Installation and configuration guide for arivis Pro
TL;DR
- double click on the installer package to start the installation
- Installing to the default applications folder is recommended
- Installing the GPU acceleration is highly recommended for systems that support it
- Activate your license if needed
- Once installed, check the directories for temporary documents and change them if needed
- Configure the GPU for optimum use of system resources as needed
Introduction
Arivis Pro is a Windows OS application for image analysis. it has been designed to make optimal use of computer resources to enable the processing and analysis of datasets that can be much larger than the available computer memory. Several optimisations are dependent on the installation and configuration of the software. This guide will highlight what can be done during the installation process to optimise the user experience.
Installing the App
Once downloaded, we can launch the installer application using a double mouse click on the icon like many installers of this type. As with most installations of this type, this will require administrator privileges since the installation will make changes to system files and registries. Some systems are configured in such a way that installing with administrator privileges be explicitly requested when installing the app, though default Windows configuration automatically uses admin privileges but just prompts the user if not logged in as an admin. Please contact your IT support team or system administrator for help installing this software if needed.
The first thing the installations of the software. If an existing installation is detected we are prompted whether to remove the previous installation.
It is generally recommended to do so to avoid conflicts.
If we uninstall the existing version we are also prompted whether to preserve existing application settings.
These settings include, among other things:
- modifications to the save path for new and temporary documents
- changes to colour gradient defaults
- analysis option
And many more.
When upgrading from an earlier version it is generally recommended to save those settings to minimise disruptions for existing users. However, in some cases installing the software is necessary to correct errors with a previous installation and in that case preserving the settings is unnecessary.
After this stage, if existing settings were preserved we are prompted whether to re-use the settings for the new installation.
After this, the installation process is fairly typical. The installer will use the Windows applications folder by default and it is recommended to keep this setting.
the installation also includes some optional additional tasks:
Application settings
Whether to use individual or shared settings is a particularly important point on systems shared by multiple users, but also depends on the way these users log on to the machine.
It is not uncommon for shared systems to use a common login, where all users use the same user name and password, and in that case this setting makes little difference. However, for systems where each user logs in using their own individual user name and password, this can have an important impact.
Using shared settings has advantages:
- The system administrator can quickly make changes that affect all users
- It is generally easier to identify the cause of issues that may arise if all users use the same settings
But it also carries potential disadvantages:
- There is little room for individual users to optimise the system to their own preferences
- If a user changes an important application setting, all other users will be affected
Additional components
to minimise the size of the installation package and reduce the installation time for users who do not need it, the installer package does not include Deep Learning optimisation packages. These need to be downloaded and installed additionally and this can be done automatically as part of the app installation.
Installing the Deep Learning for GPU option is highly recommended for all compatible systems. Note that this requires a compatible GPU.
The Deep Learning Training Environment is needed to create new DL models within the arivis Pro application. Note that:
- DL training is license dependent. If it is not included in your license you will not have access to this tool whether you install this option or not
- Licenses can be upgraded at a later date and this module can also be installed on its own without reinstalling the whole application
- The DL trainer also requires a compatible GPU
Note that installing these additional components requires an internet connection for the installer to proceed. If the workstation is offline or a connection to the ZEISS servers is not possible for security reasons, these components can also be downloaded and installed separately. Please check this article on installing the GPU Acceleration Package if needed.
Other installation options
The last two options for the installation are whether to install the Predictive Analytics Service and a Desktop Shortcut.
The Predictive Analytics Service allows ZEISS IT support to proactively support users of the software by collecting anonymised data about the system configuration and usage. ZEISS values its users' privacy and this information is not shared with any third party and used solely for the purpose of better supporting the users. However, using this service is completely optional. Please select this option as per your preference, though ZEISS recommends you use this feature to enable faster and more efficient support when needed.
Like all windows applications, the software will be available through the Start menu once the installation is completed. Having a shortcut on the desktop just allows faster access to the application.
