How to run openfoam simulation through external hard drive

R786 · May 12, 2023, 13:50

hello,
I am low on space on my desktop but I have a 5TB external hard drive, how can I run my openfoam simulation from an external hard drive if I am using ubuntu ?

LuckyTran · May 12, 2023, 14:17

Assuming you can mount the hard-drive.... just do it? Where are you having trouble? You can run OpenFOAM from any directory and that includes other hard drives. If you can copy and paste a file onto your HD, then you can foam it.

R786 · May 13, 2023, 05:31

I am running home directory through Ubuntu, so do I need to transfer the directory into the external hard drive

LuckyTran · May 13, 2023, 10:40

I am very confused. Have you used OpenFOAM before? How do you use it?

Is it not the case that you open a terminal/kernel in an arbitrary directory and type for example

blockMesh
snappyHexMesh
simpleFoam
etc

How do you do it? Because these can be done anywhere.

kinematic_presser · May 16, 2023, 12:20

Dear R786,
Yes, usually we run OpenFOAM in Ubuntu in the home/OpenFOAM/<username>v<versionnumber>/run directory, but you don't have to. Just mount the external disk, and use any directory in there that you would like. Just keep in mind that you may deal with some latency if OpenFOAM is not installed on a different disk.

LuckyTran · May 16, 2023, 13:09

Clarification: the lag is due to your external drive where your case is stored (potentially) being connected to a slower bus (e.g. USB) instead of a high speed bus and foam needing to read and write files to this snail drive, not because of foam not being installed on the external drive.

Foam should be installed in the location most convenient for you. It can be your home drive, your external drive, a cloud drive, a usb stick, heck even a floppy disk.

Of course, you can install foam on the external disk if you so choose.

May 12, 2023, 13:50	How to run openfoam simulation through external hard drive	#1
R786 Member West Midlands Join Date: Aug 2022 Posts: 63 Rep Power: 4	hello, I am low on space on my desktop but I have a 5TB external hard drive, how can I run my openfoam simulation from an external hard drive if I am using ubuntu ?

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May 12, 2023, 14:17		#2
LuckyTran Senior Member Lucky Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Orlando, FL USA Posts: 5,750 Rep Power: 66	Assuming you can mount the hard-drive.... just do it? Where are you having trouble? You can run OpenFOAM from any directory and that includes other hard drives. If you can copy and paste a file onto your HD, then you can foam it.

May 13, 2023, 05:31		#3
R786 Member West Midlands Join Date: Aug 2022 Posts: 63 Rep Power: 4	I am running home directory through Ubuntu, so do I need to transfer the directory into the external hard drive

May 13, 2023, 10:40		#4
LuckyTran Senior Member Lucky Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Orlando, FL USA Posts: 5,750 Rep Power: 66	I am very confused. Have you used OpenFOAM before? How do you use it? Is it not the case that you open a terminal/kernel in an arbitrary directory and type for example blockMesh snappyHexMesh simpleFoam etc How do you do it? Because these can be done anywhere.

May 16, 2023, 12:20		#5
kinematic_presser New Member K Join Date: Oct 2022 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 19 Rep Power: 4	Dear R786, Yes, usually we run OpenFOAM in Ubuntu in the home/OpenFOAM/<username>v<versionnumber>/run directory, but you don't have to. Just mount the external disk, and use any directory in there that you would like. Just keep in mind that you may deal with some latency if OpenFOAM is not installed on a different disk.

May 16, 2023, 13:09		#6
LuckyTran Senior Member Lucky Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Orlando, FL USA Posts: 5,750 Rep Power: 66	Clarification: the lag is due to your external drive where your case is stored (potentially) being connected to a slower bus (e.g. USB) instead of a high speed bus and foam needing to read and write files to this snail drive, not because of foam not being installed on the external drive. Foam should be installed in the location most convenient for you. It can be your home drive, your external drive, a cloud drive, a usb stick, heck even a floppy disk. Of course, you can install foam on the external disk if you so choose.