Post #3 in the 4-part series on remote graphics for CAD, talks about remote graphics solutions that include hardware accelerated encryption and high-speed transmission PCoIP technologies like the FirePro RG220 Remote Graphics card.
For high performance CAD this is a 1:1 solutions (one thin client mapped to one remote graphics card). The big gain for companies where intellectual property is critical, is security. With remote graphics and PCoIP, the data resides on the server and graphics card and never is at risk for theft (inadvertent or intentional) from the local machine. For engineering companies who do projects for government or large defense manufacturers, remote graphics give high performance, but eliminates many security issues.
The post also talks about remote management and gives and example from an Oil & Gas company using the soluiton
Post #2 in the 4-part series on remote graphics for CAD, talks about how any firm with users working on 2D AutoCAD DWG drawings or medium-complexity 3D projects will be able to support four users on thin clients with a single FirePro RG220 Remote Graphics card (offers hardware-accelerated PCoIP compression) and at least one quad-core CPU server running the Parallels Workstation Extreme 4.0 hypervisor.
By implementing a remote graphics solution that is capable of supporting more than one user on zero clients, that’s fewer workstations and graphic cards a company has to buy and support.
The newly announced AMD Radeon E6460 entry-level embedded graphics processor supports up to four independent output displays using Eyefinity and offers HDMI 1.4 stereoscopic video and DisplayPort 1.2.
Targeted at casino gaming, digital signage, instrumentation and industrial control systems, the AMD Radeon E6460 GPU sets a new bar for features and performance in an entry-level embedded GPU with broadly scalable graphics and multimedia performance, and a planned 5 years of supply availablitly (hence the longevity in the press release title).
At IBC 2011 AMD announced the FirePro SDI-Link for system integrators and ISVs to design fully featured SDI- and GPU-based solutions with ultra-low latency between AMD professional graphics cards and industry-standard third party SDI input/output cards (e.g. AJA, Bluefish444, Blackmagic Design, DELTACAST, DVS and Matrox).
SDI - Serial Digital Interface - is the primary digital format connection standard in the professional broadcast industry for uncompressed digital video for live feed productions (such as a live TV show), as well as for editing and monitoring video at the highest possible quality. It carries everything (video, audio, and time code) over one cable, with a bandwidth of nearly 1.5 gigabits per second (i.e. you're getting raw HD output before any compression is applied.)
Using the SDI-Link technology and the new FirePro V7900 SDI card, you get incredibly low-latency, high throughput GPU acceleration of real-time video and broadcast FX pipelines. The uncompressed digital video streams come in over an industry-standard SDI input card. The data is transferred to the GPU for real-time OpenGL/DX11/OpenCL processing (visual effects, color grading, encoding, editorial, graphics etc). Then again with virtually zero latency the processed video is passed back to the SDI card for output.
The four key components of the FirePro SDI-Link solution are:
AMD DirectGMA technology (PCI‐Express ‘peer‐to‐peer' transfers that completely bypasses any need to traverse the host's main memory or utilize the CPU)
Support from 3rd-party SDI I/O vendors
The SDI-Link SDK for ISVs to develop custom solutions for end-users
Supported FirePro video cards beginning with the V7900 SDI
Below is a quick overview from Bluefish444 of how they are using their SDI I/O PCI card with their new Lightspeed driver for the AMD FirePro SDI-link running Virtual Spectator software for real-time graphics on uncompressed video
I was surprised at how informative this video actually is. It shows a complete unboxing and setup for the FirePro V5900 video card with an example of driving 4 displays using Eyefinity, including setup using the Catalyst software.
The new AMAX VCS-F24D professional workstation can support up to 4 AMD FirePro professional graphics cards (V9800, V8800, V7800 or V8750), each at 2560x1600 resolution and sync’d using the AMD FirePro S400 synchronization module across multiple workstations. This configuration allows up to 24 independently-accelerated display outputs to be used simultaneously for massive command-center display and an ultra-immersive visual environment. Applications include financial, security, transportation, GIS and media with full support for DirectX 11, OpenGL 4, and OpenCL.
AMD begin shipping the FirePro V9800P that can deliver Windows desktop sessions to 22 remote client PCs through support for Microsoft’s RemoteFX desktop virtualization technology. The V9800P is targeted at customers looking for workstation replacements through virtualization, or at companies like engineering firms looking to create clusters for execution of scientific or math tasks.
Dell offers the card with its PowerEdge M610x server.
Specs:
- 4GB of GDDR5 memory
- 2.64 TFLOPS of single precision and 528 GFLOPS of double precision floating point performance
- Microsoft certification for RemoteFX and the ability to support up to 22 virtual machines running typical office applications
- Remote computing experiences on par with physical systems, including rich media like full motion video and 3D
- Support for OpenGL 4.2, DirectX 11 and OpenCL
- Passive cooling for silent operation and deployment flexibility
- MSRP of $2,499 (50% less than Nvidia Tesla M2070Q)
Side-by-side video comparison of the AMD FirePro V7900 (with GeometryBoost) vs the Nvidia Quadro 4000 running the CATIA CATBench benchmark on identical HP Z600 workstations. Both cards have 2 GB GDDR5 frame buffers and are similarly priced.
The CATbench benchmark uses a number of different models ranging in size from an engine block to an entire nuclear submarine assembly. It performs a set number of pans, zooms and rotations in shaded plus edges graphics mode.
The video speaks for itself - basically a 2:1 performance advantage for the V7900 overall. Where the difference is really apparent is with the complex large models. That is in part GeometryBoost in action.
If you haven’t already had enough of the great reviews over the FirePro V7900 3D Professor adds another to the fold, but in his own unique way. One point he makes pretty clearly is what a significant upgrade this is from past generations, specifically the V7800 (e.g. FirePro V7900 Cayman Pro GL graphics processor can process over 1450 million triangles per second whereas the V7800 a meagre 700 million) as well as emphasizing price/performance.
Quick Takeaway: After many years of paying premiums for entry level high-end workstations we have solutions (in the FirePro V7900) that are affordable and have the power within to provide the end-users a substantial stable workstation that will last for some time to come. We have over the last few weeks completely stressed this card to its fullest without any complications. This professional graphics card has to offer plenty of room for expansion in whichever way it is utilized; as a home gamer, SoHo Workstation. Or, and more appropriate within the corporate market place as an upgrade to the standalone desktop unit as there is so much power within. The studios, CAD/CAM and DCC market has obtained an important injection of technology which will further advance their current systems and once more reiterating, a sound solid fast system for productivity output. Consequently and once more we have to reiterate the objectivity of price performance.
FireUser.com is a community resource for visualization, 3D, video and engineering professionals to learn about the latest acceleration and display technologies, discuss support issues, as well as influence the features and direction of the FireGL and FirePro accelerator line.