Finishing the installation
Once all these settings have been configured as per the user's preference, we can proceed with the installation. When we click Next the installer will proceed to install the application, download and install any additional components selected, and configure the app preferences using either default or previously stored settings.
Activating the license
Once installed the software license may need to be activated. License activation is *required for all new installations* but not for updates to existing installations. The process of activating, updating or transferring licenses is covered in details in this article. In short, if an activation is required, start the application and, when prompted, open the arivis License Tool and select the Online Activation option.
Then, follow the prompts to enter the activation key and activate the license. Please refer to the link above for any additional options.
Configuring the application after installation
Once the installation is complete, it is recommended to check and modify the preferences to best suit your needs and system configuration. These settings can be configured through the Preferences window:
Directories for new and temporary documents
As covered in detail in our system requirements and this article on how arivis handles large data, arivis makes extensive use of temporary storage on the hard disk as a more reliable means of storing large datasets while processing.
There are two locations for configuring default applications directories. The first is the General preferences:
Here we can find both the location for new documents, and for temporary files.
By default these locations are set to the user's Documents folder and temp folders respectively. This default is chosen by default because all MS Windows systems have these default locations. However, these locations may not be ideal for the storage and retrieval of large files created by the software. By clicking the Select... button at the end of each path the user can navigate to a new preferred save location.
Arivis recommends that users configure a dedicated internal hard drive to contain the temporary documents, or at least create a dedicated folder on a local hard drive with plenty of free space.
Of course, "plenty of free space" is a relative term. Users should ensure that there is at least 5x as much free hard disk space as the dataset they are trying to process. It is possible to reduce the amount of disk storage needed by using compression for the temporary documents, but using compression will lead to longer processing times as the software then needs to compress and decompress the data for each operation that requires access to it. Using compression for analysis documents is set in the Analysis preferences.
The Analysis preferences also contain a temporary document directory:
By default the analysis pipeline will save temporary documents to the default directory as set above in the General preferences. Again this can be set to a specific drive or folder. In our example above we are saving pipeline temporary documents to the D:\ drive.
Immediately below the directory for the analysis documents we can also find an option to use compression for those images. It is a lossless compression, meaning that no information is lost or modified through this process, but it allows users to process very large datasets that would otherwise be too large to be saved on the local hard drive. Note that using compression, while not causing any loss in data can result in significantly longer processing times as the software has to compress and decompress the files each time it writes or reads them.
GPU Configuration - Graphics Acceleration
As part of the installation process the software will also detect any GPU present and enable the use of the GPU for graphics acceleration and machine learning data processing if compatible.
The first time we start the 4D Viewer the software will automatically optimise the render settings based on the GPU capabilities:
These settings are optimised so as to balance render quality with interactivity. However, users may prefer to prioritise faster navigation or higher render quality based on their own preferences. These settings can be found in the 4D Viewer pane of the preferences window.
The settings can be reconfigured back to the recommended arivis defaults for your GPU by using the Run Auto-Detection button.
Note that laptop systems may not default to using the dedicated GPU. If arivis is installed on a laptop system you should check this article about configuring arivis for laptop GPUs.
GPU Configuration - ML & DL Acceleration
Additionally to using the GPU for graphics acceleration, arivis can also use compatible GPUs to accelerate Machine Learning and Deep Learning workflows. Again, the compatibility is covered in more detail in the System Requirements page, but in short, to use GPU acceleration for ML & DL tasks arivis needs:
- NVIDIA GPUs
- Up to date drivers
- at least 8GB of Video Memory (VRAM)
If these conditions are met and the GPU acceleration was installed as part of the installation the software should automatically use the GPU for ML and DL acceleration. We can check if this is the case within the Machine Learning panel of the Preferences window:
As we can see from the screenshot above, this system uses the GPU for Machine Learning. If the GPU is incompatible the checkbox will be disabled and cannot be checked. If so, first check whether the graphics card should be compatible (NVIDIA chipset and 8GB RAM), then check that the drivers are up to date. Please consult with the system administrator or your IT support team to update the drivers as needed.