Server Farm Tutorial

Active-HDL Help Copyright Aldec, Inc.

Server Farm Tutorial

Table Of Contents Server Farm Installation .................................................................................................................. 1

Server Farm Installation Tutorial.................................................................................................. 1 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 1 Farm Controller and Farm Manager Installation ...................................................................... 2 Server Farm Configuration ....................................................................................................... 5

Using Server Farm .......................................................................................................................... 9 Using Server Farm Tutorial.......................................................................................................... 9

Introduction............................................................................................................................... 9 Simulation................................................................................................................................. 9

Troubleshooting............................................................................................................................. 21 Troubleshooting ......................................................................................................................... 21 Server Farm Uninstallation ........................................................................................................ 24

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Server Farm Installation Server Farm Installation Tutorial

Introduction

Server Farm is a network that allows one or more users to run their tasks in a distributed hardware/software environment. At least one computer in the network is distinguished as the Farm Controller, which is a machine that receives tasks from clients and assigns them to other computers called servers. The Farm Servers execute tasks scheduled by the Farm Controllers. This tutorial explains how to create a server farm in a local computer network.

NOTE: Server Farm is supported by Active-HDL 5.1 or newer.

For whom is this tutorial?

This tutorial is meant for administrators, that is for people whose job is to install, configure and maintain software/hardware in a company. The Server Farm Administrator (SFA) doesn't have to be a LAN administrator, but he/she should have at least basic experience in installing/configuring computer software and also adequate administrative privileges needed to complete the server farm installation.

Server Farm architecture

Before you start to install software you need to learn the architecture of your server farm. The server farm architecture describes:

computers that will work as Servers (with a list of tools installed on each of them) computers that will work as Farm Controllers computers that will work as Farm Managers

NOTE: Another parameter influencing the server farm architecture is the number of clients who will use the farm. From our point of view, however, this parameter is not important. The only thing you should be aware of is that each client of the server farm should have an appropriate Active-HDL license to use this feature.

The actual server farm architecture depends on resources available in a company (computers, tools, software, number of licenses, etc.). In our example we assume that we have access to:

5 computers hosting Active-HDL and synthesis and implementation tools you prefer, named Server1 through Server5. These machines will be our servers.

A computer named FC1 which will be our Farm Controller and Farm Manager in the same time.

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We also know that three clients will use the server farm we are about to build. Each client has his own computer named Client1 through Client3. The figure below shows the complete server farm architecture.

NOTE: All mentioned computers are in the same domain (DESIGNERS).

The server farm architecture.

Checklist

Before you start the installation, you need to go through a short checklist to learn whether you and your network are ready for the server farm installation:

1. Is your network based on the TCP/IP protocol? 2. Do all computers you intend to use as server farm machines run Microsoft Windows NT,

Windows 2000, or Windows XP 3. Do you have at least 12MB of free hard disk space on each computer? 4. Do you have administrative rights on all computers you intend to use as server farm

machines? If each time the answer was YES, we can begin the installation.

Farm Controller and Farm Manager Installation

What is the Farm Controller?

Farm Controller is a computer program running as a Microsoft Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP service. The service (Aldec Server Farm Controller) is responsible for assigning tasks to computers (which are on its list of server machines) in accordance with the list of tools available on each of them.

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Server Farm Installation

What is the Farm Manager?

The Farm Manager is an application that allows the SFA to manage and configure farm controllers and servers. You will use this software during server farm installation to connect to the farm controller and then add, remove and configure servers.

Installation

We will now install the Farm Controller and Farm Manager software on the FC1 computer. 1. Run the FarmMC.exe program located in the \Install\jc folder of the Active-HDL installation CD. The InstallShield Wizard for Aldec Server Farm and Aldec Server Farm Manager will be invoked.

The InstallShield Wizard for Aldec Server Farm and Aldec Server Farm Manager. Click the Next button to go to the Setup Type window. 2. The Setup Type window allows you to specify which components should be installed. The Aldec Server Farm check box installs the Server Farm Controller service, while the Aldec Server Farm Manager check box installs the Aldec Server Farm Manager application. Leave the two check boxes selected because we want both components to be installed.

The InstallShield Wizard (Setup Type). Click the Next button to continue. 3. In the Choose Destination Location window, leave the default folder where the server farm files will be installed.

