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All tasks undertaken to carry out an optimisation run (from creating a settings file to the actual run) can be completed using either the Insight interface or a command line. Results for an optimisation run can be viewed in the interface only. These are described in further detail in subsequent sections.
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When you open Insight for the first time, you may be prompted to point Insight to the location of the Source command line tool (RiverSystem.CommandLine.exe), as shown in Figure 1. Click Browse to locate and load the appropriate folder. Click OK to close the window.
Figure 1
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Figure 2 shows the user interface for Insight, which allows you to load Source projects, configure a settings file and perform an optimisation run.
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- File » Load Settings - Load settings that were previously configured and saved;
- File » Save Settings - Saves the current run settings;
- File » Load results - Loads the results of a previously saved optimisation run;
- File » Save results - Save the results of the current optimisation run; and
- File » Exit - Quits Insight.
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1. Insight user interface
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Prior to using Insight, ensure that you have created and saved a Source project containing one scenario only. |
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Once you have nominated the location of Source, the Source project to optimise, and the objectives and decision variables, click Run to begin the optimisation.
On completion of the run, you will be prompted to save the results, which can be saved for future use using File » Save resultsthen be viewed at a later stage if required.
Using the command line
Insight can be configured, set up (to create a settings file) and run using the command line as well. This link shows some examples of how to use the command line for Insight. Note that an explanation of these commands is provided further down:
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| Note: Windows may request permission to allow access to the endpoint. Click OK to grant permission. |
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| You must keep the command prompt open until the optimisation has been run and is complete. |
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Viewing optimisation results
Results from a previous optimisation run (including those that have been run from a command line) can be loaded using File » Load results.To view the results of an optimisation run, choose File » Load results. This will load the Results dialog where you can view the results in various graphical formats.
Optimisation run results are compared to the Pareto Front. The Pareto Front is simply the set of solutions which have differing performance on each of the objectives. A solution is not on the Pareto Front if there is an alternative that is better on at-least one of the objectives but no worse on any objectives. In this case the solution is discarded as the alternative is clearly preferable. If the Pareto Front solutions are not changing, the optimiser may have satisfactorily completed its multi-objective search.
Hypervolume plot
During the optimisation run (when using the interface), after more than a generation is complete, you will be able to view the hypervolume plot – an indication of how the Pareto Front (selection of optimal results) is converging. The hypervolume provides an indication of the convergence of the model results towards the Pareto Front. The hypervolume is calculated based on the distance between a maximum non-optimal solution and the modelled results. In effect, the larger the hypervolume, the closer the results are towards reaching the Pareto optimal solution. The hypervolume provides an indication of the convergence of the model results towards the Pareto Front. It is calculated based on the distance between a maximum non-optimal solution and the modelled results. In effect, the larger the hypervolume, the closer the results are towards reaching the Pareto optimal solution.
Insight provides two plots of hypervolume when using the user interface (shown in Figure 2). The blue hypervolume plot is calculated whilst Insight is running, without knowing what the maximum non-optimal solution is (shown on the left of Figure 2). The red hypervolume plot is calculated at the end of the optimisation run, using the maximum non-optimal solution as reference. The hypervolume is a useful indication of how much the optimal solutions are changing – if the hypervolume plot is flattening out, this is a sign that more generations are unlikely to produce more optimal results.
Figure 2. Insight results, hypervolume plots
2D graph
Click the 2D Graph tab at the top of the Results dialog to view two-dimensional scatterplots of the results (as shown in Figure 3). The drop-down menus for the x and y axes list all the objectives specified in the optimisation. To view the graph for a particular relationship, choose the relevant items from the drop-down menus and click Plot. The example shown in Figure 3 has three objectives defined: $reliabilityNeg, $unitcost and $Yieldneg. The points on the graph are forming the Pareto Front for this optimisation.
The Filter Properties dialog allows you to view the results in a specified range:
- Choose the type of plot (scattered or pareto) in the Plot Option drop-down menu;
- In the Selected Filter drop-down menu, choose the filter and click Edit Filter;
- This opens the Edit Filter dialog showing the entire range of values. Edit any value by double clicking on the cell you wish to change and enter the required value;
- Click OK to close the Edit Filter dialog.