Optimization of workflow in CAD-systems
As you know, workstations for professional use are selected taking into account the maximum possible load on the hardware component. Despite the fact that this peak load on average does not exceed 20% of the working time. The rest of the time, the main resources of the high-performance station are idle, which makes the system inefficient. 
Considering that a user of a CAD application leads a project “from simple to complex”, at different stages of development and design they will need completely different computing capacities.
How to create an individual workplace that allows you to quickly select the necessary platform for work and, at the same time, provide convenient access to user data?
Based on previous developments in the consolidation of CAD-systems and virtualization of graphics stations , DEPO Computers has developed an ultra-dense solution for optimizing the workflow of users of 3D applications. The solution consists of the server part and the client part. The server part includes 1U-graphic stations located in the enterprise data center. The client part is compact terminal clients that connect to the local network of the enterprise directly at the user's workplace. In general terms, the solution allows the designer to connect to the optimal hardware platform for work from any workplace. Having entered the domain under his credentials, the user gets access to his desktop and all files that are stored on the storage in his personal allocated space. Thus, there is no need to keep the park of "top" graphic stations only because the designers have a need for them several days a month.
Let's try to simulate the situation of the possible application of the solution. We have 10 designers who are engaged in the development of something. Initially, it is the creation of basic elements, then the design of objects with the gradual complication of models, and, as a result, the final assembly with subsequent rendering or some other calculation. Consider the ideal situation - the working time of designers is designed so that at a certain point in time they are at different stages of development, and, therefore, need different computing resources. We conditionally divide the complexity of graphical tasks into five levels, plus the sixth, the final calculation. Thus, we need to get 5 configurations of graphic stations and a render server (or server / cluster for calculations).
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Learn more about how remote access works. The user through his terminal has the ability to connect to any virtual or physical graphics station that has a PCoIP host card and is located within the local network of the enterprise. The exceptions are those workstations where the session is already open and work is being done by another user. Elementary tools of workflow planning and redundancy of workstations can provide a well-established process of distributing computing resources among users, depending on the complexity of the tasks performed by them in a given period of time.
Quick access to personal data and working documents is provided by using roaming profiles. Those. it does not matter from which terminal, and, especially, to which workstation the user connects to. In any case, by entering his credentials, he gets his desktop, his shortcuts and network folders. Given that the software configuration of all graphic stations will be identical, the designer will be able to continue working on any of the machines.
The technology of transferring 3D and video without loss of quality and performance is based on hardware compression and decompression of the video stream. The host card, compressing the video, sends the stream via PCoIP to the local network. A client device, which is connected to a particular host card, opens it and transmits it to one or two monitors with Full HD resolution. The terminal supports any USB and audio devices, does not need an OS and consumes little power. It is completely silent and does not take up much space on the table.
The advantages of using DEPO Computers for consolidating CAD systems and optimizing workflow are obvious:
Usikoff ,
Technical Specialist DEPO Computers
Considering that a user of a CAD application leads a project “from simple to complex”, at different stages of development and design they will need completely different computing capacities.How to create an individual workplace that allows you to quickly select the necessary platform for work and, at the same time, provide convenient access to user data?
Based on previous developments in the consolidation of CAD-systems and virtualization of graphics stations , DEPO Computers has developed an ultra-dense solution for optimizing the workflow of users of 3D applications. The solution consists of the server part and the client part. The server part includes 1U-graphic stations located in the enterprise data center. The client part is compact terminal clients that connect to the local network of the enterprise directly at the user's workplace. In general terms, the solution allows the designer to connect to the optimal hardware platform for work from any workplace. Having entered the domain under his credentials, the user gets access to his desktop and all files that are stored on the storage in his personal allocated space. Thus, there is no need to keep the park of "top" graphic stations only because the designers have a need for them several days a month.
Let's try to simulate the situation of the possible application of the solution. We have 10 designers who are engaged in the development of something. Initially, it is the creation of basic elements, then the design of objects with the gradual complication of models, and, as a result, the final assembly with subsequent rendering or some other calculation. Consider the ideal situation - the working time of designers is designed so that at a certain point in time they are at different stages of development, and, therefore, need different computing resources. We conditionally divide the complexity of graphical tasks into five levels, plus the sixth, the final calculation. Thus, we need to get 5 configurations of graphic stations and a render server (or server / cluster for calculations).
