Virtual desktops achieve workstation-class performance

NVIDIA, the world leader in visual computing technologies has developed an innovative way to solve this problem using its GRID technology. Through fast graphics processing units (GPUs), efficient drivers and certified software, GRID creates a completely new, cost-effective cloud and network services. By using virtualisation technology the solution transforms a simple office computer into a workstation-level device, allowing multiple users to experience graphics-intensive applications and games simultaneously using shared GPUs. In addition to conventional office technologies, GRID is compatible with a multitude of devices such as smart TVs, PCs, tablets and smartphones.

GRID in detail
NVIDIA GRID is available as two products targeted at different applications in the enterprise. Large companies are able to remotely provide their employees with virtual work environments through GRID, with high graphics processing power from the server. These demanding, graphics-intensive applications are available for any workplace with a traditional office computer. The spectrum ranges from Google Earth to video playback, and Photoshop to professional applications such as SolidWorks, Autocad and Catia. Target customer sectors to date include the automotive industry, product design, construction and banks.

Compatible with the widely used Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solutions from Citrix, Microsoft and VMware, NVIDIA's patented GRID platform allows optimal capture, efficient compression, fast streaming, and low-latency display of high-performance enterprise applications over the network for a great experience from any location. Reducing latencies to a minimum is achieved by optimising the H.264 encoding, which is supported by default. Original Equipment Managers including Asus, Cisco, Dell, HP, IBM and Supermicro already offer corresponding GRID servers. Additionally the French car manufacturer Peugeot Société Anonyme (PSA) is already using GRID successfully. In the near future it will be possible to virtualise GPUs using NVIDIA’s GRID vGPU technology. Multiple virtual machines will simultaneously have access to a single physical GPU, increasing the efficiency of the server even more.

The second GRID product, the Visual Computing Appliance (VCA), provides a virtualisation solution with its own hardware and own software hypervisor. Already being utilised in the US, companies with limited IT infrastructure now have a powerful tool for the use of professional, graphics-intensive applications from Adobe, Autodesk and Dassault Systèmes. Designers, engineers and architects can create complex CAD models on the VCA without having to access a local workstation, using the VCA to send their graphics output over the network to be displayed on a client computer. This remote GPU acceleration gives users the same rich graphics experience they would get from an expensive, dedicated workstation under their desk. The software calculations are carried out on the VCA server equipped with GRID technology and access is possible locally on the intranet or remotely via the web. This increases flexibility and simultaneously saves resources.

At the heart of any system with GRID technology are NVIDIA GPUs. Based on the latest Kepler architecture the GRID K1 graphics card offers four Kepler GPUs with a total of 768 CUDA cores and 16GB of DDR3 memory. Even more powerful is the GRID K2, which has been designed with two Kepler GPUs, 3072 CUDA cores and 8 GB of DDR5 memory for maximum performance. As a result, with NVIDIA GRID vGPU a maximum of up to 32 users can access a single GRID graphics card.

Gaming
GRID also opens up new markets away from the business and enterprise segment. Established forms of consumer electronics are merging more and more with new services to address a wider audience.

One of the most important areas is gaming. Current figures show how important gaming has become over the last few years, proven by one of 2012’s most successful games, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, which cracked the sales mark of one billion US dollars after just 15 days. Such a success in the gaming industry is not an isolated case and the more accessible games become, the more the business of computer and video games is extremely lucrative. With GRID technology, NVIDIA provides the foundation for the next evolution in the gaming sector. Highly complex and computationally intensive content can be streamed over the internet on almost any conceivable device including gaming portables, smartphones, tablets, TVs, laptops and PCs, and unlike traditional content-on-demand solutions the content is interactive via the NVIDIA GRID streaming platform.

Conclusion
Whether via the cloud, over the internet or locally in an internal corporate network, NVIDIA GRID is the missing piece of the puzzle for the next stage of IT development. Consisting of software and hardware that can be seamlessly integrated into existing systems, the technology generates a high-quality, low-latency performance that is extremely energy efficient and boasts a low operation cost. The applications are as diverse as their users - design and simulation of CAD models, graphics and video editing or gaming via streaming on various devices – and NVIDIA GRID is primed for all usage scenarios.