Premium Solver for Excel - Optimization Software Overview
Our Premium Upgrade for the Excel Solver
Premium Solver is Frontline Systems' basic upgrade for the standard Excel Solver. It's 100% upwardly compatible from the standard Solver -- which Frontline developed for Microsoft -- with the capacity to solve much larger problems -- up to 2,000 variables -- at speeds anywhere from three to 100 times faster than the standard Solver. If you've run up against the size limits of the standard Solver (200 decision variables) or found it too slow, upgrade to
Premium Solver today!
Premium Solver is dramatically enhanced in Version 9.0,
with an all-new user interface that uses Excel's
Ribbon
and Task Pane for easier, faster model definition; new
charting features
to visualize linear and nonlinear functions; and new
features to easily solve multiple, parameterized optimizations.
You can easily upgrade Premium Solver to
Risk Solver Premium for
new simulation power, Premium Solver Platform
for greater optimization power, or our "super-product"
Risk Solver Platform.
Compare features of our Excel Solver upgrades. If you want to know “Will I be able to solve my problem?” with
this software, our Quick Problem Review can give you an answer, and acquaint you with our expert consulting services, at very
low cost.
For full details, click the "Premium Capabilities" links on the right, or
watch a 12-minute video demo
of V9.0. But the best way to decide whether Premium Solver is for you is to try it out! If you register below (it's free), you can:
- Download a free 15-day Trial Version of Risk Solver
Platform, its subset Premium Solver, or any of our other software products
- Download our Solver User Guides -- learn about Risk Solver
Platform, Premium Solver Platform, Premium Solver, and more
- Access "protected" Tech Support pages and downloadable example models
Note: If you've been using an older
Premium Solver version, it's high time
to catch up! Our Version 8.0 enhancements included
support for Excel 2007 and worksheets up to 16 thousand columns and 1 million rows, new semi-continuous decision variables, an improved outline-based Solver Parameters dialog, function-based models and Interactive Optimization, and our new Object-Oriented API for high-level control of the Solver in VBA.
Premium Solver is 100% upwardly compatible with the standard Solver.
You can use a familiar Solver Parameters and Solver Options dialog --
but you'll quickly come to prefer our new, modeless (faster!)
user interface for defining optimization models. Your existing models can be solved with no changes, faster and more easily than before -- even if you use the new Evolutionary Solver! And your VBA code that uses the standard Solver will work as-is with
Premium Solver.
Above is an example of a simple Product Mix optimization model,
included with the product. (Click on the worksheet for a full-size
image.) You can see both the Solver Parameters dialog
-- familiar from the standard Excel Solver -- and the new user interface
that uses the Ribbon and Task Pane.
(This image also shows simulation-related icons that appear on the
Ribbon when you upgrade Premium Solver to
Risk Solver Premium.)
Greater Speed and Capacity
You'll be able to solve general nonlinear problems with twice the number of decision variables and constraints -- and the more common linear and integer problems with ten times the number of variables (up to 2,000 variables) and 1,000 constraints. Just as important, larger problems which took minutes to solve with the standard Solver will often run from three to ten times faster. Speed gains are often spectacular on linear problems with integer constraints.
The hybrid Evolutionary Solver in
Premium Solver -- a unique combination of genetic algorithms and classical nonlinear optimization methods -- enables you to optimize models with any Excel functions
-- even user-written functions. It outperforms other spreadsheet optimizers based on genetic algorithms, yet it is easier to use and fully compatible with existing models created with the standard Excel Solver. Just select this Solver from the Solver Engines dropdown list and click the Solve button!
Premium Solver includes includes full support for Excel 2007 -- the biggest Excel upgrade in at least 10 years, with everything from a new "ribbon" based user interface to huge worksheets with 16,384 columns and 1,048,576 rows – far beyond the 256 column and 65,536 row limits in previous Excel releases. This makes it much easier to lay out your models on a worksheet, without having to split up large tables of information.
Premium Solver deliver multiple solutions, not just a single best solution, for integer programming and global optimization problems. The best integer solutions (“incumbents”) for MIP problems, locally optimal solutions for global optimization problems, or best final population members for non-smooth problems solved with the Evolutionary Solver can be viewed in a worksheet report, or easily accessed in your VBA code via the new object-oriented API.
Fast Problem Setup
Larger models which are linear problems often spend most of their time in problem setup, then reach a solution quickly.
Premium Solver will give you an immediate speedup -- often completing problem setup in half the time. But with a little work in designing your model to use certain common functions (like SUM and SUMPRODUCT) recognized by Fast Problem Setup,
Premium Solver can give you a really awesome speedup -- as much as 100 times faster!
Why wait? To try out Premium Solver, you can download
and run the RSPSetup program that installs Risk Solver
Platform (a superset of Premium Solver) with a free 15-day trial license. You can use every feature of the software, solve real problems, examine the full User Guide and Help, and get expert technical support -- all without any obligation.
Just enter your name and email address, and optionally your company and phone, pick the closest "User Type," and click the Register for Download button. You can download immediately after registering, or return later anytime -- just login with your email address.
Ready to order, or just want to know more about prices, upgrades from previous versions, competitive upgrades, and annual support? Click here for more information.
^ Back to Top
