HPC for ANSYS Fluent

⚙️ Eight-Socket Xeon Platinum 8168 CFD Server: 192-Core Ultra-Parallel Power for Enterprise ANSYS Fluent

When your CFD program pushes into tens to hundreds of millions of cells, deep multiphysics coupling, and hard deadlines, you need a machine built to scale—cleanly and predictably. This 8× Intel® Xeon® Platinum 8168 platform delivers 192 physical cores / 384 threads, paired with 512 GB RAM and mirrored 2 × 2 TB SSDs, to run very large, parallel ANSYS Fluent, OpenFOAM, and STAR-CCM+ campaigns with enterprise-grade reliability.

💻 High-Performance Configuration

Key Specifications

CPU: 8 × Intel® Xeon® Platinum 8168 (octa-socket enterprise platform, 24 cores/CPU)

Total Compute: 192 cores / 384 threads

Memory: 512 GB (ECC platform; expandable)

Storage: 2 × 2 TB SSD (recommended RAID 1 mirror for uptime & data safety)

Parallel Model: Tuned for MPI domain decomposition, high-rank scaling, and high-throughput job queues

Why it matters: An 8-socket SMP node provides huge core density without inter-node network latency, so you can drive fine-grain partitions on monstrous meshes and keep solver communication overhead under control.

Straight talk: 512 GB across 192 cores is lean for chemistry-heavy or LES workloads. If you plan 50–200M+ cells, detailed chemistry, radiation, or rich post fields, plan an upgrade path to 1–2 TB+ RAM for comfortable per-rank memory.

🚀 Built for Massive, Parallel CFD & Multiphysics

Engineered for production-grade fidelity at scale:

Turbulence: RANS (k-ε, k-ω SST), transition, hybrid RANS-LES/DES, LES “starts”

Multiphase / Reacting: VOF/Eulerian, cavitation, sprays, combustion (EDM/FRC)

Thermal / CHT: Conjugate heat transfer with complex materials & tight BCs

Transient: Time-accurate aero/thermal events, cyclic duty, start-up/shut-down

Design exploration: DOE, adjoint/parametric sweeps, response surfaces, multi-case queues

Comfort zone: ~70–200M+ cells depending on physics, memory per rank, and numerics. Much larger totals are possible with disciplined partitioning and I/O strategy.

🧠 Architecture Advantages (MPI, NUMA & End-to-End Throughput)

192 cores on one SMP node: Dense parallelism without cluster fabric overhead

NUMA-aware scaling: Low-latency inter-socket links; use processor affinity to keep ranks local to memory domains

ECC RAM bandwidth: Stable convergence at tight CFLs; room for AMR and restart fields (capacity expands easily)

Mirrored SSDs (RAID 1): Fast checkpoints and safe, restartable long runs

24/7 reliability: Enterprise platform designed for continuous duty and scheduled batch pipelines

🔧 Parallel CFD Tuning — Quick Wins That Matter

Partition size: Start around ~0.35–0.7M cells per process at this core count; retune after a pilot to balance CPU vs. comms overhead.

Core pinning & NUMA: Use affinity/numactl (and solver flags) to pin ranks to local memory; avoid cross-socket thrash.

Hybrid parallelism: Where supported, run MPI + OpenMP/threads to reduce MPI ranks while exploiting all cores.

Order strategy: Stabilize first-order, then move to second-order once residuals behave.

CFL ramps & dual-time: Faster, safer transients with fewer resets.

Targeted AMR/refinement: Concentrate on shear layers, shocks, recirculation, flame zones, steep thermal gradients.

I/O hygiene: Rolling checkpoints, trimmed post fields, and periodic purge to keep wall-clock tight.

💼 Ideal Use Cases

Aerospace & automotive: full-airframe aero, high-lift, underbody/underhood, aero-thermal coupling

Energy & process: combustors, gas turbines, recuperators, reacting networks

HVAC & built environment: microclimate, ventilation, thermal comfort at block/neighborhood scale

Digital twins & optimization: multi-variant queues, design-in-the-loop, regression pipelines at high fidelity

📊 Why Octa-Socket Over Smaller Nodes (or a Cluster)?

More cores per node → denser partitions with no inter-node latency

Higher batch throughput → more validated design points per week

Simpler ops than multi-node clusters for single-node mega-jobs

Cluster-ready: This node can still join a fabric later as a high-density compute element

Memory note: If you’ll live in the upper range of cell counts or run LES/chemistry-heavy models, budget for 1 TB+ sooner than later—your convergence and restart strategy will thank you.

🏁 Final Thoughts

The 8× Xeon Platinum 8168 | 192 cores | 512 GB RAM | 2 × 2 TB SSD (RAID 1) server is an ultra-parallel CFD workhorse. It pairs massive core density with enterprise stability so teams can partition larger meshes, run more variants, and hit deadlines in ANSYS Fluent, OpenFOAM, and STAR-CCM+—without immediately jumping to complex multi-node clusters.

Scale your CFD with confidence.
👉 Contact MR CFD