| name | sentaurus-vm-runner |
| description | Run Synopsys Sentaurus TCAD simulations on the local Linux VM over SSH, with project-level fail-closed automatic single-core leases for independent SDevice jobs. Use when the user asks Codex to connect to tcad@192.168.137.131, start or diagnose Sentaurus/SDevice/SDE/SWB, run PN diode or other TCAD examples, recover FlexNet license daemon issues, copy simulation artifacts back to Windows, or automate repeatable Sentaurus experiments from Codex. |
Sentaurus VM Runner
Quick path
Use scripts/run_pn_diode.ps1 first for smoke tests and the built-in 3D PN diode example:
# Probe SSH, Sentaurus commands, and FlexNet status only
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$env:CODEX_HOME\skills\sentaurus-vm-runner\scripts\run_pn_diode.ps1" -Mode probe
# Run the official 3D diode example and download artifacts
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$env:CODEX_HOME\skills\sentaurus-vm-runner\scripts\run_pn_diode.ps1" -Mode pn-diode -LocalOut .\sentaurus_runs
Default VM: tcad@192.168.137.131. Default Sentaurus root: /usr/synopsys/sentaurus/W-2024.09.
Workflow
- Start with
-Mode probe unless a fresh probe was already run in this turn.
- If
swb/sdevice reports FlexNet daemon down, run lmutil lmreread -c /usr/synopsys/scl/scl2023/synopsys.dat; no sudo is required on this VM.
- Prefer headless direct runs over Workbench GUI:
sde -e -l <scheme>.cmd for mesh/structure generation.sdevice <deck>.cmd for electrical simulation.- Avoid relying on
swb over plain SSH; it needs $DISPLAY.
- Put remote runs under
/home/tcad/codex_runs/<case>_<timestamp> and copy compact artifacts back to the workspace.
- Report evidence: remote run directory, local artifact directory, final contact-current lines, and whether license status was recovered.
Known-good built-in example
Use this official application-library case for PN diode smoke tests:
/usr/synopsys/sentaurus/W-2024.09/tcad/W-2024.09/Applications_Library/GettingStarted/sdevice/3Ddiode_demo
Documentation redirect:
/usr/synopsys/sentaurus/W-2024.09/tcad/W-2024.09/Sentaurus_Training/sd/sd_9.html
Read references/pn-diode.md only when modifying the diode flow or explaining the generated artifacts.
Guardrails
- Check file size before whole-file reads of logs or
.cmd decks over 500 lines.
- Redact license signatures and keys if printing license files.
- Do not edit
/usr/synopsys/... examples in place; copy to ~/codex_runs first.
- If the VM IP changes, update command parameters; do not change the skill for one-off IP drift.
Core scheduling for project SDevice runs
- For independent, mutually non-dependent Sentaurus/SDevice cases, default to one process per automatic core lease and
sdevice --threads 1.
- A mesh/restart/extraction dependency chain is not independent: keep it serial. Do not run a dependent child before its parent evidence exists.
- In this project, invoke
scripts/run_igbt_seb_case.ps1 for these jobs. Its default -CpuCore -1 acquires a VM-side core lease and fails closed if no safely isolated core is available. It records lease evidence in the run manifest. The active max_8_single_thread_sdevice profile reserves core 0 and caps managed work at eight independent --threads 1 jobs; the VM may expose more than eight online CPUs, which the allocator discovers dynamically after excluding unmanaged affinity and existing leases.
-CpuCore <n> is only a compatibility/debug override. -DisableAutoCpuLease deliberately permits an unpinned run and must not be used for concurrent work. New SDevice entry points must integrate scripts/sdevice_core_lease.sh before allowing bare concurrency.- Skill triggering itself is semantic matching, not a system hook. The hard enforcement boundary is calls through
run_igbt_seb_case.ps1; callers that bypass it must first add the same lease integration.
Read references/core-scheduling.md when scheduling, recovering, or auditing project SDevice jobs.
