CST Studio Suite & Opera
CST Studio Suite is a 3D EM analysis software package for designing, analyzing and optimizing electromagnetic components and systems.
EM simulations can be classified as High Performance Computing (HPC) tasks. This means that computers must meet high requirements in terms of CPU, RAM, and graphical specifications in order to achieve optimal performance. Sufficient power supply and cooling must also be ensured for the workstation or server. We strongly recommend buying a complete package from a brand-name manufacturer, e.g., DELL, HP, or IBM, and that the chosen hardware meets the following requirements.
CST Suite & Opera
CST Recommended Hardware
- Processor
- Memory
- Graphics Card
- Operating System
- Storage
Processor
Minimum requirement: x86-64 CPU from Intel or AMD
For Intel processors, we recommend the latest Intel® Xeon® processors in a dual socket configuration for a high-end workstation or server configuration; currently these are the 6th Generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors, also known as “Granite Rapids”.
For AMD processors, we recommend AMD EPYC™ 9005 Series processors in a dual socket configuration for high-end workstation or server configurations; currently these are the 5th Gen AMD EPYC™ Processors also known as “Turin”.
Please note that in case if a processor has a mix of performance and efficiency cores, CST solvers use only the performance cores and not the efficient cores for the simulation. Moreover, due to electrical and thermal limits, the turbo frequency of the processor cannot typically be used over extended periods. So, for general performance and for long simulation times, the base frequency provides a more realistic performance expectation.
We also recommend 16-24 cores per CPU for a general-purpose simulation workstation. It is in general advisable to have a high processor base frequency rather than a large number of cores. The performance scaling as a function of number of cores depends on the used solver technology, the simulation model, and other factors.
For some applications and solver technologies, a high number of processor cores and more than two processors may be a good option to obtain better performance. If you are planning a large hardware investment in high-end HPC hardware like a cluster system or a system with more than two CPU sockets, we recommend that you contact our technical support team directly so that we can help you during the configuration process.
A single processor system with a high base clock frequency may also deliver sufficient simulation performance for many applications. For that purpose, we recommend the Intel® Xeon® or AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ processor. The above advice is also valid for such configurations.
Memory
Minimum requirement: At least 32 GB for a typical simulation workstation
Simulation memory requirement depends heavily on the application and the solver technology. For a high-end workstation or server system, we recommend at least 64-128 GB RAM per CPU depending on the complexity of your application and the used solver technology. We recommend the fastest RAM memory module available, currently DDR4 or DDR5 memory.
To utilize the total available memory bandwidth in the system, arrange the memory modules to occupy all of the memory channels intended for system memory per processor. For the Intel and AMD processors recommended above, this should be 8 or 12 memory modules per processor respectively. A high memory channel bandwidth is essential to obtain the best possible performance for many of the CST solvers. The maximum memory channel bandwidth depends on the number of RAM modules as well as their type. Please ask your hardware vendor to provide you with a configuration that achieves the best possible memory channel bandwidth.
Graphics Card
Minimum requirement: 100% OpenGL compatible graphics card
For the best performance of the 3D modelling and post-processing interface, we recommend a fast 3D graphics card. Both NVIDIA and AMD cards are well tested with CST Studio Suite & Opera and so we recommend using a card that is dedicated to CAD/CAE applications.
Operating System
Minimum requirement: A supported 64-bit operating system,
Please see the supported operating systems.
We support the 64-bit Microsoft Windows operating systems as well the 64-bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Suse Linux Enterprise versions. For more information on supported version, please refer to the supported operating systems document.
Storage
Minimum requirement: 50GB of free disk space for the installation of CST Studio Suite.
The base installation of CST Studio Suite requires approximately 7GB of disk space while additional space is required for the installation of the service packs and other CST Studio Suite programs and tools.
Simulations may generate a lot of data, so sufficient storage space should be ensured. We recommend at least a 500 GB SSD for a typical simulation workstation. For network storage, it is recommended to ensure a high-speed network with fast storage as simulation performance may be affected if the network storage system is not designed to handle HPC I/O workloads.
Computing
- GPU Computing
- MPI Computing
- Distributed Computing
GPU Computing
Minimum requirement: A supported GPU card.
Please see the GPU Computing Guide.
