Getting Started With ANSYS EKM

Getting Started With ANSYS EKM
ANSYS, Inc. Release 17.0

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Table of Contents
Using This Guide ........................................................................................................................................... v
1. Introduction to EKM ................................................................................................................................ 1
1.1. What is EKM? .................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2. How Does EKM Work? ....................................................................................................................... 3
1.2.1. Data Management ................................................................................................................... 4
1.2.2. Collaboration ........................................................................................................................... 5
1.2.3. Knowledge Capture and Reuse ................................................................................................. 6
1.2.4. Remote Simulation and Visualization ........................................................................................ 6
1.3. New and Improved Features in Release 17.0 ...................................................................................... 7
2. Installing and Setting Up EKM .............................................................................................................. 11
3. Configuring and Initializing EKM .......................................................................................................... 13
3.1. Initialization Options ....................................................................................................................... 13
3.2. Configuration Options .................................................................................................................... 14
4. Using EKM ............................................................................................................................................. 15
Release 17.0 - © ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. iii
iv of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Using This Guide
This Getting Started Guide helps you understand what Engineering Knowledge Manager (EKM) is, what
problems it solves, and how to use the product effectively.
• If you want to understand what EKM is at a high level, see What is EKM? (p. 1) and How Does EKM
Work? (p. 3).
• If you are a system administrator interested in installing or configuring EKM, see Installing and Setting Up
EKM (p. 11) and Configuring and Initializing EKM (p. 13).
• If you are a first-time EKM user, see Using EKM (p. 15).
• If you have used previous versions of EKM, see New and Improved Features in Release 17.0 (p. 7).
You can also consult the other EKM user documentation guides for more information:
• EKM Installation Guide: This comprehensive guide provides details about installing and setting up an EKM
server, and the available deployment options. It also discusses upgrading EKM from one version to another,
and common installation mistakes and their workarounds.
• EKM Administration Guide: This is a reference manual for configuring and administering EKM.
• EKM User's Guide: This is a reference manual for using the EKM server product.
The Getting Started Guide contains the following chapters:
• Introduction to EKM (p. 1)
• Installing and Setting Up EKM (p. 11)
• Configuring and Initializing EKM (p. 13)
• Using EKM (p. 15)
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. v
vi of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Chapter 1: Introduction to EKM
The use of simulation tools has grown significantly across all major industries. In the early days of
computer-aided engineering, simulation tools were used by highly-specialized research scientists trying
to troubleshoot design flaws. As simulation tools matured, significant improvements were made in their
ease-of-use; companies are now able to use these tools very early in the design process. It is not unusual
to have multiple teams of engineers in different geographical locations using tools to run thousands
of simulations each year to study and optimize the design of products. Parallel to this, the exponential
increase in the power of computing resources has resulted in a proportional increase in the size and
complexity of problems that are now being solved by simulation tools. File sizes of multiple gigabytes
and data growth of multiple terabytes per year is becoming common.
These developments introduced a new set of engineering challenges. "How do you effectively manage
simulation data?", "How do you enhance collaboration between various teams and individuals involved
in simulation?", and "How do you enable complex analyses to be performed easily by non-experts?"
ANSYS Engineering Knowledge Manager (EKM) has been developed to meet these challenges.
Topics covered in this chapter:

1.1. What is EKM?
1.2. How Does EKM Work?
1.3. New and Improved Features in Release 17.0
1.1. What is EKM?

EKM is a web-based system designed to efficiently manage both the data produced by simulation tools
and the processes used to control the collection of that data. You can access EKM using a web browser
such as Internet Explorer, Chrome, or Firefox. You can also configure EKM to be accessible from a mobile
device such as an iPhone, android device, or tablet.
EKM can easily integrate with your existing file servers to store the content of uploaded files, with your
relational database to store metadata, and with your compute clusters to execute simulations:
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 1
Introduction to EKM
Figure 1.1: EKM Architecture
EKM offers a rich set of features for tackling the challenges faced by engineers and companies using
simulation tools. It is vendor-neutral in the type of data that it can manage, the type of simulation tools
that it can execute, and the types of processes that it can define; however, it provides a high degree
of off-the-shelf integration with ANSYS tools and files.
You can install and set up an EKM server and obtain significant benefits from using it with minimal
configuration. However, EKM is also highly configurable and you can easily set it to fit your specific data
or process management requirements.
EKM is highly scalable and can be used by an individual user, a small workgroup, or a large enterprise.
It can be run on a single-server or a cluster and is scalable from a single user to multiple users connected
in LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network). Multiple EKM repositories can be connected
together to create an efficient system for sharing and transferring simulation files across a WAN. (Fig-
ure 1.2: Example of EKM Distributed Architecture (p. 3))
2 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
How Does EKM Work?
Figure 1.2: Example of EKM Distributed Architecture
1.2. How Does EKM Work?

