Coreform Cubit FAQs


General Coreform Cubit questions

What is Coreform Cubit?

Answer: Coreform Cubit is an advanced meshing pre-processor based on decades of Cubit development. Coreform Cubit is used to create high quality hex and tet meshes for finite element analysis and computational fluid dynamics. Coreform Cubit meshes are used in many solvers across industries, including aerospace, defense, nuclear energy, and automotive. Coreform Cubit is based on the CUBIT® technology developed at Sandia National Laboratories, which Coreform has an exclusive commercial license to distribute.

How do I cite Coreform software in my publication?

Answer: When citing Coreform software, please use the following APA standards.

When mentioning software in text, use the proper name of the software, along with the version number. For example,

"We used Coreform Cubit 202x.x to generate the meshes…"

When citing Coreform software in-text, use the following:

(Coreform Cubit, 2018)

When citing Coreform software in a bibliography, use the following:

Coreform Cubit (Version 202x.x) [Computer software]. Orem, UT: Coreform LLC. Retrieved from http://coreform.com

See guidelines in section 7.08 of Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (6th ed., 1st printing) for citing software.

What are the differences between Coreform Cubit and CUBIT® developed by Sandia National Laboratories?

Answer: Coreform is the exclusive commercial distributor of the CUBIT technology. Coreform Cubit is very similar to CUBIT, but may also contain additional functionality. See the latest version's latest version's release notes for up-to-date information on Coreform Cubit enhancements.

How many mesh elements can Coreform Cubit generate?

Answer: The number of elements depends on whether you are running a 32- or 64-bit system and the amount of memory your system has. When a computer needs to swap to disk, the meshing time is increased. There are Coreform Cubit users who are regularly generating meshes over 500 million elements on a 64-bit Windows machine with 128 gigabytes of memory. Coreform Cubit can generate a 27 million element mesh on an 8 gigabyte machine in less than a minute and over 100 million element mesh on a 32 gigabyte machine in 30 minutes.

What element types does Coreform Cubit support?

Answer: Coreform Cubit can generate tetrahedral, hexahedral, and hybrid meshes.

Does Coreform Cubit support hybrid meshing?

Answer: Yes, Coreform Cubit supports hybrid meshes. Pyramids and wedges can be used on adjacent surfaces to transition between volumes with tet and hex meshes.

Does Coreform Cubit allow boundary layer meshing?

Answer: Yes, Cubit includes the ability to create boundary layers.

How is Coreform Cubit licensed for use on stand-alone computers and on a network?

Answer: Coreform Cubit can be licensed on a per-seat basis for stand-alone machines or on a concurrent use basis for floating licenses. See Coreform Cubit Licensing for more information.

Formats and support

What operating systems are supported?

Answer: Coreform Cubit is officially supported on the following 64-bit versions of Windows, Linux, and Mac:

  • Windows 10
  • Mac OS X 10.14
  • Ubuntu 22
  • CentOS 7
While Coreform Cubit may run on other versions of these platforms, they are not officially supported or included in our testing. Please email support@coreform.com with any questions.

What are the minimum hardware requirements?

Answer: Coreform recommends the following minimum hardware requirements:

  • 4GB RAM (8GB or more recommended)
  • 1GB disk space
  • Graphics card and driver capable of supporting OpenGL 3.2 (A software-based implementation of OpenGL 3.2 is provided as an alternative, but may slow the process.)
  • 1280 x 1024 screen resolution

NOTE: More memory and faster processors are recommended for meshes with very large mesh element counts.

What geometry and mesh file formats does Coreform Cubit support?

Answer: Coreform Cubit works with most CAD tools and solvers. See Coreform Cubit Translators for information about supported file formats.

Activation and installation.

How do I activate Coreform Cubit?

Answer: Please see Product Activation for more information on installing Coreform Cubit on a stand-alone computer or network.

NOTE: Network installations require that additional software called RLM-Server license manager be installed on a computer that will act as the license server for network computers that will run Coreform Cubit. RLM-Server and installation instructions are available here.

