Cloud databases are available to users who have an Autodesk subscription to ICM.
Cloud databases let you enjoy the benefits of cloud-based SaaS deployment when using the main features of ICM. If you are familiar with working with on-premise databases in InfoWorks ICM, you may notice that there are some differences when you work with a cloud one.
This topic highlights what is new or different between working with cloud databases and on-premise ones, and what is no longer relevant. Also, because cloud databases are new and are still being fully developed, some aspects of ICM's functionality is currently unavailable.
Using InfoWorks ICM with Cloud databases
To access cloud databases and run cloud simulations, cloud facilities must have been setup. See Getting started with the cloud for further information.
When you start InfoWorks ICM for the first time, the Autodesk Let's Get Started dialog appears. After you have successfully logged in using your credentials, the workspace is displayed.
Use the workspace to add a cloud or on-premise database, and to create networks and models in the usual way. If you are a new user, see Getting Started for further information.
Changes in behaviour
The main changes in behaviour between on-premise and cloud databases are highlighted in the following sections.
Cloud databases
Unlike on-premise databases, which are stored on your PC or a server, cloud databases are stored in a cloud data store for the hub you are working in. Hubs are normally created by a System Administrator or someone with Admin privileges. See Create Hub and Activate Subscription for details.
Cloud database management
Cloud databases can be managed using the dedicated
Info360 Model Management web portal. You can use this portal to rename a
cloud database, and if you have administration privileges, you can also backup and restore, and delete and recover, data. You can access the portal using the
Cloud database management option in the File
Database management menu.
Copying data
Data from cloud databases can be copied to other cloud databases, but not currently to on-premise databases. You can use a transportable database (see below) to copy data between on-premise and cloud databases.
A table that shows the copy options between the different types of databases is included in Copying Data Between Databases.
Transportable database
A transportable database can be used to copy data between an on-premise database and a cloud database or between a cloud database and an on-premise one.
Only network data and supported cloud database items can be pasted from a transportable containing on-premise data into a cloud database. Any database items (see below) that are not available in cloud databases will not be pasted even if the copied database contains them.
Simulation results for any
run pasted from a transportable database containing
on-premise data will not be available in a
cloud database. The Results unavailable icon (
) will be displayed under applicable runs in the
Explorer Window. If you want to view the result for a simulation included in that run, you can re-run it either by opening the run and clicking Re-run simulations in the
InfoWorks or
SWMM
Schedule Hydraulic Run view, or by selecting the Re-run simulation popup menu option in the
Results Management view.
As it is not possible to paste simulation results or time series databases from a transportable database into a cloud database, the Copying of Simulation Results, Ground Models and Time Series Databases dialog is no longer required. Ground models will automatically be pasted unless explicitly omitted from the copy. See Copying Data Between Databases for further information.
To ensure the integrity of copied networks, network objects, such as TVD connectors, which are not currently used in a simulation in cloud databases, will still be included in the network when it is pasted from a transportable database .
User permissions
Although it is still possible to set user permissions, they are not currently implemented for cloud databases. Therefore all users will have unrestricted access to all cloud databases in a hub that they have access to.
Network objects
All InfoWorks and SWMM network objects that are available in on-premise databases are also available in cloud databases.
However some of the objects will not be used in cloud simulations as the database items that they either require input from, or are input to, are not currently available in cloud databases. These include:
- TVD connectors - require a TSDB
- Spatial rain source - require a spatial TSDB
- Damage receptors - require a Damage Function (InfoWorks networks only)
- Risk impact zones - used in Risk Analysis Runs (InfoWorks networks only)
The properties of these objects will still be editable, however, there will be no results for these network objects as they will not be included in a cloud simulation.
Database items
The following database items are not currently supported in cloud databases:
- Asset groups
- Risk Analysis Run (InfoWorks networks only)
- Damage Function (InfoWorks networks only)
- Time series database (TSDB)
- Spatial TSDB
- PDM Calibration - requires a TSDB (InfoWorks networks only)
Differences
The main differences between database items for cloud databases and on-premise databases are summarised below:
- In
on-premise databases , when a
Model Group contains only one type of object, the
Model Group icon is modified slightly to reflect that single contained type. This modification does not occur in
cloud databases and all
Model Group icons are displayed using the unmodified icon (
). For example, the icon for a
Model Group that contains only layer lists in an
on-premise database will be displayed as
in the
Explorer window, however the icon for a layer list group in a
cloud database will be displayed as
.
- Three new
simulation status icons -
(simulation successfully completed),
(simulation completed but with warnings), and
(incomplete simulation) - are available for a
run in a
cloud database, and indicate that results are available on the cloud. When you
open a simulation with one of these statuses, a message will be displayed, allowing you to choose whether or not to
download results from the cloud to your local results folder.