EKM provides a broad range of features that can be used to increase the reach of simulation data and
the usage of simulation tools in your organization. It enables you to efficiently archive all of your simu-
lation data, and track design development using version control and features such as reports and dis-
cussions.
EKM:
• Efficiently manages simulation data
• Reduces the time required to find previous data
• Reduces the need for re-execution if the desired data already exists and is not invalid
• Reduces the usage of invalid data
• Increases collaboration among different teams
• Simplifies the definition and deployment of simulation procedures and best practices
• Enables you to define simulation jobs and execute them over HPC/Clusters
• Enables you to track the progress of remote simulation jobs and visualize/access the jobs interactively
Introduction to EKM
All of this leads to better return on simulation investment for your organization.
EKM‘s rich set of features can be grouped into the following broad categories:
1.2.1. Data Management
1.2.2. Collaboration
1.2.3. Knowledge Capture and Reuse
1.2.4. Remote Simulation and Visualization
1.2.1. Data Management

EKM provides all of the advanced features that a sophisticated data management system offers, while
focusing on the unique characteristics of simulation data. Not only are such data sets very large, the
file formats that need to be managed are also numerous. Therefore, the architecture of the system has
been designed to handle data in a highly efficient and flexible manner. A breakdown of the important
data management features follows:
• Management of large data sets: Data generated by simulation tools can be very large and it becomes a
challenging task to store it in a centralized server, especially if you have users across a Wide Area Network
(WAN). EKM File Transfer Client provides an intuitive interface for bulk data transfers of multiple files and
folders. It can also interact with a cache service so that files that have been downloaded once are not trans-
ferred again. Within the server, only a single instance of a file is maintained even if it is copied to multiple
places or has different versions with no change in content. For efficiency, files are stored outside the database
on a file system. This has the added benefit of enabling you to integrate with Hierarchical Storage Managers
(HSM) for managing data growth. You can specify a retention policy to automatically remove obsolete data
from the system. Finally, instead of uploading files, you can let the files remain in their original location and
just create a reference to them in EKM.
• Configurable data model: EKM is able to recognize a rich set of file formats used by ANSYS tools. Through
the use of custom file types, it also enables you to easily extend the data model to add support for files
from other tools or in-house solvers. When files are uploaded, some key properties (or metadata) are auto-
matically extracted after the upload. You can also define metadata extraction for custom types. EKM also
enables users to supply metadata values after upload. Because the project or folder structure that is used
to organize simulation data is not standard and varies significantly from tool to tool, company to company
and even from group to group within a company, by default, EKM enables data to be organized in any arbitrary
folder structure as on a file system. EKM closely resembles Windows File Explorer in order to lower the
learning curve of simulation engineers. However, wherever it is required, you can define custom containers
that add constraints on how data are organized. Most of the configuration can be done dynamically from
the interface without requiring you to stop and restart the server or edit complex scripts and XML files.
• Access Control: EKM offers a sophisticated but easy-to-use permission system for protecting your intellec-
tual property and preventing unauthorized access or modification of data. Every user that signs in to an
EKM server needs to have an account created for them. EKM can integrate with external authentication
systems such as Windows Active Directory and LDAP as well as Windows/Linux OS-based authentication so
that you can sign in with your existing password. Each user can belong to multiple groups. Each object
(whether a file or a container) has an Access Control List (ACL) that specifies which user or group can access,
modify, create, delete, download or perform lifecycle operations on the object. Users without adequate
permission to access an object will not be able to view it from the parent container that contains it, or perform
a search on it. EKM also enables you to define custom modules to meet complex authorization requirements,
such as for export control or ITAR.
• Version Control and Access Management: EKM provides extensive version control and access management
capabilities. You can maintain multiple versions of files or folders. You can view the revision history to track
the evolution of data and compare different versions against each other. You can also revert to a previous
How Does EKM Work?
version if desired, and create multiple branches that enable you to track and study different options or
design variants used in a simulation.
• Object lifecycle management: EKM enables any object to be associated with a lifecycle for tracking its
maturity status. You can define permissions that are applied to the object for each stage of the lifecycle.
This enables you to control the visibility of the object as it matures. You can also define a signoff process
that should be followed before the stage can be changed. This enables a committee to electronically review
and approve the stage change.
• Searching: EKM offers a variety of search options. You can perform a Google-like full text search on text,
XML, HTML, and common document formats (such as PDF, RTF, DOC, PPT, XLS, and so on). You can use the
property-based search option to search using metadata that are extracted from files or added by users.
You can create complex queries with multiple statements and sub-expressions to narrow the search. For
example, you can find all Fluent Case files created by users Joe or Bob, within a certain date range, in which
the turbulence model utilized was either K-Epsilon or Spalart Allmaras, and the material used was water.
Finally you can also perform a report-based search to find reports that match a certain search criteria (such
as finding all reports in a particular folder in which temperature at a boundary was greater than a threshold).
• Reporting: EKM offers comprehensive reporting capabilities. You can create comparison reports that
compare the metadata of files or content of reports, or compare folders recursively. You can also generate
charts and plots to compare numerical data. Simulation detail reports are automatically created on upload
and summarize detailed model settings and boundary conditions used by a simulation input file. Details
about a process can be captured in a process report.
1.2.2. Collaboration
Simulations are often performed in a collaborative environment. Usually there is a complex web of in-
terdependencies in simulation data, especially in multiphysics or sub-structured analysis. These analyses
may be performed by different teams or individuals. EKM offers several tools for enhancing collaboration
between different teams and managing the data dependencies.
• Alerts: EKM can be used to specify alert settings that send you an email whenever an object is created,
deleted, modified or undergoes a lifecycle stage change. This enables you to work on a given simulation
and be notified as soon as a dependent file is changed.
• Dependency management: EKM has a special container type called Analysis Project that can be used to
manage analysis dependencies. It can be used to define the input files required for an analysis and the
output files generated by an analysis. An input file may be generated by an upstream analysis and may have
input files of its own. An output file may be used for further downstream analysis that may generate output
files of its own. All these dependencies can be easily viewed in a graph. The graph indicates whether an input
file has been modified after the previous execution of the analysis, and alerts you when the analysis and its
generated results are out-of-date. You can then download the project, perform the analysis locally and upload
the project back to EKM. Alternatively, EKM can execute the analysis automatically on the server without
requiring any data transfer. EKM can integrate with batch submission systems (such as LSF) so that a simu-
lation is executed efficiently in a cluster without impacting the performance of the EKM server. You can
monitor the progress of an automatic execution within EKM and you can cancel the execution at any time.
You will be notified by email when the execution is completed. EKM also stores all execution settings (such
as application used, command line arguments, input files, and so on) so that anyone can review how an
analysis was executed.
• Multi-user processes: EKM can be used to define process templates that can help coordinate activities of
multiple people involved in a simulation process. EKM process templates can be defined using XML or inter-
actively using EKM Studio. A process consists of a set of activities defined by nodes, where each node is
Introduction to EKM
either a manual activity assigned to a particular user or an automatic activity performed by EKM, such as
execution of a simulation. The activities can be sequential, parallel or iterative. Email notification is sent
whenever an activity is assigned to a user. This enables different users to collaborate and hand-off data in
a timely and controlled manner. Managers can view the status and progress of a process and can easily
identify bottlenecks or activities that may be slowing the process.
1.2.3. Knowledge Capture and Reuse

