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This paper presents a scalable display system developed by the Computer Division at BARC, Mumbai, designed to address the limitations of current graphics systems, such as low resolution and poor interactivity when handling multi-terabyte scientific data. It outlines the architecture consisting of a cluster of PCs with high-performance graphics accelerators and LCD displays, achieving a remarkable 5120x4096 resolution. The system employs distributed rendering technologies to enhance performance and flexibility, making it a cost-effective alternative to traditional high-end multiprocessor systems, suitable for various applications.
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High End Visualization with Scalable Display System By Dinesh M. Sarode, S.K.Bose, P.S.Dhekne, Venkata P.P.K Computer Division, BARC, Mumbai Chep06
Introduction Shortcomings of present graphics systems • Limited Resolution of display device • Rendering Power • Visualization and understanding multi terabyte scientific data • Interactivity Chep06
Cluster based visualizationWhy ? • Current high end visualization hardware is expensive • No flexibility No commodity building block Need redesign in order to keep track with faster semiconductor technology Chep06
System Architecture A Cluster of PCs PC graphics accelerator cards LCD displays Network Chep06
Scalable Display System at BARC • Rendering Cluster • 1 Master Client • 16 Graphics Servers • 1.7 Ghz P-IV Processors, 512 MB RAM per PC • 64 MB 3Dlabs Oxygen GVX1 Pro AGP card • Fast & Gigabit Ethernet Interconnection • High Resolution Display • Tiled 4x4 LCD panels • 5120x 4096 total resolution Chep06
Architecture Problems • Cluster of PC No shared memory pool • Independent graphics accelerator cards Genlock Swap lock Data lock • Tiling Multiple monitors seams between monitors Chep06
The Software Environment • Client / Server • Single instance of application • Higher network bandwidth • Synchronized program execution • Multiple instances of the application • Less network bandwidth Chep06
System Software • Chromium • Framework for distributed rendering • Client/Server approach • Run existing OpenGL applications • DMX (Distributed Multihead X) • Distributes X window sessions across the nodes of scalable display system • Run X11 applications Chep06
Geometry Database Geometry Transformation Rasterization Image Rendering Pipeline Transformation, clipping, Lighting etc Per Vertex Scan-conversion, shading , visibility Per Pixel Chep06
Database Traversal Database Traversal Database Traversal Preprocessing Preprocessing Preprocessing 3D Primitives G G G G G G G G G 2D Primitives R R R R R R R R R Rendered Pixels Display Display Display Distributed Rendering Sort-Last Sort-Middle Sort-First [Molnar et al. 1994] Chep06
Server 1 Crserver RenderSPU Graphics Card Server 2 Client Crserver Crappfacker RenderSPU Xlib TilesortSPU Graphics Card Graphics Card Server 16 Crserver Packed OpenGL Commands RenderSPU Graphics Card Sort-First configuration mothership Tile 1 N E T W O R K Tile 2 . . . Tile 16 Chep06
1 4 2 3 6 5 7 8 11 10 9 15 14 13 16 A view … Graphics Servers Graphics Servers 4 1 2 3 5 8 7 6 12 12 9 11 10 13 16 15 14 Graphics Data Graphics Data User Chep06
DMX Display1 Display2 Back-end X server Back-end X server Display3 Display4 Back-end X server Back-end X server DMX Console Proxy X Server X Application Chep06
Graphical Control Panel • Login/Logout X windows on all tiles • Manage the cluster • Reboot / shutdown nodes • Display power management • Display system information • Interface for running scripts across cluster Chep06
Applications : AnuVi Scalar Plot Vector Plot Chep06
AnuVi Ray casting Simultaneous display of multiple datasets Chep06 Isosurfaces
CollabCAD Chep06
Tiled MPEG/AVI movie player Chep06
Tiled Image Viewer Chep06
Conclusion • Scalable display system with PC cluster is reasonable alternative to High-end multiprocessor, multi-pipe systems • Low cost & technology tracking • Deep & rich visual experience • Adaptable to variety of applications & usable under various computing and display configurations Chep06
Thanks Chep06