Accelerate Insight with In Situ Analysis and Catalyst

High-resolution simulations are producing massive datasets, but traditional post-processing pipelines struggle to keep up. Writing full timesteps to disk introduces significant I/O bottlenecks, and reducing output frequency compromises temporal fidelity and analysis resolution. Researchers need smarter, faster ways to analyze data while simulations are running.

What Is In Situ Analysis?

High-resolution simulations are generating datasets that exceed the capacity of traditional post-processing workflows. Writing full timesteps to disk introduces a significant I/O bottleneck, and reducing output frequency compromises temporal fidelity and analysis resolution.

In situ analysis addresses this limitation by executing visualization and data reduction directly in memory during simulation runtime. Operating on live simulation data, it eliminates costly disk writes, enables higher temporal sampling, and supports interactive investigation or steering of the simulation.

For computational scientists and engineers, in situ analysis provides efficient, high-fidelity insights in real time, allowing researchers to track evolving phenomena, extract targeted information, and optimize simulation workflows without the overhead of full post-processing.

The Value of In Situ Workflows

In situ analysis transforms simulation pipelines into efficient, scalable workflows. Key benefits include:

• Early error detection through immediate visual feedback on evolving fields.
• Interactive data interrogation during long-running simulations.
• Reduced I/O overhead, enabling more frequent temporal sampling.
• Full-resolution data access, rather than a subset constrained by storage limits.
• Efficient HPC utilization, freeing compute and storage for additional simulations.
• Real-time decision-making, including adaptive steering and parameter adjustment.

Leverage In Situ with Catalyst

ParaView Catalyst is a lightweight, high-performance library that integrates directly into simulation codes without requiring workflow rewrites. Catalyst provides access to ParaView’s advanced visualization and analysis engines and interfaces with simulation data using Conduit and Mesh Blueprint, ensuring accurate representation of meshes and fields. Analysts can:

• Embed analysis in C++/MPI simulation code.
• Define processing and visualization workflows via Python scripts.
• Control Catalyst at runtime for interactive, human-in-the-loop workflows.
• Scale across desktops, HPC clusters, and exascale supercomputers.

Real-World Applications

Energy & Manufacturing

Large-scale CFD and structural simulations generate massive datasets that make traditional post-processing slow and storage-intensive. Catalyst enables engineers to visualize intermediate results during runtime, detect design flaws early, and reduce storage overhead, all while maintaining full-resolution fidelity.

Healthcare & Life Sciences

Catalyst-powered in situ workflows allow real-time visualization of medical imaging simulations, supporting surgical planning, device design, and pathology research. Integrating visualization directly into the simulation accelerates insight, enables iterative experimentation, and facilitates interactive model steering.

High-Performance Computing & Exascale Simulations

Catalyst scales efficiently from desktops to exascale supercomputers, leveraging CPUs and GPUs to process and visualize data without hitting I/O bottlenecks. Simulations in climate modeling, astrophysics, or materials science benefit from high-temporal-resolution analysis, extracting actionable insights without compromising performance.

By embedding Catalyst within simulations, organizations can achieve faster insight, higher-fidelity analyses, and interactive workflows, turning conventional simulations into efficient, discovery-driven tools.

Want to learn more?
See Catalyst in action and hear directly from our experts in our on-demand webinar.

Expert Guidance for Faster Insights

At Kitware, we don’t just follow the evolution of in situ analysis—we drive it. As the creators of Catalyst, we combine deep technical expertise with decades of experience advancing HPC, visualization, and open science. Our work helps some of the world’s most demanding research and engineering teams move from simulation to insight faster, with greater efficiency and scalability. If you would like help integrating in situ into your workflows, contact our experts.