Though simulation tools are becoming increasingly easier to use, they still require experts to model
complex problems and get good results. The accuracy of data depends both on the accuracy of the
underlying tools and the expertise of the user with those tools. This poses a dilemma for companies
interested in expanding the use of simulation tools because most of the users do not have the required
expertise to use the tools. EKM offers several solutions for capturing the knowledge of simulation experts
and for enabling the knowledge to be reused by a large number of non-experts.
• Analysis templates: EKM can be used to create Analysis Project templates. Simulation experts can create
the analysis project that defines how the project should be executed. The project can be a parameterized
template that enables a non-expert user to create a new solution set by simply supplying the required
parameter values and letting EKM handle the execution. Out-of-the-box support for Workbench projects
has been provided that enables you to create new design point runs by specifying the input parameters in
EKM.
• Custom applications: EKM can be used to create custom applications — simple web-based applications
that can be dynamically deployed. Custom applications have a user interface that enables users to enter
input. This input is submitted to, and processed by, the back end, which can then execute some automated
tasks such as simulation execution, report generation, performing what-if studies, optimization, and so on.
The user interface is defined using common web technologies (such as HTML) and the back-end is defined
using powerful scripting languages such as Python or BeanShell. In order to provide maximum flexibility,
both the user interface and the back-end can be as simple or as complex as required. There are no constraints
on the kinds of problems that can be modeled, the type of user interface that can be designed, or the type
of logic that can be defined. Custom applications can be deployed to EKM dynamically and once loaded
they act like any other object in EKM. You can perform all data management operations on these applications.
You can also assign metadata to custom applications and search for them. Finally you can place them under
version control and define a lifecycle for tracking their maturity status. This enables you to ensure that custom
applications are used only when they reach a certain level of maturity and have gone through a review
process.
• Single-user process templates: EKM can be used to define process templates. EKM processes can be used
either for collaboration between multiple users as previously discussed, or for modeling single-user problems
that are inadequately addressed by custom applications. Some simulation processes can be modeled as a
set of activities performed by a single user. Some of these activities may involve automated execution of
simulations. The results of the simulations may dictate the subsequent steps that need to be taken. Custom
applications can only handle a single activity, so process templates are required to model a set of multiple
activities. Like custom applications, process templates can also be deployed dynamically and once loaded,
they behave like any other object in EKM. For instance, you can perform all data management operations
on an EKM process template, search for it, place it under version control or associate it with a lifecycle, and
so on.
1.2.4. Remote Simulation and Visualization

