ParaView Server
Context
Running ParaView using remote desktop software on our clusters is far from ideal because it adds an unnecessary layer of virtualization, making the application run slower and taxing the server and users running other programs.
Running ParaView using the built-in server option has a few advantages:
You do not rely on IT support to install a particular version of the software;
It is possible to run the latest version, as long as you download the newer version from ParaView website on your local machine and on the server;
You can specify exactly how much resources you need (including CPUs and also GPUs where available) and they will be allocated to your project;
It runs much better on your, already familiar, local computer.
Download ParaView software
Linux version on the cluster
All our servers have version 5.10.1 installed as the most up-to-date version. However, we recommend the download and usage of “osmesa” or “egl” versions available on ParaView website, as they have CPU and GPU acceleration and the 3D rendering on ParaView happens much faster.
In fact, we ran some benchmarks:
Version: 5.10.1-MPI
Allocation command: `salloc --nodes=1 --ntasks-per-node=1 --cpus-per-task=1 --time=00:30:00 --mem=20G --account=nn9999k`
PV Server command: `srun ./pvserver --server-port=7755 --force-offscreen-rendering`
Message: "Display is not accessible on the server side. Remote rendering will be disabled."
Time: 1m57s
Version: 5.10.1-osmesa
Allocation command: `salloc --nodes=1 --ntasks-per-node=1 --cpus-per-task=1 --time=00:30:00 --mem=20G --account=nn9999k`
PV Server command: `srun ./pvserver --server-port=7755 --force-offscreen-rendering`
Message: "None"
Time: 59s
Version: 5.10.1-egl
Allocation command: `salloc --nodes=1 --ntasks-per-node=1 --cpus-per-task=1 --time=00:30:00 --mem=20G --account=nn9999k`
PV Server command: `srun ./pvserver --server-port=7755 --force-offscreen-rendering`
Time: did not run
Version: 5.10.1-MPI
Allocation command: `salloc --nodes=1 --ntasks-per-node=1 --cpus-per-task=1 --time=00:30:00 --mem=20G --partition=accel --gpus=1 --account=nn9999k`
PV Server command: `srun ./pvserver --server-port=7755 --force-offscreen-rendering`
Message: "Display is not accessible on the server side. Remote rendering will be disabled."
Time: 1m46s
Version: 5.10.1-osmesa
Allocation command: `salloc --nodes=1 --ntasks-per-node=1 --cpus-per-task=1 --time=00:30:00 --mem=20G --partition=accel --gpus=1 --account=nn9999k`
PV Server command: `srun ./pvserver --server-port=7755 --force-offscreen-rendering`
Message: "None"
Time: 48s
Version: 5.10.1-egl
Allocation command: `salloc --nodes=1 --ntasks-per-node=1 --cpus-per-task=1 --time=00:30:00 --mem=20G --partition=accel --gpus=1 --account=nn9999k`
PV Server command: `srun ./pvserver --server-port=7755 --force-offscreen-rendering`
Message: "None"
Time: 47s
Version: 5.10.1-MPI
Allocation command: `salloc --nodes=1 --ntasks-per-node=1 --cpus-per-task=1 --time=00:30:00 --mem=20G --partition=a100 --gpus=1 --account=nn9999k`
PV Server command: `srun ./pvserver --server-port=7755 --force-offscreen-rendering`
Message: "Display is not accessible on the server side. Remote rendering will be disabled."
Time: 1m11s
Version: 5.10.1-osmesa
Allocation command: `salloc --nodes=1 --ntasks-per-node=1 --cpus-per-task=1 --time=00:30:00 --mem=20G --partition=a100 --gpus=1 --account=nn9999k`
PV Server command: `srun ./pvserver --server-port=7755 --force-offscreen-rendering`
Message: "None"
Time: 20s
Version: 5.10.1-egl
Allocation command: `salloc --nodes=1 --ntasks-per-node=1 --cpus-per-task=1 --time=00:30:00 --mem=20G --partition=a100 --gpus=1 --account=nn9999k`
PV Server command: `srun ./pvserver --server-port=7755 --force-offscreen-rendering`
Message: "None"
Time: 19s
Download the version you desire for your operating system and the same version for Linux. You will need to upload the .tar.gz file to your home or project directory and extract it with the command tar -xvf nameOfFile.tar.gz
TIP: you can speed up the extraction process on the server by extracting first on your computer the .tar file inside it. Then, upload the file and extract this one following the same procedures.
