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reference · Reviewed 2026-08-27

Ansys

Rescale runs the full Ansys product family on managed cloud clusters: Fluent and CFX for CFD, Mechanical for structural analysis, HFSS and the Electronics Desktop suite for high-frequency electromagnetics, LS-DYNA for explicit dynamics, and supporting tools like Workbench, OptiSLang, Icepak, and Polyflow. You can submit Ansys work as batch jobs, or launch it inside a workstation so the UI is attached to the compute cluster. This page is organized by Ansys product family, with pointers to the tutorials and the licensing model Rescale supports.

Choosing between batch and workstations​

Ansys workloads on Rescale run in one of two execution modes. Pick the mode that matches how you want to interact with the solver.

  • Batch jobs are headless. You upload inputs, Rescale spins up a cluster, the solver runs, and Rescale brings results back to your Files tab. Batch is the default for production runs and parameter sweeps.
  • Workstations give you a full Ansys GUI streamed to your browser. Use them for pre- and post-processing, geometry editing, debugging small cases, and for the flows where the UI drives the solve, such as Workbench parameter sweeps and Electronics Desktop projects. A workstation supports multi-node hardware, so it can also drive a solver across a cluster from the same session.

Ansys Fluent​

Fluent is the most common Ansys solver on Rescale. You can run it fully in batch with a journal file, on a GPU-enabled coretype using the native GPU solver, or inside a desktop session for interactive setup and post-processing.

A typical Fluent batch command looks like:

fluent 3ddp -g -t$RESCALE_CORES_PER_SLOT -cnf=$FLUENT_HOSTS -i run.jou

Rescale sets $FLUENT_HOSTS and $RESCALE_CORES_PER_SLOT for you based on the hardware you pick, so the same journal file runs on any supported coretype.

To run Fluent interactively instead, launch a workstation and start Fluent from the desktop session.

Guides in the Rescale Help Center:

Monitoring a running Fluent job​

Rescale gives you three ways to watch a Fluent batch job while it runs:

  1. The Rescale Live Tailing window, which streams transcript output and residuals. To plot residuals and reports as the solve progresses, see generating plots during execution.
  2. The Fluent native web UI on 2024 R1 and newer, which exposes the in-solver monitor through your browser. See monitoring and interacting via the native web UI.
  3. The Fluent Remote Visualization Client, attached to the job through an SSH tunnel from your local machine or a Rescale workstation. You add -sifile=rescale_remote.txt to the solver command, tail the generated file for host and port, open a reverse SSH tunnel, and attach flremote to the session. See monitoring remotely with the Remote Visualization Client, or automate the tunnel and connection file.

MSMD battery tutorial​

Run an ANSYS Fluent MSMD single-cell battery simulation on Rescale walks through a full lithium-ion cell discharge simulation, collecting voltage and temperature outputs. It is a good end-to-end reference for anyone new to Fluent on the platform.

Ansys CFX​

CFX runs in batch against the same cluster layout as Fluent. You upload a .def file (or a .res file when restarting), select a coretype, and Rescale wires up the CFX Solver Manager behind the scenes.

Guides in the Rescale Help Center:

Ansys Mechanical​

Mechanical jobs run in batch using the ansys command, typically with a generated .dat or .inp file. You can run in SMP, DMP, or hybrid parallel mode by choosing the core layout in hardware settings and setting the -dis and -np flags accordingly.

Guides in the Rescale Help Center:

For fluid-structure interaction, you can couple Mechanical with CFX on the same cluster; see running FSI with CFX and Mechanical. Distributed runs support .abt interrupt files for clean checkpoint-and-abort control.

Ansys HFSS and the Electronics Desktop suite​

HFSS, Maxwell, SIwave, Savant, Q3D Extractor, and Icepak all share the Electronics Desktop environment. On Rescale they can run fully in batch for production sweeps, or inside a workstation when you want the Electronics Desktop UI attached to the solve.

Guides in the Rescale Help Center:

HPC Pack licensing applies to HFSS. See configuring HPC Pack licenses for HFSS jobs for the batchoptions parameters that select the pack license type.

