CAD

CADpass client secure connection (will be referred to as CADpass client or CADpass in this document) is a utility provided by CMC Microsystems that creates a secure connection between client PC’s, workstations, and computer sessions, and the CMC managed infrastructure. 

Introduction

CMC cloud design environments are virtual on-demand secure design environments. These environments include CAD tool suites and can host Process Design Kits (PDKs). This document is a guide for you to use CMC cloud where you can perform your research activities.

Accessing CMC cloud

Access to CMC cloud is included with many of the CAD Tools available with your Subscription. Direct all your access inquiries to licensing@cmc.ca.

Logging in

1. Go to https://vcad.cmc.ca/.
2. Log in using your CMC registered email address.

Accepting the Usage Terms and Conditions

The first time you create an instance, you need to accept the CMC cloud design environment Usage Agreement. After you have reviewed the Usage Agreement and you have accepted it:

1. Check the box beside I have read and accept these usage terms and conditions.
2. Click the button Submit, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: CMC cloud Usage Agreement

Getting Started With “My Instance”

In the CMC cloud design environments, “Instance” relates to the lifetime of the virtual machine that is being requested by you in the Environment. You can connect to a single Instance multiple times and it is still considered a single Instance.

Creating a New Instance

1. Click the button Create Instance next to the environment that you want to use, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Create Instance

The dialog box New Instance is displayed, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: New Instance

2. In the dialog box New Instance, enter the start time (default is immediately) and how long you want the instance to remain active for.
3. Click Create Instance.

Notes:

• If your instance expires, the entire session is reset.
• Make the instance duration long enough to finish your work.

Folders in CMC cloud

• The folder $HOME has a fixed size. It is small and without backup. Do not save data to it.
• The folder $HOME/mydata is your space for saving your data and project, which is backed up. However, it is still recommend that you save a copy your local system.
• The folder /scratch/$USER has large space. It is used to store temporary simulation files. The folder has no backup and will be cleaned up without a notice.

The Folder $HOME/mydata

The folder $HOME/mydata that is available to all users of CMC cloud is your persistent storage. This storage is described in more detail in the CMC cloud design environment Usage Agreement.

To find out how much space you have used, open a terminal from the instance, and enter the command:

$ cd; du -sh mydata

Note: All files and settings that are not saved to your mydata folder are lost when your instance expires.

The Folder /scratch/$USER

Some CAD tools use large disk space for simulation temporary files, which may cause system/instance crash during simulation. To resolve it, CMC has added a file system. You must point your CAD simulation temporary directory to a folder named /scratch/$USER.

To initialize the folder /scratch, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your instance.
2. Open a terminal.
3. Run the script
   $ /scratch/scripts/scratch.sh create

Note: /scratch is for temporary use only. Old files in the folder will be removed without a notice.

Once /scratch has been initialized, you can point your simulation temporary directory to it. For example, you can start COMSOL by entering:

comsol -tmpdir /scratch/$USER

For instructions on setting up ANSYS simulation directory, refer to Setting the Temporary/Scratch Directory for ANSYS Simulations (CMC cloud).

Managing “My Instance”

After clicking Create Instance, you are redirected to the tab Manage My Instance.

Note: If you leave the web application, you can return to your instances list by clicking the tab Manage My Instance, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Manage My Instance

To retrieve your connection information, click Connect.

Note: It may take several minutes to display connection information similar to that shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Connection Information

Connect to Your Instance

The webpage Connect to your instance lists all of the ways in which you can connect to your instance. For example, in Figure 5 you can connect to this environment using:

• NoMachine NX Client: A remote desktop connection client
• SSH for Linux & Unix: Any SSH client

Note: If you are using your own SSH client, use the following command to connect to your instance:

%%EDITORCONTENT%%gt; ssh vowain@<ipAddress> -p <portNumber>

Where <ipAddress> and <portNumber> are displayed in the Remote Computer connection information.

Modifying “My Instance”

You can extend or delete your instance.

To extend your instance

1. From https://vcad.cmc.ca/, go to the tab Manage My Instance.
2. Next to the instance that you want to extend, click Extend, as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6: Extend Button

3. In the resulting dialog box, select the time you want to extend the instance for and click Extend Instance, as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7: Extend Your Instance

To delete your instance

1. From https://vcad.cmc.ca/, go to the tab Manage My Instance.
2. Click Delete, and then OK, as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8: Delete Your Instance

Connect Using the NoMachine Client

When your secure instance is ready to accept connections, if you want a desktop environment, CMC recommends using the NoMachine Client to connect.

Installing NoMachine

If you have not installed NoMachine previously, depending on your operating system, you can install it using the link provided in the connection instructions, as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9: NoMachine Client Download

Supported client operating systems are: Windows, Mac, Linux.

