CESNET upgraded the SAGElab

Prague, October 13, 2021. The CESNET Association has implemented a significant upgrade of the technology in the SAGElab network multimedia laboratory. The original five control servers have been replaced by one more powerful one, which displays content simultaneously on all twenty monitors available in the lab. In addition to the increased computing power, space and power savings have been made.

The new technique is suitable for processing and visualizing large volumes of data. It has been used for experiments in cooperation with the Institute of Planning and Development of the capital city of Prague (IPR) within the Metacity project. A multi-core processor and sufficient operating memory enabled the processing of large-scale laser-scanned models of Prague (lidar cloud points). Graphics cards enable subsequent visualisation in the 3D engine Unreal.

“Sufficient performance even at high resolution is also useful when synchronously displaying detailed 3D models created using photogrammetry. We use this capability when working with collection-creating institutions. The display wall allows comparing real-time visualisation options for 3D models and finding the optimal solution for presentations at exhibitions,” said Sven Ubik, Head of Technology Department for Network Applications at CESNET.

The SAGElab laboratory also develops and validates technologies for very high resolution network image transmissions. Current equipment allows content to be displayed at resolutions up to 10K (9600 x 4320 pixels) at a frame rate of 60 fps. This will allow the lab to be used by graphics students in the field of model visualization. In addition, collaboration with the newly established Virtual Reality Lab is planned.

The new high-performance server includes two AMD EPYC 7F72 processors with 48 cores (96 with hyperthreading) and two NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 16GB graphics cards connected by NVLink bridge. The outputs of the graphics cards are distributed to the monitors using a Matrox QuadHead2Go Q185 device. The solution has the advantage of generating the image in a single computer environment with hardware synchronization of all monitors.

The CESNET Association operates SAGElab in cooperation with the Faculty of Information Technology of the Czech Technical University in Prague. The basic goal of the laboratory is to support the teaching of subjects and education of experts in the fields of network technologies, multimedia and virtual reality and to create an environment for research and development of new network applications. The main device in the laboratory is a display wall with 20 monitors with a total resolution of 9600 x 4320 pixels.

CESNET was founded in 1996 by universities and the Czech Academy of Sciences. It is engaged in research and development of information and communication technologies, building and developing a national CESNET e-infrastructure for research and education. Thanks to its research activities and achievements, it represents the Czech Republic in important international projects, especially in building the pan-European network GÉANT or grid projects (EGI.eu), and participates actively in their implementation. The association is also working on the use of high-speed networks for sharing multimedia data, both synchronously in the form of video conferencing and shared applications, and asynchronously in the form of streaming. Since December 2020, CESNET represents the Czech Republic in the international association dealing with the open science paradigm – EOSC AISBL.

More at: www.cesnet.cz