EKM enables you to perform simulations remotely, and easily monitor and manage simulation jobs.
Features related to jobs and job management include:
New and Improved Features in Release 17.0
• Batch jobs: EKM enables you to set up remote simulation jobs that will run on their own without any user
intervention. When you create a batch job you specify job submission settings and upload files to a working
directory on the compute server. Jobs are submitted to a local or remote batch queuing system that is
scheduled and managed by the ANSYS Remote Solve Manager (RSM) utility.
• Interactive jobs: EKM also enables you to run simulation jobs in real time, meaning that you interact with
the system as the job executes. When you start an interactive job you are prompted to select an application
to launch (for example, ANSYS Workbench). Interactive jobs are submitted to EnginFrame, a high-performance
computing (HPC) application portal that manages all aspects of the interactive session. EnginFrame integrates
with key job schedulers and remote visualization tools for a seamless interactive experience.
• Job templates. Rather than specifying job submission settings every time that you create a job, you can
capture desired settings in a job template. Selecting a template in the Start Job dialog box automatically
populates the dialog with the settings saved in the template, saving valuable time.
• Job monitors. When a job is started in EKM, a job monitor object is automatically created on the Job
Monitor page. You can monitor the status of all jobs simultaneously from this page. Jobs are marked as
either Not Started, Queued, Executing, or Executed. Opening a job monitor objects enables you
to view various details about the job, such as inputs and outputs, and job submission settings.
• EKM Mobile. Job management in EKM is integrated between the web application and the mobile application
to provide you with more options for monitoring and controlling jobs.
1.3. New and Improved Features in Release 17.0

If you have used previous versions of EKM, Release 17.0 offers many significant changes and improve-
ments:
Installation and Configuration