- When cloud database items, other than simulation results, are deleted, they are sent to the recycle bin where they will remain for 30 days unless they are restored from the bin. After 30 days, the cloud database items are automatically deleted permanently from the bin. See the Recycle Bin for details.
- The Delete results option, for on-premise simulations in the popup, context menu in the Explorer window, is replaced by a Delete local results option. And two new options - Delete all local results and Delete local non-summary results option - have been added for cloud simulations. All three options permanently delete the applicable simulation results stored in your local results folder, however, for cloud simulations, full results are still available in the cloud.
Runs
Time varying inputs for wet weather can only include one or more rainfall events and flow surveys in the InfoWorks Run or SWMM Run in a cloud database. Time series database objects are not supported for cloud simulations. Other database items and network objects, which will not be included in cloud simulations are listed previously in the applicable sections.
Simulations for cloud databases are run in the cloud. They are not run on your PC or via an agent group.
Schedule hydraulic run view
As synchronised and overlapped simulations are not currently supported for cloud databases, the Start running from state time option has been removed from the Schedule Hydraulic Run View for a InfoWorks Run.
For 2D simulations, that is, a simulation which contains at least one 2D Zone, you can choose if you want the 2D calculations to be processed by a GPU instance in the cloud. Doing so will significantly improve the performance of cloud simulations. Like the GPU card selection for on-premise 2D simulations, the GPU instance selection is set in the GPU tab of the 2D Parameters Dialog (InfoWorks) or 2D Parameters Dialog (SWMM).
Monthly quota for cloud simulations
A monthly quota for cloud simulation usage is assigned to each user. When you run simulations, InfoWorks ICM checks the monthly balance to see whether or not your quota is exceeded.
When you are within the quota, all simulation jobs are uploaded and processed simultaneously (in parallel) in the cloud. If you exceed your quota, simulations jobs can still be run in the cloud, but in sequence. This means that each job will be held in queue on the local job agent and will only be uploaded to and processed in the cloud when the previous job is complete. See Cloud Simulation Usage for details.
Download Cloud Results dialog
A Download Cloud Results dialog is displayed when you either run or re-run a simulation for a network in a cloud database or when you choose to download results for any simulation that does not have any results available locally. It lets you choose if you want full results (summary and time-varying), summary results, or no results to be automatically downloaded to your local results folder. Regardless of what option you choose, full results will be available in the cloud, allowing you, or others, to download them whenever it is convenient to do so.
Job progress window
As
cloud simulations are intended to run immediately, the Continue (
), Pause (
), Step (
) and Change duration (
) toolbar buttons in the
Job Progress window are disabled.
Job control window
As
cloud simulations are intended to run immediately, the Reschedule (
), Run immediately on this computer (
), and the four 'move position of job in queue' (
,
,
,
) toolbar buttons are redundant and have therefore been disabled in the
Job Control window for
cloud simulations.
Four additional cloud simulations statuses are shown in the Job Control window - Waiting (Cloud), Started (Cloud), Waiting (compute restricted) and Disconnected from Cloud - retrying.
Schedule Job(s) dialog
As mesh jobs cannot be run in the cloud, the Schedule Job(s) dialog is only used when meshing to select which computer the job will be run on, and whether to start the jobs now or at a later time. The Store results and the Multi-threading limits are not relevant for cloud databases, and have therefore been disabled.
Results
Downloading results
Simulation results that are not available locally can be downloaded, if available, from the cloud. This allows users, who have access to the same database, to share results without the need to run the simulation themselves. It also allows results that may have been deleted from a local results folder to be re-instated.
Results management
Simulation results are either stored locally or on the cloud, therefore the Location column in the Results Management view will display either 'Local Machine' or 'Cloud' to indicate where the results are stored. A Log file is only available for a simulation result that is stored on your 'Local Machine', and the Size of the result file will also only be included for a locally stored result file.
The Results Management menu options - Delete time-varying results files and Move results files to server - are not applicable for cloud simulations, and are therefore disabled in the popup grid menu cloud simulations. The simulation status icon for the remaining object is displayed with a faded colour, indicating that results are still available for download from the cloud. The Re-run simulation option can only be used for a cloud simulation whose Status is 'Failed' or 'Unknown'.
Text reports
If you are viewing a log report of a simulation whose results have been downloaded from the cloud, then the 'Proxy Engine Log' section of the downloaded report will contain less information than a locally stored one that was generated by the simulation. This is because the progress of the download is being reported and not the progress of a simulation.
The date and time on the "Start of run" record in a PRN results text report is displayed in ISO 8601 format and includes the time zone offset from UTC. However, cloud simulations report using UTC rather than local time.