Hi all,

Does anyone have experience with remote control and file transfer software that works properly with Open GL applications like CFX-Build, Fieldview, ICEM-CFD?

PcAnywhere and TimBuktu do not automatically refresh the screens that require OPEN GL. PcAnywhere fails completely, Timbuktu only refreshes the screens when you move the screens. Also, it is very slow.

Astrid

Some questions that might help:

Are you running CFX, etc... on a remote machine and displaying on your local machine?

Are you able to run CFX, etc... on you local machine?

Are you connecting to a remote Windows machine or a remote unix machine?

What method is Timbuktu using to send the graphics? (I tried to read the web page but could extract little from the brand names and promotional wording).

Does Microsoft translate/convert/implement its OpenGL calls via something that is network aware and/or has it implemented the "GLX" extension to OpenGL? (it will almost certainly have a different name if it exists). I have had a very quick dig on the network and found nothing but I would not read too much into that.

OpenGL has an extension called GLX which enables it to use X to pass its graphics commands across a network. This requires both local and remote machines to: (a) run X. (b) have the GLX extension. Not all X servers that run on Windows have implemented the GLX extension for OpenGL (the one in the office opposite has not) but I have used one that did and I think it was called exceed (but I may be wrong).

Alternatively, software could let OpenGL (or any graphics package) do its thing naturally and then read and send the screen buffer across the network. VNC works like this but may not be quite what you want.

However, whatever method is used there is no chance that you will get the same speed running remotely than running locally (but it may well be usable).

Hi Andy,

1) Yes, I run CFX, Fieldview, ICEM-CFD on a remote machine and would like to display it on my local machine.

2) Yes, I am able to run all of them on my local machine.

3) It is all Windows NT environment here.

4) I have no idea what Timbuktu does.

The rest of your questions and file extensions I have to check. I will check VNC too.

Thanx anyway, Astrid

>> 2) Yes, I am able to run all of them on my local machine.

This may open the option (at least for the output display and, possibly, for the input as well) of getting CFX on the remote machine to talk to CFX on the local machine in order to display. Its fairly common for this ability to come out in the wash for modern graphics programs. I do not know if CFX can do this but it is probably worth a phone call.

>> The rest of your questions and file extensions I have to check.

File extensions??? I was refering to an extension to OpenGL and whether Microsoft have included this in their implementation or not. If they have then everything should work without the need for Timbuktu or anywhere else. (Strong probability is that is not).

Using an X server (with the XGL extension) on both machines to overcome Microsofts inability to display remotely is a bit daft but would probably work. Having written that sentence it strikes me as odd that NT cannot display OpenGL remotely. Noone here that uses NT seems to know but perhaps that is not surprising since any machine that is needed as something other than a suped-up typewriter gets installed with some flavour of unix. Its got to be worth a question somewhere: Opengl newsgroup maybe? - all those 3D gamers would know.

>> I will check VNC too.

The home page is:

http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/

and its freely downloadable.