Installation Guide
CivilFEM Installation Guide
1. Introduction................................................................................... 2
2. Hardware and Software Requirements.......................................... 3
2.1. Platform and Operating
Systems............................................................................ 3
2.2. Graphic Card............................................................................................................ 3
2.3. Minimum Requirements......................................................................................... 3
2.4. Recommended Hardware....................................................................................... 3
3. Installation of Marc........................................................................ 4
3.1. Install MSC Licensing............................................................................................... 4
3.2. Install Marc.............................................................................................................. 7
4. Installation of CivilFEM................................................................ 12
4.1. License file............................................................................................................. 12
4.2. CivilFEM Installation.............................................................................................. 12
5. CivilFEM Licensing........................................................................ 17
5.1. How to Obtain Your
License File........................................................................... 17
5.2. Client Computers and
Local Licenses.................................................................... 18
5.3. License Server
Installation..................................................................................... 19
5.4. Floating Licenses on a
License Server................................................................... 22
5.5. Borrowing Licenses................................................................................................ 24
6. Running CivilFEM......................................................................... 26
6.1. Software Updates.................................................................................................. 26
6.2. Selecting the License
with the Product Launcher................................................. 26
Welcome to CivilFEM Installation Guide.
User will find below step-by-step instructions to install CivilFEM which is the
main program and then Marc software, needed for meshing and solving.
There are two different programs with their
own installation process.
A typical installation on a Windows machine
(choosing the default installation directory) installs CivilFEM in \Program
Files\CivilFEM and Marc in \MSC.Software, located on the same drive as the
operating system.
The capabilities of the Commercial version
depend on the license, and may be seen at the product launcher once the product
is installed.
The installation now has a wizard that
launches both: MSC and CivilFEM installations:
|
PLATFORM
|
OPERATING SYSTEM
|
|
Intel x64 / AMD64
|
Windows 10 (Creator's
Update)
|
Minimum: OpenGL
3.1 and GLSL 1.4 compatible graphic card.
It is advisable to have a 3D graphic card with
updated OpenGL drivers.
Administrator privileges are required to install the software.
Internet connection for software updates.
3 GB space is
needed in the hard disk for the installation of the software (1 GB for CivilFEM and 2 GB for Marc). Additional space is needed to work with the
models (depending on the size of the models), but a minimum of 10 GB more free
space is recommended to start working.
A minimum of 8 GB of RAM is recommended to properly
work with this version.
To properly work with big models, 16 GB of RAM or more are
recommended.
A primary SSD hard disk is recommended to
install the software to improve the general speed.
To have enough hard disk space to work with big
models, a secondary hard disk of 1 TB or more is recommended.
To run CivilFEM, Marc 2024.1 (MSC. Software) must be installed (any other version of
Marc Mentat also works but these versions are recommended and fully supported). A license file for MSC licensing server or a nodelock license for
Marc should also be provided by your distributor.
If a nodelock
license is provided, which is intended to be used only on one computer, this
step should *not* be done. This step is only for installing network licenses
that can be shared across your local network and requires a network
(non-nodelocked) license file.
Run MSC
Licensing executable, version 11.9 or above. A welcome screen will appear:
Choose the installation folders or left the
default ones:
Browse for the provided MSC license file:
Click next and wait until the installation
finishes.
Please, refer to the original MSC
installation guide for more information: “Marc and Mentat for Microsoft Windows
Installation and Operations Guide”.
Run the Marc 2024.1 installation with
administrator privileges.
First select the language:
A welcome screen will appear, please accept
to consent and continue with the Setup program:
Select the user/s that will be able to use the
installed application:
Select “complete” for the installation type as
Marc and Mentat are required by CivilFEM to solve and mesh. Keep track of the
installation directory, as it will be needed later on to configure CivilFEM
solver and mesher. We recommend to leave default values:
Then you will need to configure the license.
o If you installed the MSC licensing software, provide the server and
port number where you installed it.
o If you have a nodelocked license file, browse and select that file
now.
Now the software is ready to install. Check the
information provided and proceed with the installation if everything is fine:
Now program files will start to copy, just wait
untill Setup ends:
A message about Marc Documentation will appear
but this is not important as documentation is not needed to be installed, just
accept and continue:
The installation will show a completion message:
Please, refer to
the original MSC installation guide for more information: “Marc and Mentat
for Microsoft Windows Installation and Operations Guide”.
You need the
licenses of CivilFEM powered by Marc. For commercial licenses,
Ingeciber provides you the licenses with the information of your computer.
There are these kinds of licenses:
·
Local license,
which requires a node-locked license file (intended for the usage in one
specific local computer). Local licenses cannot be accessed remotely!
·
Network Floating License, which requires a license server installation (intended for the
usage in computers of a local network).
For
virtualized environments a security dongle is required, please contact your
distributor for more information.
In order to
attach your license to a specific computer (for a local license) or to a
specific server (for a network floating license), please download the CivilFEM
Get Host ID Tool (click on this link), or alternatively the LM-X
Config Tool (click on this link), and run the tool in the machine in which you will have your CivilFEM
license, and generate the Host-Id information file with it. Then,
send the generated file to secretariat@ingeciber.com and the
CivilFEM license file will be sent back to you.
Please download CivilFEM and then run the
installation file.
a) Begin installation and click Next.
b) Accept the License Agreement and click Next.
c)
Select a setup file: Complete
(full components installed), Custom (options for installation
folder, include or not software documentation will appear and borrow license
utility). Then click Next.
d) Click Install to begin the installation.
e) Wait until installation progress
finishes.
f)
Choose the license configuration option.