How do I find the hostID to use in the activation process?

Use the rlmutil utility to find the hostID that RLM uses for activation. The options are "rlmutil rlmhostid ether".

Node-locked In a terminal window, navigate to the Coreform Cubit \bin folder (for example, "c:\Program Files\Cubit 16.0\bin" or "/opt/Cubit 16.0/bin"). Type "rlmutil rlmhostid ether"

Floating In a terminal window, navigate to the RLM-Server folder and type "rlmutil rlmhostid ether"

Where are my license files saved on my computer?

Answer: Coreform Cubit will save license files to a certain directory, and will read any license files placed there by the user.

Before 2021.5:

In older versions of Coreform Cubit, the license files are written to the /bin/licenses folder in the Cubit installation directory.

2021.5 and later:

In Coreform Cubit 2021.5, license files are written to a user data folder that will persist across Cubit versions. This means that you will not ordinarily have to reactivate Cubit when updating your software. The /bin/licenses directory is also still checked by Coreform Cubit, and any license files placed there will also be read. The user data folders differ by platform.

  • Windows: C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Coreform\licenses
  • OS X: /Users/username/Library/Preferences/Coreform/licenses
  • Linux: /home/username/.config/Coreform/licenses

Error: "Unable to save license to…"

Answer: If you receive this error in the Product Activation window, you might not have write permission to the /bin/licenses folder in the Coreform Cubit installation directory. However, the license may have been generated on the Coreform server. Visit your My Licenses page and scroll to the bottom of the page to download the license file to the Coreform Cubit /bin/license folder.

NOTE: If this error occurs on the RLM-Server network server, the license file should be downloaded to the RLM-Server folder. (See Network Troubleshooting below)

How to specify the install location for Coreform Cubit on a Linux machine.

Answer: You can install Coreform Cubit to a specific folder. For example, the following method will install Coreform Cubit to /home/user:

  • Download the .deb file.

  • # extract the collapsing-contents of the .deb file
    ar vx Coreform-Cubit-202x.x-Lin64.deb

  • # install the data files (the files will go into /opt)
    sudo tar -zx --directory=/home/user -f data.tar.gz (will make a /home/user/opt//opt/Cubit 202x.x/ folder)

  • # extract the control files
    tar zxvf control.tar.gz

  • To install the desktop shortcuts for this modified location, modify the Coreform-Cubit-202x.x.desktop file under this installation, then run xdg-desktop-menu to install it.

How to install Coreform Cubit on Linux without a deb or rpm tool.

Answer: Some distributions of Linux do not have a deb or rpm tool. Coreform Cubit can be installed using the following method:

  • Download the .deb file.

  • # extract the collapsing-contents of the .deb file
    ar vx Coreform-Cubit-202x.x-Lin64.deb

  • # install the data files (the files will go into /opt)
    sudo tar -zx --directory=/ -f data.tar.gz

  • # extract the control files
    tar zxvf control.tar.gz

  • # setup the license manager and desktop shortcuts
    sudo ./postinst

How to install Coreform Cubit on a Mac.

Answer: Coreform Cubit is distributed as a .dmg file and can be installed using the following method:

  1. Download the .dmg file from My Downloads in your account.
  2. Open the .dmg file.
  3. Drag the Coreform Cubit icon to Applications to install.
  4. Launch Coreform Cubit from the Applications folder. If you get an error about an unidentified developer, go to Security under System Preferences to allow Cubit.
  5. When Coreform Cubit launches for the first time, you will see the Product Activation window. Enter the product key and click Activate.

Mac Error: Unidentified developer on Mac.

Answer: If you get an error about an unidentified developer, go to Security under System Preferences to allow Coreform Cubit. Or, right click on the Coreform Cubit icon and select Open.

Mac Error: "Unable to save license to /Volumes/Coreform-Cubit-202x.x-Mac64/Coreform-Cubit-202x.x.app/…"

Answer: This error occurs when activating Coreform Cubit in the dmg image instead of the installed Coreform Cubit. When you open the dmg file, you must drap the Coreform Cubit application to the Applications folder to install Coreform Cubit. Then, launch Coreform Cubit from the Applications folder.

