Configure Installation

In general, no additional configuration should be required after the installation program has been executed. However, in the event of non-standard modifications, it may be helpful to be aware of the environment variables used and the locations of the shell script file that sets these correctly. Autodesk Nastran provides a shell script file to set the required environment variables and add the Autodesk binaries to the system search paths. This shell script file needs to be 'sourced' prior to execution or when a terminal is created. The file is located here:

/opt/Autodesk/Nastran_2026/bin/nastran_vars.sh

Note: On a Linux machine, to 'source' a file means to perform either of the following two operations:

. /opt/Autodesk/Nastran_2026/bin/nastran_vars.sh
source /opt/Autodesk/Nastran_2026/bin/nastran_vars.sh

Environment Variables

Autodesk Nastran interacts with a number of existing system and created environment variables as listed below. The appropriate modifications to these environment variables occur in the script mentioned above.

PATH

This system environment variable lists the directories that the Linux system searches for executables. After modification, it will contain an entry similar to:

/opt/Autodesk/Nastran_2026/bin

ADSK_NASTRAN_HOME

This points to the base of the Autodesk Nastran 2026 installation. Setting this value enables Nastran to locate the default configuration files. A standard installation will set it to the value /opt/Autodesk/Nastran_2026.

ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE

This variable sets the location of the license system or file. Its format is an IP address or host name of a license server. This will be shown in the following format, where [port] is optional and depends on whether your system administrator has customized the install of the license server. It must contain the '@' symbol.

[port]@10.4.206.99

[port]@myhost.mydomain.com

Note: Using the host name format of the license server requires the DNS service to be correctly set up on your client machine.

Enabling Autodesk Nastran for Use

To permit Autodesk Nastran to work, you need to source the appropriate shell script file. This can be done by default by the superuser, or by adding lines to your personal shell configuration files as explained below. This shell script file sets the environment variables described in the previous section and adds the Autodesk Nastran executable (nastran.x) to the default search path.

Enabling for All Users

Simply link the shell script file into the location /etc/profile.d as follows. When you log on, these files are automatically read. An option is presented during the install process to automatically do this.

ln -s /opt/Autodesk/Nastran_2026/bin/nastran_vars.sh /etc/profile.d/nastran_vars.sh

Enabling for a Single User

Add the following lines in your .bashrc file:

. /opt/Autodesk/Nastran_2026/bin/nastran_vars.sh

Note: There is a space required between the . and the /opt/... in the command above.

During the creation of a new terminal, these files are read in and the environment variables are adjusted appropriately to enable execution of Autodesk Nastran.

Configuration of the Default Nastran.INI

The file /opt/Autodesk/Nastran_2026/ini/Nastran.INI is the default initialization file for all users. Directions for customization of its values are given in the main Initialization section of the Nastran Solver Reference Guide. However, it should be noted that, where required, paths should be specified in absolute form i.e. with a '/' at the front of the path. This is required for variables such as the location of the temporary paths. See the Linux Usage Modifications topic for further details.

Configuration of Autodesk Nastran is now complete.