• Each EKM server is now installed in cluster configuration. Cluster configuration affords the flexibility to scale
EKM to meet changing workloads. An EKM server can be installed as single-node or multi-node, and addi-
tional EKM cluster nodes may be added as needed.
• EKM now features centralized server installation and configuration. This simplifies EKM configuration and
management, and reduces duplication of files and configuration in a multi-node server.
• EKM now supports the next-generation mod_cluster load balancer for integration with a front-end webserver.
mod_cluster replaces mod_jk, providing wider protocol support (HTTP, HTTPS, AJP), more flexible load
balancing options and improved management.
• A new tiered licensing system enables you to better control how individual users access and modify repos-
itory data.
• EKM workspaces are no longer categorized as Individual or Shared. A user’s access to data in a workspace
is determined by the Access Level assigned to the user in their profile, and the type of license that the user
is holding when he or she accesses the workspace.
• A new clusterVisibleDirectories setting in the ekm.xml file enables you to specify the directories
that are visible to all compute cluster nodes. This determines where the job data directory can reside, and
ensures that RSM jobs run directly in their specified working directory, without any unnecessary file transfers.
• When a template, application, action or macro fails, administrators can view a script log that enables them
to debug scripts in that item.
Introduction to EKM
• When defining type attributes for a custom type, you can use the new customStatusFlagsMacro to
specify the name of a macro that will display custom status flags and icons when an object of that type is
displayed or queried in the list view.
• When defining actions for a custom type, you can remove selected built-in actions to prevent them from
appearing on an object’s context menu or toolbar.
• The supportedVersions variable has been removed from the built-in CFX, Fluent and MAPDL job tem-
plates. Solver versions are now specified globally in a new solverVersions element in the ekm.xml
file.
• The way in which you configure RSM when integrating it with EKM has changed. Key changes include:
– The Compute Server service (Ans.Rsm.SHHost.exe) and RSM-RPC Server (Ans.Rsm.XmlRpcServer) are no
longer used. Only the RSM Job Manager service (Ans.Rsm.JMHost.exe) is required.
– All configuration is done through XML configuration files instead of the RSM Admin interface. This includes
configuring RSM to integrate with a cluster, and defining RSM queues.
– EKM no longer caches passwords with RSM. Your EKM credentials are automatically sent to the RSM
Launcher service when RSM is needed.
– A new Job Management preference enables you to specify different job execution credentials if needed.
For more information, refer to Integrating EKM with Remote Solve Manager (RSM) in the EKM Admin-
istration Guide.
• The EKM Connector End User API has been updated.
Data Management
• The Copy action now copies selected files and folders to the clipboard. A new Paste action enables you to
quickly complete the copy operation. The Move action has been replaced by Cut and Paste actions.
• Simulation details are now extracted from .rstp files (Mechanical APDL results file format), as well as
.cas.h5 files (Fluent HDF).
• Simulation details are now extracted from ANSYS AIM projects, and the resulting simulation details report
includes AIM Study properties.
• Icepak .ice.xml and .tzr files have been added as built-in types in EKM, and simulation details are ex-
tracted from them.
• SpaceClaim .scdoc files have been added as a built-in type in EKM. When you upload such a file to the
repository, you can view the SpaceClaim model in the interactive 3D viewer.
• The 3D viewer has been enhanced to include additional zoom/pan/rotate functionality as well as a scene
selector for files that support multiple scenes.
• A new disableDataExtraction setting enables you control whether or not metadata is extracted from
specific file types when they are uploaded to EKM.
• A new Transfer Details button in the Download From EKM dialog box calculates and displays the total
download size of the files that you have selected for download.
New and Improved Features in Release 17.0
• A new Views tab in the Custom Type dialog box enables you to define custom views for objects.
• When defining a custom interface, you can now include images that reside in the EKM repository, as well
as links to repository objects.
• A more robust 3D viewer has been integrated into the Image tab. You can use keyboard shortcuts to display
the model in various predefined rotations.
• You can now download a report as a Word document.
• The option to re-extract data is now available if you cancel an extraction on the Extraction Monitor page.
• A new Connections feature enables you to capture your sign-in credentials for other EKM repositories.
These predefined connections can be used to quickly expand a search or access another repository through
a URL object.
Job Management
• When starting an interactive session, the session status is now displayed in the Job Monitor instead of a
dialog box.
• If you encounter issues during an interactive session, you can use the new Show session log action to view
a log of activity from EnginFrame, including VNC server information and task outputs and errors.
• When using the built-in Electronics job template, you can now select the version of Electronics Desktop
that you want to use. When adding Batchoptions during job setup, a new Show registry key entries drop
box enables you to specify that you want to display all or specific registry key categories. A Display only
frequently used check box enables you to control whether only frequently used entries or all entries are
displayed for the selected category.
• Legacy projects created in Simplorer, Maxwell, HFSS, Designer and Q3D will be converted to .aedt files
and submitted to ANSYS Electronics Desktop for execution.
• The Fluent job template now supports Fluent HDF (.cas.h5 and .dat.h5) files.
• When the Show RSM job log action is selected, EKM now retrieves a full, pre-formatted job report from
RSM.
• In the Edit Job Template dialog box, a new Job status view option on the UI tab enables you display ad-
vanced monitoring and controls when a selected solver is launched in server (aas) mode.
• When running a Mechanical APDL server-mode job, the Job Monitor now shows the progress of individual
solution steps.
• When updating a Workbench project, you no longer need to specify the component execution mode. EKM
uses the server-mode startup options provided by Workbench. Also, the job status refreshes automatically
as the job moves from Queued to Executing, eliminating the need for a manual refresh.
Process Management
• A new Multi-line value option enables you to create multi-line text fields in the following contexts:
– When defining a text box in a custom dialog box
– When defining properties for a custom type
Introduction to EKM
– When defining a variable for a process template in EKM Studio
• Upon selecting a process template that has not yet been approved, you are now presented with the option
to request approval at that time.
• The Edit > Alerts action can now be captured in a journal.
• When defining a custom dialog node in a process template, you can now incorporate an On-change macro
for Text Box, Check Box, Reference, Date, and Dropdown widgets.
• Delete permission has been added to approved process templates.
• When defining a batch node in a process template, a new Show working directory option lets you control
whether or not users can access the job’s working directory.
• Administrators can use the scripting interface to test or debug a process template. APIs have been added
for this purpose.
Usability Enhancements
• A new Edit Gadget action enables you to edit the name of a dashboard gadget, or what it displays.
• The object view window can now be maximized and restored down as needed.
• Check boxes have been added to the design points table for Workbench server projects to facilitate the se-
lection of design points.
• The majority of toolbar buttons show only updated icons, giving the interface a cleaner look.
Chapter 2: Installing and Setting Up EKM
The EKM family of software consists of EKM, which is the application that runs the EKM server, and the
companion applications that can be used to transfer data to or from an EKM server. You can connect
to an EKM repository from supported web browsers, mobile devices, tablets, and from ANSYS Workbench.
EKM is a scalable system that can accommodate individual users, small workgroups, and large enterprises.
EKM must be set up before it can be configured and used. Refer to Steps for Setting Up an EKM Server
in the EKM Installation Guide.
Chapter 3: Configuring and Initializing EKM
Once EKM is installed and set up, if your users have specific requirements, then you may need to spend
more time initializing and configuring the system before letting others use EKM. This will ensure a
higher satisfaction rate and greater usage.
For your convenience, the sections that follow contain lists of possible initialization options and config-
uration options. You do not need to provide support for all of these options before starting to use EKM;
you can initially focus on a subset of capabilities that cover your initial requirements, and then expand
the capabilities as additional requirements are gathered.
Topics covered in this chapter:
• Initialization Options (p. 13)
• Configuration Options (p. 14)
3.1. Initialization Options