The high memory bandwidth and parallel processing abilities of GPU cards provide a significant simulation speed-up compared to pure CPU computing. Options are available for server-class and workstation configurations. Please see the GPU Computing Guide for a list of supported GPU devices as well as information about the requirements that the host system must fulfil. Please note that the best solver performance is achieved when the GPU card is dedicated only for solver acceleration. In those cases, we recommend dedicated low-end graphics card to handle the display workloads.
MPI Computing
Some CST Studio Suite solvers support MPI computing. It typically requires dedicated compute cluster hardware (e.g., InfiniBand network interconnect).
Please refer to the MPI Computing Guide for more information about the requirements and general setup information.
If you are planning a large hardware investment in high-end HPC hardware like a cluster system, we strongly recommend that you contacting us directly so we can assistyou during the configuration process.
Distributed Computing
Distributed computing divides the simulation workload across three different components: frontend, main controller, and one or more solver servers. For optimal simulation performance, the solver servers should run on separate computers from the frontend and the main controller. A fast network connection between the solver servers, main controller, and frontend is recommended as simulations may generate a lot of data that needs to be transferred.
For solver server computers, the hardware configuration recommendations mentioned above apply because they perform the most resource-intensive part of the simulation. The frontend is used mainly for post-processing and graphical analysis of the results, so it does not require powerful hardware. The main controller maintains a simple job queue and transfers simulation data from the solver servers to the frontend, so it also does not require powerful hardware.
Example Configurations
The following system configurations provide examples of low-end and high-end workstations that are suited to EM simulations using CST Studio Suite and Opera.
Low-End Configuration (Laptop):
- Windows 11
- Intel® Core™ i7 processor 14700KF- 14th Generation
- 100% OpenGL compatible graphics hardware, e.g., NVIDIA® T600
- 32 GB (2 x 16 GB DIMMs) DDR5 5600 MT/s RAM
- 1TB SSD
Note that this configuration is not expected to deliver ideal performance for most practical use-cases. This configuration is appropriate for simple simulations, post-processing calculations and graphical rendering purposes.
High-End Configuration (Workstation):
- Windows 11 Pro
- Dual Intel® Xeon® Gold 6517P Processor, 16 cores per processor, 3.2 GHz base clock
- (Or) Dual AMD EPYC™ 9135 Processor, 16 cores per processor, 3.65 GHz base clock
- GPU acceleration/graphics: NVIDIA RTX PRO™ 5000 Blackwell**
- 256 GB (16 x 16 GB DIMMs) DDR5 up to 6400 MT/s RAM in case of 5th Generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processor
- (Or) 384 GB (24 x 16 GB DIMMs) DDR5 up to 6000 MT/s RAM in case of 5th Generation AMD EPYC™ Processor
- 4TB SSD for Storage
High-End Configuration (Server):
- RHEL 9 (or) Windows Server 2022
- Dual AMD EPYC™ 9275F Processor, 24 cores per processor, 4.1 GHz base clock
- (Or) Dual Intel® Xeon® 6725P Processor, 16 cores per processor, 3.7 GHz base clock
- GPU acceleration/graphics: NVIDIA H100 GPU
- 768 GB (24 x 32 GB DIMMs) DDR5 up to 6000 MT/s RAM in case of 5th Generation AMD EPYC™ Processor
- (Or) 512 GB (16 x 32 GB DIMMs) DDR5 up to 6400 MT/s RAM in case of 6th Generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processor
- 4TB SSD for Storage
If a system is used only for results post-processing and analysis, e.g., for distributed computing frontend, then it does not need powerful hardware. A powerful graphics card and enough disk space for storing the results are usually sufficient.
If you have further questions, our technical support engineers are available to review your desired hardware configuration and provide you with feedback and suggestions to improve it.
NOTE: SIMULIA assumes no liability for any problems caused by this hardware recommendations.
*This feature is available for selected solvers in CST Studio Suite only and not available in Opera. Please refer to the relevant guide or online help for more information.
** This GPU has poor double precision and so not recommended for all solvers. Please refer section 2.1 in the GPU computing Guide.
Need Assistance?
Our support team is here to help you make the most of our software. Whether you have a question, encounter an issue, or need guidance, we've got your back.