Overview

Ansys Cloud Burst Compute allows Lumerical FDTD users to run simulations on Ansys-managed cloud hardware without requiring local HPC resources.

This article explains how to submit and monitor Cloud Burst Compute jobs from the Lumerical FDTD interface.

Validate Prerequisites

Before submitting a simulation, verify that:

• You are using Ansys Lumerical FDTD 2025 R1.3 or newer.
• You were given access by the Cloud Administrator (or ASC) to Ansys Cloud and to Cloud Burst Product.
• Your organization has available Cloud credits
• You are signed in with your Ansys account.

For access, please contact your Ansys Support Coordinator (ASC) or Cloud administrator to be added to the account and assigned to the product by following these steps: HOW TO - Grant Users Access to Ansys Cloud Burst Compute

Steps to submit jobs with cloud burst in Lumerical

1. Sign In:
   1. Open Lumerical FDTD
   2. Click the Ansys ID icon located on the upper right side of the window and sign in with your user credentials.

2. Open your project
3. Select the FDTD Solver
4. Select:
   • CPU → Burst: Select for 2D and 3D simulations 
   • GPU → Burst: Select for 3D simulations (recommended)
     • Click Run
5. Review the job submission window.
   • A popup window will be displayed providing information about the job name, account linked, available credits, estimated cost and queue selection (Advanced)
     • By default, Lumerical automatically selects the recommended queue based on the simulation's memory requirements.
6. Click Submit
   • If Any errors are found with the selection, please check the Simulation and Memory Report in this window.

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7. The project will prompt to be saved before submitting to the burst machine.
8. Monitor the job:
   • The job will be uploaded, queued, started, meshed, saved, completed and downloaded.
   • If Download results after completion is enabled, the completed simulation is automatically downloaded and opened in Lumerical FDTD.
9. Review the results: Completed simulations can also be viewed from the Ansys Engineering Portal where users can:
   • Monitor Job history
   • Download completed simulations
   • Cancel running jobs
   • Review credit usage.

 

 

Current Limitations

Currently, Cloud burst compute for Lumerical supports:

• FDTD Solver only
• Single Simulations
• Parameter Sweeps

NOTE: Optimization jobs and non-FDTD solvers are currently NOT supported.