Windows client for your local computer
If your local machine runs Windows, you have to install ParaView executable or, in case you don’t have Administrator permissions to install the software, you can also download the zip file, extract it and run the paraview.exe file inside the /bin folder
Also, if an error appears when opening the program saying a dll is missing msmpi.dll , you will need to download and install msmpisetup.exe from this link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=105289 . Ask for an administrator to install it for you.
Allocating resources for the project
Run the following command: salloc --nodes=1 --ntasks-per-node=1 --cpus-per-task=1 --time=00:30:00 --mem =20G --partition=a100 --gpus=1 --account=nnXXXXk
If the command above doesn’t work, take a look at this documentation or on the benchmarks as we have provided the allocation commands we ran.
Please, note that here we are asking 1 CPU and 1 GPU only for 30 minutes. If you need more resources and time, adjust the parameters accordingly.
Also, the A100 GPU is faster but, if resources are not available, try the P100 GPU changing the --partition flag from “a100” to “accel”.
The output will be similar to this one:
salloc: Pending job allocation 5442258
salloc: job 5442258 queued and waiting for resources
salloc: job 5442258 has been allocated resources
salloc: Granted job allocation 5442258
salloc: Waiting for resource configuration
salloc: Nodes gpu-12-8 are ready for job
Loading “libOpenGL.so.0” with A100 “egl” package
Due to a different architecture, our A100 GPU runs paired with an AMD CPU. You can check more details about the hardware in this page
If you want to run the “egl” package, you will have to:
Switch environments running the following commands:
module purge
module --force swap StdEnv Zen2Env
Load the module with the following commands (please, adapt the paths and the project number):
module use /cluster/projects/nnXXXXk/EasyBuild
module avail | grep -i libglvnd
module load modules/all/libglvnd/1.4.0-GCCcore-11.3.0
NOTE: On the simulation we tested, the difference between “osmesa” and “egl” packages was negligible as well as increasing the number of allocated GPUs (only used by “egl”). Do your own tests to find the optimal resources and ParaView version for your case.
Running ParaView Server
Go to the /bin folder with the cd command and run the following (replace the “XXXX” for a random 4-digit number):
srun ./pvserver --server-port=XXXX --force-offscreen-rendering
NOTE: You can read more about the --force-offscreen-rendering option here. It seems to render slightly faster.
You should see a message like this:
Waiting for client...
Connection URL: cs://gpu-12-8:5678
Accepting connection(s): gpu-12-8:5678
Creating a tunnel between your PC and the Server
ParaView server needs to communicate with your computer and for this, simply open a new terminal window and type:
ssh -N -L XXXX:node:XXXX username@login-Y.server.sigma2.no
Please, replace the following:
`XXXX` - with the chosen 4-digit port
`node` - the number of the node. You can see that on the "Accepting Connection" or salloc messages.
`username` - your username on our servers
`Y` - the login node you connected previously (you can see it on the pvserver message below)
`server` - replace with betzy, fram or saga
Connect ParaView’s local client to the server
Open the ParaView executable and follow the steps below:
Click on File > Connect
Add Server
Choose a name and fill in “Host” with
localhostand “Port” with the 4-digit number you chosenClick Configure > Save
A new connection will be created. Now, click on “Connect”
If everything is configured correctly, you should see on your left side under “Pipeline Browser” the client connected and a message on the terminal saying “Client connected”
Here’s an image with an overview of the whole process:
