Comsol Licenses
Karlyn Hemmerling
Since 2007 the Mechanical Engineering Department has managed a shared pool of COMSOL research licenses as a service to researchers who use the software for UCSB-related research. Commercial use is prohibited with this license.
COMSOL is a very expensive package to license, and there are only a few researchers who need to use it. We have two licenses for COMSOL version 6.0; these are for the base COMSOL only. We will review usage on an annual basis, and, if usage is deemed sufficient, we will continue to renew on a year to year basis. If a research group needs an additional module, then we offer the following cost-sharing plan.
Once a lab has purchased a license for a module, ARC will install the licenses and begin monitoring usage. COMSOL licenses expire June 30, and we will review usage at the beginning of June for those that do not fall under automatic eligibility.
Licenses (base package as well as modules) are shared amongst all users of the cluster. Any group that requires ongoing use of COMSOL that simultaneously occupies all available licenses for the base COMSOL Multiphysics and results in long wait times for other users will be asked to either reduce usage or purchase license(s) for additional seats commensurate with their needs. If additional seats of the base COMSOL package become necessary, ARC will cost-share with the research group, in the same manner as we do for modules, for up to two additional seats. If a lab must purchase licenses for more than two new seats, they will be responsible for both the initial purchase price as well as ongoing subscription costs for those supplemental seats, for as long as they have need.
Because we only have limited quantities of COMSOL licenses and they are a shared resource, we must use license tracking via Slurm so that you can be sure that a license will be available for you when your batch job starts. Therefore, you must request licenses in your Slurm job script. This is done with the --licenses option. Previously, it was only necessary to request a license for the COMSOL base module (comsol@slurmdb:1). However, since we have fewer licenses for some modules (1) than we have seats for the base COMSOL package (2), we have begun also requiring that users request a license as part of their Slurm job script for required modules as well. If there is only a single license for a module, as indicated in Table 1 above, please use the license specification shown when requesting resources for a Slurm job. For example, to request a license for the COMSOL base package as well as one license for the Structural Mechanics module, please include the following in your job script:
Please remember to use these license commands within all of your COMSOL jobs. Though your job may start without the license specifications, it will not guarantee that a license will be available for all needed modules. And if licenses for those modules are available for you, the users who follow you will depend on you to accurately reserve those licenses in Slurm so that their jobs will be properly held until a license is available for all of the modules that they need.
COMSOL Multiphysics is a general-purpose simulation software for modeling designs, devices, and processes in all fields of engineering, manufacturing, and scientific research. In addition to using multiphysics modeling for your own projects, you can also turn your models into simulation applications and digital twins for use by other design teams, manufacturing departments, test labs, customers, and more.
The Concurrent Use License (CUL) may be installed on multiple machines but a license server will regulate the usage to the number of licenses leased. A CUL requires an internet connection to the license server in order to operate.
On Tinkercliffs, the a license checking utility, lmstat is available to check license status. By specifying the port and server for the COMSOL license server at VT, you can check that status of licenses you might need. For example:
For lesson preparation, classroom use, homework, and activities for ordinary courses, you should use the Class Kit License. This license is also available remotely on the Eng-Grid (see On Linux below), as well as on Citrix. Instructions for Citrix can be found here: Citrix. We can run 90 simultaneous instances of COMSOL under the Class Kit License.
For research, BU offers a floating network license which allows us to install COMSOL on any BU owned machine. This license is also available remotely on Eng-Grid (see On Linux below). We can only run 3 simultaneous instances of COMSOL under the Research license. It is important to note that running batch jobs on Eng-Grid uses a separate license pool of 3 batch licenses. See Grid/BatchComsol.
