IRIS Explorer, Release 5.0
IEH9750NA
Hewlett Packard PA-RISC 2.0 (HP-UX 10.20)
Installer's Note
Contents
1. General Information
1.1. Introduction
1.2. Hardware Requirements
1.3. Software Requirements
1.4. Distribution Medium
1.5. IRIS Explorer Subsystems
1.6. IRIS Explorer Disk Space Requirements
2. Installation
2.1. Installation Method
2.2. Environment Variables
2.3. License Management
2.3.1. Installing an Uncounted License
2.3.2. Installing a Counted License and FLEXlm on Unix
2.3.3. Installing a Counted License and FLEXlm on Windows NT/2000
2.4. Quick Test
3. Further Information
3.1. Online Documentation
3.2. Configuration Files
3.3. Network OpenGL Issues
3.4. Other Installation Information
3.5. Known Problems with this Release
4. Support from NAG
5. User Feedback
1. General Information
1.1. Introduction
This document is essential reading for the NAG Site Contact responsible
for installation and maintenance of the IRIS Explorer implementation
specified in the title. The installer will be provided with a printed copy
of this document (Installer's Note).
The use of all supplied software must be in accordance with the terms and
conditions of the Software Licence signed by NAG and each site. Any
request to use NAG software on a computer other than the one licensed must
be referred to NAG (see Section 4).
1.2. Hardware Requirements
To run this software you need an Hewlett Packard workstation which
supports HP's PA-RISC 2.0 architecture. Information on appropriate HP
hardware model numbers can be obtained from the list in the file at
/opt/langtools/lib/sched.models on HP machines. You will also need a
colour monitor.
For best results, you will also need a graphics system which is supported
by HP's implementation of the OpenGL(tm) graphics library. These include
the Visualize fx series of graphics accelerators. In addition, most X
displays are supported by HP's OpenGL using either 3D hardware
acceleration or software rendering; see Section 3.3 below for further
details.
The recommended minimum configuration for the working system is:
- 32Mb real memory
- 175Mb disk space (see Section 1.6, below)
1.3. Software Requirements
This system has been developed under HP-UX 10.20. It will not work with
earlier versions of HP-UX or with HP-UX 11.00 or later.
The following system software is required:
- HP-UX 10.20 or compatible
- OpenGLRunTime
- ACXX
OpenGLRunTime and ACXX are HP software products, obtainable from HP. They
comprise, respectively, the OpenGL runtime environment and the HP ANSI C++
compiler.
An HTML browser such as Netscape Navigator is required to read the on-line
documentation (see Section 3.1, below).
1.4. Distribution Medium
The implementation is distributed as a set of tar files on a CD-ROM,
which also contains an installation script, unless otherwise indicated on
the medium and accompanying despatch note.
1.5. IRIS Explorer Subsystems
The IRIS Explorer distribution includes the following subsystems.
explorer.tar IRIS Explorer base system, modules, example maps, sample
data, module development environment and module source.
This release includes 386 modules, of which 90 have been
contributed by users and are provided as-is without support
from NAG. This release also contains 179 maps demonstrating
the use of many of the supplied modules. Finally, the source
to 479 modules, which you can use as the starting point for
your own module development, is also included.
unixdoc.tar An introductory tutorial, plus a four volume manual set
(IRIS Explorer User's Guide, Reference Pages, Module
Writer's Guide, Collaborative User's Guide) in HTML format.
The documentation also includes external links to NAG's
IRIS Explorer Center website, which contains newsletters,
user stories and example images.
flexlm.tar IRIS Explorer license management daemons and associated
files.
notes.tar Installer's Note (this file) and Release Note, giving a
short description of IRIS Explorer 5.0 and its new features.