1. For Windows, download nomachine*.exe using the link as shown in Figure 9.
2. Run nomachine*.exe.
3. Review and agree to the terms and conditions and click Install, as shown in Figure 10.

Figure 10: Install

Note: You may need to restart your workstation after the installation has finished.

4. To download a NoMachine launch file that is configured to connect to your instance, click Launch NoMachine, as shown in Figure 11.

Note: Do not launch the file from your browser. Save the file to another location and launch the file by double-clicking it.

Figure 11: Launch NoMachine

5. Browse to the folder where you downloaded the NoMachine Launch file and double-click it, as shown in Figure 12.

Figure 12: NoMachine Launch File

Running NoMachine for the First Time

The first time that you connect to your instance by running the NoMachine Launch file, you need to add the instance to NoMachine’s trusted host list.

1. In the dialog box Verify host authenticity, click Yes, as shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13: Verify Host Authenticity

Note: CMC recommends that you accept the default configuration in the preferences dialog boxes.

2. If you do not want to see the preferences dialog boxes in future connections, click the check boxes.

Note: We do not recommend mounting local folders in NoMachine.

Working with “My Instance”

This section describes some of the important features of your instance and how you can use them.

Logging In to “My Instance”

1. In your instance OS login screen, enter the user ID and Password retrieved from the Connect to your Instance webpage, as shown in Figure 14.

Note: The password is unique to this instance and will be different for any future instances that you create.

2. Click Log In.

Figure 14: “My Instance” Login

Description of “My Instance”

My Linux CAD Workstation

As noted previously, your mydata directory is your persistent storage on CMC cloud. For your convenience, there is a folder shortcut placed on the desktop of your secure instance.  Also, in a terminal you can access mydata from your home directory, as shown in Figure 15, using:

cd ~/mydata/

Figure 15: mydata Folder

My Linux CAD Workstation (CentOS 7)

The CentOS 7 instance comes with GNOME desktop 3, as shown in Figure 16. To access other applications, you need click Activities (see Figure 16). It does not have a CAD Launcher. To run a CAD tool, following the instructions in Using a Terminal to Start CAD Tool or Design Kit.

Figure 16: CentOS 7 Instance

Uploading and Downloading Files

Notes:

• Before you begin, we recommend that you save your data file in the folder mydata (see Figure 15), which is accessible from CMC cloud systems.
• We strongly recommend that you use an SSH client to perform file transfer and do not mount your local folders using NoMachine for this purpose.

Follow these steps:

1. Connect to CMC cloud instance using SSH, as shown in Figure 17.

Figure 17: Connecting Using SSH

2. Drag and drop your files between CMC cloud and your local system, as shown in Figure 18.

Figure 18: Dragging Files between CMC cloud and Local System

Viewing Accessible CAD Tools

You can view the CAD tools that you are able to access based on your research team’s CAD selection from the tab My Access. Figure 19 shows the CAD tools that are available to the team, how many licenses are available on the server, and if anybody on the team is currently using the pass.

Figure 19: My Access Tab

Running CAD Tools and Design Kits (RHEL 6 only)

Using the CAD Launcher to Start CAD Tools

1. Double-click the icon CAD Launcher, as shown in Figure 20.

Figure 20: CAD Launcher

2. Click Tools or Kits to choose the CAD tool or design kit, as shown in Figure 21.

Figure 21: Using the CAD Launcher to Start CAD Tools

Using a Terminal to Start CAD Tool or Design Kit

Open a terminal, and source related script before you run a CAD tool. For example, to run Cadence Virtuoso, enter the following commands:

$ source /CMC/scripts/cadence.ic06.17.823.csh
$ virtuoso

To run ANSYS 2023R1, enter:

$ source /CMC/scripts/ansys.23.1.csh
$ fluent

or

$ ansysedt

To run COMSOL, enter:

$ source /CMC/scripts/comsol.61.csh
$ comsol

Note: For a complete list of license variables and script files, see Appendix A and Appendix B.

Getting Support

If you encounter any issues using this infrastructure, contact CMC support by using the Engineering Support Form. To resolve your issue as quickly as possible, CMC encourages you to include as much detail as you can.

Appendix A: License Variables and Values

The following shows a list of licence variables and their values:
https://www.cmc.ca/cadpass-licensing-info/

Appendix B: Source Script and Command Reference

All CMC supported tools and their respective scripts can be found in How to Launch CAD Tools Supported by CMC.

As CMC installs new tools on the infrastructure, the webpage is updated with instructions on how to run them. The scripts directory in this environment is /CMC/scripts/.