ending in DBALL and *DBALL *SCR* to match
all files ending in DBALL and all files with SCR
anywhere in the name.
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Appendix C
p1 Number of cache pages for each file; the default is 5.
p2 The size of each cache page; the default is 8m or 8
MB. This value is the number of bytes, or a number
followed by k for KB, or m for MB. If no unit is
supplied, the default is k for KB.
p3 The maximum number of cache pages to read ahead.
The default and minimum is 1. This value must be less
than p1. A rule of thumb is .
p4 nolog or log, the default is nolog. Note, the log
option is intended for tuning and debugging purposes
only, it can generate large amounts of output.
p5 XMU cache working directory, there is no default. The
file system containing this directory must be an SFS/H
file system.
p6 Number of XMU cache pages, the default is 5. This
value must be greater than 0 if p5 is specified.
p7 Number of buffers for XMU cache access, the default is
2.
Note: If invalid XMU fields are specified, a message will be printed in the LOG file
and will continue without using HPIO.
The additional main memory consumed by the HPIO facility is:
bytes
without the XMU, or
bytes
with the XMU, where is the number of files matched by file_template.
The space on the XMU consumed by the HPIO facility is
bytes
hpio_param=*SCR* (9::1)
p3 0.5 p1 <
p1 1 + ( ) p2 n
f i l es

