ANSYS CFX Installation FAQs

  1. Install CFX 12.x on the headnode of the cluster.
  2. Share the Ansys Inc directory typically installed under C:\Program Files as "Ansys Inc"
  3. Map a drive letter to the shared Ansys Inc shared directory.
  4. Ensure that the HPC user account has Read & Execute permission for this directory.

Launching from the Headnode

  1. If you will be launching directly from the headnode, create a working directory on the headnode, for example, C:\CFX-DATA
  2. Share the working directory and give Full Permissions

Launching from a Client (Submit) Machine

  1. Create a working directory on the Client/Submit machine for example, C:\CFX-DATA
  2. Share the working directory and give Full Permissions

Create a CFXCCS_OPTIONS.txt File

  1. On the submit machine (either the headnode or the client machine) create a \%USERPROFILE%\.cfx\cfxccs_options.txt file with the required content to define HPC options.
PATHMAP="C:\Program Files\Ansys Inc";\\headnode\Ansys Inc (Where headnode is the actual name of the headnode)
PATHMAP=C:\CFX-DATA;\\submit_machine\working_dir (Where working_dir is the "shared" name of the working directory, for example, \\submit_machine|CFX-DATA)
CLUSTERHOST=headnode (Where headnode is the name of the headnode computer. To be used when submitting jobs from machines other than the headnode.
ACCOUNT= <OtherUserDomain>\<OtherUserName> To be used when submitting jobs using different credentials, where >OtherUserDomain> and <OtherUserName> are the domain and user names of another user.
PROCESSORSPERSOLVER=2 This is an optional setting (default setting is 1) that allocates the number of core per partition.
  1. Verify that the cfxccs_options.txt file that you created does not have a hidden file extension. You can verify this by going to Windows Explorer , Tools menu, Folder Options . Uncheck " Hide File Extensions for Known File Types ". You will then be able to verify if there is an additional extension.

Change the CFX Shortcut Target

  1. Right-click on the CFX Shortcut
  2. Choose Properties
  3. Change the "Target" to reflect the name of the machine that CFX is installed on, for example, the Headnode using a UNC path format. For example: "\\headnode\ANSYS Inc\v12.x\CFX\bin\cfx5.exe" Be sure to include quotation marks to the path.


Submitting a Job

  1. Start the CFX-Solver Manager. (The first time a simulation is run, supply the required credentials that you are prompted for)
  2. Choose File, Define Run.
  3. Select the .def file from your working directory using a UNC format, for example, \\computer_name\shared_directory\filename.def.
  4. Set the start method to “Submit to Windows CCS or HPC Queue”.
  5. Set the number of partitions.
  6. Use a UNC path to your Working Directory, for example, \\computer_name\CFX-DATA
  7. Choose Start Run.


This will copy the def file to the shared working directory (appending the same run number as the job – e.g StaticMixer_001.def) then submit a job to the queue. Any change in the jobs status will be reported in the out file (started/finished/cancelled/failed).

Monitoring the Job

Once the job has started it can be monitored on the HeadNode using Monitor Run in Progress from the Solver Manager and specifying the local working directory that was shared earlier. The run directory cannot be determined until the job starts, e.g for StaticMixer_001.def it will usually be StaticMixer_001_001.dir but if this conflicts with an existing file in the shared working directory the number will be incremented.