Ansys Workbench​

Workbench orchestrates multi-physics projects and parameter sweeps. It can run headless in batch from an archive file, or on a workstation so you get the full Workbench UI and Workbench submits the embedded solves to the attached cluster.

Guides in the Rescale Help Center:

LS-DYNA, Rocky, Motion, Polyflow, and other Ansys solvers​

The Rescale catalog also includes LS-DYNA (with both ANSYS and LSTC license types), Ansys Rocky for DEM, Ansys Motion for multibody dynamics, Ansys Polyflow, and Ansys ARC. These tiles follow the same batch pattern as Fluent and Mechanical: pick a version, supply an input deck, set hardware, and submit. Use Browsing the Catalog to confirm which versions are available to your organization.

Guides in the Rescale Help Center:

Workstations for Ansys work​

Workstations give you a batch compute cluster with desktop visualization attached to the head node. You can monitor jobs on the fly, pause analyses to edit inputs, and view results without waiting for file sync. File sync is automatic between the desktop session and the batch nodes, and there is no extra charge for the visualization layer.

Key points when using workstations for Ansys work:

  • The desktop session is Linux. Some Ansys tools also run on Windows workstation tiles.
  • Save session files to your work folder. Anything outside that folder is not uploaded to job results.
  • You must explicitly terminate the job to shut down the cluster and stop billing.

See Workstations for the general setup, and configuring STAR-CCM+ and Ansys licence settings in workstations if the solver cannot find a licence from inside the session.

Licensing Ansys on Rescale​

You can use Ansys licenses on Rescale in several ways. The right choice depends on how your organization already purchases Ansys licenses.

  • Bring your own license server. Point the ANSYSLMD_LICENSE_FILE and ANSYSLI_SERVERS environment variables at your server through a Company License Proxy (CLP) or Rescale License Host. Set these in the License Options section of the Software step.
  • Ansys Elastic Licensing as a Service (LaaS). If you have a CLSID and PIN from the Ansys Elastic Licensing Portal, enable the LaaS checkbox on the Software step and enter the CLSID and PIN. When LaaS is enabled, you do not need to supply ANSYSLMD_LICENSE_FILE or ANSYSLI_SERVERS.
  • eCADFEM on-demand licenses. Customers using CADFEM's on-demand licensing point ANSYSLMD_LICENSE_FILE and ANSYSLI_SERVERS at 1056@portal.ecadfem.com and 2325@portal.ecadfem.com, respectively, and supply the 12-character LM_PROJECT key. Some tiles (HFSS, Maxwell) do not require the License Interconnect.
  • Ansys Shared Web Licensing. Upload your token file as a job input and enter its exact filename on the Software step. See configuring Ansys Shared Web Licensing.

Two Ansys-specific licence details are worth knowing before you size a job:

  • anshpc_pack vs anshpc. Pack licences apply a 4× multiplier to the core count they permit, so they are not economical below four packs. See understanding Ansys license types.
  • Token calculation. Rescale estimates required tokens from your hardware selection, and that estimate covers basic features only. If your analysis needs additional features, override it in the License Options section. See overriding default license token calculations.

Collecting license logs for support​

Client-side Ansys logs are written to ~/.ansys/ during a run, but only files under ~/work/ are copied back to Rescale Files. If you need to share license debug logs with Ansys or Rescale support, add this to the end of your command:

cp -r ~/.ansys ~/work/shared/dotansys

The copied directory comes back with your results. To read what they say, see understanding Ansys license debug files, which explains the licdebug checkout numbers and how to spot a denial.

Troubleshooting and deeper guidance​

The Rescale Help Center carries a large set of product-specific Ansys articles beyond the ones linked above, including:

Search the Help Center directly for solver-specific errors not listed here. It also covers CFX memory and partitioner tuning, Mechanical parallel modes and MPI transport errors, and the LS-DYNA licence variants.

If a solver reports "Running" but nothing seems to be happening, start with verifying that your solver is actually running, which lists the log files to check per Ansys product.