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The InstallShield Wizard (Choose Destination Location). Click the Next button. 4. The next window allows you to select the Program Folder where the InstallShield Wizard will put the shortcut icon for the Aldec Server Farm Manager application. Leave the default name.

The InstallShield Wizard (Select Program Folder). Click the Next button to continue. 5. The last step summarizes all settings. Check if you set everything properly and click the Next button to begin copying files.

The InstallShield Wizard (Start Copying Files).

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Wait until installation is complete. You should see message boxes: Announcing successful installation of the Aldec Server Farm Manager Announcing the current configuration of the license variable Announcing the successful installation of the Aldec Server Farm Controller

If the installation was completed successfully, you may proceed with the Server Farm Configuration. In case of any problems, refer to the Troubleshooting section.

Server Farm Configuration

The next thing we need to do - after the FC1 farm controller and farm manager have been installed - is to add servers to the farm.

Running the server farm manager

1. Select the system menu command Start | Programs | Aldec | Server Farm Manager to start the server farm manager.

The first launch of the FC1 server farm manager.

Connecting to the farm controller

To configure the farm, you need to connect to the FC1 farm controller. 2. Select the menu command File | Connect or click the Connect toolbar button (the first to right). The Connect dialog box will appear.

The Connect dialog box. 3. Type in the name of the farm controller computer (FC1) and click the OK button.

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The FC1 farm manager connected to the FC1 farm controller. If the connection is successful, the connected farm controller name is displayed in the application window title bar.

NOTE: If the farm manager is unable to connect to the selected computer, the following message box appears:

See the Troubleshooting section to learn about possible reasons of this problem.

Adding servers to the server farm

Now, when we are connected to the FC1 farm controller, we can add five servers named Server1 through Server5. 4. Right-click in the workspace of the farm manager window and select the Add Server command from the context menu. The Add Server dialog box will be invoked.

Adding server to the server farm. 5. In the Add server dialog box, type the name of server (Server1).

Adding Server1 to the server farm. Click the OK button. You should see the following dialog box.

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Confirmation of the Aldec Remote Executor Service installation.

NOTE: Server1 has not been used so far as the farm server, therefore it does not have any server software installed. The farm manager detected this situation and wants to install the appropriate service on this computer remotely.

6. Click the Yes button to confirm installation of the Aldec Remote Executor Service on Server1. You will be asked to provide a valid user name, password and domain. Remember that this user must have administrative rights on the Server1 computer and all other computers that you will use as servers. If the user has insufficient privileges, the installation will fail. 7. In our example, the user is FarmAdmin using password serverfarmadm in the domain DESIGNERS. Type in these values and click the OK button.

Providing user account for the Aldec Remote Executor Service. If the remote service was installed successfully, you should now see your server. Open the Server Properties dialog box by right-clicking the server name and choosing the Properties option from the pop-up menu. 8. Select Active-HDL and synthesis and implementation tool you prefer in the Application column. Click the OK button. In the last step, the server farm manager displays a message box remaining about making all selected tools available on Server1 computer.

The message box appearing after adding the server to the server farm. Close the dialog box. You should now see Server1 computer added to the FC1 server farm.

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The FC1 farm manager window after adding Server1 to the server farm. 9. Perform steps 4 to 8 to add the rest of the servers to the server farm. The following picture shows the final result.

The FC1 farm manager window after adding all five servers to the server farm. Congratulations! You have completed server farm installation and configuration.

Summary

The installation of the server farm is only the beginning of your work. As a Server Farm Administrator you may need to add or remove computers from the farm, add tools to servers or remove them, supervise the server farm controller and its tasks queue. You may also need to cooperate with the LAN administrator in case of serious problems. The purpose of your work is to provide fast and effective tools for other designers in your company.

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Using Server Farm Using Server Farm Tutorial

Introduction

Once the server farm is established in the network (see the Server Farm Installation Tutorial to learn how to build the server farm), individual users may start to use it by sending the tasks to the farm controller. This tutorial shows how to create the simulation task for the farm and send it to the queue of the farm controller. This tutorial assumes that the server farm architecture is the same as the one presented in the Installing Server Farm Tutorial, which means that there are five farm servers (named Server1 through Server5) and one farm controller/farm manager (FC1). The design used in this tutorial, freq_meter, is a sample design shipped with Active-HDL software.

