Connecting to a Server Database
You can connect to a server database via a Model Manager server running either locally on your computer or on a server computer in your organization’s internal network.
See the Model Manager Server Manual for instructions on how to install, update, configure, and otherwise administer a Model Manager server.
If you are connecting to the Model Manager server for the first time using the root administrator account set up when installing the server, you must first change the temporary password given during the installation. Log in to the Model Manager server from a web browser using your temporary password. If the web browser is running on the same computer as Model Manager server, the server address is http://localhost:<port> where <port> is the port number set during installation — default 8181. Enter your new password in the dialog box and click Save.
1
Write the server address to the Model Manager server under Server.
2
Select the Require secure connection check box to require that the network connection is made using a secure connection, with transport layer security provided by HTTPS (as opposed to plain HTTP). A warning message is shown if the check box is cleared.
You can leave out the port number if using a secure connection and the server is listening on port 443 or, if using a nonsecure connection, port 80. Otherwise, include a colon followed by the port number in the Server field — for example, modelmanager.my-company.com:8181 for a Model Manager server listening on 8181.
3
Write your user account credentials used to authenticate with the Model Manager server under User. You can opt to remember the provided password between program sessions by selecting the Remember password check box. The password will be stored in an encrypted form on the local file system.
4
Write a label to be used in the COMSOL Desktop for the server database under Label.
5
Click the Connect button () to connect to the Model Manager server.
A secure connection attempt is still made even if you have not selected the Require secure connection check box. Only if that connection attempt fails, and the check box is cleared, will COMSOL Multiphysics fall back to a nonsecure connection via plain HTTP.
You are strongly recommended to connect to the Model Manager server using a secure connection, with transport layer security provided by HTTPS. Connecting via plain HTTP will send all data, including your credentials, in an unencrypted cleartext format. See the Model Manager Server Manual for configuring a Model Manager server to use secure connections.
To connect to a Model Manager server running on, for example, port 8181 on the same computer as COMSOL Multiphysics, write localhost:8181 in the Server field.
To change your user account credentials or any other settings used to connect to an already added Model Manager server database, see Database Configurations.
Connecting to a Nondefault Database
A Model Manager server can host more than one Model Manager database. An administrator may, for example, have set up multiple databases to be used by different departments in your organization or a secondary database used to store older archival data that can afford having a simplified backup plan.
One of the databases in a Model Manager server may be set as the default server database from the Model Manager server web interface by a root administrator. This is also the server database that you connect to when following the previous steps. You can also choose to connect to a nondefault database using its so-called database alias, if such an alias has been set by a root administrator from the web interface. Append /db/<alias> to the server address in the Server field — for example, modelmanager.my-company.com:8181/db/my-secondary-database for a server database with alias my-secondary-database. Repeat the connection steps for every server database you want to add to the COMSOL Desktop.
See the Model Manager Server Manual for how to configure server databases via the Model Manager server web interface including, for example, giving them database aliases.
The database alias as set via the Model Manager server web interface is not the same as the alias you can set for a database configuration in the COMSOL Desktop — see Database Configurations. The latter is an alternative identifier to be used when connecting to either a local or a server database via method code using the Model Manager API.
Connecting Via a COMSOL Multiphysics Server
When a COMSOL Multiphysics client is connected to a COMSOL Multiphysics server running on another host computer, the communication is typically over a nonsecure channel. This means that any credentials written in the user interface on the client computer would be sent to the COMSOL Multiphysics server computer in an unencrypted cleartext format. For this reason, Model Manager does not allow writing a password in the Connect to Server Database window when running in client–server mode unless it detects that the client–server connection is over a secure channel. You are instead met with a message in the Connect to Server Database window informing you that a secure password prompt will be shown when connecting to the database.
1
Fill out the connection details as you would when connecting from a standalone COMSOL Multiphysics program session, except you will not provide a password.
2
Click the Connect button ().
A Progress dialog box is shown informing you to provide credentials for the Model Manager server in the COMSOL Multiphysics server’s console window.
3
In the console window for the started COMSOL Multiphysics server process, press Enter in order to provide your credentials. Write your username and password when prompted. You can also choose to remember your password for the Model Manager server, in which case the password will be stored in an encrypted form on the local file system of the COMSOL Multiphysics server computer.
When you have finished providing your credentials, the Progress dialog box is automatically closed and a connection to the Model Manager server is established.
To avoid having to provide your credentials in the COMSOL Multiphysics server’s console window, either tunnel the connection between the COMSOL Multiphysics client and the COMSOL Multiphysics server using a secure SSH connection, or first provide the credentials with Remember password selected using a local COMSOL Multiphysics instance running on the COMSOL Multiphysics server computer.
Troubleshooting
The following are some common error messages when connecting to a Model Manager server and suggestions on how to address them:
The server address could not be resolved.
The server address in the Server field does not match the address of any server in your organization’s internal network. Verify that you have written the correct server address. Alternatively, if you are able to log in to the web interface of the Model Manager server using a web browser, click on the COMSOL logo in the upper-left corner to make sure you are on the start page, and then copy the web page’s link address from the web browser’s address field. That link address should then be pasted into the Server field.
Connection timed out/Connection refused.
This typically happens when the server computer was found in your organization’s internal network but the Model Manager server itself is currently not running on that server computer. It can also happen if you have missed providing, or provided the wrong, port number for the Model Manager server.
The current password is temporary and must be changed.
You are trying to log in using the temporary password set for the default administrative user account created during installation of the Model Manager server. First log in to the Model Manager server’s web interface using a web browser and change the temporary password when prompted.
Database configuration is not activated.
The default server database has been deactivated by an administrator of the Model Manager server. The server database needs to be activated again via the Model Manager server’s web interface before you can connect from COMSOL Multiphysics.
No default database configured.
The administrator of the Model Manager server has not set a default database for the server. One of the configured server databases has to be set as the default one via the Model Manager server’s web interface before you can connect from COMSOL Multiphysics.