HP Scalable Visualization Array Version 1.1User's Guide*A-SVAUG-2A*published January 2006
WARNING A warning calls attention to important information that if not understood orfollowed will result in personal injury or nonrecoverable system p
1 IntroductionThis chapter gives an overview of the HP Scalable Visualization Array (SVA). It describes how the SVA workswithin the context of overall
The SVA serves as a key unit in an integrated computing environment that displays the results of generateddata in locations where scientists and engin
DisplaysThe SVA supports a wide range of displays and configurations, including single displays, tiled displays inwalls, and immersive CAVE environmen
as model size, and match them to the visualization nodes your application needs to yield the desiredperformance and resolution.Application SupportThis
Scenegraph ApplicationsThe SVA lets you take advantage of scenegraph applications available through scenegraph middlewarelibraries and toolkits. The r
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2 SVA ArchitectureThis chapter gives a detailed look at the architecture of the HP Scalable Visualization Array (SVA). It comparesthe SVA to other clu
Components of the HP Cluster PlatformBecause the SVA is an extension of the HP Cluster Platform, you can begin by understanding its basecomponents wit
(RGS). If you use RGS, a port connected to the external network isrecommended.Components of an SVAThe main tasks described in “Main Visualization Clus
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Figure 2-1 SVA Data Flow OverviewOpenGLGraphicsUser ApplicationMaster Nodeuser interfacetransfer simulation dataand drawing commandsdisplay nodesSyste
3 SVA Hardware and SoftwareThis chapter provides information on the hardware and software that make up the SVA. It is a useful referencefor anyone inv
Figure 3-1 Sample SVA Bounded ConfigurationGigEExternal NodeDisplayDevicesBase Rack (UVB)Network ConfigurationsThis section describes the different ne
See theSVA System Administration Guidefor more information on setting up display nodes and devices.SVA Software SummaryThe SVA combines third party so
Table 3-1 Operating System and Driver ComponentsNotesComponentBase Operating SystemHP XC Linux is compatible with this version of Red Hat Enterprise L
• Main software components provided by HP (Table 3-3 ).• Main software components provided by third parties (Table 3-4).• Application development tool
4 Setting Up and Running a Visualization SessionThis chapter explains how to run visualization applications on the SVA. A visualization session relies
The kit installation also provides fully functional job launch scripts that you can use as is or customize foryour own site. These are typically locat
1. Allocate: Allocates cluster resources for the visualization job.The allocation phase launches an HP XC SLURM job using the srun command. A SLURM Jo
Table of ContentsAbout This Document...9Intended Audience...
You can start, stop, and restart an application to make it easier to test and debug. You must be able to viewthe SVA Display Surface because the DMX C
5 Application ExamplesThis chapter describes the steps to start several representative applications that vary in their structure andrequirements:• A w
TheSVA Software Installation Guidehas specific RGS installation instructions that you must use to supplementthe HP RGS installation instructions.HP Re
Data AccessIf you use a single SVA display node, place the data files in a convenient location given your site configuration.One location that provide
Alternatively, you can omit the Display Surface option (–d) and accept a render or display nodeallocated automatically by the script. The allocated no
4. Enter your Linux user name and password for the cluster in the RGS login window.The desktop environment login window for the cluster appears on you
• ParaView supports tiled displays through a built-in display manager.• Handles structured (uniform rectilinear, non-uniform rectilinear, and curvilin
Figure 5-2 ParaView Flow of Control on the SVAGFXGigEGigESITo ExternalNetworkTo DisplayDeviceX ServerLocal DesktopDisplay Node 1 (Execution Host)Parav
Servers and Client to use the SI. This improves performance. (The ic-name is the HP XC conventionused to denote that the SI communication mode is to b
Assumptions and GoalThis example assumes you have a visualization application that currently runs on a single workstation. Italso assumes that you hav
5 Application ExamplesRunning an Existing Application on a Single SVA Workstation...3
File to indicate which host to use to run the application for a given Display Surface. See Chapter 4 and theSVA System Administration Guidefor details
Figure 5-3 Processes Running with Chromium-DMX ScriptG F XG igEG igES ITo ExternalNetworkTo DisplayDeviceXdmxApplicationX ServerExternal NodeDisplay N
The primary mechanism that you use to set up displays is the Display Surface. A Display Surface is composedof one or more display nodes and their asso
GlossaryAdministrative Network Connects all nodes in the cluster. In an HP XC computecluster, this consists of two branches: the AdministrativeNetwork
arrangement of the display blocks. Invoked using thesvadisplaysurface command. Requires root privileges.DMX Distributed Multi-Head X is a proxy X Serv
Myrinet can be used for the System Interconnect to speedthe transfer of image data and drawing commands to thevisualization nodes.tile The image outpu
IndexAAdmin/service node, 18Administrative network, 18, 21–22Architecture of SVA, 17BBeowulf cluster, 17Bounded configuration, 21CChromium, 25Compiler
SLURMuse in job launch, 29SVAarchitecture for, 17cluster components, 19data flow in, 19file access with, 20main tasks of, 18overview of, 12scalability
List of Figures1-1 System View of a Computing Environment with Integrated SVA...111-2
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List of Tables3-1 Operating System and Driver Components...
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About This DocumentTheSVA User's Guideintroduces the components of the HP Scalable Visualization Array (SVA). The SVAproduct has hardware and sof
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