Support

Overview

On this page you can find:

• General support resources

• Tips and procedures

• Frequently asked questions

General Resources

We recommend that you start by reading the Pitch pRTI 1.3 User's Guide.

pRTI 1.3 User's Guide (PDF 3.4 MB)

You may also want to refer to the HLA 1.3 standard that is included in PDF format in your installations.

If you develop in Java you will find the following documentation handy:

pRTI JavaDoc for HLA 1.3

Tips and Procedures

If it seems that two federates have problems connecting, start the Chat sample that comes with the pRTI install on each computer. Be sure to configure them to connect to the same CRC as in your problematic setup.

Troubleshooting startup order problems:

In some cases the second or later federate (in order) may have problems joining the federation. The problem in this case is usually for the second (or later) federate to establish a peer-to-peer connection to an already joined federate. The most common problems are DNS lookup problems from the second federate to the first. Federate. Check in the GUI what IP addresses or DNS names the first federate announces. Then check that the second federate can ping that host. The problem can be resolved for example by disabling the use of DNS in a federation or by setting an additional "Advertised IP address" for the federate that could not be contacted. Also check the following tips about firewalls.

In some cases the second or later federate (in order) may have problems joining the federation. The problem in this case is usually for the second (or later) federate to establish a peer-to-peer connection to an already joined federate. The most common problems are DNS lookup problems from the second federate to the first federate. Check in the GUI what IP addresses or DNS names the first federate announces. Then check that the second federate can ping that host. The problem can be resolved for example by disabling the use of DNS in a federation or by setting an additional "Advertised IP address" for the federate that could not be contacted. Also check the following tips about firewalls.

Troubleshooting connectivity loss:

In rare cases there may be a problem with some federates losing connectivity after one to three minutes. This may happen if there is a firewall somewhere between any two federates. Please check that the firewall allows the external federate to contact the internal federate. See the Users Guide for more details.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is pRTI 1.3 a full implementation?

A: Yes, it implements the full standard with the full C++ and Java APIs.

Q: Is pRTI 1.3 certified?

A: Yes, see the DMSO RTI verification status board.

Q: What is the current version of pRTI 1516?

A: See the Current Product Versions page

Q: Can the two standards (HLA 1.3 and 1516) interoperate in the same federation?

A: Yes. Using the "1516 Adapter" for HLA 1.3 federates they can interoperate. No change is necessary for the older HLA 1.3 federate. For federates that are being maintained we recommend migrating the federate to HLA 1516. Read more about the "1516 Adapter". You may also consider using Visual OMT 1516 to migrate your HLA 1.3 FOM to HLA 1516.

Q: What is the difference between pRTI for HLA 1.3 and pRTI for IEEE 1516 HLA?

A: There are two different HLA standards: the older 1.3 standard (published by DMSO) and the new IEEE 1516 standard. There is one pRTI product line implementing each one of them. Read our description of the differences between HLA 1.3 and HLA 1516.

Q: Is it possible to connect a federate with pRTI with a federate or RTI Exec running the DMSO RTI (1.3 or NG)

A: No, all the federates in a federation have to use the same RTI.

Q: Can I run simulations on computers in different subnets (buildings or sites) in my company?

A: That's perfectly possible as long as your computers can communicate using TCP/IP. You can always try to use Ping or Tracert to check the connection.

Q: Can I run simulations over the Internet?

A: Yes, as long as your firewall or ISP (Internet Service Provider) doesn't block the traffic (see above).

Q: Can I dial-up the Internet from my portable computer and connect to a simulation?

A: Yes, see above.

Q: I want to run pRTI over a secure connection. Can I set up a VPN with encryption and run pRTI over this connection?

A: Yes.

Q: Are there some simple ways to improve the network throughput and latency?

A: Consider using faster network cards. Replace your hub with a switch. Configure the network cards for full duplex.

Q: I Will I need a more powerful network connection for the computer running the Central RTI Component (RTIexec)?

A: Usually not. Since the pRTI CRC automatically delegates the work of sending updates to the computer that generates that information, the CRC will usually not use a lot of bandwidth. You should instead concentrate on the federates that produces or consumes a lot of information. Check that they have a good network connection. Isolate them on a separate subnet or use a switch for optimal performance.

Q: Does pRTI support computers with several network cards

A: Yes

Q: I'm making changes to my fed file and restarting my federate, but the RTI doesn't seem to notice the changes.

A: The most probable reason is that the federation never gets destroyed when you stop and restart your federate. To resolve the problem, make sure that the federation gets destroyed properly or destroy it manually using the GUI.

Q: Are there any secret debugging commands in pRTI?

A: You can give the command "tell ChatRoom 3 dump" from the console of the CRC. This tells the federate number 3 in the ChatRoom federation dump its LRC status onto its own console. The format is similar to the ordinary dump command but reflects the status of the LRC internal database. Use the command "list" on the CRC to get a list of federates and numbers.