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lammps/doc/src/Howto_mdi.rst
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Using LAMMPS with the MDI library for code coupling
===================================================
Client/server coupling of two (or more) codes is where one code is the
"client" and sends request messages (data) to one (or more) "server"
code(s). A server responds to each request with a reply message
(data). This enables two (or more) codes to work in tandem to perform
a simulation. In this context, LAMMPS can act as either a client or
server code. It does this by using the `MolSSI Driver Interface (MDI)
library <https://molssi-mdi.github.io/MDI_Library/html/index.html>`_,
developed by the `Molecular Sciences Software Institute (MolSSI)
<https://molssi.org>`_, which is supported by the :ref:`MDI <PKG-MDI>`
package.
Alternate methods for code coupling with LAMMPS are described on the
:doc:`Howto couple <Howto_couple>` doc page.
Some advantages of client/server coupling are that the codes can run
as stand-alone executables; they need not be linked together. Thus
neither code needs to have a library interface. This also makes it
easy to run the two codes on different numbers of processors. If a
message protocol (format and content) is defined for a particular kind
of simulation, then in principle any code which implements the
client-side protocol can be used in tandem with any code which
implements the server-side protocol. Neither code needs to know what
specific other code it is working with.
In MDI nomenclature, a client code is the "driver", and a server code is
an "engine". One driver code can communicate with one or more instances
of one or more engine codes. Driver and engine codes can be written in
any language: C, C++, Fortran, Python, etc.
In addition to allowing driver and engine(s) to run as stand-alone
executables, MDI also enables an engine to be a *plugin* to the client
code. In this scenario, server code(s) are compiled as shared
libraries, and one (or more) instances of the server are instantiated
by the driver code. If the driver code runs in parallel, it can split
its MPI communicator into multiple sub-communicators, and launch each
plugin engine instance on a sub-communicator. Driver processors
within that sub-communicator exchange messages with the corresponding
engine instance, and can also send MPI messages to other processors in
the driver. The driver code can also destroy engine instances and
re-instantiate them. LAMMPS can operate as either a stand-alone or
plugin MDI engine. When it operates as a driver, if can use either
stand-alone or plugin MDI engines.
The way in which an MDI driver communicates with an MDI engine is by
making MDI_Send() and MDI_Recv() calls, which are conceptually similar
to MPI_Send() and MPI_Recv() calls. Each send or receive operation
uses a string to identify the command name, and optionally some data,
which can be a single value or vector of values of any data type.
Inside the MDI library, data is exchanged between the driver and
engine via MPI calls or sockets. This a run-time choice by the user.
----------
The :ref:`MDI <PKG-MDI>` package provides a :doc:`mdi engine <mdi>`
command which enables LAMMPS to operate as an MDI engine. Its doc
page explains the variety of standard and custom MDI commands which
the LAMMPS engine recognizes and can respond to.
The package also provides a :doc:`mdi plugin <mdi>` command which
enables LAMMPS to operate as an MDI driver and load an MDI engine as a
plugin library.
The package also has a `fix mdi/qm <fix_mdi_qm>` command in which
LAMMPS operates as an MDI driver in conjunction with a quantum
mechanics code as an MDI engine. The post_force() method of the
fix_mdi_qm.cpp file shows how a driver issues MDI commands to another
code. This command can be used to couple to an MDI engine which is
either a stand-alone code or a plugin library.
As explained on the `fix mdi/qm <fix_mdi_qm>` command doc page, it can
be used to perform *ab initio* MD simulations or energy minimizations,
or to evaluate the quantum energy and forces for a series of
independent systems. The examples/mdi directory has example input
scripts for all of these use cases.
----------
The examples/mdi directory contains Python scripts and LAMMPS input
script which use LAMMPS as either an MDI driver or engine or both.
Currently, 5 example use cases are provided:
* Run ab initio MD (AIMD) using 2 instances of LAMMPS. As a driver
LAMMPS performs the timestepping in either NVE or NPT mode. As an
engine, LAMMPS computes forces and is a surrogate for a quantum
code.
* As a driver, LAMMPS runs an MD simulation. Every N steps it passes
the current snapshot to an MDI engine to evaluate the energy,
virial, and peratom forces. As the engine LAMMPS is a surrogate for
a quantum code.
* As a driver, LAMMPS loops over a series of data files and passes the
configuration to an MDI engine to evaluate the energy, virial, and
peratom forces. As the engine LAMMPS is a surrogate for a quantum
code.
* A Python script driver invokes a sequence of unrelated LAMMPS
calculations. Calculations can be single-point energy/force
evaluations, MD runs, or energy minimizations.
* Run AIMD with a Python driver code and 2 LAMMPS instances as
engines. The first LAMMPS instance performs MD timestepping. The
second LAMMPS instance acts as a surrogate QM code to compute
forces.
Note that in any of these example where LAMMPS is used as an engine,
an actual QM code (which supports MDI) could be used in its place,
without modifying the input scripts or launch commands, except to
specify the name of the QM code.
The examples/mdi/Run.sh file illustrates how to launch both driver and
engine codes so that they communicate using the MDI library via either
MPI or sockets. Or using the engine as a stand-alone code or plugin
library.
-------------
Currently there are at least two quantum DFT codes which have direct
MDI support, `Quantum ESPRESSO (QE)
<https://www.quantum-espresso.org/>`_ and `INQ
<https://qsg.llnl.gov/node/101.html>`_. There are also several QM
codes which have indirect support through QCEngine or i-PI. The
former means they require a wrapper program (QCEngine) with MDI
support which writes/read files to pass data to the quantum code
itself. The list of QCEngine-supported and i-PI-supported quantum
codes is on the `MDI webpage
<https://molssi-mdi.github.io/MDI_Library/html/index.html>`_.
Here is how to build QE as a stand-alone ``pw.x`` file which can be
used in stand-alone mode:
.. code-block:: bash
% git clone --branch mdi_plugin https://github.com/MolSSI-MDI/q-e.git <base_path>/q-e
% build the executable pw.x, following the `QE build guide <https://gitlab.com/QEF/q-e/-/wikis/Developers/CMake-build-system>`_
Here is how to build QE as a shared library which can be used in plugin mode,
which results in a libqemdi.so file in <base_path>/q-e/MDI/src:
.. code-block:: bash
% git clone --branch mdi_plugin https://github.com/MolSSI-MDI/q-e.git <base_path>/q-e
% cd <base_path>/q-e
% ./configure --enable-parallel --enable-openmp --enable-shared FFLAGS="-fPIC" FCFLAGS="-fPIC" CFLAGS="-fPIC" foxflags="-fPIC" try_foxflags="-fPIC"
% make -j 4 mdi
INQ cannot be built as a stand-alone code; it is by design a library.
Here is how to build INQ as a shared library which can be used in
plugin mode, which results in a libinqmdi.so file in
<base_path>/inq/build/examples:
.. code-block:: bash
% git clone --branch mdi --recurse-submodules https://gitlab.com/taylor-a-barnes/inq.git <base_path>/inq
% cd <base_path>/inq
% mkdir -p build
% cd build
% ../configure --prefix=<install_path>/install
% make -j 4
% make install