An Origin 3900 server with InfiniteReality graphics delivers leadership visualization, computing, and data management power that is required by today's workgroup and departmental computing environments. It combines the revolutionary SGI NUMAflex approach to modular computing with InfiniteReality graphics to deliver realism and interactivity to users throughout the world.
The latest generation of the InfiniteReality graphics family is InfiniteReality4 graphics. InfiniteReality4 graphics integrates 2D, 3D, volumetric, and video data into a seamless visualization environment. It delivers the industry's best image quality through the use of full-scene 8 subsample anti-aliasing, 48-bit RGBA, interactive volume rendering, 1 GB of texture memory, up to 10 GB of frame buffer memory, and a pixel fill performance of over 1.3 G anti-aliased pixels per second per pipeline. Whether you are trying to traverse and analyze unlimited amounts of data, make movies or high-definition on-air graphics, or drive immersive displays, the Origin 3900 server with InfiniteReality4 graphics has the power and versatility to meet your needs.
 | Note: Your Origin 3900 server can have InfiniteReality graphics capabilities or InfinitePerformance graphics capabilities, but not both. |
The InfiniteReality graphics capabilities are provided by the G-brick and the N-brick. The G-bricks contain the graphics pipes and the N-brick is used to connect the G-bricks to the host system. This chapter describes the function and physical aspects of these InfiniteReality graphics components in the following sections:
The G-brick is a one- or two-pipe, rackmounted graphics interface that requires 18U of space within a rack. You can add 1 to 16 InfiniteReality graphics pipes to your Origin 3900 server. Each graphics pipe requires at least two processors and connection to one IP53 node board. Figure 13-1 shows the front and rear views of the G-brick.
This section describes the G-brick in the following subsections:
The G-brick contains the following front-panel components (see Figure 13-2):
L1 display is a 2-line by 12-character liquid crystal display (LCD) that displays status and error messages that the L1 controller generates.
On/Off button with LED enables you to manually power on and power off the brick.
L1 controller LEDs function as follows:
On/Off button LED illuminates green when the internal components are powered on.
Service required LED illuminates orange to indicate that an item is not functioning properly, but the G-brick is still operating.
Failure LED illuminates red to indicate that a failure has occurred and the G-brick is not operating.
The G-brick has the following rear-panel components, as shown in Figure 13-3:
Power switch powers on the L1 controller when moved to the On (1) position; moving it to the Off (0) position powers off the L1 controller.
PWR (power) cord attaches to an external 220 VAC power receptacle.
11 board slots that house a Ktown2 board and one or two InfiniteReality graphics pipes. As you face the rear panel, the boards are located as follows:
Six rightmost slots (pipe 0) support a Geometry Engine processor board; one, two, or four raster manager (RM) boards; and a display generator (DG) board.
Four leftmost slots (pipe 1) support a Geometry Engine processor board, one or two RM boards, and a DG board.
Ktown2 board is located between pipe 0 and pipe 1. It contains two XIO connectors. The top connector connects pipe 0 (six rightmost slots) to an IP53 node board. The bottom connector connects pipe 1 (four leftmost slots) to an IP53 node board.
L1 (USB) connector attaches the G-brick to the L2 controller.
The G-brick contains:
The Origin 3900 server with InfiniteReality graphics supports several different InfiniteReality board sets. All of the InfiniteReality board sets consist of the following board types (see Figure 13-4):
Ktown2
Geometry Engine (GE)
Raster manager (RM)
Display generator (DG5)
Note: The InfiniteReality board sets are distinguished from each other primarily by the types of GE and/or RM boards that they contain. For example, the InfiniteReality2 board set includes an RM9 board and the InfiniteReality3 board set has an RM10 board.
The Ktown2 board, which is physically located between the two pipes, provides two Crosstown2 (Xtown2) connections; the top Xtown2 connector is for the right pipe and the bottom Xtown2 connector is for the left pipe (see Figure 13-5). The Xtown2 connectors connect to the XIO port of an IX-, PX-, X-, or N-brick.
Each G-brick requires one Ktown2 board so that the G-brick can convert the data it receives from the host processors to differential signal levels.
The GE (Geometry Engine) board contains four processors that process OpenGL commands and vertex data that the GE board receives from the host processors (see Figure 13-6). Each pipe contains one GE board.
The GE board creates polygons and performs basic geometric transformation, lighting calculations, and other processes that make an image look normal to the human eye. The mathematical processes that occur in the GE board are measured in polygons per second (the unit for the rate at which data moves through the graphics pipe).
The RM (raster manager) boards have the following characteristics:
Contain the main memory of the graphics system
Provide the frame buffer
Manage anti-aliasing
Provide appropriate levels of screen resolution
Contain texture memory (TM), which contains textures that can be applied to an image
Each G-brick supports two graphics pipes: a 2-RM pipe and a 4-RM pipe. The 2-RM pipe, which is physically located to the left of the Ktown2 board, contains one or two RM boards. The 4-RM pipe, which is physically located to the right of the Ktown2 board, contains one, two, or four RM boards.
