Analysis Services and Grid-enabled Workflows

Most companies today use increasing levels of software tools instead of physical testing for evaluating product designs. Virtual prototyping is considerably faster and less expensive than hardware testing in developing product designs. Companies require robust and easy solutions for the capture and automation of the multitude of the simulation tools involved in the Virtual Prototyping process. The major involvement of LMS in the first phase of SIMDAT is in enabling the definition of Workflows through the integration of Analysis Services and in further enabling the execution of Workflows through Optimization and Stochastic methodologies in a Grid environment. NOESIS’ off the shelf software product OPTIMUS is used as the platform for the integration of Analysis Services and Grid Computing for Workflow definition and automation. The so enhanced Workflows result in significant time savings, increasing competitiveness, product quality and innovation.

Role in SIMDAT

The Grid-enabled OPTIMUS has delivered a fully implemented and usable Workflow tool for the integration and automation of Simulation processes based on Analysis-Services and Workflow execution based Grid Computing. Using a GUI a user sets-up a workflow describing the analytical product design process, populate it with actual simulation tools through a Analysis Services registry inquiry and subsequently execute the workflow on a Grid enabled computing environment. The software is demonstrated in the SIMDAT Automotive Activity, involving an Analysis Service of MSC NASTRAN running in the MSC.Software Munich facility while the Workflow engine runs in the LMS office in Leuven.

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