p1 1 p7 2 + + + ( ) p2 n
f i l es

n
f i l es
p6 p2
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64
The job is run with HPIO enabled for all files with SCR in their name, e.g.,
sdir/example.SCRATCH and sdir/example.SCR300. HPIO will allocate ten
cache pages of 8 MB per page per file, the cache will read ahead one
page . Assuming no other files use HPIO, i.e., no other filenames
used by the job match the template *SCR*, an additional 160 MB of
memory will be required by this job.
hyperthreads hyperthreads=yes,n
o
Default: Yes
(Windows) Species whether or not Intel HyperThreads logical processors are to be used
or not. This keyword is ignored unless HyperThreading is enabled (in the
BIOS) and is supported by the operating system. Currently, only WindowsXP
Professional and later systems support the full capabilities of HyperThreading,
although Windows 2003 Server will utilize HyperThreading logical
processors. Normally, "hyperthreads=no" should only be used on systems
where multiple MSC Nastran jobs are run concurrently or where "parallel=2"
is specified for a single MSC Nastran job. For those systems, it may be useful
to specify the "hyperthreads=no" keyword in one of the System RC Files or in
one of the Node RC Files.
ishellext ishellext=value,value,... Default: See text.
Defines command processor associations for ISHELL executables. Each value is
specified as file-type=processor where processor is the executable used by
MSC Nastran to execute an ISHELL program with the specified file-type. See
Running an ISHELL Program on page 178 for information on using an
ISHELL program and the default list of processors.
Specify two consecutive quotes, e.g., ishellext=ksh= to specify a null
processor, that is, to directly execute the ISHELL program.
Note: You will need protect the quotes from the shell if specified on the command line.
Specify a null file-type to define a processor for files without a file type.
Specify .='' to specify a null file-type and a null processor.
Specifying a file-type already defined in the table will replace the previous entry;
specifying a file-type not yet defined in the table will append the new entry to the
end of the table, that is, it will be processed last.
p1 9 = ( )
p3 1 = ( )
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Appendix C
Note: On Windows, all executable files must have a non-null file-type. This is why
TPLDIR:QAISHELL executable cannot be used on Windows, but
TPLDIR:qaishell.pl can.
On Windows, it may be necessary to define CMD.EXE as the processor for
certain .EXE files, e.g., 16-bit compiled Basic program. This can be done with
ishellext=exe=cmd
Up to twenty associations can be defined.
This keyword may also be set with the MSC_ISHELLEXT environment variable.
The environment variable overrides the RC files; the command line overrides the
ishellext=tcl=wish,sh=ksh
This example will add one association and replace another. If the ISHELL
program name exists with the file type .tcl, the wish executable will be used;
if the ISHELL program name exists with the file type .sh, the ksh executable
will be used. Since neither processor specification included a pathname
component, the system PATH will be searched for the executables.
ishellpath ishellpath=value:value:..
ishellpath=value;value;..
Default: See text.
Defines a list of directories to search for the ISHELL program if a suitable
ISHELL program doesnt exist in the current working directory. If this list is
exhausted before finding a suitable ISHELL program, the standard PATH is
searched. Multiple paths are specified in the standard manner, that is
ishellpath=/dir1:/dir2:... on UNIX and ishellpath=\dir1;\dir2;... on
Windows.
If you have not set a value for ishellpath, the value will be set to the directory
containing the input data file, this automatically handles the common case where
the ISHELL program is located in the same directory as the input data file
referencing it.
This keyword may also be set with the MSC_ISHELLPATH environment
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Example: prod_ver nastran
TPLDIR:qaishell
Assuming no RC file set ishellpath and the environment variable
MSC_ISHELLPATH was not defined, the ishellpath value will be set to the
directory referenced by TPLDIR:. MSC Nastran will attempt to locate the
ISHELL program in the current working directory, the TPL directory, or in the
PATH.
ishellpath=bin
This example assumes either the current working directory or the bin
subdirectory contains the ISHELL program
iter iter=yes, no Default: No (do not execute iterative
solver)
Controls execution of iterative solver. See the nastran Command and
NASTRAN Statement on page 1 of the MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide for
more information on this keyword.
jid jid=pathname Default: None
Specify the name of the input data file. An input file must be defined on the
command line. Any command line argument that does not have a keyword is
assumed to be the input file; only the last filename is used.
Example: prod_ver nastran this that
example
The input file example.dat is used; the tokens this and that are ignored.
Note: If the input file is specified as example and the files example.dat and
example both exist, the file example.dat will be chosen. In fact, it is
impossible to use a file named example as the input data file if a file named
example.dat exists.
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Appendix C
jidpath jidpath=path-spec Default: None
Specify a list of directories to search if the input data file or any INCLUDE file
does not specify a pathname component and does not exist in the current
directory. One or more of these directories may include a "wildcard"
specification, as described below, requesting sub-directory searching. On
UNIX, the directory level separator character is slash ("/"). On Windows , the
directory level separator character can be slash ("/") or back-slash ("\").
This keyword may also be set by the MSC_JIDPATH environment variable. The
environment variable overrides the RC files, and the command line overrides the
This keyword may not be specified in a conditional section of an RC file.
It is very important to note that the directory list specified by this keyword is not
cumulative. That is, the directory list specified by this keyword completely
replaces the directory list specified by a previous instance of this keyword.
However, see the description below about environment variable replacement for
an example of how a cumulative definition could be specified.
UNIX example: prod_ver nastran example
jidpath=$HOME
Windows Example: prod_ver nastran example
jidpath=%HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%
These will find the file example.dat or example if it is located in either the
current working directory or your home directory.
Multiple directories are specified using the standard syntax for the PATH
Sub-directory searching is requested by specifying the "wildcard" character
("*") as the last directory component of a search path directory. If sub-directory
searching is requested, the directory specification up to (but not including) the
wildcard specification and all of its sub-directories will be searched for the input
data file. Note: If there are multiple files in the sub-directories with the same
filename, it is unpredictable which file will be located.
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Notes: On UNIX, the "tilde" capability is supported. That is, if a directory in the list
starts with a tilde ("~"), it will be replaced with the home directory of the current
user if the tilde is the only character in the directory or if the tilde is followed by
a "/". If the tilde is followed by a character string, i.e., has the form "~name",
the entire "~name" specification be replaced by the home directory of user
"name". If the home directory information cannot be determined, the directory
will be skipped.
On UNIX, jidpath specifications on the command line that include any sub-
directory searching requests should be enclosed in quotes to prevent the Shell
from expanding the wildcard character. Quoting generally is not required for
Windows.
For example:
jidpath=/models/a:/models/b
jidpath=\models\a;\models\b
If sub-directory searching is to be enabled for the second directory, the
specification could be:
jidpath="/models/a:/models/b/
*"
jidpath=\models\a;\models\b\*
Your specification of this value in RC files can include environment variable
references. On UNIX, use the standard shell $name or ${name} syntax; on
Windows use the standard %name% syntax. This method, for example, could
be used to implement a "cumulative" search path specification
For example, if the current keyword value (e.g., "/new/path") is to be added
to the search path prior to the previous value, on UNIX, the keyword could be
specified as:
jidpath=/new/path:$MSC_JIDPATH
and if it is to be added at the end of the previous value, on Windows, the keyword
could be specified as:
jidpath=%MSC_JIDPATH%;/new/path
jidtype jidtype=file-type Default: dat
Specify an alternate default file-type of the input data file and any INCLUDE
files.
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Appendix C
jidtype=bdf
This example will set the default file type to bdf, i.e., the nastran command will
look first for a file named example.bdf, and if that is not found for the file
example; if neither file is found, an error will be reported.
If you have not defined a value for the jidtype keyword, the nastran command
will set the keyword to the actual file type of the input data file.
Example: prod_ver nastran example.bdf
The nastran command looks for example.bdf.dat, if that file does not exist, it
then looks for example.bdf. Assuming that file exists, and no other value for
jidtype has been defined, the nastran command sets jidtype=bdf.
ldqrkd ldqrkd=number Default: 0 (Version 68+ method)
Selects the differential method for CQUAD4 and CTRIA3 elements. See the
locbulk locbulk=number Default: 0 (RESTART FMS statement)
Specifies that special Bulk Data processing is in effect. See the nastran
lock lock=keyword Default: None
The lock keyword can be used by a site or a user to prevent modification of a
keywords value.
For example, the following RC file lines will force all jobs to use accounting by
setting the acct keyword on and then preventing the keyword from being
changed later in an RC file, or on the command line:
Example: acct=yes
lock=acct
Once these lines are read, any attempt to set the acct keyword later in the same
RC file, in an RC file read after this file, or on the command line will be silently
ignored. See RC File Keywords on page 16 in Appendix A for information on
RC file and command line processing.
The lock keyword may appear anywhere a keyword is accepted. The lock
keyword itself can be locked with lock=lock.
Example: authorize=license-spec
lock=authorize
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70
Once these lines are read, any attempt to set the authorize keyword later in the
same RC file, in an RC file read after this file, in the environment via
MSC_LICENSE_FILE or LM_LICENSE_FILE, or on the command line
will be silently ignored.
lsymbol lsymbol=name=string Default: None
This keyword has the same general function and syntax as the "symbol" keyword
except that it defines a "local" symbolic (or logical) name. Symbols defined
using this keyword will not be passed to remote hosts, i.e., to hosts specified by
the "node" keyword. When the "node" keyword is not specified, this keyword is
synonymous with the "symbol" keyword.
massbuf massbuf=number Default: See the MSC Nastran Quick
Reference Guide.
Sets half the number of buffers to set aside for storing the mass matrix in
memory. This keyword may also be set with the sys199" command line
keyword. See the MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide for information on the
default value and legal values for this keyword.
maxnode maxnode=number Default: Value of dmparallel parameter
(AIX) Specifies the maximum number of hosts to be used when a pool request is being
used. It is required if you want more than one DMP task to be assigned to a single
host in pool. The default pool processing will only assign one DMP task to each
host.
maxlines maxlines=number Default: 999999999
Specifies the maximum number of output lines. See the nastran Command and
NASTRAN Statement on page 1 of the MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide for
more information on this keyword.
memmin memmin=value Default: 16mb
Allows you to define the lower bound for all memory estimates. This bound is
applied after the "memco" value, that multiplies the actual estimate by a
memmin=8mb
This will set the minimum memory estimate to 8 MB.
This keyword may also be set with the MP_NODES environment variable. The
environment variable overrides the RC files; the command line overrides the
environmental variable.
memory memory=size Default: estimate
Note: See Determining Resource Requirements on page 85 for information on
estimating a jobs memory requirements.
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Appendix C
Specifies the amount of open core memory to allocate. If memory=estimate is
specified, ESTIMATE will be used to determine size. If memory = max is
specified for SOL 101 or SOL 400 then memory will be set to approximately
75% of physical ram. Estimate will be used to estimate the memory needed for
the solver. The remaining memory will be assigned to SMEM. This option
should only be used by users running on a system by themselves. Multiple users
specifying mem=max may experience significant performance degradation.
Otherwise, the size is specified as a memory size, see Specifying Memory Sizes
on page 82.
If a value was not assigned to the memory keyword, or if memory=estimate
was specified and ESTIMATE failed to provide an estimate, the nastran
command will use the value specified by the memorydefault keyword. If the
memorydefault value is null, the nastran command will issue a fatal error and
the job will end.
memory=25mw
The job is run using an open core memory size of 25 MW, or 25600 KW, or
26214400 words.
memory=0.5xPhysical
If run on Windows, the job is run using an open core memory size of half the
computers physical memory. If run on UNIX and the computers physical
memory was not defined using the s.pmem keyword, the job will fail.
memorydefault memorydefault=size Default: 8mw
Specifies the default memory size if a null value was defined for the memory
keyword, or memory=estimate was defined and the ESTIMATE utility failed
to provide an estimate.
Note: If a null value is defined for memorydefault and it is used as described above,
the job will not start.
memorymax memorymax=size Default: UNIX: 0.8*physical
Windows: 1.2*physical
Specifies the maximum memory size that may be requested. Any request in
excess of this will be limited to the memorymaximum value. See Specifying
Memory Sizes on page 82 for MSC Nastrans maximum memory limits.
Note: If size includes a reference to physical or virtual, and the value is not known,
the memorymaximum value will be silently ignored.
In the following examples, assume memorymaximum=1gb was set in an RC
file.
memory=900mb
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The job is run using an open core memory size of 900MB.
memory=1200mb
The job is run using an open core memory size of 1GB, i.e., the
memorymaximum value set in the RC file.
mergeresults mergeresults=yes,no Default: Yes
Specifies the results from each DMP task are to be merged into the standard
files from the master host.
Setting mergeresults=yes will cause the output from all tasks to appear in the
output files for the master task. That is, as if the analysis were run with one
task.
Setting mergeresults=no will cause the output from each tasks to appear
task-specific output files. That is, each file will need to be examined to get all
results.
Note: If mergeresults=no is specified in a static run the results of the individual
domains will not be sent back to the master and the system solution will not be
obtained.
The keyword mergeresults has no affect on a solution 103 or 111 run.
The only circumstances where mergeresults=no is recommended is where
xdb files are requested and intended to be attached using Patran in solution
108.
In solution 108, if mergeresults=no is specified and slaveout=yes is not
specified, then the results of the slave processors will be lost.
In solution 108, it is possible to get a through-put advantage by saving
communication between the master and slaves when mergeresults=no and
slaveout=yes is specified.
metime metime=number Default: -1
Minimum time for execution summary table message. See the nastran
mindef mindef=number Default: 1 (do not check)
Indefinite Mass Matrix Check flag. See the nastran Command and NASTRAN
minfront minfront=number Default: Machine dependent
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Appendix C
Set the rank minimum front size in the sparse modules. See the nastran
Reference Guide for more information on this keyword. This value may also
be set with the "rank" keyword.
mio_cachesize mio-cachesize=size Default: 0
(AIX) Specifies the size of mio cache to be used.
mode mode=i4,i8,ilp64,ilp32,base,no Default: Machine dependent
(AIX, HPUX,
HPUXIPF,
LINUXIPF,
LINUX64,
SOLARIS SOLARIS
8664, WIN64)
Changes the default INTEGER mode for a platform from the default to the