Unless you don’t want to configure the license now or you are setting-up an
unattended installation, choose the default option to open the
Administration Utility to configure the licenses:
g)
The Administration Utility will be
automatically opened in order to select a local license file or to configure
the license server name. Push “Add Network Server” or “Add Local File” button,
depending on the type of license you have. Select your local license file or
write the name of your server, and push Save Changes.
When selecting a local
license file, you may choose to copy the file into the program data so you
don’t need to keep it on the selected path.
h)
Close the tool.
i)
When installation is complete click Finish.
There are two types
of license files: the local license files and the network floating
license files. The installation process is different for each type:
·
For a local license file, the license
file should be attached to the local computer where CivilFEM will be used. That
license will be available only for that local computer.
·
For network floating licenses, the
licenses file should be attached to a server computer and installed with the
license server. Those licenses will be available for any computer of the local
network that has access to the license server.
In both cases,
it is necessary to provide some required machine information to Ingeciber, in
order to generate the license file attached to the proper computer (the local
computer or the server computer, depending on the type of license). In order to
provide that information to Ingeciber, please, run the LM-X Configuration
Tool. Select the “HostID” tab and click on “Save to File”:
Once we receive at Ingeciber your HostID
information file, we will generate and send you two different license “.lic”
files: one for CivilFEM and another for MSC Marc. Check the next two sections on how to use that license.
Client computers (where you want to use CivilFEM) can be configured to use network licenses (from a
license server) or local licenses (node-locked) depending on your license type.
There are two possible methods to configure them:
1.
Method 1: During
the installation process, the installers will ask for the licenses. For local
licenses (node-locked) select the local license files for the MSC Marc
installer and the CivilFEM installer. For network licenses (floating), point to
the license server where you installed the CivilFEM LM-X License Server and the
MSC Licensing.
2.
Method 2: Using
the Administration Utility.
Run the Administration Utility in the client computer (where you want to use CivilFEM). There are
two license files, one for MSC Marc and another for CivilFEM. For each one, click
on the respective “Add local file…” to select the node-locked license file for
local installations, or click on the respective “Add network server…” for
network floating licenses (specify the name of your license server). With this
utility local license files may be copied into the program data, so there is no
need to keep the file in the selected path. After that Save Changes.
For both methods, you may close the configuration utility and run
CivilFEM in order to check the available licenses (that will be shown in the
combo box).
This is relevant for commercial CivilFEM version only. The
CivilFEM LM-X License Server is required for CivilFEM floating network licenses
to work. It is included in the Commercial installer of CivilFEM, but can also be
downloaded as a stand-alone installer from the CivilFEM Customer Portal:
Welcome and agreement screens:
Installation
directory selection:
Further installation process:
After the installation of the CivilFEM License Server, some new
items will be available on the Start Menu:
Use the LM-X
License Server Client tool to install or update the network license keys
(the default Admin password is: MyPassword123). To change the
default password, select the Administration tab and Misc second level tab. Then
set the new password and save (you may be asked to restart the server).
Note: The UI
needs Java 8 installed.
Note: LM-X Server uses port 6200 by default. This port must be open.
The LM-X License Server Client is a Java-based application (requires
Java to be installed), used to administer CivilFEM floating network licenses.
It can be accessed from the Start Menu. The default administrative password is:
MyPassword123
To add a license, select the “Administration” tab and the “License
Management” secondary tab. Then click on the “Upload License File”
button:
You will be asked to restart the license service (it will take a
second, but users working with CivilFEM may lose their license). After doing that,
you will see the available licenses by selecting the “License Usage” tab,
and the “Features” option on the “View” drop down:
In order to use these
licenses, you may configure the client computers to use your license server. On
each client computer (where you want to use CivilFEM), run the LM-X Configuration Tool utility, click
on the “Add Network Host” button, and specify the name of your license
server:
IMPORTANT NOTE: This setup process is
necessary only if you acquired a floating network license and installed a license
server.
IMPORTANT: Unfortunately,
MSC Licenses cannot be borrowed. It is possible to work with CivilFEM by
borrowing a CivilFEM License, but it is not possible to neither mesh nor solve
the model without a MSC license.
Before borrowing
a CivilFEM license, connect the computer to the same network of the LM-X
License Server. After that, go to the CivilFEM’s folder in the Start Menu,
and run the “Borrow License” shortcut. CivilFEM will open a
License Borrow menu:
The user can
specify the number of hours and the product to borrow. After clicking Ok,
the license will be attached to that machine, and the computer may be
disconnected from the network, being perfectly functional due to the borrowed
license.
To return the
borrowed license before the selected number of hours, first connect the
computer to the network again. Then, go to CivilFEM’s folder in the Start Menu,
and run the “Return Borrowed License” shortcut.
Now CivilFEM can be launched. Some
configuration options must be set before calculation getting started.
If there is any important update and
internet connection is available then it will be automatically downloaded and
installed.
Go to Home >Program Files>CivilFEM
and open the application.
The Product Launcher appears when opening CivilFEM. The first
time, set the product to use (these settings will be remembered by the
software).
The window shows available product licenses and also add-on
products if any. Select one main product from the drop down, then, check add-on
options for extra capabilities of the product. (The word capability here
means the same as features in Admin Control Center) Finally, click
Accept to start CivilFEM.
For more information of the selected product and add-ons, expand the
drop list. However, this is a reference chart and settings cannot be modified
here.
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