Flow Science supports FLOW-3D on 64-bit Windows and Linux platforms.
Supported Operating Systems
Processors
Operating Systems
- 64-bit Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2012
- 64-bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and SUSE 11 *
* Starting with FLOW-3D version 11.0.3, SUSE Linux is no longer a supported platform.
Support for users who have installed FLOW-3D on “compatible” Linux distributions (such as Fedora, Scientific Linux, Debian, Ubuntu) will only be provided when a problem can be reproduced on Flow Science’s RedHat and Novell enterprise-class Linux distributions.
FLOW-3D / MP Requirements
For those interested in running the distributed-memory version of FLOW-3D you can find more information about hardware and operating systems on the FLOW-3D / MP Supported Platforms page.
Graphics Support
FLOW-3D requires modern graphics cards with up-to-date OpenGL drivers to perform satisfactorily. At least OpenGL 3.0 support is recommended.
FlowSight works best with graphics cards supporting DirectX 11 or newer. Recommended options are nVidia’s Quadro K series and AMD’s FirePro W series. nVidia’s GTX gaming hardware works with some limitations, such as slow or incorrect volume rendering.
Integrated graphics such as those commonly found in laptops may be adequate, but discrete graphics capabilities are strongly recommended. At least 512 MB of graphics memory is recommended.
License Server Software
FLOW-3D uses FLEX lm for license management. If you choose to use the FLEX lm floating manager on a Windows network, your network server must be running Microsoft Windows 7, 8, 8.1, Server 2008, or Server 2012 and you must use a hardware key (dongle).
Memory and Processor Speed
A minimum of 2GB of RAM is recommended per core processor. For example, a workstation with two 6-core CPUs should have at least 24 gigabytes of memory. Note however that the amount of RAM required is highly problem dependent. For simulations with large domains, or with complex geometry requiring fine resolution, significantly more RAM than the minimum required will be required. Memory speed has a small effect on simulation time and typically 1333 or 1600 MHz memory is adequate.
Operating System
Simulation time on Windows and Linux is comparable. Users may choose whichever operating system they prefer.
Developer Tools
Users wishing to customize any of the subroutines that Flow Science distributes as part of the standard installation will need a license for Intel Fortran Compiler 2013. Users running Windows operating system will also need Visual Studio 2010.
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