specified value, where ilp64 is equivalent to i8, lp64 and ilp32 are
equivalent to i4 and base or no specify that the default is to be used. If
alternate INTEGER mode is not supported on a particular platform and if this
keyword is specified, User Information Message is used and this keyword is
ignored. This keyword may only be specified in the initialization file or on the
command line.
Example: mode=i8
Specifies that i8 INTEGER mode is to be used for this job.
rmode=i4,i8,ilp64,lp64,ilp32,base Default: Machine Dependent
no
Specifies the remote node INTEGER mode. This keyword value is passed to a
remote node as its mode keyword value. This keyword is ignored unless
node is specified.
Example: rmode=i8
Specifies the mode=i8 is to be passed to the remote node specified using the
node keyword.
mperturb mpreturb=number Default: 1 (do not perturb)
Set the perturbation factor for indefinite mass matrix. See the nastran
mpyad mpyad=number Default: See the MSC Nastran Quick
Reference Guide.
Selects/deselects multiplication method selection. This keyword may also be
set with the sys66" command line keyword. See the MSC Nastran Quick
keyword.
msgbell msgbell=yes, no, bell Default: Yes
Specifies whether or not the job completion string will include an audible
message ("bell" sound) or not. "Yes" or "bell" says that three "bell" sounds will
be appended to the job completion string. "No" suppresses the bell sounds.
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msgcat msgcat=pathname Default: UNIX:
install_dir/prod_ver/arch/
analysis.
msg
Windows:
install_dir\prod_ver\arch\
analysis.
msg
The msgcat keyword specifies an alternate message catalog containing the
message text used for many MSC Nastran messages. A site or user can modify
the message file to include message text that is more appropriate to their
operations, compile the new catalog using the MSGCMP utility, and invoke
the new catalog using this keyword.
msgcat=mycat.msg
This example will use the file mycat.msg as the message catalog. See the
sections titled Customizing the Message Catalog on page 56 and
MSGCMP on page 211 for additional information.
Note: Message catalogs are computer-dependent, Binary File Compatibility,
identifies the systems that are binary compatible; binary compatible systems
can use the same message file.
nastran nastran keyword=value Default: None
Specifies a value for the NASTRAN statement.
Note: This keyword can only be specified in an RC file. If the last character of the
keyword value is a comma, or a quote or parenthetic expression is open, the
next line in the RC file is considered a continuation. The statement will
continue until the quote or parenthetic expression is closed and a line that is
not ended by a comma is found.
ncmd ncmd=command Default: print msg | write user tty
Specifies an alternate job completion notification command (see the notify
keyword). If this keyword is being set on the command line, and command
contains embedded spaces, enclose command in quotes.
If the specified command contains the two-character sequence {}, the
sequence is replaced by the text MSC Nastran job name completed.
Note: The following example may not work on your system. The mail(1) utility on
HP-UX does not accept the -s option.
notify=yes
ncmd="print {} |
mail -s {} $(whoami)"
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Appendix C
At the end of the job, mail is sent to the user submitting the job. The braces in
the ncmd value are replaced by the job completion text, and the modified
command is run:
print "MSC/NASTRAN job example completed" |
mail -s "MSC/NASTRAN job example completed" user
Windows example: prod_ver nstran example
ncmd=echo done
The word done will be printed in the command window when the job
completes.
newhess newhess=number Default: See the MSC Nastran Quick
Reference Guide.
Requests the complex eigenvalue method. This keyword may also be set with
the sys108" command line keyword. See EIGC on page 1801 of the MSC
Nastran Quick Reference Guide, and the MSC Nastran Numerical Methods
Users Guide for information on the default value and legal values for this
keyword.
news news=yes,no,auto Default: Yes
Displays the news file (install_dir/prod_ver/nast/news.txt on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\nast\news.txt on Windows) in the F06 file. If auto is
specified, the news file is only displayed if it has been modified since the last
time it was displayed for you. If yes is specified, the news file is displayed
in the F06 file regardless of when it was last changed. If no is specified, the
news file is not displayed in the F06 file.
news=yes
The news file is displayed in the F06 file after the title page block.
Note: The news file can also be displayed on the terminal by using the command:
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nice nice=yes,no Default: no (Windows)
yes (UNIX, batch=yes)
no (UNIX, batch=no)
Species whether or not the priority of the MSC Nastran analysis process should
be reduced or not.
For Windows systems, "nice=yes" means that the priority of the analysis
process will be changed to one level below standard command priority.
For UNIX systems, the default behavior, as determined by the initial settings
for the -fg and -bg special queue names described in Customizing Queue
Commands (UNIX) on page 62 is as follows: "nice=yes" means that the
analysis process will be run by the "nice" command regardless of the setting of
the batch keyword, nice=no means that the analysis process will not have
its priority reduced, regardless of the setting of the batchkeyword. This
behavior may be modified if the default definitions of the -bg and -fg
queue names are changed.
nlines nlines=number Default: 50
Specifies number of lines printed per page of output. See the nastran
node node=nodename Default: None
Executes the job on the specified node. This node may be either a UNIX node
or Windows XP/Vista/Window 7 node. See Running a Job on a Remote
System on page 132 for additional information. This keyword may only be
specified on the command line.
Use the "username" keyword to specify an alternate user name on the remote
node.
node=othernode
The job is run on the computer named "othernode".
If the remote node is a UNIX node, rsh/rcp processing must be enabled.
If the remote node is a Windows node running Windows XP/Vista/Window 7,
the MSCRmtMgr program must be running on that node, either as a started
service or as a program running in a command prompt window.
notify notify=yes,no Default: Yes
Sends notification when the job is completed. See the ncmd keyword to
define an alternate notification command.
Note: If the job is queued using the queue keyword, or the job is already running
in an NQS batch job, the default is notify=no.
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Appendix C
notify=yes
nsegadd nsegadd=number Default: 2
Number of segments in the element error table in adaptive analysis. See the
numseg numseg=number Default: See text.
Sets the number of segments for the Lanczos High Performance Option. See
EIGRL on page 1811 of the MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide for
information on the default value and legal values for this keyword.
Note: In a DMP job, the default is the number of tasks specified by the dmparallel
keyword.
old old=yes,no Default: Yes
Saves previous copies of the F04, F06, LOG, OP2, OUT, PCH, and PLT output
files using sequence numbers (additional user-specified file types can be
versioned with the oldtypes keyword). Sequence numbers are appended to
the keyword filename and are separated by a period.
If yes is specified, the highest sequence number of each of the output files is
determined. The highest sequence number found is incremented by one to
become the new sequence number. Then, all current output files that do not
include sequence numbers are renamed using the new sequence number as a
type.
old=yes
For example, assume your current working directory contains the following
files:
v2401.datv2401.f04.1v2401.f06v2401.logv2401.log.1
v2401.f04v2401.f04.2v2401.f06.1v2401.log.1
v2401.log.3
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Apparently, the user ran the job four times, but deleted some of the files, e.g.,
v2401.f04.3, v2401.f06.2, and v2401.f06.3. When the job is run again with
old=yes, the files are renamed as follows: v2401.f04 is renamed to
v2401.f04.4, v2401.f06 is renamed to v2401.f06.4, and v2401.log is renamed
to v2401.log.4. The sequence number 4 is used because it is one greater than
the highest sequence number of all of the selected files (the highest being
v2401.log.3).
oldtypes oldtypes=list Default: None
Specifies additional file types that will be subject to versioning and deletion
via the old keyword. The items in the list may be separated by either spaces
or commas; they should not include the leading .. You may specify file types
that do not exist.
oldtypes=xdb,mytype
The files example.xdb and example.mytype will be subject to versioning
or deletion as specified by the old keyword.
This keyword may also be set by the MSC_OLDTYPES environment
variable. The environment variable overrides the RC files, and the command
line overrides the environment variable.
out out=pathname Default: .
Saves the output files using a different file prefix or in a different directory. If
out is not specified, the output files are saved in the current directory using
the basename of the input data file as a prefix. If the out value is a directory,
output files are created in the specified directory using the basename of the
input data file as the filename.
In the following examples, assume the current directory includes sub-
directories mydir and other, and that an example.dat exists in both the
current directory and other. That is, ./example.dat, ./mydir, ./other, and
./other/example.dat exist on UNIX; and .\example.dat, .\mydir, .\other, and
.\other\example.dat exist on Windows.
or: prod_ver nastran other/example
Output files are created in the current directory with the name example, e.g.,
./example.f06 on UNIX and .\example.f06 on Windows.
out=myfile
Output files are created in the current directory with the name myfile, e.g.,
./myfile.f06 on UNIX and .\myfile.f06 on Windows.
Example: prod_ver nastran example out=mydir
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Appendix C
Output files are created in the mydir directory with the name example, e.g.,
./mydir/example.f06 on UNIX and .\mydir\example.f06 on Windows.
out=mydir/myfile
Output files are created in the mydir directory with the name myfile, e.g.,
./mydir/myfile.f06 on UNIX and .\mydir\myfile.f06 on Windows.
parallel parallel=value Default: 0
Specifies the maximum number of CPUs selected for shared-memory parallel
(SMP) processing in several numeric modules. SMP processing reduces
elapsed time at the expense of increased CPU time. The default is 0, which
specifies no SMP processing. If parallel=1", the parallel algorithms are used
on one processor.
Note: If you need to vary the number of SMP CPUs during a job, you must set either
the parallel keyword or SYSTEM(107) on a NASTRAN statement to the
maximum number of SMP CPUs that will be requested. Some systems cannot
process a DMAP request for CPUs in excess of this initial value.
parallel=2
The job is run in SMP mode on a maximum of two CPUs.
pause pause=keyword Default: no
Pause the nastran command before exiting to wait for the Enter or Return
key to be pressed. This can be useful when the nastran command is embedded
within another program. The values are fatal, information, warning,
yes, and no. Setting pause=yes will unconditionally wait;
pause=fatal, pause=warning, and pause=information will only wait if a
fatal, warning, or information message has been issued by the nastran
command. The default is pause=no, i.e., do not wait when the nastran
command ends.
post post=command_string Default: None
Runs the specified command after the job has completed and after the F06,
F04, and LOG files have been concatenated if append=yes is specified. For
UNIX, the command must be a valid Korn shell command.The command may
pipe the output of one command into another. If the specified command
contains embedded spaces, enclose the entire command_string in quotes. Each
occurrence of the post keyword will be concatenated together to form a
sequence of commands. Specify a null value, i.e., post= to erase all of the
previously entered commands. Typical uses of this keyword are to run
postprocessing programs or to compress the output files to save space.
post=gzip example*
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80
At the end of the job, the command gzip example* is run to compress all
files beginning with example.
The value of the out keyword is available for use by the post keyword. The
example post keyword could also have been written as
post=gzip $MSC_OUT.*. If app=yes was specified,
post=gzip $MSC_OUT.out would only compress the output file.
Windows example: prod_ver nastran example
post=print example.*
At the end of the job, all files named example.* will be printed. The output
of the post command(s) will be displayed on the command shell window.
See theEnvironment Variables on page 105 for a list of environment
variables that may be used in the post command.
Note: In order to allow the post keyword to operate on the output files, the standard
output from the post commands is not written to the output files.
ppcdelta
(UNIX)
ppcdelta=time Default: None
Specifies the amount of time to subtract from the specified CPU time to
determine the per-process CPU time limit. This subtraction will ensure that
MSC Nastran does not consume all of the time allocated to the job.
The value can be specified as either hours:minutes:seconds,
minutes:seconds, or seconds, and will always be converted to the number
of seconds.
queue=small cpu=1000
ppcdelta=5
The job is submitted to the small queue with a total CPU time limit of 1000
seconds; the MSC Nastran job will be limited to 995 seconds.
ppmdelta
(UNIX)
ppmdelta=memory_size Default: 105% of executable size
Specifies the amount of memory to add to the memory value to determine
ppm, the per-process memory value. The per-process limit is the total
amount of memory that each process may acquire. This includes the
executable, open core memory (via the memory keyword), disk file buffers,
and etc. (Altix systems also include EAG FFIO cache).
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Appendix C
page 82.
If size is less than 1000, then ppmdelta equals size divided by 100 and
multiplied by the size of the executable, i.e., 105 specifies the default 105% of
executable size.
If size is greater than 1000, but less than the size of the executable, then
ppmdelta equals size plus the executable size.
If size exceeds the size of the executable, then ppmdelta equals size.
queue=small mem=100m
ppmdelta=10m
The job is submitted to the small queue with a open core size of 100 MW, and
a per-process memory limit of 110 MW.
pre pre=command Default: None
Runs the specified command before the job begins. For UNIX, the command
must be a valid Korn shell command. The command may pipe the output from
one command to another. If the specified command contains embedded spaces,
enclose the entire command in quotes. Each occurrence of the pre keyword
will be concatenated together to form a sequence of commands. Specify a null
value, i.e., pre= to erase all of the previously entered commands.
UNIX example: prod_ver nastran example \
pre="print Job beginning |
mail $(whoami)"
Sends mail to the submitting user immediately before beginning the job.
pre="dir example.*"
At the end of the job, a directory listing of all files named example.* will be
displayed in the LOG file.
See Environment Variables on page 105, for a list of environment variables
that may be used in a pre command.
prmdelta
(UNIX)
prmdelta=size Default: 5120
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82
Specifies the amount of memory to add to the specified ppm value to
determine prm, the per-request or per-job memory value. The per-job limit
is the total amount of memory that all processes in the job may acquire. This
includes the MSC Nastran process plus any other concurrent or parent
processes. The minimum value is 5120.
page 82.
queue=small prmdelta=10k
The per-job memory limit is 10 KW larger than the per-process memory limit.
processor processor=file_type Default: Computer dependent
Specifies the file type of the solver executable. On some computers,
MSC Nastran provides more than one executable. The baseline executable has
the filename analysis on UNIX and analysis.exe on Windows. Other,
advanced-architecture executables are named analysis.file_type on UNIX
and analysis.file_type.exe on Windows, e.g., analysis.power2" on AIX or
analysis.ultra on Solaris systems. The nastran command will select the
correct executable based on the current computer. In some cases, it may be
desirable to use one of the other executables. For example, to run the baseline
executable on an advanced system, specify proc=. To run an advanced-
architecture on a new computer not correctly identified by the nastran
command, specify proc=file_type.
Note: This keyword overrides the processor selection logic. Specification of an
incompatible executable may cause errors or incorrect operations.
punch punch=number Default: 7
Specifies FORTRAN unit number for PUNCH file. See the nastran
q4skew q4skew=number Default: 30.0