Once an EKM server has been started, you can perform some basic initialization so that others can start
using it. Any of these steps can also be performed at any time in the future without requiring a server
restart.
• Define users and groups: Any user who logs into EKM needs to have an account. The permissions that are
available to users will depend on the access level assigned to them in their profiles, and the groups they
belong to. So, you will need to first collect the names of all users and groups, and then define the access
level and group membership for each user. For details, see Setting Up Users and Groups in the EKM Admin-
istration Guide.
• Define remote file servers: If you want EKM to create a reference to a file or folder residing in an external
server that is accessible to EKM, you will need to create a Remote File Server object for that purpose. For
details, see Connecting to Remote File Servers in the EKM Administration Guide.
• Create the high-level folder structure: Before allowing users to populate EKM, it is advisable to first come
up with a common understanding of how the data will be organized and what the high-level folder structure
will be. For example, you can have a folder for each team and a folder for every project within each team
folder. Or alternatively, you can have folders that are broken down by simulation tool, and organize performed
simulations at the assembly or part level. For details, see Creating a New Folder in the User’s Guide.
• Assign permissions: You should assign permissions to the initial folder structure so that only the required
users can access or modify the information. For details, see Editing Permissions in the User’s Guide.
• Load custom applications: You can load any custom application defined during configuration. For details,
see Defining Custom Dialogs, Wizards and Applications in the EKM Administration Guide.
• Load process templates and initial data: You can load any process templates defined during configuration
and also help users get started by loading initial data into EKM. For details, see Transferring Files in the User’s
Guide.
Configuring and Initializing EKM
3.2. Configuration Options

Here are some configuration changes that you can make before starting the EKM server. You can make
these changes at any time in the future as well. Some changes may also require that you migrate your
old data model to a new one. For details, see Migrating Workspaces in the EKM Administration Guide.
• Define server settings: You will need to define additional server settings in ekm.xml if you want to
do integrate with RSM for batch job submission.
For details, see Configuring EKM Server Settings in the EKM Administration Guide.
• Define custom types: You will need to define custom types if you want to do the following:
– Add metadata or custom actions to existing types provided by EKM
– Allow EKM to recognize new file types and specify metadata for these new types
– Allow users to create custom containers or custom analysis projects
For details, see Defining Custom Types in the EKM Administration Guide.
• Define metadata and report extractors for third-party file formats: This is required if you want to
extract metadata or reports from file formats that EKM does not support. You will need to define applic-
ations that will perform the extraction. For details, see Custom File Formats in the EKM Administration
Guide.
• Define custom applications: This is required if you want to capture best practice or procedures. You
will need to define both the back end (scripting logic) and front end (user interface) of the application.
For details, see Scripts and Journals in the EKM Administration Guide.
• Define process templates: This is required if you want to define a process involving multiple users or
a set of activities that cannot be defined using a custom application. For details, see Defining Process
Templates in EKM Studio in the User’s Guide.
• Define object lifecycles: This is required if you want to track the maturity level of any object type as
it moves through its lifecycle. You will need to define the stages involved, permissions applicable at
each stage, and any review processes required to complete a stage change. For details, see Defining
and Configuring Lifecycles in the EKM Administration Guide.
• Define Queues for Remote Simulation: This is required if you want to execute or run simulation jobs
from within EKM. To make this possible, EKM must be synchronized with ANSYS RSM. For details, see
Managing Queues in the EKM Administration Guide.
Chapter 4: Using EKM
Once EKM has been installed, set up, initialized, and configured, you can start using it. To help you get
started, the main features of EKM are outlined below.
Accessing EKM for the First Time

