Newsgroups: comp.archives
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!math.lsa.umich.edu!caen!ox.com!emv
From: mike@BRL.MIL (Michael John Muuss <mike>)
Subject: [graphics...] Re: Any interest in a parallel raytracer?
Message-ID: <1990Dec6.060346.6206@ox.com>
Followup-To: comp.graphics
Keywords: Parallel Raytracers
Sender: emv@ox.com (Edward Vielmetti)
Reply-To: mike@brl.mil
Organization: Ballistic Research Laboratory
References: <105@avatar.avatar.com> <14648@smoke.brl.mil>
Date: Thu, 6 Dec 90 06:03:46 GMT
Approved: emv@ox.com (Edward Vielmetti)
X-Original-Newsgroups: comp.graphics,comp.graphics.visualization

Archive-name: graphics/raytrace/brl-cad/1990-12-04
Archive-directory: ftp.brl.mil:/brl-cad/ [128.63.16.6]
Original-posting-by: mike@BRL.MIL (Michael John Muuss <mike>)
Original-subject: Re: Any interest in a parallel raytracer?
Reposted-by: emv@ox.com (Edward Vielmetti)


In article <105@avatar.avatar.com>, kory@avatar.avatar.com (Kory Hamzeh)
writes:
|> I wrote a parallel raytracer (named 'prt') a while back ...
|> 	- Runs on multiple heterogeneous machines networked together
|> 	  using TCP/IP.
|> 	- Crude load balancing.

Well, the BRL-CAD Package ray-tracer operates both on shared memory
multi-processors, as well as in a network-distributed mode.  While not
PD, it is free.  I have written about it in a number of articles,
including:

%K MUUS90a
%A M. J. Muuss
%T Workstations, Networking, Distributed Graphics, and Parallel Processing
%E D. F. Rogers, R. A. Earnshaw
%B Computer Graphics Techniques:  Theory and Practice
%I Springer-Verlag
%D 1990

While not "super sophisticated", the load balancing algorithm is
non-trivial.  It assigns pixel blocks of variable size.  Three
assignments are outstanding to each worker at any time, to
pipeline against network delay.  New assignment size is tuned,
based upon measured past performance (weighted average with variable
weighting, depending on circumstances).

I'd certainly be interested in seeing a copy of your work.

	Best,
	 -Mike Muuss

	  Advanced Computer Systems
	  Ballistic Research Laboratory
	  APG, MD  21005-5066


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