sudo dnf install glibc libstdc++ openmpi-devel Unlike a typical apt install , Gaussian 16 is distributed as a tarball. Assume you have the installation files from Gaussian, Inc. on an ISO or G16.tar.gz . Step 1: Create the Directory Tree sudo mkdir -p /opt/gaussian/g16 sudo mkdir -p /scratch/gaussian # High-speed scratch space Step 2: Extract the Archive sudo tar -xzf G16.tar.gz -C /opt/gaussian/g16 Step 3: Configure Environment Variables Edit the .bsd or .env file. Instead of hardcoding paths, create a global profile:
sudo nano /etc/profile.d/gaussian.sh Add: gaussian 16 linux
#!/bin/bash for input in *.gjf; do base=$input%.gjf echo "Running $base at $(date)" >> job.log # Run with 4 cores, save unique log g16 -p=4 $input $base.log # Check for convergence if grep -q "Normal termination" $base.log; then echo "SUCCESS: $base" >> job.log # Extract final SCF energy grep "SCF Done" $base.log | tail -1 >> energies.txt else echo "FAILED: $base" >> job.log fi done Extract Gibbs free energy from a frequency job: sudo dnf install glibc libstdc++ openmpi-devel Unlike a
# Reduce swapping echo 10 > /proc/sys/vm/swappiness # Use 'none' or 'noop' scheduler for NVMe scratch disks echo noop > /sys/block/nvme0n1/queue/scheduler If you have abundant RAM, put GAUSS_SCRDIR in RAM: Step 1: Create the Directory Tree sudo mkdir
sudo mount -t tmpfs -o size=30G tmpfs /mnt/ramdisk export GAUSS_SCRDIR=/mnt/ramdisk Warning: Compute-intensive jobs like CCSD(T) can exceed this. Monitor df -h /mnt/ramdisk live. Even seasoned users encounter errors unique to the Gaussian 16 Linux ecosystem. 1. "Cannot open shared object file: libcuda.so.1" Cause: Gaussian tries GPU acceleration but CUDA is missing. Fix: Disable GPU in input: %GPUCPU=0 or use %NoGPU . 2. Segmentation Fault (core dumped) Cause: Stack limit too low on Linux. Fix: Run ulimit -s unlimited before launching Gaussian. Add to your .bashrc . 3. Linda Workers Keep Disconnecting Cause: Firewall blocks ports or SSH key authentication fails. Fix: Ensure passwordless SSH between nodes and open dynamic ports (e.g., 60000-61000) in iptables . Advanced Scripting: Automating Gaussian 16 on Linux Linux excels at batch processing. Here is a bash script to run a series of single-point energies on all .gjf files in a folder: