1.2.1. Data Management

Engineering Knowledge Manager

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### 1.2.1. Data Management

EKM provides all of the advanced features that a sophisticated data management system offers, while focusing on the unique characteristics of simulation data. Not only are such data sets very large, the file formats that need to be managed are also numerous. Therefore, the architecture of the system has been designed to handle data in a highly efficient and flexible manner. A breakdown of the important data management features follows:

- Management of large data sets: Data generated by simulation tools can be very large and it becomes a challenging task to store it in a centralized server, especially if you have users across a Wide Area Network (WAN). EKM File Transfer Client provides an intuitive interface for bulk data transfers of multiple files and folders. It can also interact with a cache service so that files that have been downloaded once are not transferred again. Within the server, only a single instance of a file is maintained even if it is copied to multiple places or has different versions with no change in content. For efficiency, files are stored outside the database on a file system. This has the added benefit of enabling you to integrate with Hierarchical Storage Managers (HSM) for managing data growth. You can specify a retention policy to automatically remove obsolete data from the system. Finally, instead of uploading files, you can let the files remain in their original location and just create a reference to them in EKM.

- Configurable data model: EKM is able to recognize a rich set of file formats used by ANSYS tools. Through the use of custom file types, it also enables you to easily extend the data model to add support for files from other tools or in-house solvers. When files are uploaded, some key properties (or metadata) are automatically extracted after the upload. You can also define metadata extraction for custom types. EKM also enables users to supply metadata values after upload. Because the project or folder structure that is used to organize simulation data is not standard and varies significantly from tool to tool, company to company and even from group to group within a company, by default, EKM enables data to be organized in any arbitrary folder structure as on a file system. EKM closely resembles Windows File Explorer in order to lower the learning curve of simulation engineers. However, wherever it is required, you can define custom containers that add constraints on how data are organized. Most of the configuration can be done dynamically from the interface without requiring you to stop and restart the server or edit complex scripts and XML files.

- Access Control: EKM offers a sophisticated but easy-to-use permission system for protecting your intellectual property and preventing unauthorized access or modification of data. Every user that signs in to an EKM server needs to have an account created for them. EKM can integrate with external authentication systems such as Windows Active Directory and LDAP as well as Windows/Linux OS-based authentication so that you can sign in with your existing password. Each user can belong to multiple groups. Each object (whether a file or a container) has an Access Control List (ACL) that specifies which user or group can access, modify, create, delete, download or perform lifecycle operations on the object. Users without adequate permission to access an object will not be able to view it from the parent container that contains it, or perform a search on it. EKM also enables you to define custom modules to meet complex authorization requirements, such as for export control or ITAR.

- Version Control and Access Management: EKM provides extensive version control and access management capabilities. You can maintain multiple versions of files or folders. You can view the revision history to track the evolution of data and compare different versions against each other. You can also revert to a previous version if desired, and create multiple branches that enable you to track and study different options or design variants used in a simulation.

- Object lifecycle management: EKM enables any object to be associated with a lifecycle for tracking its maturity status. You can define permissions that are applied to the object for each stage of the lifecycle. This enables you to control the visibility of the object as it matures. You can also define a signoff process that should be followed before the stage can be changed. This enables a committee to electronically review and approve the stage change.

- Searching: EKM offers a variety of search options. You can perform a Google-like full text search on text, XML, HTML, and common document formats (such as PDF, RTF, DOC, PPT, XLS, and so on). You can use the property-based search option to search using metadata that are extracted from files or added by users. You can create complex queries with multiple statements and sub-expressions to narrow the search. For example, you can find all Fluent Case files created by users Joe or Bob, within a certain date range, in which the turbulence model utilized was either K-Epsilon or Spalart Allmaras, and the material used was water. Finally you can also perform a report-based search to find reports that match search criteria (such as finding all reports in a particular folder in which temperature at a boundary was greater than a threshold).

- Reporting: EKM offers comprehensive reporting capabilities. You can create comparison reports that compare the metadata of files or content of reports, or compare folders recursively. You can also generate charts and plots to compare numerical data. Simulation detail reports are automatically created on upload and summarize detailed model settings and boundary conditions used by a simulation input file. Details about a process can be captured in a process report.

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