1.6. IRIS Explorer Disk Space Requirements
Subsystem Name Subsystem Size
(Mbytes)
explorer.tar 139.6
unixdoc.tar 19.3
flexlm.tar 16.2
notes.tar 0.1
-----
Total 175.2
2. Installation
2.1. Installation Method
The distribution on the CD consists of the following files:
install.sh - installation script
explorer.tar
unixdoc.tar
flexlm.tar
notes.tar
To install the software you should execute the install.sh script in
the hpux102 subdirectory on the CD. For example, if the CD is mounted
at /cdrom you should do the following:
cd /cdrom/hpux102
./install.sh
This script will install IRIS Explorer into a single directory which you
will be prompted for.
2.2. Environment Variables
Several environment variables - including EXPLORERHOME, the location of
the IRIS Explorer installation - need to be set for IRIS Explorer users.
These are all set in the file sample.cshrc, which can itself be found
in the EXPLORERHOME directory. Before running IRIS Explorer, a user must
'source' this file, (preferably) by copying the appropriate command to
the end of their .cshrc file.
Thus, for example, if IRIS Explorer has been installed in
/usr/local/explorer, the following command must be added to the end of
each user's .cshrc file:
% source /usr/local/explorer/sample.cshrc
When building modules, there is a set of variables which may be used
to control the operation: EXPLORERUSERHOME, CXINST_STRIPPED and
CXINST_SYMBOLIC. See $EXPLORERHOME/sample.cshrc for a discussion of
these.
Sourcing this file also causes the maximum number of open file
descriptors per process to be set to 512. This is necessary because
the default value for this resource (around 60) is too low for some of
the IRIS Explorer maps (specifically, those that contain a large number
of modules) to run properly. If not enough file descriptors are
available, modules will fail to start, returning error messages like:
"GenLat": failure in executing the module
Operating system returned: Too many open files
Other errors (including scrambled colors in geometry) are associated
with insufficient file descriptors.
2.3. License Management
The use of IRIS Explorer is controlled by the FLEXlm network license
management system (FLEXlm is a registered trademark of GLOBEtrotter
Software Inc). This release of IRIS Explorer uses version 7.0e of FLEXlm.
The remainder of this section describes how a FLEXlm license key should be
installed to enable the use of IRIS Explorer. Further details about FLEXlm
and how it may be configured to suit your local circumstances are included
in the FLEXlm End User Manual and FAQ supplied in the directory
$EXPLORERHOME/license/htmlman.
NAG usually provides a license key of one of two types; uncounted and
counted licenses.
Uncounted licenses which expire after a short period are issued to
potential users of IRIS Explorer who wish to try out the product before
buying it; these are sometimes called DEMONSTRATION or EVALUATION
licenses. Uncounted licenses are also issued if you have bought IRIS
Explorer for use on a specific machine.
An uncounted license key consists of one FEATURE or INCREMENT line for
each product licensed, for example:
FEATURE IRIS_Explorer NAG 5.000 31-oct-2001 0 \
CBDA2041DC1BC45D2B68 "ANY" 80896b27
This enables an unlimited number of instances of version 5.0 of the
application IRIS_Explorer until the date specified on the system with
hostid 80896b27 only. Note that the line is continued by escaping the
newline character with '\'.
Counted licenses are suitable for networks of machines. Such networks may
consist of machines which are all the same type, or some machines may be
different. A counted license allows you to run a number of IRIS Explorer
sessions concurrently on any computer on the network. When IRIS Explorer
starts it communicates with the FLEXlm daemon (lmgrd) running on some
computer on the network (the license server). lmgrd requests an IRIS
Explorer license from the NAG daemon. Depending on the license details and
the number of IRIS Explorer sessions that are already running on the
network, the request is granted or denied. Due to the complexity of the
installation you are advised to have counted licenses installed by your
system administrator. Counted licenses are sometimes referred to as
NETWORK licenses.
A counted license key specifies the license server and the location of
the NAG daemon in addition to one FEATURE or INCREMENT line for each
product licensed, for example:
SERVER derwent 55001341 7312
DAEMON NAG /usr/local/flexlm/naglm/bin/NAG
FEATURE IRIS_Explorer NAG 5.000 31-oct-2001 7 \
CBDA2041DC1BC45D2B68 "H97,"
This nominates the license server with hostname derwent, hostid 55001341
using communications 'port number' 7312. The full path to the NAG
daemon is specified on the second line. Up to 7 concurrent IRIS Explorer
sessions are allowed. Note that the FEATURE line is continued by
escaping the newline character with '\'.
The server hostname, port number and path to the NAG daemon are the
only items that may be changed. The port number should be chosen so
that it does not conflict with other applications (not mentioned in this
license file) managed by FLEXlm.
For uncounted licenses it is sufficient to install the license; no other
licensing software is required and these licenses are therefore easy to
install.
Counted licenses also require the installation of the license daemon,
the NAG daemon and the FLEXlm utility programs.
Only one license daemon and NAG daemon are required per network. They must
both be installed on the license server. Any machine on the network may
be the license server. You need to consider which machine is most suitable.
It should be a machine that is always up and running when anyone on the
network is likely to be running IRIS Explorer. It also needs to have an
architecture and operating system that is supported by FLEXlm. The
following are supported:
alpha_u3 - DEC Alpha AXP Digital UNIX [Compaq Tru64 UNIX]
hp700_u9 - Hewlett Packard 9000/700 series HP-UX
i86_g2 - Intel 80x86 Linux (RedHat 5 and equivalents)
i86_l1 - Intel 80x86 Linux (RedHat 4 and equivalents)
i86_n3 - Intel 80x86 Microsoft Windows (NT/2000 and 95/98)
i86_r6 - Intel 80x86 Linux (RedHat 6 and equivalents)
rs6000_u3 - IBM RISC System/6000 AIX
sgi32_u5 - Silicon Graphics IRIX version 5
sgi32_u6 - Silicon Graphics (n32 ABI) IRIX version 6
sgi64_u6 - Silicon Graphics (64-bit ABI) IRIX version 6
sun_u5 - Sun 4 (SPARC) SunOS version 5 (Solaris)
An uncounted license may be a simple time expiring or demonstration license
or it may be bound to a specified computer through the hostid. If you have
negotiated a time expiring demonstration license you will not need to
supply the hostid. NAG will provide the license key which should be
installed as described in Section 2.3.1.
For a longer term uncounted or counted license you will have to inform NAG
of the hostname and hostid. To obtain the hostid, locate the FLEXlm
utility program 'lmutil' in the appropriate subdirectory of
$EXPLORERHOME/license/bin, and run it with argument 'lmhostid'.
2.3.1. Installing an Uncounted License
Store the text of the license key in a file, say
/usr/local/lib/nag/license.demo
The location of this file must be made known to the NAG application by
setting the environment variable LM_LICENSE_FILE to the full pathname
of the file before the application is invoked.
For example, in the C-shell, type:
setenv LM_LICENSE_FILE /usr/local/lib/nag/license.demo
or in the Bourne shell, type:
LM_LICENSE_FILE=/usr/local/lib/nag/license.demo
export LM_LICENSE_FILE
No other actions are required to install an uncounted license,
and you may skip to Section 2.4.
2.3.2. Installing a Counted License and FLEXlm on Unix
If your license server is already running FLEXlm v7.0e or later for a
NAG product, add the FEATURE line for IRIS Explorer to your existing
license file and use the lmreread utility. The only other action
required in this case is to ensure that the environment variable
LM_LICENSE_FILE is set as described below. Apart from this, the
remainder of this section may be skipped.
Store the text of the license key in a file on the license server, say
/usr/local/flexlm/naglm/license.dat, ensuring that the word after SERVER
is the network name of the license server and the path on the DAEMON
line is /usr/local/flexlm/naglm/bin/NAG.
On the system(s) where IRIS Explorer is to be run, set the environment
variable LM_LICENSE_FILE to "port@host", where port is the port number
on the SERVER line and host is the hostname of the license server.
For example, in the C-shell, type:
setenv LM_LICENSE_FILE 7312@derwent
or in the Bourne shell, type:
LM_LICENSE_FILE=7312@derwent
export LM_LICENSE_FILE
If IRIS Explorer is to be used on the license server only,
LM_LICENSE_FILE may be set to the full pathname to the license file.
Copy the FLEXlm daemons and utilities from the appropriate sub-directory
of $EXPLORERHOME/license/bin into /usr/local/flexlm/naglm/bin on the
license server (this should be on a local filesystem, not NFS). With
/usr/local/flexlm/naglm/bin as the current directory, execute the script
$EXPLORERHOME/license/bin/mklinks to make links from lmutil to the
FLEXlm utility command names that are used in the documentation.
Ensure that the SERVER line in the license file is the same as that
printed by mklinks.
Set the environment variable LM_LICENSE_FILE to the full path of the
license file and enter the command ./lmgrd to start the license manager.
If any problems are reported, rectify them using the information in the
FLEXlm End User Manual and FAQ. Stop the license manager with the
command ./lmdown.
lmgrd should be started on the license server whenever the run level
changes into multi-user mode. You need to be 'root' to arrange this,
but lmgrd does not have to be run as root so you should set up a
non-privileged username, for example flexrun. An appropriate entry
in /etc/passwd would be:
flexrun:*:22:22:Runs FLEXlm lmgrd only:/nonexistent:/bin/sh
This example places flexrun in group 22, which should be lmadmin. The
entry in /etc/group is:
lmadmin:*:22:root,flexrun
In the scripts executed by init, lmgrd should be started with a
command like:
su flexrun -c "umask 022; /usr/local/flexlm/naglm/bin/lmgrd \
-c /usr/local/flexlm/naglm/license.dat -2 -p \
-l /usr/local/flexlm/naglm/lmgrd.log"
Refer to the FLEXlm End User Manual for a full description of the
possible arguments to lmgrd.
2.3.3. Installing a Counted License and FLEXlm on Windows NT/2000
In this subsection, we assume that drive C: is the Windows system drive.
If your WINNT directory is on another drive, use the proper drive letter
in all paths.
If your license server is already running FLEXlm v7.0e or later for a
NAG product, add the FEATURE line for IRIS Explorer to your existing
license file and use the Reread option of the lmtools utility. The only
other action required in this case is to ensure that the environment
variable LM_LICENSE_FILE is set as described below. Apart from this,
the remainder of this section may be skipped.
Store the text of the license key in a file on the license server, say
C:\FLEXLM\NAGLM\LICENSE.DAT, ensuring that the word after SERVER
is the network name of the license server and the path on the DAEMON
line is C:\FLEXLM\NAGLM\BIN\NAG.EXE. The file must be saved as a simple
text file.
On the system(s) where IRIS Explorer is to be run, set the environment
variable LM_LICENSE_FILE to "port@host", where port is the port number
on the SERVER line and host is the hostname of the license server.
For example, in the C-shell, type:
setenv LM_LICENSE_FILE 7312@derwent
or in the Bourne shell, type:
LM_LICENSE_FILE=7312@derwent
export LM_LICENSE_FILE
Copy the contents of $EXPLORERHOME/license/bin/i86_n3 into
C:\FLEXLM\NAGLM\BIN on the license server.
Open an MS-DOS Command Prompt window, change directory to
C:\FLEXLM\NAGLM and type the command:
bin\lmgrd -app -c C:\FLEXLM\NAGLM\LICENSE.DAT
This will start the license manager and report its success or failure.
If any problems are reported, rectify them using the information in the
FLEXlm End User Manual and FAQ. To terminate the license manager, change
directory to C:\FLEXLM\NAGLM and type the command:
bin\lmutil lmdown -c C:\FLEXLM\NAGLM\LICENSE.DAT
The license manager is most easily controlled by the "Configuration
using Services" facility of the lmtools program, as described in Chapter
7.15 of the FLEXlm End User Manual. Use the Service Name "FLEXlm License
Manager for NAG".
