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1CompuSteer
September 2006
VizNET and the potential N.V.S.
Dr. Ian Grimstead
Cardiff School of Computer Science
email: I.J.Grimstead@cs.cardiff.ac.uk
“Anyone Interested in a National Visualization
Service?“
2CompuSteer
September 2006
Contents Introduction - visualization VizNET: Who/What? National Visualization Service – Why? Summary of Loughborough Meeting for NVS Wrap-up
3CompuSteer
September 2006
Visualization acknowledged as requiring additional support Growing data mountain – the need to analyse data rapidly
Visualization is a means to do this Need to increase people’s awareness of this potential solution
Motivation: Visualization previously required specialist, expensive hardware Recent availability of cost-effective hardware Research groups now newly enabled to use visualization
Introduction
Anyone seen my results?
4CompuSteer
September 2006
Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) has recently funded “VizNET” in the U.K. to: Offer advice / training for visualization Promote best practice
Make best use of facilities (hardware & software) Most appropriate tools for the job
Spread awareness of visualization And hence computational steering
VizNET: What?
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September 2006
VizNET is: PI – Prof. Roy Kalawsky (Loughborough) http://wiki.viznet.ac.uk Created by a number of UK visualization centres
Cardiff, CCLRC, Leeds, Loughborough, Manchester + King’s College London (Arts & Humanities)
So, on the subject of visualization…
VizNET: Who?
6CompuSteer
September 2006
National Visualization Service: Why? National Grid Service currently provides compute service Growing evidence:
Overwhelmed with high-end compute output Advanced scientific users require high-end visualization Need specialist visualization hardware/software
Proposition: A National Visualization Service What does this mean? It means whatever the community defines it as
Not just viz …could be a render farm …could be computational steering …up to you!
Hence attendance at events to gather community input
7CompuSteer
September 2006
Summary of Loughborough Meeting Visualization requirements workshop 18th May 2006
Systems Engineering Innovation Centre, Loughborough University
Aims of meeting: Inform the JISC Committee for Supporting Research (JCSR) Determine strength of support for a national visualization resource Considered as a possible extension to the existing National Grid
Service
Attendees: Reasonable spectrum of disciplines Spread across the UK
8CompuSteer
September 2006
Factors/Issues Highlighted Prof. Peter Coveney (UCL) gave a keynote speech
Computational materials modelling; RealityGrid
Important issues raised: Current e-Science infrastructure is incomplete
Does not provide all end-to-end capability people expect Trend will be for larger data sets to prevent finite size effects
Will produce more demanding visualization challenges Likely key requirement:
Real-time interaction and computational steering Between visualizations and simulations
Distributed infrastructure Cited HPC usage report from EPSRC…
9CompuSteer
September 2006
International Review of Research Using HPC in the UK
December 2005 – EPSRC (ISBN 1-904425-54-2)
Recommendation: 2. Strengthen the computational infrastructure by: …deploying leading-edge capability systems… Supporting and developing a state-of-the-art applications software
infrastructure …data management and analysis, visualization… (p16)
Recommendation: 4.4.Visualization Resources …visualization is indispensable in computational science… …the Panel observed that visualization in the UK lags behind international
standards… ..... The Panel are concerned that without an improvement in visualization
sophistication… …hidden scientific treasures will increasingly lurk undiscovered in the massive data to be produced by the enhancement of HPC capability and capacity…
…Therefore, the Panel recommends… …to establish a balance among leading-edge computing facilities, visualization technologies, and well educated computational scientists. (p15)
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September 2006
User Perspective / Requirements Summary from attendees:
NGS policies would need to change to incorporate a visualization component.
Need to support wide range of users Users need access to familiar tools
Improved tools will be required Collaborative tools
May be a case for a single “monster” resource and multiple “mini-monsters”
Covers interactive and batch approaches (render farm) Should include all modalities (visual / auditory / haptic) Support for mobile – visualization on the move Data transfer / storage issues
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September 2006
Service Provision Summary from attendees:
Interactive service requires different booking method cpw. batch May need co-allocation with compute resource for computation steering
Issue of suppliers – may become more reliant on PC class hardware User support needs will vary:
Expert – specialist assistance Novice – general assistance
Service must be reliable One stop sign-in for ease of access Varying security requirements
Medical data cpw. generic scientific data Diverse applications (user’s own code / specific application) Licensing issues
OK, I’m up here… …now
what?
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September 2006
Recommendations #1/3
National Visualization Service Consensus support for a National Visualization Service
Run alongside NGS Should be a distributed, rather than centralized, service Different sites offer different facilities and access to visualization
resources Level of provision: orders of magnitude greater than PC desktop
hardware
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September 2006
Recommendations #2/3
User Requirements We need to consider requirements from a broad spectrum of users
Users requirements in social sciences, arts and humanities are less well understood
Compare with science and engineering community
Needs support for interactive computational steering Collaborative visualization working could be of major benefit to the
community Especially at an international level
I’m a VTK/C++
man, m’self
14CompuSteer
September 2006
Recommendations #3/3
Accessibility Barriers may exist until potential users are up to speed VizNET has a role here in providing training and support. Reservation of visualization facilities is important
Example: for interactive computational steering, or high-profile demonstrations
Software licensing is an issue that may need vendor participation to resolve.
Funding JISC should be encouraged to consider a National Visualization
Service Within JISC’s budgetary planning for funding as soon as possible
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September 2006
It’s… “Win* Your Own NVS” Time! Well… Partake and you will help define the NVS as you want it
So you'll get your own NVS in a way
OK! Anyone using visualization? Computation steering?
You may not consider it viz/comp steer, but it might be! Broad spectrum
Interactive and non-traditional displays Haptics
Off-line rendering Batch job checkpointing Graphing of data
* = do not win
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September 2006
Anyone using Viz. / Comp. Steering? To produce an NVS, we’d love to know… What are you doing – executive summary, please!
What does viz / comp steer enable you to do? That you couldn't otherwise Or, “Why bother” for the non-visualization users
What are you prevented from doing? Why? “It’s rock hard!” perchance? Or rather, what would you like to be doing?
Any particular software/hardware do you use? If there was an NVS, what would you like? For instance…
High-end graphics processors to render a larger dataset in real time? Software that you haven't got locally? A link into an NGS process that's running for comp steer?
17CompuSteer
September 2006
It’s a Wrap!
Thank-you for your input! And (potentially) surviving the humour
Remember! We need to be user driven by YOU
for this to work!!!
Note: Additional workshops to be held UK e-Science AHM 2006 – next Wednesday Also at NeSC, as Loughborough workshop
Date to be confirmed; in October 2006 at NeSC