Manual Setup

Manual setup is required if you want to integrate Active Directory (AD) with Ansys Gateway powered by AWS.

Although users must sign in to Ansys Gateway powered by AWS using their Ansys ID, integrating Active Directory with Ansys Gateway powered by AWS enables users to sign in to virtual machines using the credentials associated with their Active Directory user account.

Prerequisites

  • AWS account

  • Secure server to host Active Directory (AD). The server can be hosted locally (on-premises) or in a cloud (for example, Amazon or Microsoft Azure) provided that it can reached by the AD Connector.

  • Secure server to host the Ansys Gateway powered by AWS AD Connector service. The server can be hosted locally (on-premises) or in an AWS Virtual Private Cloud (VPC).

  • License server with Ansys application licenses

  • Established network connectivity between the license server and the AWS VPC

To avoid latency in communication, Ansys recommends that the server hosting AD and the server hosting the AD Connector service have close physical proximity to each other.

Manual Setup Process

An IT administrator with an Ansys ID and AWS Administration privileges must complete the following steps:

  1. Go to https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace and find Ansys Gateway powered by AWS. When you subscribe to Ansys Gateway powered by AWS, a setup wizard is launched.

  2. Click Show more installation options, then select the Manual setup with Active Directory integration (Not recommended) option.

  3. Follow the guided setup (summarized below). Specific details, diagrams, and IT requirements are provided directly in the onscreen setup.

    1. On your AD server, create an Organizational Unit (OU) to be used for Ansys Gateway powered by AWS operations. During the setup process, two security groups will be automatically created in this OU.

    2. Prepare a server to host the Ansys Gateway powered by AWS AD Connector service.

    3. In AWS, set up a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) with at least one subnet. Refer to Requirements for Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs).

    4. Create a secure and private connection between your local network and the VPC. Also, ensure that the license server to be used for Ansys application licenses is reachable by the VPC.

    5. When prompted, specify company and domain information to allow Ansys Gateway powered by AWS to communicate with your local environment. Once submitted, a custom configuration file is generated for your company (to be used in the next step).

    6. Install and configure the Ansys Gateway powered by AWS AD Connector service. This includes applying the custom configuration file generated in the previous step and creating a domain join user for Ansys Gateway powered by AWS to use. Once the service is running, your company's Active Directory starts synchronizing with the Ansys Gateway powered by AWS backend.

    7. On the AD server, add administrator and standard user accounts to the security groups created within the Organizational Unit (OU).

      For each user that you add, specify the user's Ansys ID email address in the mail attribute of their Active Directory account.

    8. Launch Ansys Gateway powered by AWS and sign in with your Ansys ID.

Note:

Post-Setup Steps

To prepare Ansys Gateway powered by AWS for your company's use, refer to the following topics: