Use of Partition file

Chander · October 6, 2011, 15:11

Hi ,

I am using a large mesh for my simulation in parallel run mode. Now every time when a simulation restarts, cfx solver manager first partitions the mesh into the requested number of partitions (equal to number of CPUs requested) and then starts the solution.
I know that it is possible to pre-partition a mesh and store the partition info in a partition file and then give this file as input to cfx solver manager. So each time simulation has to restart , cfx solver manager uses the info in this file and does not waste time in partitioning the mesh on every restart.
However, from the cfx manuals ( I am using ver 12.1), I am not able to understand as to how to generate the partition file and use it.
Any guidance on this will be greatly helpful.

Thanks for your inputs!
Chander

mjgraf · October 6, 2011, 18:44

cfx5solve -help

This will show the command line options to create the partition file.
you can pipe it a file so you can open it in a text editor.

-parfile-read <parfile>
Specifies the name of an input partition file used to set up a partitioning or parallel run.

-parfile-write <parfile>
Specifies the name of a partition file to write to, containing the information from a partitioning run.

-part-only <# of partitions>
Runs the solver in partitioning mode only. This is normally equivalent to -part, but may be necessary if partitioning a results file from a previous run.

Chander · October 9, 2011, 09:56

@mjgarf

Thanks for your reply.
Now I am able to generate and use a partition file.
One question.

While launching the CFX run to generate the partition file, I specify that the run to be a partition run by including the command
-partition-only
in the overall command.
But still, the solver starts after partitioning the mesh.
Shouldn't a partion only run stop after partitioning the mesh?

October 6, 2011, 15:11	Use of Partition file	#1
Chander Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Zurich Posts: 176 Rep Power: 16	Hi , I am using a large mesh for my simulation in parallel run mode. Now every time when a simulation restarts, cfx solver manager first partitions the mesh into the requested number of partitions (equal to number of CPUs requested) and then starts the solution. I know that it is possible to pre-partition a mesh and store the partition info in a partition file and then give this file as input to cfx solver manager. So each time simulation has to restart , cfx solver manager uses the info in this file and does not waste time in partitioning the mesh on every restart. However, from the cfx manuals ( I am using ver 12.1), I am not able to understand as to how to generate the partition file and use it. Any guidance on this will be greatly helpful. Thanks for your inputs! Chander

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October 6, 2011, 18:44		#2
mjgraf Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 131 Rep Power: 19	cfx5solve -help This will show the command line options to create the partition file. you can pipe it a file so you can open it in a text editor. -parfile-read <parfile> Specifies the name of an input partition file used to set up a partitioning or parallel run. -parfile-write <parfile> Specifies the name of a partition file to write to, containing the information from a partitioning run. -part-only <# of partitions> Runs the solver in partitioning mode only. This is normally equivalent to -part, but may be necessary if partitioning a results file from a previous run.

October 9, 2011, 09:56		#3
Chander Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Zurich Posts: 176 Rep Power: 16	@mjgarf Thanks for your reply. Now I am able to generate and use a partition file. One question. While launching the CFX run to generate the partition file, I specify that the run to be a partition run by including the command -partition-only in the overall command. But still, the solver starts after partitioning the mesh. Shouldn't a partion only run stop after partitioning the mesh?