3/20/24, 2:38 PM Client-server architecture

Introduction to Materials Studio > Client-server architecture

Client-server architecture

Note: If you are planning to install Materials Studio products other than the Materials Visualizer, you should read this
document.

What does client-server mean?

A client component, for example Materials Visualizer, asks a server component, for example Forcite, to perform a
calculation. When the calculation is finished, or as it progresses, results are returned from the server to the client. It is not
necessary for the client and server processes to be running on the same computer.

How does the Materials Studio client-server architecture work?

Materials Studio uses what is called a disconnected server architecture (DSA). The DSA uses HTTP, the same technology that
powers the web, to transfer information between client and server.
Communication between client and server is handled by a software application called a gateway that is installed on the
server. The gateway takes the job requests submitted by the client and passes them to the server codes installed on the
server machine, which then run the calculations. It also reports job status and results to the client.
IMPORTANT! Running jobs to 3DEXPERIENCE Cloud compute servers does not use the Materials Studio gateway.
You can set up gateways on any number of different servers, whether Windows®, or Linux, and run jobs on any supported
machine that you wish, provided the relevant server components of Materials Studio are installed on that machine.
Gateway setup can be managed easily from the client.
If you have a PC with a supported Windows operating system, you can run both client and server components on the same
machine.

In some cases, it may be desirable to run Materials Studio server applications in standalone mode. In order to facilitate this,
an alternative FTP-based mechanism is also provided to simplify the transfer of files to and from the server.
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The different operating system requirements for the client and server platforms are given below.

Clients Servers
Windows 10 or 11 (Professional & Enterprise) - (64-bit) a Windows Server 2016 (64-bit)
Windows Server 2019 (64-bit)
Windows Server 2022 (64-bit)
Intel Core i7 compatible x86-64 processors (including
clusters) running:
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 7.9
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, 8.6
CentOS 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, or 7.9

Note: CentOS 8.x versions are no longer supported.

aOn Windows, the Materials Studio client runs as a 32-bit executable.

With Materials Studio's client-server architecture, you can launch calculations from your PC client to run on dedicated
Windows or Linux servers. Jobs can be run in disconnected mode so that they do not tie up the resources of your PC. You
can log off your PC and the job will continue to run on the server. When you log back on to your PC, you can view the status
or results of the calculation. These calculations can also be run locally on the same PC running Windows.
The PC client can also 'interact' with jobs as they are running. For example, during a molecular dynamics simulation, models
and graphs can be dynamically updated and information sent out by the Forcite server can be displayed in a text document
on the PC client. You can choose the combination of these updates that you wish to receive. You can also browse to get
information on both the job and server status.

Where do Materials Studio calculations run?

The table below summarizes the OS requirements for each module for the current version of Materials Studio.

Module Runs in parallel? Windows 64-bit Linux x86-64

Materials Visualizer a •
Adsorption Locator • •
Amorphous Cell • •
Amorphous Cell (Legacy) • •
Blends • •
Cantera • •
CASTEP and NMR CASTEP • • •
COMPASS • • •
CCDC • •
Conformers • •
DFTB+ • • •
DFTB+ parameterization • • •
DMol3 • • •
Forcite • • •
a
Materials Visualizer and Synthia run as 32-bit executables on 64-bit Windows.
b
Genetic Function Approximation and Neural Networks run on Windows only.

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Module Runs in parallel? Windows 64-bit Linux x86-64

Gaussian • • •
GULP • • •
Kinetix • •
MesoDyn • • •
Mesocite • • •
Morphology • •
ONETEP • • •
Polymorph • • •
QMERA • • •
QSAR and QSAR Plusb • •
Reflex • •
Reflex Plus • •
Sorption • •
Synthia a •
VAMP • •
X-Cell • •
a
Materials Visualizer and Synthia run as 32-bit executables on 64-bit Windows.
b
Genetic Function Approximation and Neural Networks run on Windows only.

See Also:
Introduction to Materials Studio
Working with client-server systems
Transferring files by FTP
Installation and Administration
System Requirements and Recommendations

Legal Notices BIOVIA Materials Studio 2023 Help: Wednesday, October 26, 2022

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