FAQs

GOLD processes jobs on a per ligand basis, and each ligand docking will be performed on a single processor, or a single core if a multi-core processor. In order to utilise the full power of a multi-core or multi-processor system, you will need to use the parallel version of GOLD via PVM (Parallel Virtual Machine). This will allow multiple ligand dockings to be started at the same time, which will allow each core and/or processor to be utilised.

For example, to run a GOLD docking that utilises all four cores of a quad-core processor, start a parallel job via PVM that runs four processes on the quad-core processor (one per core).

It should also be noted that the Windows and Mac versions of GOLD do not support PVM, but can be run in parallel via GRID-based parallel processing.​

For GOLD 5.4 and later, your licence allows running unlimited numbers of docking processes on a computer that the CSDS is registered on. This will allow you to use PVM to run parallel docking jobs that utilise multiple processors and/or cores on a computer. To parallelise over multiple computers will require each computer to have access to a registered copy of the CSDS.

For GOLD 5.3 and earlier, each of these individual docking processes requires the use of one GOLD licence, so a multi-seat licence would be required.

Please note that the 2019 CSD Release is the last to include the ability to use GOLD with Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM) for UNIX-based platforms. We recommend using a grid-engine based environment rather than PVM.