Simulation

To prepare the simulation task, you need to open the design first. 1. Select the File | Workspace/Design Explorer menu option to invoke the Workspace/Design Explorer window. 2. In the left pane of the Workspace/Design Explorer select Active-HDL | Samples | VHDL_Designs folder. 3. In the right pane, double-click the freq_meter workspace shortcut icon. The freq_meter sample design will be loaded into the Active-HDL environment. Before you prepare the simulation task for the server, you need to compile the design: 4. Select the Design | Compile All menu option to compile all source files of the design. Make sure that the design has been compiled without errors or warnings.

Running the task from the Server Farm window

1. Use the Tools | Server Farm menu option to invoke the Server Farm window. All tabs in the opened window should be empty (assuming that you haven't specified any task for the server farm from this location so far). The Server Farm window allows you to specify the task for a tool based on the predefined task templates available from the context menu. In order to create the functional simulation task for the Active-HDL design, follow these steps:

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2. Right-click in the window and select the Add | Simulation | Active-HDL option from the context menu.

A row representing the new Active-HDL simulation task will be inserted into the window. Take a look at the values in the subsequent columns: The Type column displays the type of the simulation task that you have just created (Simulation Active-HDL). This column is read-only. If you want to change the type of the task you need to delete the existing task and define a new one.

NOTE: To delete the task, click it with the right mouse button and select the Delete option from the context menu.

The Description column displays some additional information about the task; you may use it to provide text that will clearly identify the task. To introduce any modifications, click on any point of the Description field

(the text will be automatically selected and switched into the edit mode). When you are done, approve the changes by pressing the Enter key (to discard changes, hit the Esc key). In the Command Line column provide a command (with all necessary switches) that will be executed on the farm server. Because the command will be executed automatically by the machine (without human supervision), no message boxes should be displayed. The tool that executes the task should shut itself down after the task is done. To satisfy these needs, you need to run Active-HDL with two switches: -quiet and -execute, accordingly. You may type in the appropriate command or let Active-HDL prepare the command for you: 3. Place the mouse cursor over the text. The small button will appear on the right side of the column; click it. The Open dialog box will be invoked. 4. Find and open the runme.do macro file located (by default) in the \src\TestBench folder.

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Using Server Farm

Now the Command Line field holds the generated command for the specified macro file. Beside the switches mctive-HDL to wait for the license until it

becomes available (but no longer than for five seconds). The next column allows you to

entioned before, there is yet another switch (-wait) that instructs A

specify how you would like to be notified once the job has been

p

have provided a valid e-mail address in the Active-HDL Preferences dialog

executed by the farm server. By default, the option is disabled (Don't notify). The available methods of notification include: notifying by e-mail or notifying by the net message. To set unotification by e-mail: 5. Make sure that you box and valid mail server name or IP address in the Controller Properties.

. Place the cursor over the Notification field; the small button will be displayed on the right side

he following two fields (Include Output Files, Exclude Output Files) are used to ncludes all

g

. Place the mouse cursor over the Include Output Files (the small button will be displayed on

he Output Files dialog box is divided into two panes; the upper pane displays the files that will

. Right-click the *.psd entry and select Delete from the context menu. Next, click the OK Button

6of the field. Click it to expand the list and select the Notify by e-mail option. Tinclude/exclude files from the output generated by the server. By default, the output iWaveform files, List files, Code Coverage files and data files related to the Post-simulation Debumode. Let's assume that you do not want to get the files generated for the PSD mode. In order to exclude these files from the results, follow these steps: 7the right side of the field). Click the button to invoke the Output Files dialog box. Tbe included in the generated results and the bottom pane includes those files that will be excluded from the results. To exclude the PSD mode files: 8to confirm the changes.

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The next two fields - Include Input Files and Exclude Input Files, specify the files that should be included/excluded from the project when the task is copied to the farm controller. Leave these two fields unchanged. The LogFiles field specifies the paths to the log file(s) created during the execution of the task. The values provided in this field are used later to retrieve log files. In this case, the path to the log file is created automatically; you do not need to modify it. The Requirement field displays the name of the tool (in this case Active-HDL) required on the server to execute the task. You do not need to modify this field; because you have chosen the Active-HDL simulation task, this field has been filled automatically for you. The Required Input Files field allows you to specify files that need to exist before the task is submitted to the server. Leave this field empty. The following field, Required Output Files, specifies the files that need to exist after the server has executed the task. We expect that in the result of the functional simulation, the Functional.awf file will be created in the Src folder. Add this file to the list of the required output files: 9. Place the mouse cursor over the Required Output Files field then click the button displayed in the right corner of the field. The Required Output Files dialog box will be displayed. 10. Right-click in the Include pane and select the Add File option from the context menu. The Open dialog box will be invoked. 11. In the File Name field provide the following path: src/Functional.awf and click the Open button. Click the OK button to close the Required Output Files dialog box. The last field, TimeOut, specifies the time limit that the task has to be executed. If the execution time exceeds the specified value, the task is interrupted and reported as not executed due to the timeout error. By default, the TimeOut is set to 14400 seconds (24 hours). Since the project in this example is very small and does not require such a large amount of time to simulate, you may decrease this value to 300 seconds (5 minutes): 12. Click the TimeOut field - the value will be highlighted and switched into the edit mode.

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Using Server Farm

13. Enter the new value (300) and hit the Enter key. Next, click OK to close the Server Farm window. Last thing you need to do is to modify the runme.do macro file in order to ensure that the waveform file generated during the functional simulation will be stored on the disk: 14. Expand the TestBench folder in the Design Browser window and double click the runme.do file.

The macro file will be opened in the HDL Editor. 15. Go to the end of the file and add the following command that will save the generated Waveform file:

write wave Functional.awf

16. Save the file (Press Ctrl+S or select the File | Save menu option). The simulation task is ready. Now, you can run it on the server farm: 17. Open the Server Farm window, right-click the row representing the simulation task, and select Run from the context menu

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The Run dialog box will be invoked. Values in Command Line, Description and Notification fields correspond to the values that you have provided while defining the task. 18. Make sure that the selected Farm Controller is FC1.

You may also specify the server that should execute the task (in which case, the task will wait in the farm controller's queue till the specified computer is ready to execute it) and the exact time when the task should be executed (in which case, the farm controller will cease the execution of task until the specified time comes). 19. After you have specified all parameters of the execution, click the OK button to send the task to the FC1 farm controller. You will see the progress bar as the project files are copied to the farm controller. From that moment, you may observe the status of the task on the Existing Jobs tab of the Server Farm window. The tab shows useful information about the task (its status, owner, description, time when the task was submitted to the farm controller, the command that the server will execute in order to complete the task and the result returned after the task was executed). By examining the Status field you can quickly learn whether the task is:

waiting to be assigned by the farm controller to the farm server

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Using Server Farm

pending to be executed by the farm server finished or finished with errors

After the task was executed, you can view the Return Value field to find out whether the task was completed successfully or some errors occurred. If there were no errors, you should see the following result on the Existing Jobs tab:

To retrieve the results from the farm controller: 20. Right-click on the row that represents the appropriate task and select the Get Results option from the context menu. The Get Results dialog box will be invoked.

The Target folder edit box displays a path to the folder on your local computer where the results of the task will be stored. By default, the folder has the same name as the name of the task (in this case freq_meter - (original design simulation) 1) and it is located in the Server Farm subfolder of the design's folder. The Include files and Exclude files fields contain values that you have specified while defining the task. You may modify the list of included/excluded files here using a semicolon as the separator. 21. Click the OK button to retrieve the results from the farm controller. In this case, the results of the functional simulation include only one file: Functional.awf If the simulation task has been finished with errors, you may view the log files to find out where the error occurred: 22. Once more, right-click the on row representing the finished task on the Existing Jobs tab of the Server Farm window and select the Get Log File(s) option.

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The View Log Files dialog box will be invoked. 23. Select the log file you want to view and click the View button.

The log file will be displayed in the Notepad window.

Running a task from the Design Flow Manager window

The Server Farm can be used directly from the Design Flow Manager. To prepare a functional simulation task in the Design Flow Manager:

NOTE: Make sure that the Select Flow option in the Preferences | Environment | Flows window is set to the Multivendor Flow.

