Configuring the Server to Shutdown When Idle

You can configure Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to release a license automatically (by shutting down the server) when it detects no activity for a set amount of time.

You control the automatic server shutdown through a configuration file, sitesettings.props, that was added to your Simcenter STAR-CCM+ installation directory during the installation process. By default, the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ server does not shutdown automatically. If no configuration file is found, the default behavior stands and no timeout occurs.

When the automatic server shutdown feature is active, the server issues a message in the output window upon startup. If you set the timeout value to two hours, the message reads:

Server idle time limit is 2 hours.

Simcenter STAR-CCM+ checks for the following activity on the server every five minutes:

• reading/saving files
• visualization requests
• editing properties
• meshing
• solving

If Simcenter STAR-CCM+ detects no activity, and the timeout time is approaching, the server issues a warning message in the client output window. For any timeout value less than two hours, the idle warning is issued at 90% of the timeout value. For timeout values over two hours, the idle warning is issued one hour before the timeout.

If no activity is detected after the warning message, the server shuts down at the set timeout value, releasing the license. The client, however, remains open. A copy of the simulation file, named [filename]@idle.sim, is saved in your working directory.

If multiple clients are connected to the same server, the warning message is sent to all clients, and only one client needs to respond to reset the timeout. Performing any action that invokes the server resets the timeout counter.