User Recounts First Experience with New Cloud Solution Provided by AVL and Rescale

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Rescale is a cloud simulation platform that provides on-demand, scalable compute configurations coupled with fully integrated simulation software. Rescale and AVL recently announced a technology partnership that allows AVL FIRE® users to burst their simulations into the cloud on demand. Once the user has created their models, they only need a web browser to quickly log in to Rescale’s platform, select the software and hardware, upload the input files, and run their simulations.

Maik Suffa, Product Manager at AVL for the 1D and 3D CFD software products AVL BOOST and AVL FIRE®, asked Cliff Arnold, founder and owner of Sage Physics Engineering and a long-time user of FIRE®, to test the recently announced joint solution for running AVL software on Rescale’s cloud simulation platform prior to its public availability.

“I was skeptical when AVL asked me to test a cloud computing platform. Uploading data, running simulations in batch mode, getting results back on my workstation … could that be easily handled? What would be the performance of the system? Can running simulations in the cloud provide real benefits?” Cliff articulated what many AVL customers may also wonder about cloud computing. “But I was also curious, so I gave it a try.”

“Once I created a Rescale account,” Cliff explained, “I could initiate my workflows in the cloud immediately. This was accomplished very quickly, requiring only my browser. I also received login instructions and tutorials on how to get started right away via email. Online demos and documentation provided on Rescale’s website were also quite helpful. Updating the JAVA version on my workstation allowed for quick upload and download speeds using Rescale’s File Transfer Manager.”  

“Following the instructions given on the site, I uploaded my data to the cloud and quickly managed to start my test cases. Once submitted, my jobs ran after only a 2 to 5 minute period to provision the cluster. Essentially no wait time,” Cliff noted. “I did not experience any trouble when downloading the simulation results after the runs were complete. The performance of the hardware managed by Rescale meets or exceeds industry standards and provides access to a virtually unlimited number of cores. With the scalability and robustness of both Rescale and AVL FIRE®, I was able to reduce the simulation time of my cases to an almost arbitrary runtime by significantly scaling the number of processors used for my jobs.”

While simulations are running, users have the ability to track the status of their jobs and to view output files generated by the simulation. Since the work is handled entirely in the cloud, it does not affect users’ internal desktops or workstations. Once the job is finished, users will be alerted by email so they can view and download their results. Collaboration and data management features built directly into the platform allow users to easily copy simulations, share jobs with colleagues, and determine what results data needs to be downloaded.

When asked whether he’d use Rescale to  run AVL FIRE® simulations for his and his clients’ production use, Cliff responded: “While I’ll continue using my own licenses and hardware it is not an either/or decision. The experiences I gained in the cloud are very positive ones. This new joint solution that AVL and Rescale offer allows access to additional licenses and computing power at any time and to any extend. While the software and hardware resources I possess are limited, this is not the case in the cloud. With cloud computing, I’m able to execute simulations without delay – no occupied licenses or overloaded hardware. It also provides the ability to run larger grids and to deploy more resource demanding models like LES or complex reaction chemistry. Whenever there is a demand I’ll use this service. It will help to shorten the time to deliver project results. My clients will certainly like it.”

To learn more about AVL and Rescale’s partnership, please contact info@rescale.com. If you’d like to begin running your own AVL FIRE® jobs on the Rescale platform, please go to www.rescale.com and click on Sign Up.
About Sage Physics & Engineering
Sage Physics & Engineering is providing engineering and simulation services to clients in North America. The company was established in 1994 and has successfully performed CFD simulations for two decades.  Projects include internal combustion engine and powertrain component development, vehicle aerodynamics, heating and ventilation, acoustics and others. Cliff Arnold, the founder and owner of the company has detailed knowledge about CFD and is a long-time user of AVL FIRE®.
About AVL List GmbH
AVL is the world’s largest independent company for development, simulation and testing technology of powertrains (hybrid, combustion engines, transmission, electric drive, batteries and software) for passenger cars, trucks and large engines. AVL with its headquarters in Graz, Austria has 45 affiliates and more than 6600 employees worldwide.
One of AVL’s business areas is Advanced Simulation Technologies, which develops simulation software focusing on design and optimization of powertrain systems covering all phases of the development process.
More information about AVL can be found on www.avl.com
About Rescale, Inc.
Rescale provides a secure, cloud-based, high performance computing platform that allows engineers and scientists to run their compute-intensive simulations with improved performance and decreased runtime The platform allows users to quickly build, compute, and analyze large simulations on demand. Rescale partners with industry-leading software vendors to provide instant access to a variety of simulation packages while simultaneously offering customizable HPC hardware. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Rescale’s customers include global Fortune 500 companies in the aerospace, automotive, life sciences, and energy sectors.
More information about Rescale can be found on www.rescale.com

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