Minimum allowable value of skew for the CQUAD4 element. See the nastran
q4taper q4taper=number Default: 30.0
Maximum allowable value of taper for the CQUAD4 element. See the
qclass qclass=string Default: None
(UNIX) The following capability is dependent upon the queue submission commands
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Appendix C
Note: Defines an optional queue class that can be used in the definition submit
keyword. It is also used to define the class used when submitting DMP jobs to
the AIX LoadLeveler.
qoption qoption=string Default: None
(UNIX)
Defines the options to add to the queue submittal command. See the submit
keyword.
queue=small qoption=-mu
The job is run with the additional job submission parameter -mu if the
keyword reference %qopt% was included in the queues command definition.
quadint quadint=number Default: 0 (quadratic)
Specifies quadratic or linear interpolation for line search method in nonlinear
analysis. See the nastran Command and NASTRAN Statement on page 1 of
the MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide for more information on this
keyword.
queue queue=string Default: None
(UNIX)
Specifies the name of the queue to use for job submittal. This keyword requires
the submit keyword to define the available queues and queue submittal
commands. See the submit keyword.
queue=small
This example submits the job to the small queue.
radlst radlst=number Default: 0
Print radiation area summary. See the nastran Command and NASTRAN
radmtx radmtx=number Default: 0
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84
Type of radiation exchange coefficients. See the nastran Command and
rank rank=number Default: See System Descriptions
on page 115
Sets both SYSTEM(198) and SYSTEM(205) to the specified value.
SYSTEM(198) and SYSTEM(205) set the minimum front size and number of
rows that are simultaneously updated, respectively, in sparse symmetric
decomposition and FBS. The sparse solver will build a front, a k k sub matrix,
until k is at least as large as SYSTEM(198). Once a sufficiently large front has
been built, it is updated m rows at a time, where m is the value of
SYSTEM(205).
For best performance, . The optimal
values for these system cells is problem and processor dependent; the default
values for these system cells are set to processor-dependent values.
The actual value used for SYSTEM(205) may be found in the F04 file in the
text of USER INFORMATION MESSAGE 4157 as the RANK OF UPDATE
value. See Table D-11 for the default values of these system cells.
rcf rcf=pathname Default: None
Specifies the name of the local RC file. If this keyword is not specified, the
local RC files located in the input data files directory are used. See Command
Initialization and Runtime Configuration Files on page 2 in Appendix A for
information about the names of these files.
rcf=nast.rcf
The nastran command will process ./nast.rcf on UNIX, or .\nast.rcf on
Windows in lieu of the default local RC files.
rcmd rcmd=pathname Default: See text.
(UNIX) Specifies the path of the nastran command on the remote system when remote
processing has been requested via the node keyword. If this value is not set,
the nastran command will first try its own absolute path on the remote system,
if this fails, the path will be removed, i.e., the default PATH of the remote
system will be used.
rcmd=/msc/bin/nast2007
The pathname of the nastran command on the remote system is explicitly
defined as /msc/bin/nast2007. If this file does not exist, or is otherwise not
executable, the job will fail.
rdbs rdbs=pathname_prefix Default: .
SYSTEM 205 ( ) SYSTEM 198 ( ) >
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Appendix C
Remote Node alternate user database prefix. Overrides "scratch=yes" and
"dbs=". If the prefix is a directory, 'jid-basename' is appended. The default on
the remote node is "dbs=./'jid-basename'". This keyword is ignored unless
"node=" is specified.
rdelivery rdelivery=pathname, MSCDEF Default: MSCDEF
Remote Node alternate delivery database prefix or "MSCDEF". This keyword
overrides all MSC-supplied solution sequences. See Creating and Attaching
Alternate Delivery Databases on page 186 for further information on alternate
delivery databases. If a directory is not specified, the default delivery database
directory is assumed. The default is "rdelivery=MSCDEF. This keyword is
ignored unless "node=" is specified.
real real=size Default: See text.
Specifies the amount of open core memory that certain numerical modules will
be restricted to. This keyword may be used to reduce paging, at the potential
expense of spilling. The keyword may also be set with the sys81" keyword.
See the MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide for further information.
page 82.
On UNIX systems, the default is 0. On Windows systems, the default is
calculated using realdelta.
realdelta realdelta=size Default: 12MB
(Windows) Specifies the difference between physical memory and the real parameter if
neither real nor sys81 were set.
page 82.
If size is greater than 1000, the value is subtracted from the physical memory
size.
If size is less than 1000, it is assumed to be a percentage of the physical
memory size.
realdelta=50
The real value will be set to 50% of the physical memory if no value has
been assigned to real or SYSTEM(81).
repinfo repinfo=info_value Default: 1
Specifies the Symbolic Substitution report level. This information is printed
at the end of the .f06 file, after the END OF JOB record. This keyword may
be specified in initialization or RC files and on the command line. A value of
0 suppresses the report entirely. The maximum value is 8.
repsym repsym=name=string Default: None
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86
Defines a Symbolic Substitution variable name and value. This keyword may
be specified in initialization or RC files and on the command line. The symbol
definition may include references to previously defined symbols or
environment variables using the standard $name or ${name} syntax on
UNIX or %name% syntax on Windows. For convenience, the character
separating the "repsym" and name specification and the name and string
specification may be either an equal sign (=) or a hash mark (#). The use
of a hash mark allows this keyword to be specified as an argument to a
Windows .bat file.
Symbolic Substitution names are processed in the order they are encountered
while processing the initialization and RC files and the command line. If a
duplicate name is encountered, the new value replaces the previously specified
value.
Symbolic names must be 16 characters or less, the value assigned to the
symbolic name must be 256 characters or less.
repwidth repwidth=width_spec Default: exact,exact
Specifies the width information to be used in Symbolic Symbol substitution.
This keyword may be specified in initialization or RC files and on the
command line.
resd resd=yes,no Default: Yes
(AIX) Use the Resource Manager to allocate nodes.
This keyword may also be set by the MP_RESD environment variable. The
rexecutable rexecutable=pathname Default: Computer dependent
Remote Node alternate solver executable. This keyword overrides all
architecture and processor selection logic. If a directory is not specified, the
default executable directory is assumed. This keyword is ignored unless
"node=" is specified.
rgmconn rgmconn=pathname Default: None
Remote Node Geometric evaluator connection file. See the description of the
"gmconn" keyword for more detailed information. This keyword is ignored
unless "node=" is specified.
rmpool rmpool=number Default: See your System
Administrator.
(AIX) Specifies the pool ID to be used when LoadLeveler Version 2.1 or greater
queue submittal is being used to run a DMP job.
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Appendix C
This keyword may also be set with the MP_RMPOOL environment variable.
The environment variable overrides the RC files; the command line overrides
rmsgcat rmsgcag=pathname Default: See msgcat= keyword
Remote Node binary message catalog path name. If a directory is not
specified, the default executable directory is assumed. This keyword is ignored
unless "node=" is specified.
rdebug rdebug=yes, no, number Default: Yes
This keyword controls what, if any, debug settings ("-d" options) are
propagated to a remote node. "Yes" will send all current debug flags (except
for "SHELL" and "RSHELL"), "no" will not pass any current debug flags.
Specifying a number will set the remote debug flags to that value, where a
value of "0" is equivalent to "no". This keyword is ignored unless "node" is
specified.
rostype rostype=windows, nt, 1, unix, linux, 2 Default: None
Specifies the remote node operating system type. "Windows", "NT" and "1"
are equivalent. "Unix", "Linux" and "2" are equivalent. If this keyword is not
specified, the nastran command will attempt to determine the remote node
operating system type dynamically. This type code is used to determine the
format of the remote commands used, for example, to test for file existence or
to delete temporary files on the remote node. Also, if "rrmtuse" is not
specified, this keyword will determine what communications programs are
used, where "Windows" is equivalent to "rrmtuse=mscrmtcmd" and "Unix" is
equivalent to "rrmtuse=rsh". This keyword is ignored unless "node" is
specified.
rrmtuse rmtuse=mscrmtcmd, 1, rsh, 2 Default: None
Specifies which communications programs are to be used to access the remote
node. "Mscrmtcmd" and "1" are equivalent. "Rsh" and "2" are equivalent. If
"rsh" is specified, the remote node will be assumed to be a UNIX system. If
this keyword is not specified and if the "rostype" keyword is specified,
"mscrmtcmd" will be assumed if the "rostype" value is "windows" and "rsh"
will be assumed if the "rostype" value is "unix". This keyword is ignored
unless "node" is specified.
rsdirectory rsdirectory=pathname Default: See sdirectory= keyword
Remote Node directory for scratch files. This is the default directory for user
database files if "scratch=yes". If this keyword is not specified, the
"sdirectory" value is used. Please see the description of the "sdirectory"
keyword for the default value. This keyword is ignored unless "node=" is
specified.
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rtimeout rtimeout=number Default: 60
Specifies the timeout value, in seconds, to be used by "MSCRmtCmd" (or the
program defined by the "s.rmtcmd" keyword) in accessing a remote node.
This keyword is ignored unless "node" is specified.
s.rmtcmd s.rmtcmd=pathname Default: MSCRmtCmd
Specifies the full pathname to the MSC Remote command used to
communicate with Windows or UNIX/Linux systems. This keyword may
only be specified in the Initialization file or on the command line. This
keyword is ignored unless "node" is specified.
scr300 scr300=number Default: 2 (create)
Requests creation of SCR300 partition on SCRATCH DBset. See the nastran
scr300co scr300co=value Default: 1
Allows you to define a factor to scale SCR300 estimates. This scale factor is
applied before the "scr300min" value, that provides a lower bound for SCR300
estimates.
scr300co=2
This will double the SCR300 disk estimate and then apply the "scr300min"
lower bound.
scr300co=0.5
This will halve the SCR300 disk estimate. An estimate less than the lower
bound specified by "scr300min" will be set to the lower bound.
scr300del scr300del=number Default: 100
Sets minimum number of blocks of SCR300 partition of SCRATCH DB set at
which it is deleted. See the nastran Command and NASTRAN Statement on
page 1 of the MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide for more information on
this keyword.
scr300min scr300min=value Default: 1mb
Allows you to define the lower bound for all SCR300 estimates. This bound is
applied after the "scr300co" value, that multiplies the actual estimate by a
scr300min=2mb
This will set the minimum SCR300 disk estimate to 2 MB.
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Appendix C
scratch scratch=yes,no,mini,post Default: No
Deletes the database files at the end of the run. If the database files are not
required, scratch=yes can be used to remove them preventing cluttering of
the directory with unwanted files. If mini is specified, a reduced size
database that can only be used for data recovery restarts will be created. See
Chapter 12 of the MSC Nastran Reference Manual for further details on the
mini database. If scratch=post is specified, a reduced size database intended
for use by Patran or the toolkit will be created. Scratch=post also performs the
actions of NASTRAN INDEX=19.
scratch=yes
All database files created by the run are deleted at the end of the job in the same
way as the FMS statement INIT MASTER(S).
scratchco scratchco=value Default: 1
Allows the user to define a factor to scale SCRATCH estimates. This scale
factor is applied before the "scratchmin" value, that provides a lower bound for
SCRATCH estimates.
scratchco=2
This will double the SCRATCH disk estimate and then apply the "scratchmin"
lower bound.
scratchco=0.5
This will halve the SCRATCH disk estimate. An estimate less than the lower
bound specified by "scratchmin" will be set to the lower bound.
scratchmin scratchmin=value Default: 1mb
Allows you to define the lower bound for all SCRATCH estimates. This bound
is applied after the "scratchco" value, that multiplies the actual estimate by a
scratchmin=2mb
This will set the minimum SCRATCH disk estimate to 2 MB.
scrsave scrsave=number Default: 0 (do not reuse)
Lanczos High Performance Option that controls reuse of scratch files in
segment logic. See the nastran Command and NASTRAN Statement on
this keyword.
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90
sdball sdball=size Default: Computer dependent
Specifies an alternate default size for the DBALL DBset. The computer-
dependent default is listed in Computer Dependent Defaults on page 125.
This default is overridden by an INIT FMS statement. If the value
sdball=estimate is specified, ESTIMATE will be used to determine a
suitable default.
The size is specified as the number of blocks (BUFFSIZE words long) or the
number of words or bytes followed by one of the modifiers: "T", "TW", "TB",
"G", "GW", "GB", "M", "MW", "MB", "K", "KW", "KB", "W", "B". See
"Specifying Memory Sizes on page 82 for a description of these modifiers.
Note: No attempt is made to verify if the DBALL DBset can ever grow to the size
specified by this keyword.
sdball=1024gb
Defines the default size of the DBALL DBset as 1TB.
sdball=.5tb
Defines the default size of the DBALL DBset as .5TB or 512GB.
sdirectory sdirectory=directory Default: See text.
Note: See Determining System Limits on page 48 for information on estimating a
jobs total disk space requirements.
Specifies the directory to use for temporary scratch files created during the
run. MSC Nastran can create very large scratch files, the scratch directory
should contain sufficient space to store any scratch files created during a run.
You must have read, write, and execute privileges to the directory.
UNIX: The default value is taken from the TMPDIR environment variable if
it is set to a non-null value. Otherwise the computers default temporary file
directory is chosen; this is usually /tmp.
Windows: The default value is taken from the TEMP environment variable.
sdir=/scratch
Scratch files are created in the /scratch directory.
sdir=d:\scratch
Scratch files are created in the d:\scratch directory
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Appendix C
If a DMP run was selected with , unique task-specific scratch
directories may be set for each host using the standard PATH separator, i.e, :
on UNIX and ; on Windows, to separate entries. The directories will be
paired with each host in a round-robin order, that is, the list will be reused if
more tasks than directories are specified.
dmp=4 \
sdir=/scratch1:/scratch2
In this example, /scratch1 will be used for the first and third tasks, while
/scratch2 will be used for the second and fourth tasks.
slaveout slaveout=yes,no Default: No
Specifies the output files from the slave nodes are to be copied back to the local
node.
smaster smaster=size Default: Computer dependent
Specifies an alternate default size for the MASTER DBset. The computer-
This default is overridden by an INIT FMS statement.
Specifying Memory Sizes on page 82 for a description of these modifiers.
Note: No attempt is made to verify if the MASTER DBset can ever grow to the size
smaster=1024gb
Defines the default size of the MASTER DBset as 1TB.
smaster=.5tb
Defines the default size of the MASTER DBset as .5TB or 512GB.
smemory smemory=value Default: 100
Specifies the amount of space in open core to reserve for scratch memory.
The value specified using this keyword may be overridden by the FMS
statement INIT SCRATCH (MEM=value).
dmparallel 1 >
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smem200
This example reserves 200 GINO blocks for scratch memory.
smem=4mw
This example reserves 4,194,304 words for scratch memory.
smem=2.5mw
This example reserves 2,621,440 words for scratch memory.
solve solve=number Default: -1 (print up to 50
messages)
Controls matrix decomposition. See the nastran Command and NASTRAN
sparse sparse=number Default: See QRG.
Sparse matrix method selection. This keyword may also be set with the
sys126" command line keyword. See the MSC Nastran Quick Reference
Guide for information on the default value and legal values for this keyword.
