NVIDIA Kepler GPUs Soaring Through The Cloud, No Wings Required

by Briley 1

NVIDIA’s CEO, Jen-Hsun Huang announced today that their Kepler GPUs will soon be usable through cloud computing software. For those who may not remember, the Kepler GPUs are what power NVIDIA’s latest graphics card, the GeForce GTX 690.

Now, those beastly Kepler GPUs will be available virtually in the cloud. What does this mean exactly?

It means that, like most cloud computing applications and hardware, NVIDIA’s resources will be usable remotely from various computers and mobile devices. In layman’s terms, it means NVIDIA hardware will now be usable through mobile phones, netbooks and iPads.

The virtualized Kepler GPUs are designed to support enterprise software and applications, but that does not mean it cannot be utilized for cloud gaming. In fact, such an implementation of Kepler GPUs could prove excellent for cloud gaming.

How NVIDIA’s Virtual Kepler GPUs & VGX Technology Works

NVIDIA Kepler GPU Architecture - GeForce GTX680 ChipsetNVIDIA is making all of this happen thanks to a virtualized technology based on the Kepler GPUs. The virtual tech, called VGX, has no physical wires or connections, which allows the hardware to support remote streaming of graphics and visuals.

Jen-Hsun’s NVIDIA team has utilized a unique GRID technology that is designed to improve cloud and online gaming, by reducing input latency by up to 30ms. This will lessen the time it takes the device to communicate with the virtual Kepler GPUs. The feature will translate to smoother online gaming opportunities, and will improve services like Gaikai.

The software will provide a virtual desktop for use on various devices that will also take advantage of the virtual GPU computing performance, which can usually only be found on a desktop or laptop PC.

According to Jeff Brown, General Manager of the Professional Solutions Group at NVIDIA, “VGX represents a new era in desktop virtualization.”

Brown also goes on to say that VGX “delivers an experience nearly indistinguishable from a full desktop while substantially lowering the cost of a virtualized PC.”

VGX & Virtual Kepler GPUs Available Thanks to Three Separate “Key Technologies”

In NVIDIA’s official press release, they identify that VGX virtual support is based on three different “key technologies”.

“NVIDIA VGX Boards. These are designed for hosting large numbers of users in an energy-efficient way. The first NVIDIA VGX board is configured with four GPUs and 16 GB of memory and fits into the industry-standard PCI Express interface in servers.”

“NVIDIA VGX GPU Hypervisor. This software layer integrates into commercial hypervisors,such as the CitrixXenServer, enabling virtualization of the GPU.”

“NVIDIA User Selectable Machines (USMs). This manageability option allows enterprises to configure the graphics capabilities delivered to individual users in the network, based on their demands. Capabilities range from true PC experiences available with the NVIDIA standard USM to enhanced professional 3D design and engineering experiences with NVIDIA Quadro or NVIDIA NVS GPUs.”

NVIDIA GRID Cloud Gaming and VGX Kepler GPU TechnologyUnfortunately, NVIDIA is not revealing specifics about the innovative technology, which is to be expected, but if anyone is interested in reading a little more on the subject then take a look at the press release that has been included (below).

What Virtual Kepler GPUs and VGX Cloud Technology Means For The Future

If this new virtual hardware can be implemented and rolled out properly by Jen-Hsun’s team, it will change the face of mobile gaming. Tablets, netbooks and mobile devices will be able to use the hardware to run graphic-intensive software virtually. Essentially, devices will no longer be held to system requirement standards. Of course, there will be limits, meaning it is not likely that we’ll be playing Crysis 3 on smartphones or iPads anytime soon, but thanks to the existence this new technology such ideas are not out of reach for the future.

One day, we may be able to play Crysis on a mobile device.

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