Debugging Launch Scripts

Launch scripts should be written and tested independently from EnSight. Be sure to try running EnShells by hand between computers with the proper command line arguments. They should successfully connect. Knowing how to do this will make certain that the details of the command line syntax are correct including properly escaping such as ? and & as used in URLs. Keep in mind that different command shells (CSH, SH, cmd.exe, etc.) have different rules for escaping and quoting.

Once a EnShell network is running, a separate EnShell can be used to query it. On the computer that is running the root EnShell, the one with the -app option, run the following command in another window:

enshell -cmd show_net

This will establish a connection to the EnShell running with the -app option, the root EnShell, and display its list of connections properly indented to show levels in the EnShell network tree. It also shows each EnShell's roles. Make certain that each EnShell has the desired roles and is running on the intended computer.

When debugging EnShell networks, it is helpful to specify the -v command line option to increase verbosity from the EnShell.

Once a EnShell network is believed to be properly running, run EnSight on the computer running the root EnShell:

ensight -v 3 -enshell [-sos]

Debugging the CEIStart Configuration

The site and user CEIStart configuration files are simply Python scripts. Test the validity of the syntax of the file(s) with running the command:

cpython site_server_configs.py

or

cpython user_server_configs.py

If the Python interpreter returns without error, then the syntax of the file is correct. Running CEIStart will show semantic errors.

Miscellaneous Debugging Advice

Frequently ssh is used to connect to remote computers. Be sure that ssh has been properly configured to not prompt for a password. If the site requires prompting for a password, utilize ssh-agent and ssh-add or equivalent.

On Windows platforms typically Plink.exe is used as an ssh substitute. Using ssh supplied with Cygwin can be problematic.

Connecting a pair EnShells by hand on different computers is an excellent way to test connectivity between the two computers especially if router and/or firewall issues are involved.

Feel free to contact Ansys Support (<support@ansys.com>) with any questions or problems you encounter. Please note that support typically requires copies of any relevant output, launch scripts, CEIStart configurations, etc. to adequately advise and debug.