| Term | Definition |
| Application | A CAE program such as ANSYS Mechanical, Fluent, CFX, etc. |
| Collaborative | An environment where multiple users have access to one or more projects and their data. This can range from a simple multi-user environment where each user can review what the other has done to a multi-access system with email notification, search capabilities and other collaborative tools. |
| Compute Server | A separate computer dedicated to the execution of compute-intensive jobs. Jobs on a compute server are often managed by job-scheduling software such as LSF or PBS. The ANSYS product RSM also provides job management capabilities. The Fluent Remote Simulation Facility (RSF) is an example of a compute server. |
| Content Management System | A Content Management System (CMS) is a layer which sits above a relational database which provides specialized capabilities for managing the metadata associated with objects, object handling facilities such as version control, check-in and check-out, etc. EKM uses a java-based CMS called Jackrabbit. |
| Data Integration | Enabling the transfer of data between different Applications, e.g., thermal data from Fluent to ANSYS Mechanical. |
| Data Management | Managing the archiving, importing and exporting, metadata extraction and definition, etc. of the files associated with a project. This includes searching of metadata and full text searches of documents and files. |
| Desktop Application | An Application running on a single computer in a self-contained manner – no requirement for server access. |
| Desktop Client | An Application whose GUI is running on a single computer but which then accesses required resources from a server on the LAN, WAN, or Web, e.g., a compute server. A Desktop Client may range from a complete GUI running on the local computer to simply a Web browser. |
| File Management | Manipulation of the files associated with a simulation. Creating and managing the file structure. |
| File Server | A separate computer dedicated to the storing of files. A file server can act as the file repository for a data management system. A number of different protocols can be used to transfer files to the file server including ftp and http. |
| Job Management | The prioritization and management of the execution of simulation jobs on an individual computer or cluster. It may or may not involve interaction with load-balancing software. |
Knowledge Management |
Another term for Data Management. In the future, this will include more advanced capabilities such as the ability to extract information about the decisions and the decision-making process associated with the simulations and data in a project, i.e., both the content and the context of the data. |
Metadata |
Information or “tags†associated with an object which help identify the content or context of an object, e.g., keywords for a document file, date of creation, creator for a file, type of simulation and other simulation specific parameters for a simulation file, etc. |
Multi-Access |
Multiple users can access a system and its data simultaneously. There is login control and access control, including file locking. |
Multi-User |
Multiple users can access a system and its data, but not simultaneously, i.e., there is no login control or systematic file locking. |
Process Management |
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Project |
A collection of Simulations relating to the study of a particular part, flow, etc. These simulations may all relate to one physical discipline, e.g., fluid flow, or it may be a series of multi-disciplinary simulations, e.g., fluid-structure interaction. A single user may work on a project, or multiple users (multi-user) when it is multi-disciplinary. However, simultaneous access by multiple users (multi-access) is generally not allowed. |
Publish |
Once a Workflow or Report has been created in Workbench, it can be “published†to a Web portal which allows users to access and execute the Workflow or view the Report from a multi-access system via a Web browser. |
Relational Database |
In the context of a SPDM system such as EKM, a database is used to store the metadata associated with the objects in the repository. Any relational database can be used including open-source databases such as MySQL or commercial products such as Oracle, DB2. |
Report |
A Workbench-generated summary of the inputs and outputs for a Simulation. |
Server |
A separate computer proving additional capabilities to a Desktop Client. This can include: compute server (for heavy computational tasks), Web/application server (for a Web-based application), database server (for metadata storage), ftp server (for data archiving). |
Simulation |
A single case run using an Application. |
Single User |
A single engineer accessing a system. |
Vertical Application |
A Workflow designed for a well-defined, focused simulation, or a multi-step, multi-disciplinary simulation, e.g., IcePak. |
Web Access |
An application for which the user access is via a standard Web browser, such as Internet Explorer or Firefox. |
Web Server |
Web-based systems, i.e., systems accessed by standard browsers such as Internet Explorer or Firefox, require an application web server to manage the requests from users of the system. EKM supports both open-source servers such as JBoss as well as commercial servers such as IBM Websphere. |
Workflow |
A collection of steps bound together into a single unit to guide the user through a simulation. This may range from a series of macroscopic tasks (geometry acquisition, meshing, physics preprocessing, etc.), to a template for inputting the necessary data, to a wizard guiding the engineer through a series of steps. |