MD Nastran, MSC.Marc, and MSC Patran are analysis software systems developed and maintained by the MSC.Software Corporation. MD Nastran and MSC.Marc are advanced finite element analysis programs used mainly for analyzing complex structural and thermal engineering problems. The core of MSC Patran is a finite element analysis pre/postprocessor. Several optional products are available with MSC Patran including advanced postprocessing, interfaces to third party solvers and application modules. This document describes the MSC Patran Analysis Manager, one of these application modules.

The Analysis Manager provides interfaces within MSC Patran to submit, monitor and manage analysis jobs on local and remote networked systems. It can also operate in a stand-alone mode directly with MD Nastran, MSC.Marc, ABAQUS, and other general purpose finite element solvers.

At many sites, engineers have several computing options. Users can choose from multiple platforms or various queues when jobs are submitted. In reality, the resources available to them are not equal. They differ based on the amount of disk space and memory available, system speed, cost of computing resources, and number of users. In networked environments, users frequently do their modeling on local workstations with the actual analysis performed on compute servers or other licensed workstations.

The MSC Patran Analysis Manager automates the process of running analysis software, even on remote and dissimilar platforms. Files are automatically copied to where they are needed; the analysis is performed; pertinent information is relayed back to the user; files are returned or deleted when the analysis is complete even in heterogeneous computing environments. Time consuming system housekeeping tasks are reduced so that more time is available for productive engineering.

The Analysis Manager replaces text-oriented submission scripts with a Motif-based menu-driven interface (or windows native interface on Windows platforms), allowing the user to submit and control his job with point and click ease. No programming is required. Most users are able to productively use it after a short demonstration.