Overview of Synopsys-Ansys Discovery
Ansys Discovery is an interactive engineering application that unifies 3D geometry modeling, real‑time simulation, and visual analysis into a single, immersive workspace. It is purpose‑built to accelerate early‑stage engineering exploration while maintaining continuity into high‑fidelity validation workflows.
Discovery enables engineers and designers to create, modify, simulate, and iterate on designs in real time, dramatically reducing the time required to assess design feasibility, physics behavior, and performance tradeoffs. Unlike traditional sequential CAD‑then‑simulation workflows, Discovery collapses these steps into a continuous feedback loop that supports faster decision‑making and more informed design outcomes.
Ansys Discovery is organized into three continuously accessible stages:
- Model – Focused on direct 3D geometry creation and modification, without simulation overhead
- Explore – Provides instant, real‑time simulation results using GPU‑accelerated meshing and solvers for rapid insight
- Refine – Enables higher‑fidelity simulation using body‑fitted meshing and CPU/GPU solvers for design validation
Running Discovery on Azure extends these capabilities by enabling scalable, cloud-based engineering workflows.
Key benefits
- Running Ansys Discovery on Azure provides a scalable, cloud-based platform for simulation-driven design with the following advantages:
- Access high-performance engineering workstations from anywhere
- Azure provides global access to GPU-enabled virtual machines, enabling engineers to run Discovery from any location without dependency on local hardware.
- Engineers no longer need high-end local GPUs, as compute and visualization are delivered through Azure-hosted environments. This reduces hardware refresh cycles and IT overhead.
- Azure NVads V710 v5 supports fractional GPU allocation (1/6 to full GPU), allowing organizations to right-size cost and performance based on workload requirements.
- Discovery’s GPU-accelerated Explore mode benefits from Azure GPU infrastructure, enabling instant physics feedback and faster design iteration cycles.
- CAD models, simulation results, and design artifacts can be stored in Azure Files or Azure NetApp Files, reducing data duplication and improving collaboration across teams.
- Azure allows rapid provisioning and scaling of GPU resources to match peak design cycles or project demands.
- Intellectual property remains within enterprise-managed Azure environments, with access controlled using Microsoft Entra ID and Azure security services.
- Cloud-hosted Discovery environments enable geographically distributed teams to collaborate on shared designs with consistent performance and user experience.
To support these capabilities, Azure provides a reference architecture optimized for GPU-accelerated simulation.
Architecture
The architecture for running Ansys Discovery on Azure is designed to deliver interactive, GPU‑accelerated simulation in a scalable and cloud-native environment. As illustrated in the diagram, engineers connect to Azure-hosted virtual workstations powered by NVads V710 v5 GPUs, enabling real-time geometry modeling and simulation through remote visualization. Design data and simulation outputs are stored in shared cloud storage services such as Azure Files or Azure NetApp Files, ensuring consistency and accessibility across distributed teams. This setup allows users to seamlessly move between interactive exploration and higher-fidelity validation workflows, while benefiting from on-demand scaling, centralized security, and reduced dependency on local high-performance hardware.
Azure GPU SKU Mapping
Architectural Mapping Overview
Ansys Discovery workloads on Azure naturally align to two primary GPU VM categories:
- Graphics‑optimized, fractional GPU -> Design exploration
- Full‑GPU -> Design Refinement
This mapping enables right‑sizing of cost, performance, and user experience on the following recommended Azure VM Series.
- Azure NVads V710 v5series
NVads V710 v5 VMs are designed for graphics‑intensive, interactive workloads and provide:
- AMD Radeon™ Pro V710 GPUs
- Fractional GPU support (1⁄6 → full GPU)
- Cost‑optimized GPU visualization
- High‑frame‑rate remote graphics
- No additional GPU licensing required
These characteristics align directly with Discovery’s real‑time, GPU‑accelerated Explore mode, where instant feedback matters more than absolute solver depth.
Typical Discovery Workloads on NVads V710 v5
- Interactive geometry creation and modification
- Real‑time physics feedback in Explore mode
- Concept‑level CFD, structural, and thermal studies
- Design review sessions and rapid iteration loops
Early‑stage topology and shape experimentation
Recommended Sizes (Right‑Sizing Guidance)
Discovery Use Case Azure VM Size GPU Allocation Single engineer, light models Standard_NV4ads_V710_v5 1⁄6 GPU Moderate assemblies, daily use Standard_NV8ads_V710_v5 1⁄3 GPU Large CAD models, advanced explore Standard_NV12ads_V710_v5 1⁄2 GPU Power users, complex scenes Standard_NV24ads_V710_v5 Full GPU Test Scenarios:
Test Name Simulation Analysis Type External Aerodynamics Test 2 Fluid Internal Flow Test 1 Fluid Internal Flow Test 2 Fluid Internal Flow Test 3 Fluid Heat Transfer Test 1 Thermal Conjugate Heat Transfer Test 1 Fluid-Thermal Conjugate Heat Transfer Test 2 Fluid-Thermal Static Structural Test 1 Structural Static Structural Test 2 Structural Static Structural Assembly Test 1 Structural Static Structural Assembly Test 2 Structural Natural Frequency Test 1 Modal Natural Frequency Test 2 Modal Result Table:
Test Name Solve Time (s) Element Count Test Result External Aerodynamics Test 2 47.68 1.44E+06 Pass Internal Flow Test 1 26.70 7.90E+05 Pass Internal Flow Test 2 9.34 9.64E+05 Pass Internal Flow Test 3 18.00 1.39E+06 Pass Heat Transfer Test 1 4.55 2.51E+06 Pass Conjugate Heat Transfer Test 1 12.34 1.34E+06 Pass Conjugate Heat Transfer Test 2 30.89 1.54E+06 Pass Static Structural Test 1 4.76 3.06E+06 Pass Static Structural Test 2 4.78 3.04E+06 Pass Static Structural Assembly Test 1 12.98 2.97E+06 Pass Static Structural Assembly Test 2 14.16 1.88E+06 Pass Natural Frequency Test 1 36.04 1.45E+06 Pass Natural Frequency Test 2 16.10 1.11E+06 Pass These results demonstrate consistent performance across fluid, thermal, and structural simulations, with sub-minute solve times even for multi-million element models.
Conclusion:
The validation confirms that Azure NVads V710 v5 delivers consistent, scalable performance across diverse simulation workloads. With fractional GPU flexibility and strong visualization capabilities, it enables organizations to adopt real-time simulation without overprovisioning infrastructure.
All workloads successfully passed, demonstrating consistent performance across simulation types. Importantly, we’re seeing rapid solve times even at multi-million element scale, which reinforces the ability to use Discovery for real-time engineering exploration at enterprise level. Azure NVads V710 v5 is uniquely optimized for Discovery’s real-time simulation workflows. It provides GPU acceleration tuned for interactive engineering, not just batch compute.
The fractional GPU model allows organizations to right-size cost and performance based on user needs—from individual engineers to power users. This ensures maximum flexibility while maintaining high-quality visualization and responsiveness.