If you want to do something more complex than run the GUI tool, you want to use Environment Modules. They give you full access to all the COMSOL tools, libs, and paths. For example, to load version 5.3a of COMSOL with the research license:
If you have questions regarding operation, install, or licensing of COMSOL, please email eng...@bu.edu. If you have questions regarding using COMSOL or your model, try their professionally moderated forum and tutorials:
COMSOL is a Finite Element Analysis engineering and physics simulation tool. The tool works by dividing up a one-, two-, or three-dimensional geometry into pieces, called finite elements and solving the physics for each piece. Users can choose any combination of physics which allows modeling to be more flexible. COMSOL is available in the NACOE computer labs for instructional purposes and personal exploration. MONT has obtained a separate license for research purposes. The version of COMSOL discussed here is for RESEARCH ONLY and is available to everyone at MSU through MONT for that application. However, the research license does not allow use by for-profit companies.
This COMSOL license includes the Multiphysics package (2 copies), MEMS Module (1 copy), Fuel Cell and Electrolyzer Module(1 copy) Porous Media Flow Module (1 copy) and Wave Optics Module (1 copy). Because of the limited number of COMSOL licenses, we have a reservation procedure. Please contact Dr. Andy Oliver at andrew....@montana.edu with an email listing your request to use COMSOL, your race, gender, MSU unique ID, year in school, and major (discipline). This information fulfills our obligations to NSF which is supporting the software. You will then receive access to the MMF calendar MMF Tool Reservation and can reserve time on either the MEMS Module or Fuel Cell and Electrolyer/Porous Flow Module or Wave Optics Module. To install the software on a university owned computer, contactcoei...@montana.edu and ask for COMSOL license 3080203 to be installed. If you have any questions or need help, please contact Andy Oliver at andrew....@montana.edu or 406 994 7915. This software is available to anyone at Montana State University for academic use including research activities, but not for consulting or private company use. There is no cost to use the software.
Note: COMSOL licenses are in short supply; there are only THREE research licenses available for general use. If you do not have reserved licenses, you may want to consider using ANSYS
There are three COMSOL Multiphysics research licenses that ECN provides for anybody in the College of Engineering to use. These licenses are available on a first-come, first-served basis. It is for this reason you can sometimes use COMSOL and not at other times.
If your research requires the use of COMSOL, you should consider purchasing your own license. If you are a graduate student, check with your advisor to see if he or she already have a license you may use.
Additional modules
Comsol has many add-on modules that specialize in Electromagnetics, Fluid Flow/Heat Transfer, and other areas:
Purchasing research licenses
To purchase a research license for you or your group, send email to a...@ecn.purdue.edu describing how many licenses and any add-on modules you think you will need. We will get you a price quote. At that time you will need to provide an account number to proceed.
The base COMSOL license cost $4000. The license is perpetual, but if you do not pay the yearly maintenance fee (about 20% of the license cost) then you will not be able to use the license with new versions of the COMSOL software.
Class license
For teaching COMSOL in a class we have a 60 seat class license available along with a fairly full array of modules. To use this license a class list must be provided by the faculty teaching the class, preferably before the start of a semester. The cost of the licenses (about $4500 per year) is shared by the departments requesting access. In the recent past 4-5 departments have used the class license, so the cost per department has been in the $900-$1200 range.
Occasionally, issues such as mistyped career accounts or a late addition to the class can cause an enrolled student to not have access to the Comsol class license. If that's the case then send e-mail to a...@ecn.purdue.edu to determine why the class license is unavailable to the student.
COMSOL is available on all ECN-supported Linux and Windows machines. If its not on your ECN-supported Windows PC, contact us for assistance. To launch the Class kit in an ECN-supported system, select "Comsol Multiphysics - teaching" as shown in the first image below. You can also type in "comsol" and search the start menu as shown in the second image below. Please note that this only applies to Comsol 5.4 and newer.
Installation is available on University owned computers located on the West Lafayette campus. COMSOL may also be installed on faculty and student personally owned computers. Using COMSOL off-campus requires the use of the Purdue VPN. Note: The login on the personal computer MUST match the Career Account login.
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