Altair's Latest Compute Manager Offers Built-In 3D and 2D Visualization of High-Performance Computing Simulations

TROY, Mich., Sept. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Altair today announced the release of Compute Manager 11.1, an enhanced version of its high-performance computing (HPC) portal that simplifies the set-up, monitoring and visualization of simulations. Upgrading the initial version released with Altair's PBS Professional early in 2012, the new module adds capabilities to the Web-based Compute Manager's exceptional efficiency in helping engineers run, monitor and manage simulation jobs.

Compute Manager 11.1 furnishes a number of advancements that will help change the nature of workload management in HPC.  Among these is its ability to offer built-in 3D and 2D visualization of jobs while they are running and after they are finished. This major enhancement enables users to see 3D animations in their Web browsers using a browser plug-in and to view 2D plots in the form of line graphs. No third-party applications are required to capitalize on these 3D and 2D capabilities. Users now can visualize and manipulate 2D plots and curves from job results data using a new Results Visualization Service. This also allows on-demand access to the latest results from a running job and provides advanced diagnostic capabilities for making informed decisions.  The 3D results can be animated and viewed with the in-browser HyperView Player plug-in.

"The enhanced Compute Manager 11.1 extends Altair's commitment to creating extraordinarily intuitive and easy ways to organize, automate and manage the high-performance computing process," said Altair Senior Vice President of Enterprise Products, Sam Mahalingam. "With Compute Manager, users now can see results faster and in new perspectives without additional software; rapidly share their best practices with colleagues; and enjoy a more fluid experience when submitting, running and viewing their jobs."

Additionally, Compute Manager supports the viewing and management of job arrays. Users can submit jobs that contain sub-jobs, each acting independently of the others. Compute Manager allows easy access to each sub-job, with its individual properties and files, through a simple-to-navigate interface via the monitoring page.

The enhanced Compute Manager equips administrators with fine-grained access control over who has access to what portions of the application. A new Access Management Service provides a centralized configuration system for defining users and their groups, allowing users to share application profiles with other specified individuals and/or groups. Administrators can define certain rules and restrictions through the service, and applications and servers can be hidden or exposed, depending on the administrator's policies.

Working with Compute Manager has become even easier with an overall enhanced user experience that results from a smoother flow of operations, requiring fewer clicks and less time.

These features complement Compute Manager's well-established benefits, including:

• Automation of job submissions and set-up on distributed resources with easily configurable applications definitions
• Monitoring workloads on distributed resources both graphically and analytically
• An easy-to-use Web interface to submit and monitor jobs in PBS Professional, enabling secure and immediate access to distributed resources from virtually any Internet-enabled device
• Managing simulation jobs while visualizing data and results remotely
• A consistent job-submission and monitoring interface
• Automated staging of input and output files
• Diagnosis of remote jobs without downloading huge results files
• Enabling the user to browse and revise remote files with minimal effort required to write, modify and test complex application scripts

Altair will address more details of Compute Manager's latest features and how it can maximize HPC capabilities during a series of live webinars on October 17. To register, visit www.altair.com/cmwebinar.

A session on Compute Manager, including a case study presentation with Autoliv, is scheduled for the morning of October 3 on the second day of the PBS Works User Group Conference at the Tech Museum in San Jose, Calif. For a full conference agenda and registration, please visit www.pbsworks.com/pbsug.

About PBS Works
PBS Works™, Altair's suite of on-demand cloud computing technologies, allows enterprises to maximize ROI on existing infrastructure assets. PBS Works is the most widely implemented software environment for managing grid, cloud, and cluster computing resources worldwide. Its flagship product, PBS Professional®, allows enterprises to easily share distributed computing resources across geographic boundaries. With additional tools for portal-based submission, analytics, and data management, the PBS Works suite is a comprehensive solution for optimizing HPC environments. Leveraging a revolutionary "pay-for-use" unit-based business model, PBS Works delivers increased value and flexibility over conventional software-licensing models. Visit www.pbsworks.com to learn more about how PBS Works makes high-performance computing faster, smarter and more productive.

About Altair
Altair Engineering, Inc. empowers client innovation and decision-making through technology that optimizes the analysis, management and visualization of business and engineering information. Privately held, with more than 1,500 employees, Altair has offices throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia/Pacific. With a 26-year track record for high-end software and consulting services for engineering, high-performance computing and enterprise analytics, Altair consistently delivers a competitive advantage to customers in a broad range of industries. To learn more, visit www.altair.com and www.simulatetoinnovate.com.

SOURCE Altair