Lens
The visualization capabilities at the National Center for Computational Sciences (NCCS) include a medium-sized visualization/data analysis cluster called lens, a large PowerWall display called EVEREST, and a visualization laboratory.
Lens
Lens is a 32 node Linux cluster dedicated to data analysis and high-end visualization. Each node contains four quad-core 2.3 GHz AMD Opteron processors with 64 GB of memory, and 2 NVIDIA 8800 GTX GPUs.
The primary purpose of lens is to enable data analysis and visualization of simulation data generated on jaguar so as to provide a conduit for large scale scientific discovery. Members of allocated jaguar projects will automatically be given accounts on lens.
EVEREST
EVEREST (Exploratory Visualization Environment for REsearch in Science and Technology) is a large-scale venue for data exploration and analysis. EVEREST measures in at an impressive 30 feet long by 8 feet tall. Its main feature is a 27-projector PowerWall with an aggregate pixel count of 35 million pixels. The projectors are arranged in a 9×3 array, each providing 3,500 lumens for a very bright display. Displaying 11,520 by 3,072 pixels, or a total of 35 million pixels, the wall offers a tremendous amount of visual detail. The wall is integrated with the rest of the computing center, creating a high-bandwidth data path between large-scale high-performance computing and large-scale data visualization. EVEREST provides a premier data analysis and visualization capability and facility in the Department of Energy’s Office of Science.
Using EVEREST
EVEREST is controlled by a 14 node cluster. Each node contains four dual-core AMD Opteron processors. These 14 nodes have nVidia QuadroFX 3000G graphics cards connected to the projectors, providing a very-high-throughput visualization capability. Scientists can make use of the EVEREST facility by contacting any member of the visualization team and booking a time.
Visualization Laboratory
The visualization lab acts as an experimental facility for development of future visualization capabilities. It also serves as a staging area for technology to be deployed in EVEREST, staff offices, and conference rooms. It houses a 12-panel tiled LCD display, test cluster nodes, interaction devices, and video equipment.
