Visual Computing in the Future: Computer Graphics as a Remote Service

Dale Beermann, Greg Humphreys

University of Virginia Technical Report CS-2003-16

Abstract:

One of the main issues we see in Visual Computing today is the tight coupling of the graphics hardware and its display. It is very difficult to view the results of a graphically intense application from a different location. Many applications require the rendering power of a cluster or supercomputer, but one isn't always available. To view an application, a specialized visualization center may be needed. The problem is that the display must be located in close vicinity to the cluster or supercomputer controlling it. Since most people won't have either of these in their office their work needs to be done elsewhere. This can present a considerable inconvenience, especially if the system isn't located in the same building. Imagine a scenario where you only want to view a minute part of a dataset, maybe for reference when writing a paper, but you don't need to use a display wall. It would be very beneficial to be able to do so at your desk. This would save the time required to go to the visualization center, boot up the cluster, turn on all the projectors, make sure they're calibrated, start the application, make your observations, and then shut everything down.

We envision a future where graphics hardware has been decoupled from any display. As a result, visual computing can take on the role of a service. A cluster located in the basement of another building, not necessarily even in the same city or country, could be accessed via a web page or some other interface. A job can be loaded, a specific number of nodes allocated to the application, and the results sent back to the desktop of the person writing the research paper. This type of use certainly wouldn't be limited to desktops; the information could be displayed on any device with enough bandwidth to receive the data. We refer to this as remote rendering. The end result is that any device with a network connection and a display could be used to view output the device is not capable of producing.
Dale Beermann