Understanding the acs.properties File Settings

The acs.properties file allows you to customize some settings for your SIMULIA Execution Engine.

The acs.properties file is located in the following subdirectory of your installation:

<SEE_install_dir>/config/

The following settings are accessible using the acs.properties file, and they can be altered using the text editor of your choice. Any changes to this file will not be recognized by the SIMULIA Execution Engine until the application server is restarted.

fiper.acs.name
This setting defines the logical name of the SIMULIA Execution Engine. For single server systems it is the IP host name. For clustered servers it is the cluster (cell) name.
fiper.system.esihome
This setting points to the operating system directory of your SIMULIA Execution Engine installation directory, including the operating system directory name.
fiper.system.execution.licensetype
This setting is used to set the default licence type for running jobs on SIMULIA Execution Engine. Allowed values for license type are Legacy, SimUnit_Token, or SimUnit_Credit.
fiper.acs.isWindowsService
This setting is used if the DRM is set to lsf and the fiper.security.runas.drm setting is set to true. In this case you must tell the SIMULIA Execution Engine whether the application server is running as a service or not. If the DRM is set to fiper, this setting is not used.
fiper.system.filemgr.rootFilePath
This setting defines the directory in which the SIMULIA Execution Engine File Manager will store files used in parameter mapping and large in-model files. This directory must have the following characteristics:
  • Must be large enough to hold all the files for all jobs in the SIMULIA Execution Engine database. This size can be in the 10s of GBs or much larger if your users save CAD files, mesh files, or large output reports with per-node details (such files can be 1 GB each). The amount of disk space is probably comparable to the size of the SIMULIA Execution Engine database.
  • Should be on a local disk on the SIMULIA Execution Engine server host (the one running WebSphere), though a NAS device is acceptable.
  • Can be written by the SIMULIA Execution Engine user ID (the one that is used to start WebSphere).
  • Is not a temporary file system. This disk space must never be reclaimed automatically. This rules out /tmp, /var/tmp, and other such directories that are cleared during a restart or during an automatic disk space cleanup.
  • Is a separate disk drive or partition, if possible, so that if the disk fills completely it will not affect the rest of the computer.
  • Should be a directory uniquely for this use. You should not select an existing directory that is also used for other purposes. For example, use /export/ExecutionEngineFilemgr instead of /export.
fiper.cluster.controller.location
This setting is used with the SIMULIA Execution Engine cluster configuration. It must specify the node and server name where the SIMULIA Execution Engine Controller is deployed. These must be the WebSphere node and server names, not the IP (system) names.
fiper.system.logfilter
This setting and its subsettings are used for debugging purposes. They should be used only at the direction of SIMULIA technical support.
fiper.system.temp
The location of your SIMULIA Execution Engine temporary directory. Directory names must be separated by forward slash characters (/). The default is the temporary directory from the environment. This setting is /var/tmp on Linux. This directory needs to have the following characteristics:
  • Must be located in a stable part of your file system. Be sure that it is not automatically “cleaned” while the system is running. If the contents of this directory are deleted, the SIMULIA Execution Engine will not function correctly. This directory can be one that is erased when the machine is restarted. For more information on which parts of your file system are best suited for this temporary directory, contact your local system administrator.
  • Should be on a local disk on the SIMULIA Execution Engine server host (the one running WebSphere). If there is insufficient local storage space, a NAS device can be used, but this setup is not recommended.
fiper.system.drm
This setting and its subsettings allow you to configure the distributed resource management option used by the SIMULIA Execution Engine. You can choose either the built-in mode (Fiper) or LSF. For more information, see Using Distributed Resource Management with the SIMULIA Execution Engine.
fiper.stranded.workitem.interval
This setting defines the interval between checks for work items left stranded in the PENDING state due to the lack of availability of a station with the required affinities. Work items that have been in the PENDING state for at least half of this time will cause a job log (and system log) WARNING message to be generated that indicates the work item is waiting for a station that can process a work item with the work item’s affinities.
fiper.system.drm.fipertimelimit
This setting defines the optional maximum time limit for components dispatched using the Fiper DRM option. This setting is optional. If a component's individual maximum time limit is set to a value larger than this value, the component will be dispatched using the LSF DRM option. This option is useful only if both the Fiper and LSF DRMs are enabled. If you specify this option without enabling both Fiper and LSR DRMs, the SIMULIA Execution Engine generates a warning message. The default value is 0.

This setting is not applicable for process components and the components which are part of a fast-flow submodel. Components that are part of a fast-flow submodel are always dispatched on the DRM executing the component enabling fastflow for the submodel.

fiper.system.bsubpath
This setting is used only when fiper.system.drm is set to lsf. It must specify the fully qualified path and file name of the LSF bsub executable module. For more information on using LSF with the SIMULIA Execution Engine, see Using Distributed Resource Management with the SIMULIA Execution Engine.
fiper.system.lsfQueueName
This setting is used if the DRM is set to lsf. This value specifies the name of the LSF queue to be used for SIMULIA Execution Engine jobs.
fiper.acl.default.enabled
This setting controls whether SIMULIA Execution Engine users are allowed to set the default permissions on any published object or job. These permissions apply to users for whom no explicit permissions have been set. When set to false before the SIMULIA Execution Engine is started, any explicitly set default permissions are changed to none. The default setting is true so new users will not be accidentally locked out of their own new installations of SIMULIA Execution Engine.
fiper.ssl.keystore.file
This setting is used only when using SSL security for federated SIMULIA Execution Engine environments. It must contain the fully qualified file name of the keystore file containing X.509 security certificates.
fiper.ssl.keystore.password
This setting is used only when using SSL security for federated SIMULIA Execution Engine environments. It must contain the keystore password for the keystore file named in the fiper.ssl.keystore.file setting. This setting represents only the password for the keystore file itself. It is not the encryption password for any certificates stored in the file.
fiper.b2b.allowWildCards
This setting is used only for federated SIMULIA Execution Engine environments. When set to true, access to models in the SIMULIA Execution Engine from remote users will be allowed when wildcards (*) are used to publish shared models. This option allows, for example, all users at a given remote site to access the shared models without naming each individual user when the models are published. When set to false, wildcard specifications will not be used to determine access to shared models (e.g., each remote user must be specifically granted access to the shared model).
fiper.b2b.url
This setting is not used with the WebSphere application server and can be ignored.
fiper.security.runas.enabled
This setting is used with the SIMULIA Execution Engine Run-As security feature. For more information, see Configuring Station (Run-As) Security.
fiper.security.runas.domain
This setting is used with the SIMULIA Execution Engine Run-As security feature. For more information, see Configuring Station (Run-As) Security.
fiper.acs.jms.persistent
This setting specifies whether or not to use persistent JMS messaging between the station and the SIMULIA Execution Engine. The default value is true.

For maximum reliability of the system, this setting should be left set to true. A value of false can result in job failures due to intermittent network connectivity issues or server failures that could otherwise be handled.

There is a corresponding configuration entry in the station.properties file, fiper.station.jms.persistent, which must also be set to true to use persistent JMS messaging.

fiper.acs.continueRunningJobs
This setting specifies whether or not running jobs are to be continued after a planned or unplanned shutdown and restart of the SIMULIA Execution Engine. The default value is true.

Generally, this setting should be set to false only when there are running jobs that will prevent the SIMULIA Execution Engine from successfully starting up. This is not a normal situation and indicates a flaw in a component, plug-in, or other metadata that should be reported to SIMULIA or the developer of the code if it is not a SIMULIA product. Once the system has started, the setting should be changed back to true to be ready for the next time the SIMULIA Execution Engine is restarted.