Fixstars Achieves 50x Acceleration in Rendering Massive Particle CG Scene

Fixstars Corporation, the
multi-core software solutions, has achieved a fifty times speed
increase in rendering a massive particle computer graphics (CG) scene by
utilizing Fixstars’ ‘lucille’ global illumination renderer and the Violin 6616 Flash Memory Array from Violin Memory, Inc.

The results were accomplished through the combination of lucille’s parallel processing performance and fast I/O
throughput provided by the 6616.

Particle dynamics are an essential component of high quality
CG production, enabling the execution of complex and realistically rendered
natural phenomena, such as flames, explosions, smoke, splashes, mist, and hair.
However, rendering particles typically requires large data sets and random
storage access. In that case, the I/O speed of data storage represents a
bottleneck for traditional storage solutions, which are typically composed of
numerous HDDs.

Violin 6616, which is a storage solution
configured from Toshiba NAND flash memory, enables faster data
read-and-write times compared to traditional HDD storage systems, since it has
no moving parts.

Fixstars’ tests confirmed that the 6616 yielded 50 times faster
processing speeds than traditional HDD-based solutions for rendering large data
sets. By replacing traditional racks of multiple HDDs with Violin arrays, CG companies will enjoy savings in rendering times,
computation costs and storage footprint.

lucille has enormous speed and compatibility advantages over other ray-tracing
renderers, since it is optimized to take advantage of the
inherent advanced performance capabilities of multi-core processors and
multi-node environments.

The particle generation simulations were achieved by making maximum use of four
nodes with 32 cores of 64 threads to achieve this level of performance. Similarly, the 6616 provides performance in
multi-core environments, achieving low overhead and high data rates per CPU
cycle.

During simulations, the 6616 sustained lucille’s high computation speed,
even when comparing single vs.16 threads, confirming that the combination of lucille
and 6616 represents the solution for rendering large data sets,
such as dynamic particle simulations.

Don Basile, CEO of Violin Memory commented: "We are pleased to enable Fixstars to set a
new performance standard with its ‘lucille’ global illumination renderer
application by making the move to Violin Flash Memory Arrays that allow the
full power of the application to be realized rather than being held back by
legacy disk array technologies."

"With Toshiba’s NAND
flash memory chips powering all Violin Flash Memory Arrays, technology
companies are able to take full advantage of the capabilities that solid state
storage can deliver," said George Bouchaya, VP and CTO at the
Institute of Strategic Storage Planning and Investment of Toshiba America
Electronic Components, Inc. "Twenty-five
years after inventing NAND flash, Toshiba continues to drive flash innovation
forward, and it’s exciting to see solutions like the Fixstars/Violin rendering
system come to life."

Scott Frankel, lucille product manager at Fixstars, noted: "The Violin Memory’s Violin 6616 represents
an enormous step forward in performance data storage. Working hand in hand with
the parallel processing capabilities of Fixstars’ lucille global illumination
renderer, these two innovative products open the door to new horizons in
computer graphics rendering."