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Configuration # 1
The graphics of the initial level of complexity. Those. Work on the project has just begun, the objects are not complicated and the tasks do not require high performance either from the video card or from the central processor. It is possible to implement two workplaces with such requirements by virtualizing graphic stations. We take a professional graphics station DEPO Race V770R1U in configuration: 2 x Intel Xeon X5690, 48GB RAM ECC Reg, 2 x NVIDIA Quadro 600, PCI-E SSD 100GB, 3 x SATA RAID5, 2 x PCoIP Host Card, 2 x PCoIP Portal. On the high-speed PCI-E SSD, we install the local OS and software for virtualization of Parallels Workstation 6 Extreme. Then we configure two virtual machines with the following parameters: 2 computing threads, 8GB of RAM, Quadro 600 and half a RAID5 array for software installation. At the disposal of the host machine remains 20 computational streams and 32GB of RAM - these resources will be included in the computing cluster, which will solve the final computational problem for all users. In this configuration, we achieve the highest computing power density — 1U accommodates 2 professional graphics stations and 1 computing server.Configurations 2 and 3
The graphics of the average level of complexity, configurations will be built on the same principle. The difference will be in the choice of video adapters and the distribution of computing resources. For example, in configuration # 2 we install NVIDIA Quadro 2000 and select 3 streams with 12GB of RAM. Configuration â„–3 can be equipped with a 4000 series video card, 4 streams and 16GB of RAM.Configurations # 4 and # 5
Build on the basis of workstations DEPO Race C770R1U without the use of virtualization. This will allow the use of computing resources without any loss of performance. Thus, we get two configurations No. 4 with the Quadro 5000 on board, and for the “top-end” graphics tasks, two configurations No. 5 with two 6-core processors each and the NVIDIA Quadro 6000 3D video card.Let's sum up
We received 10 jobs in 5 different configurations, selected by the level of complexity of the graphical tasks. We also have 3 hosts, which we combine into a high-performance cluster, allowing parallel processing of up to 54 threads in total. And all this fits only 7U of the height of the 19-inch rack - this is less than a unit per workplace!Learn more about how remote access works. The user through his terminal has the ability to connect to any virtual or physical graphics station that has a PCoIP host card and is located within the local network of the enterprise. The exceptions are those workstations where the session is already open and work is being done by another user. Elementary tools of workflow planning and redundancy of workstations can provide a well-established process of distributing computing resources among users, depending on the complexity of the tasks performed by them in a given period of time.
Quick access to personal data and working documents is provided by using roaming profiles. Those. it does not matter from which terminal, and, especially, to which workstation the user connects to. In any case, by entering his credentials, he gets his desktop, his shortcuts and network folders. Given that the software configuration of all graphic stations will be identical, the designer will be able to continue working on any of the machines.
The technology of transferring 3D and video without loss of quality and performance is based on hardware compression and decompression of the video stream. The host card, compressing the video, sends the stream via PCoIP to the local network. A client device, which is connected to a particular host card, opens it and transmits it to one or two monitors with Full HD resolution. The terminal supports any USB and audio devices, does not need an OS and consumes little power. It is completely silent and does not take up much space on the table.
The advantages of using DEPO Computers for consolidating CAD systems and optimizing workflow are obvious:
- Highest compute density . On average, there is less than 1U of rack space per workplace.
- Reliability and fault tolerance . Thin clients do not have moving parts or an operating system. Workstations are built on a server platform. They have a reliable component database, fault-tolerant disk storage.
- Safety All information is stored and processed in the data center. The terminal performs the role of a console and does not contain any information that prevents the possibility of theft of the intellectual property of the enterprise.
- Efficiency . Using a balanced distribution of computing resources depending on the tasks, downtime is eliminated, and maximum workstations are reached.
- Convenience of work and maintenance . When the terminal fails, the replacement and restoration of the workflow is done in a matter of minutes. And workstations are concentrated in one place, which facilitates access to them by the system administrator.
Usikoff ,
Technical Specialist DEPO Computers
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/138070/
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