July 25, 2023

What's New

  • The guided setup process now includes an Express setup option that offers quick and simple setup of Ansys Gateway powered by AWS without having to integrate with Active Directory.

    When Express setup is used:

    • A Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) and subnet are automatically created for you in a region of your choosing.

    • A shared access role is automatically created in the AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) console. This allows Ansys Gateway powered by AWS access to deploy AWS resources on your behalf.

    • Your AWS account information and the shared role's Amazon Resource Name (ARN) is automatically populated on the AWS account page in Ansys Gateway powered by AWS, eliminating the need to specify this information manually.

    • A default project space is automatically created by the setup process, enabling you to start setting up resources right away.

    • Availability zones are automatically added to the Availability zones page in Ansys Gateway powered by AWS, eliminating the need to add them manually for the region selected.

    • When configuring HPC clusters, you must reference Windows virtual machines using the machine's Private IP address and not the hostname, as the value displayed for Hostname in the details of a Windows virtual machine is not the actual hostname.

    If needed, the previous setup method using Active Directory is available through a Manual setup with Active Directory integration option in the setup process.

    See the following topics:

  • Whether Ansys Gateway powered by AWS is set up using the Express or Manual setup option, users now sign in to Ansys Gateway powered by AWS using their Ansys ID. See Signing In to Ansys Gateway powered by AWS.

    Also, users can sign in to both Windows and Linux virtual machines using a local superadmin account.

    When Manual setup is used, users can also sign in to Windows virtual desktops using their Active Directory credentials.

  • Accelerated graphics and GPU compute are now supported on Linux machines (that have GPUs).

  • GPU compute is now supported in Speos HPC cluster workflows.

  • When creating a virtual desktop or HPC cluster, GPU driver options are now displayed if you select an instance type with NVIDIA GPUs. For more information see NVIDIA GPU Driver Support in the Recommended Usage Guide.

  • Virtual desktop timers have been updated as follows:

    • For better clarity, the following timers have been renamed:

      Previous name New name
      Stop virtual desktop after user is offline for Stop virtual desktop after no user has been signed in to the machine for
      Stop virtual desktop after user is disconnected for

      Windows: Stop virtual desktop when no user has been connected to it for

      Linux: Stop virtual desktop when no user has been active for

    • For Linux virtual desktops, a Sign out user who has been idle for timer has been implemented.

    • The Stop virtual desktop when CPU usage is below timer has been removed as it was not functioning as expected. When fixed it will be implemented in a future release.

    Note that these changes only apply to new virtual desktops that you create as of this release.

Application Package Updates

Updates have been made to the following application packages:

Application package Updates
Ansys Electronics Desktop Cluster Scripts now reference the private IP address of virtual machines to support AEDT clusters in both types of Ansys Gateway powered by AWS setups (Express or Manual)

Ansys Mechanical RSM Cluster

Ansys Mechanical RSM Cluster - Leverages EFA

Ansys Mechanical RSM Cluster app

 Scripts now reference the private IP address of virtual machines to support RSM clusters in both types of Ansys Gateway powered by AWS setups (Express or Manual)
AWS EFA Driver Minor improvements
GNOME Desktop Latest Version Supports graphics acceleration (when NVIDIA GRID drivers are installed on a GPU instance)
KDE Desktop Environment

Minor improvements

(Note that this package does not support graphics acceleration)
ModelCenter Desktop Renamed Ansys ModelCenter 2023 R1
ModelCenter MBSE Functionality Renamed Ansys ModelCenter MBSE Functionality 2023 R1
ModelCenter Remote Execution Renamed Ansys ModelCenter Remote Execution 2023 R1
NFS Storage Prep Minor improvements
Slurm Controller Supports GPU compute if NVIDIA drivers are installed and either Slurm Node or Slurm Node with EFA and NFS is installed
Slurm Node Supports GPU compute if NVIDIA drivers are installed and Slurm Controller is installed on the Slurm Controller machine
Slurm Node with EFS Supports GPU compute if NVIDIA drivers are installed and Slurm Controller is installed on the Slurm Controller machine

Resolved Issues

  • Sensitive information is no longer exposed in the HTTP header information of Ansys Gateway powered by AWS, providing increased security against potential attacks. (718095)

  • When a shared folder is created on an NFS file storage server with a data disk size of more than 256 GB, the shared folder is now mounted successfully on Linux virtual machines. (843988)

  • When creating a file storage server and selecting the virtual machine performance, the machine's bandwidth is now displayed using the correct unit (Mbps instead of MBit). (821569)

  • An issue with shared folders being created on an instance's default disk rather than the storage disk defined during NFS file storage server creation has been resolved. Note that this fix only applies to new file storage servers and virtual desktops that you create as of this release. (813961)

  • When connecting to a Linux virtual desktop, the copy button in the SSH connection dialog now works properly, enabling you to copy and paste the values you need. (800229)

  • Installing Ansys ModelCenter after Ansys ModelCenter Remote Execution no longer causes an issue with ModelCenter Remote Execution starting. (816561)

  • When creating a virtual desktop with Slurm Controller and Ansys Semiconductor CentOS 7, selecting Ansys Semiconductor CentOS 7 before Slurm Controller no longer causes an issue when connecting to the controller when an HPC cluster is created. Note that this fix only applies to new virtual desktops that you create as of this release. (824023)

  • The Cost report now displays column labels and field values that are consistent with terminology used in Ansys Gateway powered by AWS. (781333)

    Previous label New label
    Computer name Hostname
    Predefined service File storage server
    Standalone Virtual desktop