Ansys Mechanical APDL as a Server is a set of tools and functionality that allows local or remote client applications to access and interact with a running session of Mechanical APDL. A client application can perform case setup, initialization, iteration, and intermediate and final result reporting using the Mechanical APDL as a Server interface. This function is different from batch mode in that commands can be issued to the running session at any time in addition to a predefined file. This allows for solution steering and other manipulation without exiting from the running simulation. Client applications can be built using the Mechanical APDL as a Server Software Development Kit (SDK).
The follow are some examples of how Mechanical APDL as a Server functionality could be used to manipulate Mechanical APDL remotely and provide information of interest from a running simulation:
A company with offices in several locations designs a remote console program for issuing commands to Mechanical APDL as a Server. Users at this company run all their simulations with the Mechanical APDL as a Server functionality turned on. When a user requires assistance from a subject-matter expert in a different office, the expert can run the remote console and issue commands to examine results, change settings, and assist the user in obtaining a solution.
A user would like to have remote monitoring capability for long-running simulations. The user writes a program which can query the running simulation using the Mechanical APDL as a Server functionality. This program delivers information about the solve process to a website, which the user can monitor. The site can also pass commands to the simulation process, or remotely terminate the simulation.