To find out how to launch EKM and sign in using your credentials, see Connecting to an EKM Server in
the EKM User’s Guide. Once you are signed in, refer to The EKM Environment to get acquainted with the
EKM interface. A quick overview of the interface is shown below:
Figure 4.1: The EKM Interface
Using EKM
By default, a Welcome dialog box appears when you sign in to EKM. It contains the same overview of
the interface shown above, and provides links to other resources that can help you get started. You
can prevent the dialog box from appearing in the future by disabling the Show at sign-in check box,
or by editing your Settings.
Navigating in EKM
EKM is divided into five main sections: Home, Data, Jobs, Processes, and Administration. You navigate
to different sections using the drop box in the top left corner of the application window. Each section
has one or more pages of content. For example, the Data section has five pages: My Data, Shared
Data, Starred, Recent, and Extraction Monitor. The breadcrumb trail shows you which page is currently
selected, and which object is currently selected (if any). You can click on the labels and arrows in the
breadcrumb trail to navigate to other folders or objects within the trail. All of these navigational aids
are illustrated in Figure 4.1: The EKM Interface (p. 15).
Uploading Files
You can upload data to an EKM repository using any of the following options:
• Files/Archives Using Browser: This can be used when you want to add one or more files or archive files as
long as the size of the file is less than 2 GB. See Uploading Files/Archives Using the Web Client Browser in
the EKM User’s Guide.
• Files/Archives Using EKM File Transfer Client: This can be used when you want to add one or more files
or archive files of any size. See Uploading Files Using the File Transfer Client in the EKM User’s Guide.
• File/Folder from Server: Use this to transfer a file or folder from the server. See Uploading Files from the
Server in the EKM User’s Guide.
• Using ANSYS Workbench: You can upload projects from Workbench to EKM. See Saving a Project to an EKM
Repository in the Workbench User’s Guide.
Creating Connections to Files/Folders on a Remote Server

You can create a reference to a file or folder that physically resides on a remote file server, without
having to upload it. This can be done after a Remote File Server has been defined by an admin user.
See Creating a Connection to a Remote File or Folder in the EKM User’s Guide.
Downloading Files
You can download data from an EKM repository using any of the following options:
• Using the Browser: Use this to download single files or folders to your local computer. Folders or other
containers are archived in a .zip file before they are downloaded and can then be extracted on your local
machine. See Downloading Files/Folders Using the Browser in the EKM User’s Guide.
• Using the EKM File Transfer Client: Use this to download large or multiple files and folders, and when you
want to use a cache service. See Downloading Files/Folders Using the EKM File Transfer Client in the EKM
User’s Guide.
• To a Folder on Server: Use to transfer a file or folder from the repository to the EKM server. Here, the EKM
server refers to the machine where files are generated when a job is executed using EKM and RSM. See
Downloading a File or Folder to the Server in the EKM User’s Guide.
• Using ANSYS Workbench: To download projects and files in EKM from Workbench. See Opening a Project
from an EKM Repository in the Workbench User Guide.
Managing Data
EKM supports all common data management operations, most of which can be accessed from the
Edit menu. Common operations include:
• Copy/Paste
• Cut/Paste
• Rename
• Delete
• Lock/Unlock
• Permissions
• Properties
• Alerts
See Managing Repository Data for more information.
Searching for Files

EKM provides the following types of search options:
• Full text search: For a keyword search over file content. See Performing a Keyword Search in the EKM User’s
Guide.
• Property-based search: For an advanced search using object properties. See Performing an Advanced
Search in the EKM User’s Guide.
• Report-based search: For an advanced search of results using report content. See Searching Results for
Report Content in the EKM User’s Guide.
Viewing Reports
EKM provides the following reporting options:
• Comparison Reports: To compare and analyze two or more objects. See Comparison Reports in the EKM
User’s Guide.
• Simulation Details Reports: To get the detailed input settings of simulations. These reports are automatically
created for simulation files on upload. See Simulation Details Reports in the EKM User’s Guide.
• Process Reports. To capture details about a process. See Creating a Process Report in the EKM User’s Guide.
Versioning and Access Control

