The Enterprise version of DPL includes a feature which allows you to record endpoints in parallel on several other computers, keeping your own computer free for other work and resulting in quicker runs.
The parallel endpoint recording feature is recommended for models which take a long time to run because of a complex value model (typically a big Excel spreadsheet). If a model takes a long time to run because it has millions of endpoints, the overhead associated with transferring endpoints between computers will likely negate any benefit from performing calculations in parallel.
When recording endpoints in parallel, the analyst's computer is called the client, and the other computers are called servers. To set up parallel endpoint recording, the following requirements must be satisfied:
- You must have at least two computers, your computer (the client) and one or more other computers (the servers). The servers should be of similar specifications, since each will be assigned an equal number of endpoints and if one is slow it will become the bottleneck.
- All the computers must have read and write access to a mapped share drive, ideally via a fast connection on a LAN.
- If the DPL model is linked to a spreadsheet, all of the computers must have Microsoft Excel installed (need not be the same version).
To begin your parallel endpoint recording session, perform these steps:
- Make sure the DPL model and linked spreadsheet are stored in a folder on a network share drive. This should be a working folder for DPL runs only, and should not contain any other files (DPL creates various files in this directory and assumes it can delete freely when cleaning up). It's recommended that you use a workspace with only one model.
- On all of the computers, open DPL, select Home | Run | Options (the dialog box launcher) to open the Run Settings dialog.
- Near the bottom of the dialog, under the Parallel endpoint recording section, specify the working directory for parallel endpoint recording.
- On the server computer(s), you'll give the command Home | Decision Analysis | Act as Endpoint Server. On the client computer, you'll give the command Home | Decision Analysis | Record Endpoints using Servers, kicking off the parallel recording of endpoints on the server machines.
When the parallel run completes, DPL will import and merge all of the endpoints where they will be available on the client machine. You can then replay the endpoints using Home | Decision Analysis | Full Tree Enumeration from Endpoints to quickly obtain analysis results.
Versions: DPL Professional, DPL Enterprise, DPL Portfolio
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