1.In Active-HDL, switch to the Flow window. If it is not opened, select View | Flow menu option to open it. 2. Click the Flow Settings button

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Using Server Farm

The Flow Configuration Settings dialog box will be opened. 3. In the Simulation section, check the Use Server Farm option. This will enable the list box on the right side of the check box. 4. Switch to the list box that has just been enabled and type in FC1 as name of the farm controller that you will use.

5. Click the OK button to confirm changes. 6. Click the Options button (near the Functional Simulation button) to invoke the Functional Simulation Options dialog box.

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By default, all design source files have been added to the Input Files pane and will take a part in the functional simulation. To prepare the simulation task, you need to perform the following steps: 4. Click the Choose button. The Select top-level unit(s) dialog box will be invoked. 5. Select the testbench_cnt_bcd_conf top-level unit and click the Add button located in the right-upper corner of the dialog. The name of the unit will be displayed in the Top-level edit box.

6. Click the OK button to close the Select top-level unit(s) dialog box. 7. Select the Use Default Waveform check box. This option will force the generation of the new Waveform file containing all ports of the top-level design unit. 8. Switch to the Server Farm tab of the Functional Simulation Options dialog box. 9. In the Job Description edit box, type in the new name of the simulation task: freq_meter_orgdesign_sim2. Leave the default value of the Simulation time edit box.

NOTE: The value provided in the Job Description field is used to generate the name of the macro file that will be later executed by the tool on the farm server. To avoid potential problems with recognizing the name of the file by the tool, you should not use spaces and other special characters in the name of the task.

The meaning of the Include Input Files and Exclude Input Files is the same as in the case of defining a task from the Server Farm window. This time, however, you need to modify the list of input files to avoid sending results of the previous simulation to the farm controller : 10. In the Exclude Input Files, add the following string at the end: :ServerFarm\*.*

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Using Server Farm

11. Click the OK button. The task is ready to be sent to the farm controller. 12. Click the Functional Simulation button to send the task to the farm controller.

13. Confirm that the task should be run on the server farm.

Click Yes. You will see the message box announcing preparation for the functional simulation as the files are copied from your computer to the farm controller.

14. To find out whether your task has been finished, click the Finished Jobs button.

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The Get Finished Jobs dialog box will be opened.

NOTE: If you do not see your task on the list, wait for a moment and then refresh the window by clicking the button in the right-upper corner of the window.

To get the results from the farm controller: 14. Right-click the row representing your task and select Get Results from the context menu.

The Get Results dialog box will be invoked. The Target folder field displays a path to the folder on your local computer where the results of the task will be stored. By default, the folder has the same name as the name of the task (in this case freq_meter_orgdesign_sim2) and it is located in the Server Farm subfolder of the design's folder. The full path to the folder where the results will be stored appears: \ServerFarm\freq_meter_orgdesign_sim2 The Include files and Exclude files allow you to specify additional filters on files that will be retrieved from the farm controller. Since you are interested only in the generated Waveform file, you may provide the *.awf file filter in the Include files field. This way, only the Waveform file(s) will be retrieved from the farm controller. 15. Click the OK button to retrieve the results.

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Troubleshooting Troubleshooting

If you have encountered any problems during the server farm installation/configuration, read the following section to find out about possible causes of your problems. Problem: I cannot connect to the Farm Controller. Possible cause: The Aldec Server Farm Controller is not installed or is not running. Solution: 1. Open the Services window (Windows NT: Start | Settings | Control Panel | Services, Windows 2000: Start | Settings | Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services, Windows XP: Start | Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services ). 2. Check if the Aldec Server Farm Controller service is present and running. 3. If the service is present but stopped, run it (select the service in the list and click the Start button). 4. If the service is not present, you need to install it - run the Command Prompt and execute the command shown in the picture below:

The manual installation of the Aldec Server Farm Controller service. Now - go to the Services window and ensure that the service is running.

Problem: I cannot add a computer to the server farm Possible cause: The user logged onto the server computer has no administrative rights. Solution: Make sure that you are logged on as the user with administrative privileges on the computer that you are trying to add to the server farm.