sscr sscr=size Default: Computer dependent
Specifies an alternate default size for the SCRATCH DBset. The computer-
This default is overridden by an INIT FMS statement. If the value
sscr=estimate is specified, ESTIMATE will be used to determine a suitable
default.
Note: No attempt is made to verify if the SCRATCH DBset can ever grow to the size
sscr=1024gb
Defines the default size of the SCRATCH DBset as 1 TB.
sscr=.5tb
Defines the default size of the SCRATCH DBset as .5TB or 512GB.
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Appendix C
submit submit=[list=]definition Default: None
(UNIX) Defines the command and options used to run a job when the queue keyword
is specified. The submit keyword, only specified in RC files, consists of an
optional queue list, followed by the command definition for the specified
queues as shown below:
submit=list=command
submit=command
When specified, the list contains one or more queue names separated by
commas. If a queue list is not supplied, the command applies to all queues.
The command section of the submit keyword value defines the command
used to run a job when a queue keyword is supplied that matches a queue
name in the list. The command can contain keyword names enclosed in percent
% signs that are replaced with the value of the keyword before the command
is run. A complete description of the command is found in Customizing
Queue Commands (UNIX) on page 62.
sun_io sun_io=name=string Default: None
(Solaris) Enables Suns enhanced library for database I/O.
Note: For maximum performance, the striped file system containing the files subject
to SUN_IO should be created with the Veritas File Manager. The BUFFSIZE
should match the interleave size of the disk stripe.
The control string is composed of one or more filename-options pairs of the
form:
p1,p2,p3:file-templates
where:
p1 Number of I/O threads; default is
. , setting p1=0
will select default of no read-ahead.
p2 Number of read-ahead buffers per
threadB. , setting p2=0 will
select default of 4 MB.
p3 Read-ahead threshold. . Setting
p3=0 will select the default of 256 KB.
file_templates Colon separated list of filename
templates, there is no default. Examples
are *DBALL to match all files ending
in DBALL and *DBALL:*SCR* to
match all files ending in DBALL and
all files with SCR anywhere in the
name.
max n
cpu
8 , ( ) p1 0 >
p2 0 >
p3 0 >
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94
For each of the filenames listed in file-templates, p1 pages, each of
words, will be read ahead if the number of consecutive
reads exceeds p3.
The additional main memory consumed by the SUN_IO facility is:
words
where is the number of files matched by file_templates.
This keyword may also be set by the MSC_SUN_IO environment variable.
The environment variable overrides the RC files, and the command line
sun_io=*SCR*
This example uses the defaults for p1, p2, and p3 on the SCRATCH and
SCR300 files.
Example prod_ver nastran example
sun_io=2,3:*.DBALL:*SCR*
This example creates 2 I/O threads, each reading 3 buffers ahead for the
DBALL, SCRATCH, and SCR300 files.
symbol symbol=name=string Default: None
Defines a symbolic (or logical) name used in ASSIGN and INCLUDE
statements and in command line arguments. This keyword may be specified
in initialization or RC files and on the command line. The symbol definition
may include references to previously defined symbols or environment
variables using the standard "$name" or "${name}" syntax on UNIX or
%name% syntax on Windows. For convenience, the character separating the
"symbol" and "name" specification and the "name" and "string" specification
may be either an equal sign ("='") or a hash mark ("#"). The use of a hash mark
allows this keyword to be specified as an argument to a Windows .bat file.
If "node" is specified, symbolic names defined using this keyword are not used
on the local system. Instead the specified values are passed to the remote
system. This means that any pathnames must be valid on the remote system.
Use the "lsymbol" keyword to specify symbolic names for the local system.
If "node" is not specified, symbolic names defined using the "lsymbol"
keyword are processed as if they were defined using the "symbol" keyword.
Symbolic names are processed in the order they are encountered while
processing the initialization and RC files and the command line. If a duplicate
symbolic name is encountered, the new value replaces the previously specified
value.
p2 BUFFSIZE
p1 p2 BUFFSIZE n
f i l es
n
f i l es
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Appendix C
Symbolic names must be 16 characters or less, the value assigned to the
symbolic name must be 256 characters or less. If the symbolic name used in
an ASSIGN or INCLUDE statement or in command line arguments is not
defined, it is left in the filename specification as is.
For example, many of the TPL and DEMO input data files have ASSIGN
statements such as the following:
ASSIGN 'MASTER=DBSDIR:abc.master'
The string "DBSDIR:" specifies a symbolic name that is to be replaced by
another string. The replaced string is defined by the "symbol=" keyword (or
"lsymbol=" keyword if "node" was not specified) in an initialization or RC file,
on the command line, or as environment variable. For example,
(UNIX) symbol=DBSDIR=/dbs
(Windows) symbol=DBSDIR=d:\dbs
When the previous ASSIGN statement is processed, the filename assigned to
the logical name MASTER is /dbs/abc.master on UNIX and
d:\dbs\abc.master on Windows. An alternate way of defining
symbolic names is through the use of environment variables. For example,
typing the following command
export DBSDIR=/dbs
at a Korn shell prompt, or
setenv DBSDIR /dbs
at a C-shell prompt, or
set DBSDIR=d:\dbs
at a Windows shell prompt, is equivalent to the "symbol" keyword definition.
Note: If a symbolic name is defined by both a symbol statement in an RC file and by
an environment variable, the symbol statement value will be used.
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96
The section titled Environment Variables on page 105 contains a list of
environment variables that are automatically created by the nastran command.
Of particular interest to the logical symbol feature are the OUTDIR and
DBSDIR variables. These variables refer to the directory that will contain the
output files (set using the "out" keyword) and the directory that will contain
the permanent database files (set using the "dbs" keyword), respectively.
sysfield sysfield=option,option,... Default: None
Defines a global SYS value that is applied to Dbsets. Each option must have
one of the following formats:
keyword=value
or
LNAMEXP(keyword=value,keyword=value,...)
where:
LNAMEXP = specifies a logical name expression using the UNIX/Windows file
name specification format
Characters may be specified in any case. Internally, they are converted to upper-case before
they are used.
Most characters in a substitution pattern match themselves but you can also use some special
pattern-matching characters in the pattern.
These special characters are:
* = Matches any string, including the null string.
? = Matches any one character.
[...] = Matches any one of the characters enclosed in the square brackets.
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Appendix C
[!...] = Matches any one of the characters enclosed in the square brackets.
Matches any one character other than one of the characters that
follow the exclamation mark within square brackets.
Inside square brackets, a pair of characters separated by a - (minus)
specifies a set of all characters that collate within the range of that
pair, as defined by the ASCII collating sequence, so that [a-dy] is
equivalent to [abcdy].
keyword=value = Specifies a keyword and value to be used for the Dbset file. If the
entry is part of an option qualified by an LNAMEXP expression, the
keyword and value will only be used for a Dbset file whose logical
name is selected by the expression specified by LNAMEXP.
Otherwise, the keyword and value will be used for all Dbset files.
Note that a null LNAMEXP expression will match any logical name.
The "sysfield" keyword may be specified more than once. The options are
processed in the order specified on the various specifications. If multiple
"keyword=value" options specify the same keyword, the last one encountered
is the one that is used. You may use the "whence" keyword to see the
"sysfield" keyword values. Also, the "sysfield" keywords are listed in the
LOG file.
See the sections titled Using the SYS Field on page 118 or SYS Parameter
Keywords on page 102 for details on the valid keyword options.
sysfield=lock=no
This example disables file locking for all Dbsets.
sysfield=lock=no
sysfield=scr*(mapio=yes,lock=yes)
This example disables file locking for all files and then enables filemapping
("mapio=yes") and turns file locking back on for Dbsets whose logical
names start with "SCR". The end result is that file locking is disabled for all
Dbsets except those whose logical names start with "SCR" and file mapping
and file locking are enabled for Dbsets whose logical names start with "SCR".
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98
sysn sysn=value Default: None
Sets the SYSTEM(n) cell to value. This keyword may be repeated any number
of times. All non-repeated cells are used, but only the last repeated cell is used.
If there is a "name" associated with the SYSTEM(n) value, that keyword will
also be set to value. The System Cell number to System Cell name equivalence
is listed in the nastran Command and NASTRAN Statement on page 1 of the
MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide. The form "system(n)=value" may be
used, but the entire keyword-value string must be quoted when used on a
UNIX command line.
sys114=200
or prod_ver nastran example
"system(114)=200"
These examples set SYSTEM(114) to 200. The second example shows how to
quote the parenthetic form. Also, in this example, since SYSTEM(114) has the
name "BUFFPOOL", the value of the "buffpool" keyword is also set to 200.
t3skew t3skew=number Default: 30.0
Controls minimum vertex angle for TRIA3 elements at which User Warning
Message 5491 is issued. See the MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide, Section
1, The NASTRAN Statement, for more information on this keyword.
tetraar tetraar=number Default: 100.0
Specifies maximum allowable aspect ratio of longest to shortest edge for the
CTETRA element. See the nastran Command and NASTRAN Statement on
this keyword.
trans trans=yes,no,auto Default: no (local)
auto (remote)
If the node keyword is not specified, this keyword indicates the XDB file is
to be translated to a neutral-format file using the TRANS utility. The output
file will have the file type .ndb.
UNIX only: If the node keyword is specified, this keyword indicates how an
XDB file is to be copied back to the local node. If trans=auto is specified,
the XDB file will be copied using TRANS/RECEIVE if the two computers use
different floating point formats or by a binary copy if the floating point formats
are the same. If trans=yes is specified, the XDB is always copied using
TRANS on the remote node and RECEIVE on the local node (this may be
needed if the floating point formats are identical but the file formats are not).
If trans=no is specified, the XDB file will not be copied back
trans=yes
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Appendix C
This example will run MSC Nastran and then convert the XDB file, if written,
to neutral format using TRANS.
node=othernode
trans=yes
This example will run MSC Nastran on node othernode and copy the XDB file
back using TRANS/RECEIVE.
use_aio use_io=yes,no Default: No
(HP-UX 11) Enables HPs enhanced library for database I/O. Setting use_aio=yes will
enable the library for all *.SCRATCH and *.SCR300 files, using
threads to control the asynchronous read-aheads.
This keyword may also be set by the USE_AIO environment variable. The
the environment variable. Setting the environment variable to any non-null
value is equivalent to use_aio=yes; unset the environment variable to set
use_aio=no.
use_aio=yes
This example will run MSC Nastran on with HPs AIO library enabled.
The library is controlled by a number of environment variables. They include:
AIO_FLIST Comma-separated list of filenames. The
default is *.SCRATCH,*.SCR300.
AIO_THREADS Maximum number of concurrent I/O
threads per file.The default is .
AIO_BUFFERS Maximum number of I/O buffers per
file. The default is .
AIO_PATDEPTH Number of I/Os to detect sequential
access. The default is 3.
username username=name Default: Current user name
(UNIX) Specifies an alternate username on the remote host when the node keyword
is specified. This keyword may only be specified on the command line.
node=othernode
user=fred
This example will run MSC Nastran on node othernode as user fred.
usparse usparse=number Default: See the description below.
n
cpu
1
n
cpu
1
n
cpu
1
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100
Unsymmetrix sparse matrix method selection. This keyword may also be set
with the sys209" command line keyword. See the MSC Nastran Quick
keyword.
version version=version_number Default: Latest installed version.
Specifies the version number. The keyword may only be specified on the
command line or in the command initialization file.
version=68.2
This example will run MSC.Nastran V68.2 assuming it has been installed in
the same installation base directory as this version of MSC Nastran.
whence whence=keyword_list Default: None
Displays value and source for listed keywords. This keyword may be used to
determine a keyword's value and where it was set. An input datafile (JID) is
optional; the job will not be run. If the "node" keyword is specified, the request
will be passed to the remote node for processing. Otherwise, information will
be displayed for the local node. If multiple "whence" keywords are specified,
the keywords in the various keyword lists will be concatenated, except that if
a null list is specified, all existing keywords in the accumulated list will be
deleted. Any keywords in the "keyword_list" that have the format "sysn" will
attempt to return the value associated with the System Cell name associated
with system cell n, if possible. The entries in the "keyword_list" may also
request information about a PARAM name. These entries have the format
"p:name", where "name" is the PARAM name (not the name of the
associated PARAM keyword, if any).
Normally, the output is two lines for each keyword. The first line specifies the
"source", i.e., from where the keyword value is obtained; the second line
specifies the keyword and its value. The only exception is when the keyword
is "symbol", "system" or "j.params". In these cases, there will be multiple lines
of keyword value information. If an unknown keyword is specified, a "User
Warning Message" will be generated and the keyword will be ignored.
Example: prod_ver nastran iter=yes
whence=sys1,bpool
whence=sscr,iter
Assuming that none of these values is modified in configuration files, the
output from this request is:
MSC Nastran V2007.0 (...) ...
$ internal default
sys1=8193
$ internal default
bpool=37
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101
Appendix C
$ internal default
sscr=250000
$ command line[1]
iter=yes
xhost xhost=yes,no Default: No
(UNIX) Indicates if the xhost(1) command is to be run. The xhost(1) command may be
required if the node keyword and either xmon=yes or xmon=kill are
specified. The argument to xhost(1) will be the node specified by the node
keyword. This keyword is ignored if the node keyword is not specified.
xmonast xmonast=yes,no,kill Default: No
(UNIX) Indicates if XMONAST is to be run to monitor the MSC Nastran job. If
xmonast=yes is specified, XMONAST will be automatically started; you
must manually exit XMONAST when the MSC Nastran job has completed. If
xmonast=kill is specified, XMONAST will start and will automatically exit
when the MSC Nastran job has completed.
xmon=kill
This example runs the XMONITOR utility while the MSC Nastran job is
running. Once the job completes, the XMONITOR program is automatically
terminated.
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102
SYS Parameter Keywords
The following keywords may be used for DBset files and for DBC Fortran files.
async async=yes,no,must Default: No
(See Table 4-7) This keyword specifies the file is to be read using asynchronous I/O. If
async=yes is specified and a memory allocation operation fails, then
unbuffered disk I/O will be used. If async=must is specified and a memory
allocation operation fails, then a fatal error will be issued and the job
terminated. See Using Asynchronous I/O on page 123 for further
information.
buffio buffio=yes,no,must Default: No
(See Table 4-7) This keyword specifies the file is to be buffered. If buffio=yes is specified
and a memory allocation operation fails, then unbuffered disk I/O will be
used. If buffio=must is specified and a memory allocation operation fails,
then a fatal error will be issued and the job terminated. See Using Buffered
I/O on page 121 for further information.
lock lock=yes,no Default: No for Delivery DBsets
Yes for all others.
(UNIX) Specifies the file is to be locked when it is opened. Locking a file prevents
two or more MSC Nastran jobs from interfering with one another; however,
this does not prevent any other program or operating system command from
modifying the file.