Help with the RLM license manager (www.reprisesoftware.com)

Answer: Coreform uses the RLM license manager from Reprise Softaware. Reprise has some useful FAQs. Visit the Reprise Sofware website for more information.

Why are my Coreform Cubit menu items greyed out?.

Answer: On Windows, when you install a new version of Cubit sometimes the user interface does not initialize correctly. The 3D view does not show, the toolbars aren't present, and the window is mostly blank. This occurs when Cubit can't load its plugins correctly. Usually the reason for this is that Cubit is loading libraries from incorrect locations, which causes conflicts. On Windows, programs will search every directory present in the PATH environment variable for libraries to load. If there's an older version of Cubit or another scientific program present in the PATH environment variable, there may be library files with the same name as what Cubit expects but different versions. Our new installation of Cubit will load the library file, but because it's the wrong version Cubit won't be able to get everything it needs from it, and will stop initializing.To fix this issue, you will need to audit your PATH environment variable:

  • In the search bar, search for "Environment Variables", then select "Edit the system environment variables".

  • # Push the Environment Variables button.

  • # Select the PATH variable and click the Edit button.

  • # Remove any older versions of Cubit or other scientific computing programs from PATH, and try to start Cubit again.

Network troubleshooting

What is the difference between RLM-Server and TrelisLM?

Answer: RLM-Server is the current name of the license server for managing floating licenses. It was previously named TrelisLM. RLM-Server includes a GUI for simplifying the activation process.

Common Network Problems

Answer:

  • Did you install RLM-Server and activate the license on the computer you will use as the license server?

    For network installations, two separate software programs must be installed. RLM-Server is the server software and Coreform Cubit is the client software. RLM-Server is available at RLM-Server Downloads

  • Did you activate the computer with RLM-Server installed?

    If RLM-Server is activated a license file with a .lic extension will be in the RLM-Server folder. Use the rlm_activate utility in the RLM-Server folder to activate the software, or visit your license page in your Coreform account. See RLM-Server Installation Instructions for more information.

  • Is the Coreform ISV server running?

    Sometimes after activation, the license server software needs to be restarted (Does not require a reboot of the machine). Check to see that the Coreform server is running. In a web browser on the server, type http://localhost:5053. This should open the Reprise License Server Administration page. In the left column, click Status. You should see three tables. In the ISV Servers table you should see Coreform port 5055 running Yes. If not, click on Reread/Restart Servers in the left column. Check again by clicking Status.

  • Is there another RLM ISV server also using port 5055?

    Other software using RLM may be using the same port number. Change the port number for Coreform Cubit to avoid conflicts.

  • Did you install and configure Coreform Cubit on the client?

    After RLM-Server is installed and activated (A .lic file is in the RLM-Server folder), ensure that Coreform Cubit is configured properly on each network client computer. When Coreform Cubit launches, it will request a license from the RLM-Server license server, so it needs to know where RLM-Server is located. The client machine must be able to access the server over the network. In the Coreform Cubit Product Activation window, select Floating: Connect to a license server. Enter the Hostname or IP Address of the computer where RLM-Server is installed. The default port is 5053. The Product Activation window is under the Help menu.

Unable to write license file on the license server using the rlm_activate tool.

Answer: When activating RLM-Server using the rlm_activate tool, be sure to run as root or admin. This will allow you to have read/write access to the installation location.

Error: "Failed to connect to or get license from license server"

Answer: There may be several possible reasons why Coreform Cubit is not able to access the RLM-Server server license:

  • Coreform Cubit/license version mismatch. If the version of Coreform Cubit is newer than the version permitted by the floating license, update the license or use the matching version of Coreform Cubit. This may occur when a new version of Coreform Cubit is released. The download for Coreform Cubit is updated but the floating license on the license server is not updated. The floating license can be updated by running the activation process again using the product key found on the My Licenses page.

