Creating a network ODB connector

You can use a network ODB connector to access an output database on a remote computer. For example, you can submit an analysis to a high-performance Linux compute server and view the results on a local Windows workstation. You can create a network ODB connector from any platform—Windows or Linux. However, the server for the network ODB server must reside on a Linux platform. Abaqus/CAE maintains a secure connection to the network ODB connector by generating a key that is passed back and forth between the server and the client. For more information, see How secure is the access to a network ODB connector?.

Related Topics
Accessing an output database on a remote computer

Context:

Select FileNetwork ODB ConnectorCreate from the main menu bar to create a connector. After you create a network ODB connector, you must start it by selecting FileNetwork ODB connectorStartConnector name from the main menu bar. The remote system must have Abaqus installed for Abaqus/CAE to establish the network connection. For more information, see Managing network ODB connectors.

In most cases you will use Abaqus/CAE to start the network ODB server on the remote system and to assign port numbers. Abaqus/CAE can start the server only if the user name on the remote host is the same as the user name on the local system. If you experience problems establishing communication or if the user names are different, you can start the server by running the abaqus networkDBConnector execution procedure on the remote system. For more information, see Network output database file connector.

  1. From the main menu bar, select FileNetwork ODB ConnectorCreate.

  2. From the Network ODB Connector editor that appears, enter the name of the remote connector. When you subsequently open an output database, the Open Database dialog box displays the name of the remote connector. Abaqus/CAE also displays this name in the Network ODB Connector Manager.

  3. From the Basic tabbed page of the Network ODB Connector editor, enter the following:

    Host name

    The name of the remote system in the form of a URL or an IP address; for example, computeserver.mycompany.com.

    Directory

    The directory to open on the remote system. The directory that you enter must contain the remote output database that you want to access, or it must include subdirectories that contain the remote output database.

  4. In most cases you will be able to click OK to close the dialog box and to establish a remote connection using the default configuration options. However, if you have difficulty establishing communication with the remote system or if your site requires a particular configuration, you may need to customize the network ODB connector. For more information, see Customizing a network ODB connector.