Learning Forum

[lorenz.winkler]

Our attempt to install Ansys via SCCM (= LocalSystem account / NT-AuthoritySystem) fails in the majority of cases.

According to the install.log the installation always hangs at the following point (ANSYS 2021 R1 and R2):

Extraction: C:WINDOWSccmcache43nexusWINX64.7z ...

But in the task manager there is no 7z.exe (7-ZIP) to be seen any more, only the process setup.exe, which however does not seem to continue working.

This issue seems to have been recurring with others for years as well, i.e. Software Deployment : Ansys 13 (itninja.com)

The problem occurs only via automated SCCM required collections. With available colletions and manually installations (always in the system account) the installations ends without similar errors in most of the cases.

[lorenz.winkler]

At 2021 R1 I could identify exactly four files packed with 7zip where the error occurs:
Extraktion: ...\nexus\WINX64.7z ...
Extraktion:...\optislang\WINX64.7z...
Extraktion: ...\addprint\WINX64.7z ...
Extraktion:...\spaceclm\WINX64.7z ...
The 7z.exe and 7z.dll used by the ANSYS installer is located in the "util\7zip" subfolder and has version 19.00 (x64). Although it has the same version number, the ANSYS 7zip.exe and 7z.dll seem to be different from the Igor Pavlov originals. And indeed,in the R2 7zip subfolder there is a README.txt which says:"For source code for 7zip, please contact techsupp@ansys.com and the source code will be supplied as long as the request is made within 3 years of product release."
If in the the 7z.exe and 7z.dll of the ANSYS version are replaced by those of the original Pavlov version, the deployment via required collections is successful.

[lorenz.winkler]

The four WINX64.7z files mentioned are all packed in the compression level 5 = normal.
If the four WINX64.7z files in question are compressed to a different compression level (0 = store, 1 = fastest, 3 = fast), then the installation also runs through a SCCM required collection without any problems.
So, if someone has similar problems deploying via Microsoft SCCM required collections, then this two workarounds will help:
Replace ANSYS 7zip.exe and 7zip.dllwith the original ones from Igor Pavlov in the subfolder "util\7zip".
Download and extract the 64-bit MSI: https://www.7-zip.org/download.html
or take the two files from the program directory of an original 7-Zip installation.
Recompress the identified WINX64.7zfiles to a lower compression level (0 to 3).
The 1st workaround is of course the easier one, because the affected WINX64.7z files mayprobably change with anotherAnsys version. However, I don't know why ANSYS has rebuilt its own 7zip.exe/dll - is it for technical or legal reasons?

[George Karnos]

Thank You for posting your workaround.
Checking with the Build team:
The version of 7-Zip supplied in recent releases in 19.00.This is the stock build of 7-Zip and we have not rebuilt it ourselves.
We include it as all people do not have 7zip installed on their system.

[lorenz.winkler]

Thanks for asking the Build team.
This is really a strange thing. The file sizes are different: Ansys 7z.exe = 474 KB and Ansys 7z.dll = 1534 KB. The original Pavlov ones of the same Version: 7z.exe = 458 KB and 7z.dll = 1640 KB. Also the files content is different.
So, I cannot believe that the Ansys 7-Zip files are from a non rebuilted stock build of 7-Zip.
I recommend the Ansys build team to replace their7zip files with the latest ones from Pavlov.

[George Karnos]

Thank You! I have passed that along.

[lorenz.winkler]

Via Ansys Support via CADFEM Support I received the following answer from the Dev team:
"The version of 7-zip used in our installer was rebuilt because the stock binaries on the official 7-zip publisher's website uses Visual Studio 6.0 which is a very old compiler. For security reasons, many of our customers want all of our software to be built using modern compilers. Our version of 7-zip was rebuilt with Visual Studio 2015 in May of 2019 by the EBU. They should have the source code they used for the rebuild."

[George Karnos]

Hello ZID
I have just received the same information today from our build team.
I apologize for the misinformation before as that is what I initially received.

[lorenz.winkler]

Hello Geo Karnos!
No problem. Let's see if 7zip will be replaced in the next releases. Best regards from Tyrol (Austria)

[DaveLowe]

Thank you for this info Geo, I came across it because my own silent installation of 2022 R1 appeared to have hung in a similar way but not sure now that it is the same issue anyway.

[lorenz.winkler]

Dave, take a look at the log file to see where it hangs: %ProgramFiles%\ANSYS Inc\install.log or %ProgramFiles%\ANSYS Inc\ANSYS Student\install.log
If it stops at an "Extraction:" step, I would strongly suspect a similar problem with a similar solution: Replace the 7zip.exe and 7zip.dll with the original Pavlov's ones.
If this alone does not help, then recompress the affected WINX64.7z files with a lower compression level.

[lorenz.winkler]

Bad news for ANSYS 2022 R1 (v221)!
The two workarounds no longer work with the full version ANSYS 2022 R1. With a deployment via Microsoft SCCM required collections, the installation hangs during the extraction of "optislang\WINX64.7z".
So, if you don't need AnsysoptiSLang, you should exclude it from the installation.
No comparable problems were found with the student version.

[sanjeev]

Trying to do this now with Ansys 2022 R2
Same issue with SCCM Required deployment !!!!

Anyone have a solution at all?
Going round thousands of machines installing one at a time is not a workaround we can use

Ansys... why???

[JM Derksen]

I have seen this issue also with other installers, from other Vendors.

Try setting "Run installation and uninstall program as 32-bit process on 64-bit clients." on the deployment type (Programs Tab)