  • RLM-Server is not installed. Coreform Cubit and RLM-Server must be installed for a floating license to work. RLM-Server is the server software that is installed on a network server or workstation that will act as the license server. It must be installed and activated with a valid license file before a network installation of Coreform Cubit can be used.

  • RLM-Server is not activated. After installing RLM-Server, use the rlm_activate command line utility located in the RLM-Server installation folder to activate RLM-Server over the Internet. It will communicate with the Coreform server and download a floating license file.

  • RLM-Server is not running. During the installation, RLM-Server should start automatically. To check the status of the server, type "http://localhost:5054/" in a web browser. The Reprise License Server Adminstration page will open. On the left sidebar can click Status to see if the Coreform server is running. To start the Coreform server, click Reread/Restart Servers.

  • Network communication error. RLM-Server must be installed on a network server or workstation that acts as the license server. This server must be accessible to the workstation where Coreform Cubit is installed. This includes configuring a firewall to allow access to the server. Coreform Cubit will not work properly if it cannot communicate with RLM-Server.

How to Configure RLM to Manage Software from Multiple Vendors

Answer: RLM-Server is based on RLM from Reprise Software. Reprise provides two methods for using RLM with software from two different software vendors:

  • Separate RLM installations and ISV servers
  • Single RLM installation that manages two ISV servers (recommended)

It is recommended that you use a single RLM installation and have it manage two ISV servers. By default, the RLM server uses port 5053 to communicate with the ISV software. All ISV software should use the same port 5053, but each ISV server will use a unique port. For example, ISV A on port 5055 and ISV B on port 5056 would both use port 5053 to communicate with the RLM license server. All ISV license files should be in the same folder.

For more information, see Managing Software from Multiple Publishers on the Reprise Software website.

How do I suppress the DENIED messages in the server log?

Answer: The RLM-Server log will show a DENIED message when Coreform Cubit requests a license for features that the serve does not have. To suppress this message, create a text file in the RLM-Server installation called "coreform.opt" with the text "NOLOG denied". While with will suppress the DENIED license message, it may potentially limit the ability to identify when licenses are not checked out properly.

How do I restart (stop/start) the RLM-Server?

Answer: The RLM-Server can be restarted from the RLM-Server Administration page. To access this page, type "http://localhost:5054/" in a web browser. Use the commands on the left sidebar.

If your server does not have a GUI, you can use the following command (as root):

  • Linux: /etc/init.d/rlm.sh restart
  • Windows: "rlmutil rlmreread" from the C:\Program Files\RLM-Server folder.

Stopping and starting RLM-Server — Linux

  • $ sudo /etc/init.d/rlm.sh stop
  • $ sudo /etc/init.d/rlm.sh start

Stopping and starting RLM-Server — Windows

  • Search for Services app
  • Select RLM in the list of services
  • Click Stop the service to stop RLM
  • Click Start the service to start RLM

How do I stop and remove the RLM-Server?

Answer: The RLM-Server can be removed from a server with the following commands:

Remove the RLM service.

  • Redhat-based systems: (root) chkconfig --del rlm.sh
  • Debian-based systems: (root) update-rc.d rlm.sh remove

Then remove all the files that are part of the installation.

  • rm /etc/init.d/rlm.sh
  • rm -rf /opt/RLM-Server

How do I setup Coreform Cubit on a cluster?

Answer: There are two ways you might setup Coreform Cubit on a HPC cluster. The license manager can be installed on a node or a computer not part of the cluster. Any Coreform Cubit installation on an HPC should have a floating license, regardless of where the RLM server is installed.

First Option: We recommend that RLM-Server be installed on a computer (Windows or Linux) that is not part of the HPC cluster. The instructions for installing and activating RLM-Server on that computer are the same as any normal computer (See Coreform Cubit Network Installation Instructions). If the external computer has an Internet connection, you can run the rlm_activation on that node, otherwise you can use the Offline Activation option.