2.4. Quick Test
Assuming that you have installed in /usr/local/explorer and completed the
installation procedure detailed in the previous section, you can test some
basic functionality as follows:
% source /usr/local/explorer/sample.cshrc
% explorer -map $EXPLORERHOME/maps/simple.map
This draws a simple 3D model which you can rotate with the mouse.
Try any other maps in the $EXPLORERHOME/maps directory.
3. Further Information
3.1. Online Documentation
A full set of documentation in online hypertext format is provided
with this release of IRIS Explorer. The root of the online
distribution is at
$EXPLORERHOME/doc/html/index.htm
The documentation can be viewed by any suitable HTML browser such as
Netscape Navigator. For example, if you are using Netscape Navigator
from your shell window, type
netscape $EXPLORERHOME/doc/html/index.htm
The documentation set comprises an introductory tutorial, plus a
four volume manual set for the system:
IRIS Explorer User's Guide
IRIS Explorer Reference Pages
IRIS Explorer Module Writer's Guide
IRIS Explorer Collaborative User's Guide
together with a list of Frequently Asked Questions (with pointers
to interactive demos). The documentation also contains external
links to case studies, training course information, an on-line user
newsletter and a module repository; use of these external links
requires your computer to be connected to the Internet.
3.2. Configuration Files
The default preferences file for IRIS Explorer is
$EXPLORERHOME/Explorer.config. It contains the default locations of
modules and maps, establishes module categories, and sets the shared
memory arena size. You can customize your own preferences by editing the
sample.explorerrc file in $EXPLORERHOME and saving the updated copy under
the name .explorerrc in your home directory.
3.3. Network OpenGL Issues
This release uses HP's implementation of OpenGL for rendering. The modules
which use OpenGL are ColorEditor, Render, RenderRemote, TransformGen,
ViewGeom and VolumeRender. Some noteworthy issues are:
(a) HP's OpenGL will interrogate the X display and choose a suitable
rendering mode. If the X server has the GLX extension, the OpenGL will
render in a mode that takes advantage of 3D hardware acceleration
wherever possible. If the GLX extension is not present, the OpenGL
will automatically switch to using the so-called Virtual Memory Driver
(VMD), a mode which uses software rendering. This works on a wider
variety of displays, but has a comparative performance penalty because
hardware acceleration is not used.
Although the OpenGL will automatically choose the most suitable
rendering mode for the display, the software rendering mode can be
selected explicitly using an environment variable:
% setenv HPOGL_FORCE_VGL=1
(b) On some displays with minimal OpenGL support the OpenGL modules cannot
display any graphics at all (even using software rendering). This
problem is signalled by an error message such as:
Render: Inventor error in SoXtGLWidget::buildNormalGLXWidget(): could
not create visual
(c) For some values of the DISPLAY variable, an OpenGL module will
exit with an error message like:
Render: Inventor error in SoXtGLWidget::ginitCB(): could not create
main context
DISPLAY values which appear to suffer from this problem include :0 and
:0.0. One way of solving this is to change the value of DISPLAY to an
alternate though equivalent value, for example 0:0.0 or localhost:0.
3.4. Other Installation Information
Most modules built under IRIS Explorer version 4.0 will require
recompilation and relinking before they will work in IRIS Explorer
5.0. In addition, changes to the source may be required for
modules which use routines in the IRIS Explorer API which have been
updated or replaced (see the IRIS Explorer 5.0 Release Notes in
$EXPLORERHOME/docs/relnotes.txt, and Chapter 3 of the IRIS
Explorer Reference Pages for more details on these routines).
Module resource files, map files, DataScribe script files, and saved
lattice or pyramid files have not changed in structure between versions
4.0 and 5.0. The control panels for some modules have been changed
(usually by replacing an option menu widget with a check box widget) which
will generate a warning message when a map containing the old version of
that module control panel is loaded into the Map Editor. To update the
control panel in the map file, simply save the map from the Map Editor.
All of the demo maps shipped with IRIS Explorer have been updated in this
fashion.