Once an object has been added to EKM, you can control access to it in different ways:
Using EKM
• Set permissions on the object that permit (or restrict) access by users and groups. See Editing Permissions
in the EKM User’s Guide.
• Get exclusive control of the object, which gives you exclusive edit privileges and prevents others from
modifying it. When you are done modifying the object, you can release control of it. See Getting Exclusive
Control of an Object in the EKM User’s Guide.
• Place the object under version control. Editing objects in a “controlled check-in” environment ensures
that only one user is modifying an object at any given time, and that their modifications are captured
exclusively in the version they are working on. See Adding Objects to Version Control in the EKM User’s
Guide.
Defining Lifecycles
A lifecycle is a set of sequential stages that a file or folder moves through during its lifetime. There are
two ways to define a lifecycle:
• Using EKM Studio, a built-in application with a simple point-and-click interface (see Defining Lifecycles in
EKM Studio in the EKM Administration Guide)
• Using XML (see Appendix C see Defining Lifecycles in EKM Studio in the EKM Administration Guide)
Defining Process Templates

A process template defines a set of tasks that users and machines perform to achieve a specific goal.
There are two ways to define a process template:
• Using EKM Studio (see Defining Process Templates in EKM Studio in the EKM User’s Guide)
• Using XML (see Appendix A in the EKM User’s Guide)
Once a template has been defined you can execute a process from it. See Starting a Process in the EKM
User’s Guide.
Creating Analysis Projects

An Analysis Project folder is a special type of folder that can be used to store all of the data pertaining
to a simulation. You can track dependencies of objects contained within the project or across multiple
projects, and update the analysis if an upstream dependency has changed. See Working With Analysis
Projects in the EKM User’s Guide.
Creating Custom Applications

You can define custom interfaces and applications that can be used to run automated tasks and produce
outputs in EKM. See Defining Custom Dialogs, Wizards and Applications in the EKM Administration Guide.
Performing Remote Simulations

You can run simulation jobs remotely from EKM by specifying job submission settings such as the ap-
plication to be executed, queue, and command line arguments. The jobs are then run on the associated
compute clusters. You can track the progress of jobs and access simulation results that are generated
on the cluster hardware. See the Managing Jobs chapter in the EKM User’s Guide.
Working with ANSYS Workbench Projects
You can connect to an EKM repository from ANSYS Workbench. Once you have connected to the repos-
itory, you can save Workbench projects directly to the repository, open projects from the repository,
and send and get project changes. You can also import input files from a single repository to a given
Workbench project and track the dependency of the imported file in the Workbench project. For inform-
ation about all of these topics, see the Working with ANSYS Workbench and EKM chapter in the Workbench
User’s Guide.

Getting Started With ANSYS EKM

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Getting Started With ANSYS EKM

ANSYS, Inc. Release 17.0

ANSYS, Inc. is certified to ISO 9001:2008.

U.S. Government Rights

Published in the U.S.A.

The Getting Started Guide contains the following chapters:

• Introduction to EKM (p. 1)

• Installing and Setting Up EKM (p. 11)

• Configuring and Initializing EKM (p. 13)

• Using EKM (p. 15)

Topics covered in this chapter:

1.1. What is EKM?

Figure 1.1: EKM Architecture

Figure 1.2: Example of EKM Distributed Architecture

1.2. How Does EKM Work?

• Efficiently manages simulation data

• Reduces the time required to find previous data

• Reduces the usage of invalid data

• Increases collaboration among different teams

1.2.1. Data Management

1.2.3. Knowledge Capture and Reuse

1.2.4. Remote Simulation and Visualization

1.3. New and Improved Features in Release 17.0

Installation and Configuration

• The EKM Connector End User API has been updated.

• You can now download a report as a Word document.

– When defining a text box in a custom dialog box

– When defining properties for a custom type

– When defining a variable for a process template in EKM Studio

• The Edit > Alerts action can now be captured in a journal.

• Delete permission has been added to approved process templates.

Topics covered in this chapter:

• Initialization Options (p. 13)

• Configuration Options (p. 14)

3.1. Initialization Options

3.2. Configuration Options

– Add metadata or custom actions to existing types provided by EKM

– Allow users to create custom containers or custom analysis projects

Accessing EKM for the First Time

Figure 4.1: The EKM Interface

Creating Connections to Files/Folders on a Remote Server

See Managing Repository Data for more information.

Searching for Files

Versioning and Access Control

Defining Process Templates

• Using XML (see Appendix A in the EKM User’s Guide)

Creating Analysis Projects

Creating Custom Applications

Performing Remote Simulations

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