Run Manager

The Run Manager is the entry point for modifying options and settings for a simulation, running/troubleshooting a simulation, and managing output sources.

InfoWater Pro offers various simulation types including standard simulation (hydraulics and water quality), break simulation (pipe break analysis), fireflow simulation (fireflow analysis), multi-fire simulation (multi-fireflow analysis), SCADA simulation (SCADA data integration), hydrant curve simulation (hydrant capacity assessment), and system curve simulation (pump capacity analysis). These types correspond to the Run Manager's Standard, Break, Fireflow, Multi-Fire, SCADA, Hydrant Curve, and System Curve individual tabs.

To run a model, go to the InfoWater Pro ribbon tab → the Analysis group, and click Run; or go to the Model Explorer, and click Run on top. This will open the Run Manager:

The Run Manager is used to perform simulations and to manage simulation output sources (results).  Five individual simulation types are available from the Run Manager; Standard simulations (Hydraulics and Water Quality), Fireflow simulations, SCADA, Hydrant Curves, and System head curves. You may also use the Batch Run Manager to run multiple standard simulations with one operation.

Output Source Name - The name of the current output source. To run a specific simulation, you must first activate that scenario by using the Active Scenario command. All previously run simulations and imported simulations are stored as output sources that can be edited using the output source icons.

Reference - The name and description of the scenario being run or the file location of the output source.

Time Stamp: The date time of the current output source is displayed in the bottom of Run Manager, as shown above.

Stoplight: Use the color-coded stoplight to know the status for your run simulation. Use the following colors for status knowledge:

• Green – This color represents a good run of your simulation. You did not receive any warnings.  

• Yellow – This color represents that your run did not meet the standards of a good simulation. You will need to fix the warning messages found on the Warnings page.  

• Red – This color represents that your simulation failed to converge to a solution.  You will need to reconfigure your simulation for it to run correctly.

• Gray – This color represents that your simulation did not produce any output. You will need to troubleshoot to figure out what caused your simulation to not generate any output.

Run Manager Toolbar 

Run - The run simulation command will run the *active* model simulation as shown in the output source name drop-down box. You can select which *active* model to run by clicking and choosing from this drop-down menu or by selecting any of the five model tabs (Standard, Fireflow, SCADA, Hydrant Curve, System Curve).

Report - Opens a window and displays the model simulation report for the most recent model run.

Open - Opens and makes *active* the selected (.out) output file.

Save - Saves the most recent model run to a file specified by the user. Once saved, the (.out) file can be opened or loaded at any time.

Update Relate - Updates the information stored in an output relate with the model results from the most current model run.

Force Reset - Removes all simulation results from the highlighted output source (standard, fireflow, etc.). Model results for the output source will not be available until the user loads and relates a current (.out) file to the output source.

OK - Accepts all changes and closes the Run Manager dialog box.

Output Source Toolbar

Load Output Source - Loads an output source. Output sources are either internal (a model run from a scenario) or external (a model run prepared by someone else in another InfoWater Pro project). Click Load Output Source  to learn more about output sources.

Edit Name - Allows you to edit the name of an output source.

Remove Output Source - Removes a single output source from the Run Manager. The removed output source can be re-created through the Load Output Source  icon.

Remove All Output Sources - Removes all output sources (except the *active* output source, which can never be removed). Once all are removed, they can only be re-added by running each specific simulation or by clicking on the Load Output Source  icon.

Run Manager Tabs

The Run Manager allows the following hydraulic analyses to be performed: 

Standard- A standard hydraulic simulation that evaluates demands, flows, velocities, pressures, etc. This is most frequently used type of simulation. Under the Standard run the following analysis options can be selected (Pressure-dependent demand options are now available in the Demand tab of the Simulation Options) .

• Report Options - The Report Options determine the scope and content of the simulation report. Use the Report Toolbar button after a simulation to display the current simulation report. Select the report options to use for this simulation from the pull-down menu or use the Browse button to add or edit the report options.

• Simulation Options - The Simulation Options dialog box is used to adjust the simulation parameters. Select the simulation options to use for this simulation from the pull-down menu or use the Browse button to select and edit the simulation options.

• Time Settings - The simulation Time Settings allows you to change the timestep at which an Extended Period Simulation is to be analyzed or elect to run a Steady State simulation. Select the time options to use for this simulation from the pull-down menu or use the Browse button to select and edit the time options.

• VSP/FPP Analysis - An analysis that determines the correct pump speed for a variable speed pump. This analysis is performed prior to running a standard hydraulic simulation.

Fireflow - The fireflow simulation is a batch simulation process (based on the current active scenario) that includes fireflow demands as assigned by you. A simulation is automatically run for each junction containing a fireflow demand and the results are tabulated.

Multiple Fire Flow - Provides users with the capability to study water distribution system performance under the condition when multiple fire hydrants are opened simultaneously.

SCADA - A standard hydraulic simulation (based on the current active scenario) that adjusts system demand/flows and imports a SCADA file for comparison.

Hydrant Curve - Creates a hydrant curve (based on the current active scenario) to determine the pressure and outflow relationship of the system at a selected node.

System Curve - Creates a system head curve (based on the current active scenario) to simulate the head flow relationship of a booster pump at a selected node.

Specify the Report Options, Simulation Options and the Time Setting for the simulation run on the fly. These options can also be accessed through the tool bar icons and the InfoWater Edit pull-down menu.

After a model is run, the most recent simulation run results are referred to as the *active* output source. The icons on the Run Manager allow you to run simulations and create new *active* output sources; save output sources for later use; or load output sources for visualization, analysis, and comparison with other output sources. Use the Output Report Manager to see simulation results in either report or graph formats.

When running a simulation, InfoWater Pro uses modeling data associated with the currently active scenario. If you have not developed a custom scenario, the *active* scenario is the “BASE” one. To run a model based on a different scenario, activate the desired scenario using the Active Scenario command and then use the Run Manager to perform the simulation for with the selected scenario.

Run Mode - This selection controls how the run will be managed as it simulates.

• Standard - This will cause the simulation to occur within the user interface. It is the fastest for quick runs, but the interface will be unresponsive until the simulation is complete.
• Background - This option will run the simulation in the background of the local machine. This allows ongoing interaction with the model as the simulation is in progress.
• Cloud - This option will send simulations to the cloud for remote computing. This allows heavy computing jobs to be handled in parallel for multiple scenarios without impacting local performance.