After the RLM-Server is installed and the license activated, install Coreform Cubit software on the cluster nodes and point back to the external machine running the license manager. This can be done by starting Coreform Cubit on the node and when the Activation Dialog appears, enter the IP address or hostname of the license server, or by manually creating a remote.lic file in the /bin/licenses folder of each node. Cluster nodes can have a shared file system, so it is likely that Coreform Cubit is installed 'once' with only one remote.lic file to create, then that installation is used by multiple nodes in the cluster.

Second Option: The RLM-Server can be run on a node on the cluster. The license activation is done in the same way as described in the first option, depending on whether the node has Internet connection or not.

After the RLM-Server is installed on a node, install Coreform Cubit software on the cluster nodes. You can manually create a remote.lic file in the /bin/licenses folder of the node, or start Coreform Cubit on each node and when the Activation Dialog appears, enter the IP address or hostname of the server node within the cluster instead of the IP address or name of the cluster itself.

NOTE: Indirect GLX was disabled by default in Xorg 1.17. Starting with XQuartz version 2.7.9, to enable indirect GLX and to allow remote visualization on the cluster you will have to issue at the terminal command prompt of your mac: defaults write org.macosforge.xquartz.X11 enable_iglx -bool true

Help with RLM-Server (www.reprisesoftware.com)

Answer: Coreform uses the RLM-Server license manager from Reprise Softaware. Reprise has some useful FAQs. Visit the Reprise Sofware website for more information.

Linux-specific issues

How to install Coreform Cubit using Linux commands.

Answer: You can install Coreform Cubit using the following teminal commands:

  • For Debian based Linux OS:
    sudo dpkg -i ./Cubit-15.2.2-Lin64.deb

  • For Red Hat based Linux OS:
    sudo rpm -ivh ./Cubit-15.2.2-Lin64.rpm

How to specify the install location for Coreform Cubit on a Linux machine.

Answer: You can install Coreform Cubit to a specific folder. For example, the following method will install Coreform Cubit to /home/user:

  • Download the .deb file.

  • # extract the collapsing-contents of the .deb file
    ar vx Coreform-Cubit-202x.x-Lin64.deb

  • # install the data files (the files will go into /opt)
    sudo tar -zx --directory=/home/user -f data.tar.gz (will make a /home/user/opt/Coreform Cubit 202x.x folder)

  • # extract the control files
    tar zxvf control.tar.gz

  • # setup the license manager and desktop shortcuts
    sudo ./postint

  • To install the desktop shortcuts for this modified location, modify the Coreform-Coreform-Cubit-202x.x.desktop file under this installation, then run xdg-desktop-menu to install it.

How to install Coreform Cubit on Linux without a deb or rpm tool.

Answer: Some distributions of Linux do not have a deb or rpm tool. Coreform Cubit can be installed using the following method:

  • Download the .deb file.

  • # extract the collapsing-contents of the .deb file
    ar vx Coreform-Cubit-202x.x-Lin64.deb

  • # install the data files (the files will go into /opt)
    sudo tar -zx --directory=/ -f data.tar.gz

  • # extract the control files
    tar zxvf control.tar.gz

  • # setup the license manager and desktop shortcuts
    sudo ./postinst

Ubuntu GUI delay problem

Answer: Coreform Cubit's graphics engine may not work properly if you are using the nouveau video driver. This problem should be resolved by using a Nvidia proprietary driver.

Customization

Can I customize the Coreform Cubit GUI?

Answer: The Coreform Cubit GUI allows for the creation of custom components and the modification of panels, menus, and toolbars using the CubitInterface. CubitInterface is an API for interacting with the CUBIT libraries. Documentation for CubitInterface can be found here.

How can I localize the Coreform Cubit GUI for a different language?

Answer: The Coreform Cubit GUI can be localized using Qt Linguist (free download) and the Coreform Cubit translation file. Many text strings can be translated to another language or customized for your organization. Please see the video on localizing Coreform Cubit.

CUBIT® is a registered trademark of National Technology & Engineering Solutions, LLC.

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