The DG5 (display generator) board formats images so that they can be displayed on a monitor or delivered to other devices. The DG5 board has the following characteristics:
Converts digital data to analog
Handles all pixel clocking, genlocking, and cursor display functions
Performs the role of functional manager
Connects to the graphics display
The default monitor resolution supported by the InfiniteReality2 and InfniteReality3 board sets and the SuperWide monitor is 1920 x 1200 at 66 MHz. The maximum output bandwidth is approximately 300 Mpix/s. For two monitors, the transfer rate is approximately 188 Mpix/s. If you connect more than two monitors, you must use a combination of low- and high-resolution monitors that are within the limit of 300 Mpix/s.
Each pipe contains one DG5 board (see Figure 13-8).
An Origin 3900 server with InfiniteReality graphics supports the six DG5 options listed in Table 13-1.
Option Name | Description |
|---|---|
DG5-2 | Default DG5 board that is configured with each graphics pipe. It has two high-resolution video outputs that can connect to two monitors. This option does not have a daughtercard. |
DG5-2/DPLEX | DG5-2 board with a digital video multiplexer (DPLEX) daughtercard that enables multiplexing of two or more graphics pipes (referred to as a hyperpipe). The output of the graphics pipes is sent to a single monitor or other video input device. |
DG5-2/GVO | DG5-2 board with a GVO daughtercard that provides real-time graphics-to-video output. |
DG5-2/HDGVO | DG5-2 board with a HDGVO daughtercard that provides high-definition real-time graphics-to-video output. |
DG5-2/DDO2 | DG5-2 board with a DDO2 daughtercard that is used for custom hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) simulations. |
DG5-8 | DG5 board that has eight high-resolution video outputs that can connect to eight monitors. This option has a VIO5H daughtercard. |
The DG5 options have the standard connections that are listed in Table 13-2.
Table 13-2. DG5 Standard Connections
Label | Type | Function |
|---|---|---|
Monitors 0 through X | 13W3 | Variable high-resolution monitor outputs |
S-Video | 4-pin mini-DIN | Interface to SVHS VCR or monitor |
CMPST 1 | RCA jack | Interface to composite monitor or VCR |
CMPST 2 | BNC | Interface to composite monitor or VCR |
Stereo View | 9-pin sub-D | Interface to Stereo View goggles |
Swap-ready | BNC | Interface to other graphics pipes |
Genlock in | BNC | Interface to house sync or other pipes |
Genlock loop-through | BNC | Loop-through connection |
Table 13-4 lists the technical specifications of the G-brick.
| Note: The G-brick has its own power supply, which requires an external 220 Vac power receptacle. |
Table 13-3. G-brick Specifications
Characteristic | Specification |
|---|---|
Height | 31.5 in. (800.1 mm) |
Width | 19 in. (482.6 mm) |
Depth | 20 in. (508 mm) |
Weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
Input power | +180-254 VAC (~ 2000 W) |
The 2U N-brick, which has four pairs of connectors (800 MBytes in each direction), can be used to connect four graphics pipes to four IP53 node boards. A graphics pipe can also connect to an IP53 node board via an IX-, PX-, or X-brick, however, the N-brick is the most cost and space efficient solution when you do not require the additional I/O capability.
The N-brick contains the following front-panel components (see Figure 13-9):
L1 display. The L1 display is a 55.7 mm X 32 mm backlit liquid crystal display (LCD) that displays system messages. It displays two lines with a maximum of 12 characters on each line.
On/Off switch with LED. Press this button to turn on the N-brick internal components. You can also turn on the N-brick internal components at a system console or at the L2 controller touch display.
-
On/Off switch LED. This LED illuminates green when the N-brick internal components are on.
Service required LED. This LED illuminates orange to indicate that an item is broken or not operating properly (for example, a fan is off), but the N-brick is still operating.
Failure LED. This LED illuminates red to indicate that a system failure has occurred and the N-brick is not operating.
Fans. Two hot-pluggable fans provide N+1 redundant cooling.
The N-brick has the following rear-panel components (see Figure 13-10):
PWR (power) connector. This connector connects the N-brick to a power bay, which provides 12-VDC and 48-VDC power to the N-brick.
Power switch. Move the power switch to the 1 position to power on the L1 controller within the N-brick, and to the 0 position to power off the L1 controller.
48-VDC and 12-VDC LEDs. The power switch must be in the ON (1) position for these LEDs to be on. The 12-VDC LED illuminates green when the L1 controller is powered on. The 48-VDC LED illuminates green when the rest of the N-brick internal components are powered on.
Connectors. Each connector on the left can connect to a graphics pipe via the Ktown2 board of a G-brick. Each connector on the right can connect to an XIO connector of an IP53 node board.
Note: The connectors that are in the same horizontal plane are connector pairs. For example, the two bottom connectors connect to each other internally. Connector LEDs. Each connector has two LEDs, as follows:
Table 13-4 lists the technical specifications of the N-brick.
Table 13-4. N-brick Specifications
Characteristic | Specification |
|---|---|
Height | 3.3 in. (83.82 mm) |
Width | 17.38 in. (441.45 mm) |
Depth | 27.5 in. (698.50 mm) |
Weight | 29 lb (13.15 kg) |
Input power | 48 VDC (~ 60 W) |
Table 13-5 lists the specifications of the N-brick ports.
Table 13-5. N-brick Port Specifications
Port | Quantity | Peak Transfer Rate |
|---|---|---|
XIO | 8 | 800 MBytes in each direction |
L1 | 1 | 12 Mbits/s |