SYSTEM(207) can also be used to globally control DBset locking. Setting
SYSTEM(207)=1 will disable locking unless overridden for a specific file
by SYS=LOCK=YES on an ASSIGN FMS statement. Setting
SYSTEM(207)=0 will enable locking of read-write DBsets unless
overridden for a specific file by SYS=LOCK=NO on an ASSIGN FMS
statement.
mapio mapio=yes,no,must Default: No
(See Table 4-7) This keyword specifies the file is to be mapped. If mapio=yes is specified
and a mapping operation fails, then normal disk I/O will be used. If
mapio=must is specified and a mapping operation fails, then a fatal error
will be issued and the job terminated. See Using File Mapping on page 120
for further information.
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Appendix C
report report=yes,no Default: No
Requests that a summary report about the number of file operations and
other information about the I/O processing done for a particular file be
written to the file defined by stderr when the file is closed. In addition, if
TIMING=YES is specified, this report will contiain timing information
about the various steps involved in the I/O processing. If ASYNC=YES,
BUFFIO=YES or MAPIO=YES, the report will contain additional
information about the processing specific to these methods.
timing timing=yes,no Default: No
Requests that operation timing be enabled for the file. This timing
information will be included in the .f04 file and, if REPORT=YES is also in
effect, in the report written to stderr.
wnum wnum=number Default: 4 (ASYNC=NO)
8 (ASYNC=YES)
(See Table 4-7) Specifies the number of windows or buffers that will be maintained for each
mapped, buffered or asynchronous I/O file. The use of multiple windows or
buffers permits multiple I/O streams to target a file (e.g., simultaneously
reading one matrix and writing another) without forcing an excessive
number of window remap operations or buffered read/writes. The number
must be between 1 through 32 inclusive, values outside of this range are
ignored without acknowledgement.
wsize wsize=size Default: See text.
(See Table 4-7) File Mapping. Specifies the size of the window mapping the file into
memory. The window is that portion of the file that is visible through the
map. If the window is the same size as the file, then the entire file is visible.
If the window is smaller than the file, then any portion of the file within the
window or windows can be directly accessed; the rest of the file cannot be
accessed until a window is remapped to include the desired file location. The
default is 128KB or 4*BUFFSIZE, whichever is larger.
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104
(See Table 4-7) Buffered I/O. Specifies the size of the buffer read from or written to disk. If
the buffer is the same size as the file, then the entire file is memory resident.
If the buffer is smaller than the file, then any portion of the file within the
buffer or buffers can be directly accessed; the rest of the file cannot be
accessed until a buffer is read to include the desired file location. The default
is 4*BUFFSIZE or 64K, whichever is larger.
(See Table 4-7) Asynchronous I/O. Specifies the size of the buffer used to hold data read
from disk. If the buffer is the same size as the file, then the entire file is
memory resident. If the buffer is smaller than the file, then any portion of the
file within the buffer or buffers can be directly accessed; the rest of the file
cannot be accessed until a buffer is read to include the desired file location.
The default is 8*BUFFSIZE or 64KB, whichever is larger.
The total window or buffer size (WNUM value * WSIZE value) is limited
to 25% of the available address space or, for Windows, to 25% of the
physical memory. The address space limit is displayed by the limits
special function, see Using the Help Facility and Other Special Functions
on page 79, as the Virtual Address Space limit. If the address space limit
or physical memory cannot be determined for a particular platform, a value
of 64MB for 32-bit pointer systems and 8GB for 64-bit pointer systems is
used as the 25% limit value. If wsize=0" is specified for a read-only file, the
entire file will be mapped or buffered into memory, subject to the 25%
address space limit. (The 25% limit can be overridden if the numeric value
is specified as a negative number. The 25% test will be suppressed and the
actual window size value will be the absolute value of the specified numeric
value. It is the users responsibility to ensure that the specified value is valid
and does not cause performance problems.)
page 82.
If size is less than the files BUFFSIZE, then size is multiplied by
BUFFSIZE.
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105
Appendix C
The following environment variables affect the execution of the nastran command.
Table C-1 Environment Variables Affecting the nastran Command
Name Purpose
DISPLAY UNIX: The default display for xmonast.
FF_IO_DEFAULTS Linuxipf: Alternate means to set the ff_io_default
keyword.
FF_IO_OPTS Linuxipf: Alternate means to set the ff_io_opts keyword.
HOME UNIX: The users home directory.
HOMEDRIVE Windows: The users home drive.
HOMEPATH Windows: The users home directory.
LM_LICENSE_FILE Alternate means to set the authorize keyword.
LOGNAME UNIX: The user ID.
MP_ADAPTER_USE AIX: Alternate means to set the adapter_use keyword.
MP_CPU_USE AIX: Alternate means to set the cpu_use keyword.
MP_EUIDEVICE AIX: Alternate means to set the euidevice keyword.
MP_EUILIB AIX: Alternate means to set the euilib keyword.
MP_HOSTFILE AIX: Alternate means to set the hosts keyword.
MP_PROCS AIX: Alternate means to set the dmparallel keyword.
MP_RESD AIX: Alternate means to set the resd keyword.
MSC_ARCH Specifies the MSC Nastran architecture.
MSC_BASE If set, the script will use this directory as the install_dir.
MSC_ISHELLEXT Alternate means to set the ishellext keyword.
MSC_ISHELLPATH Alternate means to set the ishellpath keyword.
MSC_JIDPATH Alternate means to set the jidpath keyword.
MSC_LICENSE_FILE Alternate means to set the authorize keyword.
MSC_NOEXE If set, the nastran command will build the execution script
but will not actually execute it. This may be useful for
debugging purposes.
MSC_OLDTYPES Alternate means to set the oldtypes keyword.
MSC_SUN_IO Solaris: Alternate means to set sun_io keyword.
MSC_VERSD MSC use only.
MSCDBG Specify debugging flags.
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106
The following environmental variables are available for use by the pre and post keywords.
TEMP Windows: If set, this is the default value for the sdirectory
keyword. If not set, use the system default temporary file
directory as the default value.
TMPDIR UNIX: If set, this is the default value for the sdirectory
keyword. If not set, use the system default temporary file
directory as the default value.
USE_AIO HP-UX: Alternate means to set use_aio keyword.
USER UNIX: The users home directory (if LOGNAME is not set
or is a null string).
Table C-2 Pre and Post Keyword Environment Variables
Name Purpose
DBSDIR The directory part of MSC_DBS, i.e., the directory that will
contain the permanent database files.
DELDIR Directory containing the solution sequence source files
(install_dir/prod_ver/nast/del on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\nast/del on Windows).
DEMODIR Directory containing DEMO library
(install_dir/prod_ver/nast/demo on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\nast\demo on Windows).
JIDDIR Directory containing the input file.
MSC_APP yes,no
MSC_ASG MSC use only.
MSC_ARCH The actual architecture used by the nastran command.
MSC_LICENSE_FILE Licensing value.
MSC_BASE The actual install_dir used by the nastran command.
MSC_DBS Default prefix of permanent databases.
MSC_EXE Executable path.
MSC_JID Input data file path.
MSC_MEM Open core memory size in words.
MSC_OLD yes,no
MSC_OUT Prefix of F06, F04, and LOG files.
MSC_SCR yes,no
Table C-1 Environment Variables Affecting the nastran Command (continued)
Name Purpose
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107
Appendix C
MSC_SDIR Default prefix of scratch databases.
MSC_VERSD MSC use only.
OUTDIR Output file directory.
SSSALTERDIR Directory containing SSS alters
(install_dir/prod_ver/nast/sssalter on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\nast\misc\sssalter on Windows).
TEMP Windows: Temporary directory.
TMPDIR UNIX: Temporary directory.
TPLDIR Directory containing TPL library
(install_dir/prod_ver/nast/tpl on UNIX and
install_dir\prod_ver\nast\tpl on Windows).
Table C-2 Pre and Post Keyword Environment Variables (continued)
Name Purpose
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108
Other Keywords
The following keywords are available for use by the nastran command and script templates. You will
generally not need to set or use these values.
Table C-3 Other Keywords
Keyword Purpose
0 Pathname of the nastran command.
0.acceptdeny Pathname of accept/deny utility used in this job.
0.dmp DMP job template pathname.
0.dmpaccept Pathname of dmpaccept utility.
0.dmpdeny Pathname of dmpdeny utility.
0.ini Command initialization file pathname.
0.kwds=filename Pathname of User-defined general keywords file
0.lcl Local job template pathname.
0.params=filename Pathname of User-defined PARAM keywords file
0.rmt Remote job template pathname.
0.rmtaccept Pathname of rmtaccept utility.
0.rmtdeny Pathname of rmtdeny utility.
0.srv Server job template pathname.
0.tmplt Alternate template pathname, overrides local/remote template selection
logic.
a.addall=list Comma separated list of extensions to be added to the j.all list
a.addapp=list Comma separated list of extensions to be added to the j.app list.
a.addofp=list Comma separated list of extensions to be added to the j.ofp list.
a.addold=list Comma separated list of extensions to be added to the j.old list.
a.appdir Application specific base pathname relative to MSC_BASE.
a.altmode The INTEGER mode associated with the alternate architecture.
a.altmodedir The directory name associated witht he alternate architecture.
a.archdir Architecture specific base pathname relative to MSC_BASE.
a.estimate ESTIMATE executable filename relative to a.archdir.
a.exedir Directory part of any file name specified by executable.
a.flex Pathname of default FLEXlm license file.
a.fms Comma-separated list of FMS keywords recognized in RC files.
a.k Multiplier for K factor.
a.msgcat Pathname of default message catalog.
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Appendix C
a.news News filename relative to a.appdir.
a.port Default FLEXlm port number.
a.rc Versioon dependent RC files base filename. For UNIX, default is
nast<vernum>rc and for Windows, default is nast<vernum>.rcf.
a.rcb Version independent RC base filename. Default is the a.rc keyword
value.
a.receive RECEIVE executable filename relative to a.archdir.
a.release Release number, same as MSC Nastran version number.
a.sbcm Pathname of default node-locked authorization code file.
a.solver Solver executable filename relative to a.archdir.
a.sss Delivery database filename relative to a.archdir.
a.tier MSC internal variable.
a.touch News file touch pathname.
a.trans TRANS executable filename relative to a.archdir.
a.urc Version dependent User and Local RC files base filename. For UNIX, will
always be prefixed by .. For UNIX, default is nastranrc and for
Windows default is nastran.rcf.
a.urcb Version independent User and Local RC files base file name. Default is the
a.rcb keyword value. For UNIX, will always be prefixed by ..
a.xmonitor XMONAST executable filename relative to a.archdir.
d.dbsds Blank separated list of per-task dbs directory values of DMP jobs.
d.hosts Blank separated list of per-task hostnames
d.jidvis Blank separated list of per-task JID visibility flags.
d.outvis Blank separated list of per-task output directory visibility flags.
d.rcmds Blank separated list of per-task rcmd values.
d.sdirs Blank separated list of per-task sdirectory values.
d.tid DMP task ID.
datecmd Date command. Only used on Windows.
dcmd Debugger.
debug Run solver under debugger.
j.all Blank separated list of file types to be deleted at job completion if
delete=all is specified.
Table C-3 Other Keywords (continued)
Keyword Purpose
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110
j.app Blank separated list of file types to be appended at job completion if
append=yes is specified.
j.argv Comma separated list of keywords and values to be added to the r.argv
argument list.
j.base Job basename.
j.command Job submittal command string.
j.dir Job directory.
j.env Job environment variable list.
j.exetype Specifies type of executable, either win32 or win64. Only used on
Windows.
j.expbase Generated <expjid> base name.
j.expdir Generated <expjid> directory.
j.expjid Generated <expjid> file name.
j.ext_xdb File type associated with logical name DBC files. Built from "dbc(xdb)"
as modified using "extdefault".
j.extall Blank separated list of output file types (extensions) to be deleted at job
completion if "delete-all" is specified. Built from "j.all" and "a.addall" as
modified using "extdefault".
j.extapp Blank-separated list of output file types (extensions) to be appended at job
completion if "append=yes" is specified. Built from "j.app" and
"a.addapp" as modified using "extdefault".
j.extofp Blank-separated list of output file types that will be deleted at job
completion if and only if they are empty. Built from "j.ofp" and "a.addofp"
as modified using "extdefault".
j.extofp_old Blank-separated list of output file types that will be used in "dmparallel"
mode to define the files to be merged or deleted. (See "mergeresults".)
Built from "j.ofp", "a.addofp" and "oldtypes" as modified using
"extdefault".
j.extold Blank-separated list of output file types that will be versioned ("old=yes")
or deleted ("old=no") at job start. Built from "j.old", "a.addold" and
"oldtypes" as modified using "extdefault".
j.mode Generated effective mode value in effect. Will be one of , i4 or i8.
j.modedir The directory associated with the j.mode value. NULL unless j.mode
is one of i4 or i8.
j.msg Job completion message.
j.nascar List of NASTRAN entries.
Keyword Purpose
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Appendix C
j.news News file pathname.
j.nice Nice command to be used for commands, set based on "nice" keyword.
(UNIX Only).
j.ofp Blank separated list of file types to be deleted at job completion if and only
if they are empty.
j.old Blank separated list of file types to be versioned or deleted under the old
keyword.
j.out Appended output file type.
j.params Generated list of PARAM statements. Contains the result of INI file, RC
file and command line PARAM processing
j.rcfiles Comma-separated list of RC files.
j.server MSC Nastran server flag
j.shell Shell debugging flag.
j.startdate Job start date-time string.
j.title Title of XMONAST icon.
j.tty TTY name.
j.type Space separated list of file types to be versioned.
j.unique Job unique name.
job Job script filename, created in out directory.
log Pathname of LOG file.
msgdest System message destination.
nprocessors Number of processors.
ppc Per-process CPU time limit.
ppm Per-process memory limit.
prm Per-request memory limit.
PWD Current working directory.
r.altmode The INTEGER mode associated with the remote mode alternate
architecture.
r.altmodedir The directory name associated with the remote node alternate architecture.
r.argv List of arguments to be processed on rmt/dmp host.
r.expvis "expjid" visibility flag for remote job. Value is "yes" or "no".
r.jidvis JID visibility flag.
r.oscode Remote system operating system code, 1 = Windows, 2 = UNIX.
Keyword Purpose
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112
r.outvis Output directory visbility flag.
r.rmtcode Remote communications protocol, 1 = MSCRmtCmd, 2 = rsh/rcp.
r.rshell Remote node Shell pathname. Only used when "r.rmtcode" is 1.
s.arch System architecture name.
s.block Words per disk block.
s.bpw Bytes per word.
s.clock CPU clock frequency.
s.config CONFIG number.
s.cpu CPU name.
s.hostname Simple hostname.
s.hyper Identifies whether or not HyperThreading is available. Only used on
Windows.
s.hyper_use Specifies how HyperThreading is used for job. Only used on Windows.
s.model System model name.
s.modeldata Pathname of site specific model data.
s.nohyper_aff System CPU affinity mask for use when hyperthreads=no specified. Only
used on Windows.
s.nproc Number of processors.
s.numeric Encoded numerical format.
s.os OS name.
s.osv OS version.
s.pmem Physical memory, in MB. Only known on UNIX, Solaris, and Windows.
s.proc Default processor subtype.
s.rawid Raw configuration number.
s.rcp Remote file copy command.
s.rsh Remote shell command.
s.type System description.
s.vmem Virtual memory, in MB. Only known on Windows.
tcmd Timing command.
Keyword Purpose
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Appendix C
System Cell Keyword Mapping
The following table lists the System Cell Name - System Cell Number equivalence used by MSC Nastran
when processing the sysn and whence keywords:
Table C-4 System Cell Name -- System Cell Number
System Cell Name System Cell Number
attdel 124
autoasgn 133
bfgs 145
buffpool 114
buffsize 1
ifpbuff 624
chexaint 212
config 28
cordm 204
cpyinput 305
dblamkd 155
dbverchk 148
diaga 25
diagb 61
disksave 193
distort 213
f04 86
f06 2
fastio 194
fbsmem 146
fbsopt 70
frqseq 195
hicore 57
iter 216
ldqrkd 170
locbulk 143
massbuf 199
Main Index