Problem: I cannot run an application on the server Possible cause: The PATH system variable does not contain a path to the application. Solution: On the server computer: 1. Windows NT/2000: Right-click the My Computer icon and select the Properties menu command. Windows XP: Invoke the Control Panel window and double click the System icon.

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2. Windows NT: Switch to the Environment tab. Windows 2000/XP: Switch to the Advanced tab and click the Environment Variables button. 3. Find the PATH system variable and check if it contains a path to your application - add the path if necessary. 4. Restart the computer. Possible cause: The Aldec Remote Executor Help or Aldec Remote Executor Service is not running. Solution: 1. Open the Services window (Start | Settings | Control Panel | Services). 2. Check if the Aldec Remote Executor Help and the Aldec Remote Executor Service services are present and running. 3. If the services are present but stopped, run them (select the service in the list and click the Start button). 4. If the services are not present, you need to install them: run the Command Prompt window and execute commands shown in the picture

The manual installation of the Aldec Remote Executor Helper and Aldec Remote Executor Service services. Now - go to the Services window and ensure that both services are running.

NOTE: If you still cannot run any task on this server:

Remove the computer from the server farm Uninstall the Aldec Remote Executor Helper and Aldec Remote Executor Service

services on the computer Restart the computer Add the computer to the server farm

Problem: Fatal error occurred during the server farm installation

Error message while installing the Server Farm software.

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Troubleshooting

Possible cause: The most plausible reason of this error is that the currently logged on user has insufficient privileges on the FC1 computer (you must have at least administrative rights on this computer to successfully install the software). 1. Log to the FC1 as a user with administrative rights. 2. Windows NT: Choose the system menu command Start | Programs | Administrative Tools (Common) | User Manager to invoke the User Manager application.

Invoking the User Manager. Windows 2000: Start | Settings | Control Panel | Users And Passwords (switch to the Advanced tab and click the Advanced button). Windows XP: Start | Control Panel | User Accounts (switch to the Advanced tab and click the Advanced button). 3. In the User Manager window double click the Administrators group entry. The Local Group Properties window for the selected group will open.

The Administrators local group properties window. Click the Add button to add a new user to the Administrators group. 4. Find and select the user (SFA) that is responsible for the server farm installation.

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Adding the user to the Administrators group. Click the Add button to add the selected user to the Administrators group and then press the OK button to close the Add Users and Groups window. Close the User Manager. Now, log onto the FC1 computer as FarmAdmin and perform the Farm Controller and Farm Manager installation one more time.

Server Farm Uninstallation

Farm Manager & Farm Controller To uninstall the farm manager and/or farm controller: 1. Invoke the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box (Start | Settings | Control Panel | Add/Remove Programs)

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Troubleshooting

The Add/Remove Programs Properties window. 2. Select the Aldec Server Farm and Server Farm Manager item and click the Add/Remove button. The InstallShield will be invoked to guide you through the uninstallation process.

The InstallShield Setup Type window. Clear t check boxes for components that you wish to uninstall and click the Next button. The confirmation dialog box will appear:

The confirmation dialog box. 3. Click the Yes button. After successful uninstallation, you should see the following message box:

The message box announcing the successful uninstallation.

Farm Server To uninstall the Farm Server software, you need to remove two services from the system: On the server computer: 1. Invoke the Command Prompt window. 2. Execute the following command to uninstall the Aldec Remote Executor Helper service:

ddp -uninstall The successful uninstallation is confirmed by the message: Service ddp was successfully uninstalled.

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3. Execute following command to uninstall the Aldec Remote Executor Service: re -uninstall The successful uninstallation is confirmed by the message: Service re was successfully uninstalled.

NOTE: Even though the services were uninstalled, the related files (re.exe and ddp.exe) are still on the hard disk of the computer. You may delete them or keep just in case you will need to install the services manually in the future (see the Troubleshooting section). By default, both files are stored in the %WINDIR%\SYSTEM32 folder. Thank you for using Active-HDL!

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Server Farm Installation Server Farm Installation Tutorial Introduction Farm Controller and Farm Manager Installation Server Farm Configuration

Using Server Farm Using Server Farm Tutorial Introduction Simulation

Troubleshooting Troubleshooting Server Farm Uninstallation

Server Farm Tutorial

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Transcript of Server Farm Tutorial