CEM Tutorial

1. Create Your Account

   Click "Get Started" on the landing page and fill in your details. You'll receive 2 hours of free compute time which you can buy just with 1€ + VAT!

2. Verify Your Email

   Check your inbox for a welcome email.

3. Sign In

   Use your email and password to access your dashboard.

4. Explore Your Dashboard

   Familiarize yourself with the interface — your compute time, storage, and quick actions are all accessible here.

1. Navigate to Start Simulation

   From your dashboard, click the "Start Simulation" button.

2. Name and describe your job

   Enter a job name (lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens) and a short description. After you upload your ZIP, the platform can suggest a name and description from your Palace config.json.

3. Confirm the simulation tool

   Select Palace (3D Finite Element Electromagnetics) as the simulation tool.

4. Prepare your ZIP archive

   Your ZIP must contain a Palace config.json and the mesh files referenced inside it. A typical layout looks like this:

   your-case.zip ├── config.json └── mesh/ └── model.msh

   File names can vary — the mesh paths in your JSON just have to match the files in the archive.

5. Step 1: Upload your ZIP

   On the Start Simulation page, choose your .zip file. The upload is required before you can run preflight checks or start the job.

6. Step 2: Run preflight checks

   Click Run Preflight Checks after your job name, description, and ZIP are ready. Preflight validates your archive — including JSON syntax, Palace configuration, and mesh references — before the job is submitted. Fix any failed checks and re-run preflight until all levels pass.

7. Start simulation

   Once preflight passes, click Start Simulation. Your Palace job is queued and runs on cloud GPUs.

Understanding Job Status

Key Metrics to Watch

• Estimated Time Remaining (ETA)

  Predicted completion time based on current progress

• Duration

  Total time which includes all the stages from enqueue to completion and processing time which excludes the enqueue time. Hours consumped as calculed from processing time only.

• File Size

  Size of the resulting files in ZIP format

• Action Buttons

  View, download, cancel, or delete the job. Logs are available for viewing.

• Total Consumption

  Total and reaming consumed hours are shown via the progress bar.

1. Go to Jobs Portal

   Navigate to the Jobs section from your dashboard.

2. Find Your Completed Job

   Look for jobs with the "COMPLETED" status badge.

3. View Job Details

   Click on the job to expand details and see output files.

4. Download Results

   Click the "Download" button to save result files to your computer. You can also view logs directly in the browser.

Visualizing MFC Results in VisIt

Viewing MFC simulation results in VisIt involves opening the MFC-generated data files (commonly .hdf5, .vtk, .xdmf, or other VisIt-friendly mesh formats), then using VisIt's plotting and analysis tools. Below is a concise guide to get you started.

What you need to do

• Install a compatible VisIt version for your operating system (VisIt supports multiple platforms and data formats).

• Confirm that your MFC output format is readable by VisIt. Supported options typically include VTK/VTU, XDMF, or Silo-based formats. If unsure, check the MFC build documentation.

• Prepare your data path or database: point VisIt to the directory or file containing the MFC results. VisIt can also aggregate multiple time steps if the database format supports it.

Core steps in VisIt

1. Start VisIt and open a database

   Go to File → Open File (or Open Database) and select your MFC data file or directory.

2. Create a plot

   Choose an appropriate plot type (e.g., Pseudocolor for scalar fields, Vector for velocities).

3. Apply data operations

   Use Expressions to compute derived quantities (e.g., velocity magnitude or custom scalars).

4. Time and animation

   If your results contain time steps, use the Animation controls to explore temporal evolution.

5. Save visuals

   Export images or animations via File → Save Window or Save Animation.

Visualizing MFC Results in ParaView

ParaView is another widely used post-processor for MFC outputs. The workflow is similar to VisIt but uses its own UI and readers.

Steps to open MFC results in ParaView

1. Install a compatible ParaView version

   Download a version appropriate for your OS. Ensure that the release includes the readers you need for HPC data formats.

2. Determine the MFC output format

   MFC commonly exports HDF5/Silo, VTK/VTU, or other database formats readable by ParaView. Check your MFC build configuration or post-processing notes if unsure.

3. Load the data in ParaView

   Go to File → Open, then select the MFC file or directory. ParaView will load the dataset and display available fields. For multi-step outputs, ensure you open the database file (e.g., an HDF5 or VTK-based database) rather than individual time-step files.

4. Visualizing fields

   Use the Properties panel to choose a representation (e.g., Volume, Surface, Glyphs). Adjust color maps and opacity to highlight important variables (pressure, density, velocity magnitude).

5. Time steps and animation

   If the dataset includes multiple time steps, use ParaView's animation controls to play or scrub through time. ParaView automatically exposes time information for temporal datasets.

6. Derived quantities

   Use the Calculator or Expressions to compute derived fields (velocity magnitude, vorticity, etc.), then visualize them alongside primary fields.

7. Saving and exporting results

   Use File → Save Screenshot or Save Animation to export images or movies. You can also save a ParaView state file to reproduce your visualization setup.