114
maxset 263
metime 20
mindef 303
minfront 198
mperturb 304
mpyad 66
newhess 108
nlines 9
nsegadd 200
numseg 197
parallel 107
punch 64
q4skew 190
q4taper 189
quadint 141
radlst 88
radmtx 87
real 81
scr300 142
scr300del 150
scrsave 196
solve 69
sparse 126
t3skew 218
tetraar 191
usparse 209
Table C-4 System Cell Name -- System Cell Number
System Cell Name System Cell Number
Main Index
App. D: System Descriptions MSC Nastran Installation and Operations Guide

D
System Descriptions
Overview
System Descriptions
Numerical Data
Computer Dependent Defaults

Main Index

116
Overview
This appendix presents quantitative information for evaluating the processing requirements of
MSC Nastran. It includes system descriptions, numerical data, and information on computer dependent
defaults.
Binary File Byte Ordering (Endian)
The term "endian" refers to the byte ordering for numeric data used by a particular computer architecture.
"Big-endian" specifies that the most significant byte (MSB) of a data element is stored at the lowest byte
address, while "little-endian" specifies that the least significant byte (LSB) of a data element is stored at
the lowest byte address. Most UNIX platforms are big-endian machines, while all Intel x86 and
compatible platforms, e.g., Intel Pentium and AMD Athlon and Opteron, including those running both
Windows and Linux, are little-endian machines. Some architectures can be run in either endian mode.
For example, the Intel Itanium processor runs in big-endian mode when running HP-UX and in little-
endian mode when running Linux or Windows. The diagrams in Section D.3 illustrate the difference
between big-endian and little-endian for both integer and floating point data.
Main Index
117
Appendix D
System Descriptions
System Descriptions
Table D-1 System Description HP-UX
Item Description
Supported Model(s) PA-RISC 2.0
Installed Timing Constants 250, 710, 712, 715, 720, 730, 735, 778, 800, 819, 889, 2200
Operating System(s) PA-RISC 2.0: HP-UX 11.11
Compilers HP F90 v3.1
aCC: HP ANSI C++ B3910B A.03.80
Compiler Options
FORTRAN +Z +ppu +save +DD64 +Olibcalls +DS2.0W +DA2.0W +Oinfo
+O2 +Onolimit +Z
C++ -b -Wl,-B,symbolic -Wl,+s -Wl,+vnocompatwarnings +O2 -AA
-mt +DD64 -Wl,+nodefaultrpath -Wl,+n
Word Length 32 bits/64-bits
Build Type LP-64 (HP-UX 11.11)/ILP-64
Memory Management Virtual
Table D-2 System Description Intel Linux
Item Description
Supported Model(s) Intel and Intel-compatible
Installed Timing Constants Pentium II 400 MHz, Pentium 4 IA64 733 MHz, Intel Nacona,
Intel Romley, AMD/Opteron
Operating System(s) RedHat 5.4 (Linux 2.6.18 Kernel)
Compiler
Linux 32 Intel(R) Fortran Compiler for IA-32, Version 12.0 Build
20110427
Intel(R) C++ Compiler for IA-32, Version 12.0 Build 20110427
Linux 64 Intel(R) Fortran Compiler for Intel(R) 64, Version 12.0 Build
20110427
Intel(R) Fortran Compiler for Intel(R) 64, Version 12.0 Build
20110427
Main Index

