Resources are used to specify which computers are used for running the various EnSight components, specifically the Server (ensight_server), the SOS (ensight.sos), the CollabHub (ensight_collabhub), and the distributed renderers (ensight_client). If you are running a single client and server on a single computer, you may skip this document.

Resources are an alternative way to specify these computers compared to SOS case files, PRDIST files, Connection Settings, and command line options. While these other ways are still valid and take precedence for backwards compatibility, resources greatly simplify specifying computers in a dynamic network environment. For example, SOS Case files and PRDIST files no longer need to be edited to reflect the current node allocation from cluster batch schedulers. Resources coupled with native reader support in the SOS even make SOS Case files unnecessary.

Resources can be specified via command line arguments and environment variables. Resources can be specified multiple times; precedence rules determine which resources ultimately get used. This allows sites to specify defaults while allowing those to be overridden.