Last Verified: 2023-12-19
NOTE EnSight is not currently available on CORAL systems.
Overview
EnSight is a product of ANSYS. (The software was previously developed by Computational Engineering International (CEI), which was acquired by ANSYS in 2017.) EnSight provides a set of tools to help with many types of engineering analysis, visualization, and communication. With EnSight you can create contours, isosurfaces, particle traces, vector arrows, elevated surfaces, and profile plots. Animation is also supported.
Like many modern scientific visualization applications, EnSight can utilize a distributed computing model, consisting of a server running on the remote machine where the data sets reside and a client running on the desktop, where all interface interaction and graphics rendering is done using the desktop machine's built-in graphics hardware.
In addition to EnSight, several other tools are included in the EnSight distribution.
Environment
Machines and Versions
See LC visualization software page.
Location
Due to numerous interdependencies within the package, EnSight must be accessed via modules. Multiple versions may be available. Type module avail ensight to see the available options. You can specify a particular version in the module command, e.g., module load ensight/22.2
The actual installation directories are in /usr/tce/packages/ensight.
Settings
The module load ensight command will setup your PATH and any other needed environment variables.
Usage
You must use the command module load ensight before running ensight or any of the other tools included in the complete EnSight package.
Additional Tools
Additional tools are included in the EnSight distribution. A summary of some common ones follows:
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
| ceistart | A tool to automate EnSight launching from your desktop connecting to the clusters. |
| ceishell | A tool to ease EnSight launching on the clusters. |
| cpython | Python wrapped in EnSight goodness; useful for executing python code that loads EnSight's libraries. |
| ens_checker | Debugging tool to check a case file for formatting errors and report the location of the error. |
| enve | Excellent animation creation tool. Creates movies from series of images. |
| envideo | A simple-to-use, cross-platform video player. |
| evo_info | Report the details of a .evo file. |
| slimd8_status | Reports the current license status for EnSight. |
Help
Manuals and documentation are available within the EnSight application from the Help menu.
Type ensight -help for a listing of command-line options.
Video tutorials and more are available in the ANSYS Resource Center.
Help is available from the LC Hotline: lc-hotline@llnl.gov, (925) 422-4531.
Download
If you have an account on the LC machines, the EnSight software may be installed on a local machine and LC's EnSight license can be used. This would be useful if you want to run in distributed mode, or if your local machine has enough memory and speed to visualize your data in stand-alone mode.
To install and use the EnSight software on your local workstation, download and run the appropriate EnSight installer:
- Downloads are available via the ANSYS Customer Portal at support.ansys.com, which requires a registered customer login.
- Alternatively, LC users can download the installer from the CZ Confluence page. If you do not see the installer you are looking for, please contact lc-graphics@llnl.gov.
Licensing
If you have an account on the LC platforms, you can use the LLNL LC site license to process data generated on Livermore Computing resources.
You will be prompted to provide License Server information during installation (or you can provide this information later). Please enter the appropriate details as seen below:
For the OCF:
Ansys Licensing Interconnect port number: 51758 Ansys FlexNet port number: 28523 Hostname: elsie3.llnl.gov
For the SCF:
Ansys Licensing Interconnect port number: 51758 Ansys FlexNet port number: 28523 Hostname: elmer3.llnl.gov
Offsite Users
If your desktop is not in the LLNL network, you will need to use a VPN in order to connect to the LC license server.