118
Linuxipf Intel(R) Fortran IA-64 Compiler for IA-64, Version 10.1 Build
20080112 Package ID: l_fc_p_10.1.012
Intel(R) C++ IA-64 Compiler for IA-64, Version 10.1 Build
20080112 Package ID: l_cc_p_10.1.012
Compiler Options
FORTRAN
Linux 32 -nbs -cm -pad_source -save -zero -axN -Qdyncom XNSTRN -
assume byterecl -assume buffered_io -fPIC -w90 -WB -W0 -O2 -
fPIC
Linux 64 -nbs -cm -pad_source -save -zero -w90 -WB -W0 -Qdyncom
XNSTRN -mp1 -pc80 -O2 -fPIC
Linuxipf -nbs -cm -pad_source -save -zero -ftz -Qdyncom XNSTRN -
assume byterecl -assume buffered_io -mcmodel=large -mp1 -fPIC
-mcmodel=large -w90 -WB -W0 -O2 -mcmodel=large -fPIC
C++
Linux 32 -O2 -Xlinker -retain-symbols-file -shared -Bsymbolic
Linux 64 -O2 -shared -Bsymbolic
Linuxipf -O2 -shared-intel
Word Length 32 bits
Build Type IA32:
x8864
IA64:
ILP-32
LP-64/ILP64
LP-64/ILP64
Table D-3 System Description Intel Windows
Item Description
Supported Model(s) Intel and Intel-compatible
Installed Timing Constants Pentium II 400 MHz
Operating System(s) Windows 7
Compiler
Table D-2 System Description Intel Linux (continued)
Item Description
Main Index
119
Appendix D
System Descriptions
Windows 32 Intel(R) Visual Fortran Compiler for IA-32, Version 12.0 Build
20110427
Microsoft (R) 32-bit C/C++ Optimizing Compiler Version 10.0
Windows 64 Intel(R) Visual Fortran Compiler for Intel(R) 64, Version 12.0
Build 20110427
Microsoft (R) C/C++ Optimizing Compiler Version 10
Compiler Options
FORTRAN
Windows 32 /c /fixed /nologo /nbs /WB /MD /Quppercase /Qdyncom XNSTRN
/Qzero /Qsave /O2 /cm
Windows 64 /fixed /nologo /nbs /WB /MD /Quppercase /Qdyncom XNSTRN
/Qzero /Qsave /O2 /cm /IC:\Program
C++
Windows 32 /MD /EHs /O2 /W3 /Wp64 /FC /nologo
/D_CRT_SECURE_NO_WARNINGS /DWINNT /DWIN32
/DWIN8632 /D_32BIT_
Windows 64 /MD /EHs /O2 /W3 /Wp64 /FC /nologo
Word Length 32 bits
Build Type IA32: ILP-32
x8864: LP-64/ILP64
Table D-4 System Description IBM pSeries AIX
Item Description
Supported Model(s) Power4, Power5, Power6
Installed Timing Constants 320H, 375, 390, 39H, 43P, 530, 560, 580, 590, 950, 980E, 990
Operating System(s) AIX 5.3
Compiler IBM XL Fortran Enterprise Edition for AIX, V11.1
Version: 11.01.0000.0004
IBM XL C/C++ Enterprise Edition for AIX, V9.0
Version: 09.00.0000.0003
Table D-3 System Description Intel Windows
Item Description
Main Index

120
Compiler Options
FORTRAN -qfixed -qextname -qsigtrap -qnoprint -qalias=intptr:pteovrlp -q64
-qsave -qlist -qpic -qsource -qmaxmem=-1 -
qflttrap=ov:zero:inv:en:imp -qarch=pwr3 -qtune=pwr4 -qstrict -
O3 -qpic=large
C++ -O2 -brtl -q64 -bbigtoc -bernotok -bnoipath -qmkshrobj -
qsuppress=1501-218 -b symbolic
Word Length 32 bits/64 bits
Build Type LP-64/ILP-64
Table D-5 System Description Sun SPARC Solaris
Item Description
Supported Model(s) UltraSPARC
Installed Timing Constants UltraSPARC
Operating System(s) UltraSPARC:Solaris 10
Compilers Sun Fortran 95 8.3 SunOS_sparc Patch 127000-01 2007/07/18
Sun C 5.10 SunOS_sparc 2009/06/03
Compiler Options
FORTRAN -xrecursive -Bstatic -w -ftrap=invalid,overflow,division -
xtarget=ultra3 -xarch=sparcvis -m64 -O4 -KPIC
C++ -KPIC -xtarget=ultra3 -xarch=sparcvis -m64 -O
Table D-4 System Description IBM pSeries AIX (continued)
Item Description
Main Index
121
Appendix D
System Descriptions
Table D-6 System Description Sun X8664 Solaris
Item Description
Supported Model(s) Intel and Intel compatible
Installed Timing Constants Nehalem
Operating System(s) Solaris 10 (Patch 120754-08 is required)
Compilers Sun Fortran 95 8.4 SunOS_i386 Patch 141852-01 2009/07/24
Sun C 5.10 SunOS_i386 Patch 142363-06 2010/08/11
Compiler Options
FORTRAN -xrecursive -Bstatic -w -ftrap=invalid,overflow,division -m64 -O4
-KPIC
C++ -KPIC -m64 -O -xarch=sse2
Main Index

122
Numerical Data
Table D-7 Numerical Data 32-bit, big endian, IEEE (Intel/AMD)
Item Description
INTEGER Bit Representation 0 1 31
S Integer
REAL Bit Representation 0 1 8 9 31
S Exponent Mantiss
Exponent Range for a REAL Number +38
Precision of a REAL Variable 6 digits (24 bits)
DOUBLE PRECISION Bit Representation 0 1 11 12 31
S Exponent Mantissa
32 63
Mantissa (continued)
Exponent Range for a DOUBLE PRECISION
Number
+308
Precision of a DOUBLE PRECISION Variable 15 digits (53 bits)
Table D-8 Numerical Data 32-bit, little endian, IEEE (Intel/AMD)
Item Description
S Integer
S Exponent Mantiss
Main Index
123
Appendix D
System Descriptions
S Exponent Mantissa
31 0
Mantissa (continued)
Number
+308
Table D-9 Numerical Data 64-bit, big endian
Item Description
S Integer
S Exponent Mantiss
S Exponent Mantissa
64 79 80 127
(Unused) Mantissa (continued)
Table D-8 Numerical Data 32-bit, little endian, IEEE (Intel/AMD) (continued)
Item Description
Main Index

124
Number
+2466
Table D-9 Numerical Data 64-bit, big endian
Item Description
Main Index
125
Appendix D
System Descriptions
Computer Dependent Defaults
These tables list the computer-dependent default values for MSC Nastran. The default rank values are
listed in Table D-11.
Table D-10 Computer-Dependent Defaults,
Parameter Input File Settings
Command
Line Settings Default Comment
BUFFPOOL NASTRAN BUFFPOOL=n bpool=n 37 GINO Blocks
BUFFSIZE NASTRAN BUFFSIZE=n buffsize=n 8193 Max: 65537
BUFFSIZE
Increment
NASTRAN SYSTEM(136)=n sys136=n 128 Words
DBALL Size INIT DBALL ,
LOGICAL=(DBALL(n))
sdball=n 250000 GINO Blocks
DBS Update
Time
NASTRAN SYSTEM(128)=n sys128=n 5
Lanczos HPO NASTRAN SYSTEM(193)=n sys193=n 0 Save
Lanczos HPO NASTRAN SYSTEM(194)=n sys194=n 0 Pack/Unpack
MAXSET NASTRAN MAXSET=n sys263=n 7
SCRATCH Size INIT SCRATCH ,
LOGICAL=(logname(n)),
SCR300=(logname(n))
sscr=n 250000 GINO Blocks
SMEM INIT SCRATCH (MEM=n) smem=n 100 GINO Blocks
Sparse Ordering
Method
NASTRAN SYSTEM(206)=n sys206=n 4 Prefer
Extreme
reordering
Table D-11 Computer-Dependent Default Rank Values
Computer Type Model SYS198 SYS205
AIX All 8 64
HP-UX All 32 32
Linux 32 All 6 64
Linux 64 Nehalem/Xeon I4 All 27 64
Linux 64 Nehalem/Xeon I8 All 27 64
Linux 64 Opteron All 6 64
Linux ipf All 27 64
Main Index

126
Solaris UltraSPARC 30 30
Solaris 8664 All 30 30
Windows (32 bit) All 6 6
Windows (64 bit) All 8 8
Table D-11 Computer-Dependent Default Rank Values
Main Index
App. E: Product Timing Data MSC Nastran 2012 Installation and Operations Guide

E
Product Timing Data
Main Index

128
If User Warning Message 6080 is printed in the .f06 file, please fill out this form and mail it along with
machine-readable copies of the gentim2.f04, gentim2.f06, gentim2.log, and gentim2.pch files (see
Generating a Timing Block for a New Computer on page 59) to MSC.Software at the address below.
Thank you.
MSC Nastran Client Support
MSC.Software Corporation
2 MacArthur Pl.
Santa Ana, CA 92707
Client:
Site:
Computer:
Model:
Submodel:
Operating System:
Operating Level:
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MSC Nastran Installation and Operations Guide MSC Nastran R2.

1 Installation and Operations

List of MSC Nastran Books

Supported Hardware and Operating Systems

Changes to MSC Nastran 2012

The Directory Structure

Installing MSC Nastran on UNIX Systems 15

Installing MSC Nastran on Windows Systems 20

Using the msc20121 Command

Using the mscinfo Command (UNIX)

Managing MSC Nastran Licensing

Activating MSC Nastran Accounting

Determining System Limits

Managing Remote and Distributed Hosts

Limiting memory Requests

Customizing the News File

Defining a Computer Model Name and CONFIG Number

Generating a Timing Block for a New Computer

Customizing Queue Commands (UNIX)

Customizing the Templates

Using Regular Expressions

4 processor introduces a feature called Hyper Threading, where a single physical

Using the nastran Command

Using the Basic Keywords

Specifying Memory Sizes

Determining Resource Requirements

Using the Test Problem Libraries

Making File Assignments

Using the INCLUDE Statement

Using the SSS Alter Library

Resolving Abnormal Terminations

Using the Advanced Keywords

Using the NASTRAN Statement

Interpreting the .f04 File

Running a Job on a Remote System

Running Distributed Memory Parallel (DMP) Jobs

Configuring and Running SOL 600

SOL 600 Parallel Processing on Windows

Configuring and Running SOL 700

Running an ISHELL Program

Using the ISHELL-INCLUDE Statement (!)

Improving Network File System (NFS) Performance (UNIX)

Creating and Attaching Alternate Delivery Databases

Building the Utilities Delivered in Source Form

Building and Using BEAMSERV

Building and Using DDLPRT

Building and Using DDLQRY

Building and Using DEMO1

Building and Using DEMO2

Building and Using DR3SERV

Building and Using MATTST

Building and Using SMPLR

Building and Using a Spline Server

Building and Using TABTST

Beam Server Source Files

DRESP3 Server Source Files

MSC.Access Source Files

Resolving Duplicate Parameter Specifications

Customizing Command Initialization and Runtime Configuration Files

SYS Parameter Keywords