Multi-user multi-GPU render server apparatus and methods

• US 10,614,543 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2017
• Issued: 04/07/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PME IP Pty., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: PME IP Pty., Ltd.
• Inventors: Westerhoff, Malte, Stalling, Detlev
• Primary Examiner(s): Ma, Tize
• Application Number:
  US15/853,673
• Publication Number:
  US 20180137599A1
• Time in Patent Office: 837 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/20 Processor architectures; Processor configuration, e.g. pipelining
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/005 General purpose rendering architectures
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2210/52 Parallel processing
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2350/00 Solving problems of bandwidth in display systems
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/06 Use of more than one graphics processor to process data before displaying to one or more screens
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2380/08 Biomedical applications
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/363 Graphics controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/413 with random access, e.g. carrier-sense multiple-access with collision detection [CSMA-CD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4625 Single bridge functionality, e.g. connection of two networks over a single bridge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/08 specially adapted for terminal emulation, e.g. Telnet

Abstract

The invention provides, in some aspects, a system for rendering images, the system having one or more client digital data processors and a server digital data processor in communications coupling with the one or more client digital data processors, the server digital data processor having one or more graphics processing units. The system additionally comprises a render server module executing on the server digital data processor and in communications coupling with the graphics processing units, where the render server module issues a command in response to a request from a first client digital data processor. The graphics processing units on the server digital data processor simultaneously process image data in response to interleaved commands from (i) the render server module on behalf of the first client digital data processor, and (ii) one or more requests from (a) the render server module on behalf of any of the other client digital data processors, and (b) other functionality on the server digital data processor.

Claims

1. A system for rendering images comprising:

a) a render server;

b) a render server program installed on the render server;

c) a server memory accessible by the render server; and

d) one or more graphics processing units (GPU) each including a GPU resource accessible by the render server;

where the render server program responds to a first render request of a first client digital data processor in communication with the render server,

where the first render request is a 3D volume rendering of a first data set to generate a first View, where the render server program divides the first data set into two or more first sub-volumes, the render server program executes two or more first render commands to render independently the two or more first sub-volumes with one or more graphics processing units, where the rendered two or more first sub-volumes are sent to the first client digital data processor and stored in a first texture memory,

where the render server program responds to a second render request from the first client digital data processor,

where the second render request is a 3D volume rendering of the first data set to generate a second View,

where the render server program divides the first data set into two or more second sub-volumes, where the render server program executes one or more second render commands to render simultaneously or in an alternating fashion one or more of the two or more second sub-volumes with one or more graphics processing units such that processing of a third render request from a second client digital data processor in communication with the render server is undertaken by switching between rendering the second render request interleaved in an alternating fashion with the third render request, where the rendered one or more of the two or more second sub-volumes are sent to the first client digital data processor.

2. The system of claim 1, where the render server program resides in the server memory.

3. The system of claim 1, where the rendered one or more of the two or more second sub-volumes are stored in a first texture memory.

4. The system of claim 3, where the first texture memory resides in the server memory.

5. The system of claim 1, where the third render request generates one or more third sub-volumes.

6. The system of claim 5, where the one or more third sub-volumes are stored in a second texture memory.

7. The system of claim 6, where the second texture memory is located in the first texture memory.

8. The system of claim 6, where one or both the first texture memory and the second texture memory is selected from the group consisting of graphics memory, memory on a graphics board, server graphics memory, server memory, frame buffer memory, and system bus memory.

9. The system of claim 1, where the first data set is selected from the group consisting of computer tomographic scanners (CT), magnetic resonance imaging scanners (MRI), confocal microscopes, 3D ultrasound devices, positron emission tomographics (PET) and other imaging devices.

10. A system for rendering images comprising:

a) a render server;

b) a render server program residing on the render server;

c) a server memory accessible by the render server; and

d) one or more graphics processing units (GPU) each including a GPU resource accessible by the render server;

where the render server program responds to a first render request of a first client digital data processor in communication with the render server, where the first render request is a 3D volume rendering of a first data set to generate a first View, where the render server program divides the first data set into a first sub-volume and a second sub-volume, the render server program executes two or more first render commands to render independently the first sub-volume and the second sub-volume with one or more graphics processing units, where the rendered first sub-volume and the second sub-volume corresponding to the first View are sent to the first client digital data processor and stored in one or more texture memory, where the render server program responds to a second render request from the first client digital data processor, where the second render request is a 3D volume rendering of the first data set to generate a second View, where the render server program divides a second data set into a third sub-volume and a fourth sub-volume, where the render server program executes a second render command to render the third and fourth sub-volumes with one or more graphics processing units such that processing of a third render request from a second client digital data processor in communication with the render server is undertaken by switching between rendering the second render request interleaved in an alternating fashion with the third render request, where the rendered third and fourth sub-volumes are sent to the first client digital data processor and used to generate the second View.

11. The system of claim 10, where when the one or more texture memory reside in the server memory, the second sub-volume is sent to the first client digital data processor in response to the second render request.

12. The system of claim 10, where the render server program resides in the server memory.

13. The system of claim 10, where the one or more texture memory reside in the server memory.

14. The system of claim 10, where the one or more texture memory are selected from the group consisting of graphics memory, memory on a graphics board, server graphics memory, server memory, frame buffer memory, and system bus memory.

15. The system of claim 10, where the first data set is selected from the group consisting of computer tomographic scanners (CT), magnetic resonance imaging scanners (MRI), confocal microscopes, 3D ultrasound devices, positron emission tomographics (PET) and other imaging devices.

16. A system for rendering images comprising:

a) a render server;

b) a render server program residing on the render server;

c) a server memory accessible by the render server; and

d) one or more graphics processing units (GPU) each including a GPU resources accessible by the render server;

where the render server program responds to a high-resolution render request of a first client digital data processor in communication with the render server where the high-resolution render request is a 3D volume rendering of a first data set to generate a first View, where the render server program divides the first data set into two or more first sub-volumes, the render server program executes two or more first render commands to render independently the two or more first sub-volumes with one or more graphics processing units, where the rendered two or more first sub-volumes corresponding to the first View are sent to the first client digital data processor and stored in a first texture memory, where the render server program responds to an interactive render request from the first client digital data processor, where the interactive render request is a 3D volume rendering of the first data set to generate a second View, where the render server program divides a second data set into two or more second sub-volumes, where when one of the two or more second sub-volumes corresponds with a first sub-volume of the first View stored in the first texture memory then the render server program executes one or more second render commands to render one or more second sub-volumes of the two or more second sub-volumes with one or more graphics processing units such that processing of a third render request from a second client digital data processor in communication with the render server is undertaken by switching between rendering the second render request interleaved in an alternating fashion with the third render request, where the rendered one or more second sub-volumes are sent to the first client digital data processor, where the first sub-volume of the first View stored in the first texture memory and the one or more second sub-volumes are used to generate the second View.

17. The system of claim 16, where when the first texture memory resides in the server memory, the first sub-volume is sent to the first client digital data processor in response to the interactive render request.

18. The system of claim 16, where the interactive render request is at a low-resolution.

19. The system of claim 16, where the high-resolution render request is at a resolution greater than the interactive render request.

20. The system of claim 16, where when the first texture memory resides in the server memory.