3.5. Known Problems with this Release
The group compilation process has been tested extensively and has been
found to work with several groups of modules, but it cannot be guaranteed
to behave correctly with every combination of modules. In particular,
problems may occur for groups that include multiple instances of modules
which are statically linked to libraries containing global or static
data. Examples of these types of modules include those that use the
NAG Graphics Library, LatFunction-based modules and ImageVision modules
on some platforms.
4. Support from NAG
(a) Contact with NAG
Queries concerning this document or the implementation generally should
be directed initially to your local Advisory Service. If you have
difficulty in making contact locally, you can contact NAG directly at
one of the addresses given in the Appendix. Users subscribing to the
support service are encouraged to contact the IRIS Explorer Centers (see
below). The NAG Response Centres are available for general enquiries
from all users.
(b) IRIS Explorer Centers
The IRIS Explorer Centers are available for technical queries from sites
with an annually licensed product or support service.
The IRIS Explorer Centers are open during office hours, but contact is
possible by fax, email and phone (answering machine) at all times.
When contacting the IRIS Explorer Centers please quote your NAG site
reference and NAG product code (in this case IEH9750NA)
The locations are:
IRIS Explorer Center (Europe)
Wilkinson House
Jordan Hill Road
OXFORD OX2 8DR
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1865 516377
Fax: +44 (0)1865 516388
email: support@nag.co.uk
WWW: http://www.nag.co.uk/Welcome_IEC.html
IRIS Explorer Center (North America)
1431 Opus Place, Suite 220
Downers Grove
IL 60515-1362
USA
Tel: +1 630 971 2367
Fax: +1 630 971 2706
email: explorer@nag.com
WWW: http://www.nag.com/
IRIS Explorer Center Japan (IECJ)
Yaesu Nagaoka Building No. 6
1-9-8 Minato
Chuo-ku
Tokyo
Japan
Tel: +81 (0)3 5542 6311
Fax: +81 (0)3 5542 6312
email: help@nag-j.co.jp
WWW: http://www.nag-j.co.jp/
(c) NAG Websites
The NAG websites are an information service providing items of interest
to users and prospective users of NAG products and services. The
information is reviewed and updated regularly and includes
implementation availability, descriptions of products, downloadable
software, product documentation and technical reports. The NAG websites
can be accessed at
http://www.nag.co.uk/ or
http://www.nag.com/ (in North America) or
http://www.nag-j.co.jp/ (in Japan)
(d) NAG Electronic Newsletter
If you would like to be kept up to date with news from NAG you may want
to register to receive our electronic newsletter, which will alert you
to special offers, announcements about new products or product/service
enhancements, case studies and NAG's event diary. To register visit one
of our websites or contact us at nagnews@nag.co.uk.
5. User Feedback
Many factors influence the way NAG's products and services evolve and your
ideas are invaluable in helping us to ensure that we meet your needs. If you
would like to contribute to this process we would be pleased to receive your
comments by email at feedback@nag.co.uk. Alternatively contact the
appropriate NAG Response Centre who will be happy to record your comments.
Appendix - Contact Addresses
NAG Ltd
Wilkinson House
Jordan Hill Road
OXFORD OX2 8DR NAG Ltd Response Centre
United Kingdom email: support@nag.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1865 511245 Tel: +44 (0)1865 311744
Fax: +44 (0)1865 310139 Fax: +44 (0)1865 310139
NAG Inc
1431 Opus Place, Suite 220
Downers Grove
IL 60515-1362 NAG Inc Response Center
USA email: infodesk@nag.com
Tel: +1 630 971 2337 Tel: +1 630 971 2345
Fax: +1 630 971 2706 Fax: +1 630 971 2706
Nihon NAG KK
Yaesu Nagaoka Building No. 6
1-9-8 Minato
Chuo-ku
Tokyo
Japan
email: help@nag-j.co.jp
Tel: +81 (0)3 5542 6311
Fax: +81 (0)3 5542 6312
[NP3568/IN - Revised]