Mt. View, CA — August 2, 2005 — To rapidly process and disseminate large 3D geophysical datasets for a number of vital national and international programs and educational activities, the Immersive Visualization Center at San Diego State University (SDSU) relies on the high-performance computing and visualization technology of Silicon Graphics (NYSE: SGI). The SGI?technology at the SDSU Visualization Center is involved in many projects including natural disaster mitigation and response, homeland security, remote sensing and environmental monitoring, global sharing of information and collaborative visualization, and grid computing.

Rapidly becoming the nerve center for all of these efforts, the Silicon Graphics Prism?visualization system at SDSU is an integral part of the geospatial image-processing pipeline used to create new datasets, processing image files up to 20GB in size to create mosaics up to 60GB and beyond. The Silicon Graphics Prism system's powerful 64-bit Linux?OS environment based on Intel?Itanium?2 CPUs allows conversion of all data into easily accessible, open source format; the data is then stored back out to the servers at SDSU for public access.

"With 8 CPUs running our image processing software, we get 10 times the improvement of speed, so a project that would have taken 100 hours takes 10," said John Graham, senior research scientist at SDSU Visualization Center. "We chose the Silicon Graphics Prism system because it's hard to find a single machine with so many CPUs and so much RAM. I can throw very large images with very long process times at it, and the Prism just cranks it up and does it."

For example, the Silicon Graphics Prism system was up and running when the horrific tsunami arose from the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004. SDSU was one of the first of any organizations to acquire high-resolution before-and-after satellite imagery of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, where the worst devastation occurred. Because of the high-performance and speed of the Silicon Graphics Prism system, the Visualization Center was able to process the high-resolution satellite imagery and deliver high-fidelity 3D geospatial visualization and maps to relief workers and government officials so they could establish initial refugee camps and provide emergency medical care.

In early January, the center also supported SDSU adjunct faculty medical doctors who work with the U.S. military, NGOs (non-government organizations) and the United Nations. By visualizing hundreds of gigabytes of geospatial data on a Silicon Graphics Prism system, with eight Intel Itanium 2 processors, four graphics pipes and 24GB of memory, the researchers at the Visualization Center are able to continuously create up-to-date 3D fly-throughs that depict the changes wrought by the tsunami. Increasing homeland security efforts through the use of advanced, high-resolution 3D GIS and video surveillance is another area in which the SDSU Visualization Center is actively involved. Visualization Center researchers have collaborated with local law enforcement and fire departments to create a 60GB 3D GIS model of all of San Diego County using their Silicon Graphics Prism system. This model features one-foot resolution imagery, and is used in collaborative practice exercises with local agencies and for a graduate studies course on the use of mapping technology and visualization techniques. Soon, SDSU will be processing imagery on the Silicon Graphics Prism system that will extend their mapping and security possibilities to greater Los Angeles, followed by the entire state of California.

Another current project, for the U.S. Border Patrol, uses open source programs based on Geospatial Data Abstraction Library (GDAL) that are translating and re-projecting 6-inch per pixel aerial photography of the California-Mexico border. "

Some of our images are 20GB files, so when you have to mosaic three of those 20GB files together, which is what I'm doing right now with the California-Mexico border, it really helps to have the multiprocessor support in the program that's doing it," said John Graham. "To put three 20GB files together as one, then write those out to the GeoFusion GMX format took 10 hours on the Prism, and if I wasn't running on a multiprocessor-aware software system, it would have taken easily over 100 hours, again, just to process this image."

The GeoMatrix Toolkit from GeoFusion, Inc. provides the backbone for the Visualization Center's high performance GIS environment. The scalable computing power and large memory of their Silicon Graphics Prism system allows researchers at the Visualization Center to use GeoMatrix tools to process their 20GB to 100GB data sets directly from memory, while the system's multi-pipe visualization capability allows them to bring together large groups for critical decisions. By displaying interactive, high-performance visualizations on displays with 5 to 50 million pixels of resolution, decision-makers in environmental planning or homeland security, for instance, are able to rapidly reach conclusions based on shared observations.

The datasets will only get bigger. The Visualization Center is about to receive global Landsat7 mosaics that are 15-metre resolution, covering the entire planet. SDSU collaborates with Lucian Plesea at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is currently finishing the creation of the global datasets from the Landsat7 satellite, which will be transferred to SDSU's lab for further processing, in the Silicon Graphics Prism into the GMX format. The GMX format highly pre-compresses and optimizes visual data in files, making it ready for the GeoFusion engine to display interactively on local high-resolution displays or on a Web browser for remote access. "The interactivity is phenomenal, and just like the San Diego county images, the global mosaics will be available at our website to anyone. You will be able to go anywhere on the planet and zoom right down, and see the latest results that were processed on the Silicon Graphics Prism," notes Graham. "We don't know the final size of all the rendered images that are creating the global mosaic as yet, but very big, of course. It will definitely be several terabytes."

The scalability of the SGI Prism visualization solution has allowed the Visualization Center, through SGI?NUMAflex?architecture, to expand as quickly as their needs. v"We've doubled the number of bricks we had originally," says Graham. "We started out with two pipes, two bricks, 12GB of RAM and 4 CPUs and then doubled it, 24GB memory and 8 CPUs. If we want to add more capacity to the Prism, we can just keep on adding more bricks, more CPUs, more memory, more graphics pipes, a bigger rack. That's a pretty unique thing, to be able to organically grow your computer."

SDSU also plays a role in the development of high-performance grid computing. The Visualization Center directly connects into the supercomputer center via fiber optic cables that can provide tens of gigabits per second of bandwidth to the San Diego Supercomputing Center and wide area supercomputing networks.

"With 10 gigabit Ethernet in the Silicon Graphics Prism, we will directly connect into very fast computer networks, including National Lambda Rail, Starlight, through Cal IT2 and TerraGrid, and internationally with a couple of different peering arrangements," explains Graham. "Once connected directly to the fiber network, the Visualization Center joins the OptiPuter concept where you're making your computer power available across a fast glass network. Its shared-memory, shared disks and shared applications are accessible across the country or on the other side of the world. That, and the use of open source software on top of these fast, scalable Silicon Graphics computers, is the real story. "

"The ever-expanding datasets that the SDSU Immersive Visualization Center is processing, and the myriad applications these geophysical images serve, demonstrates the robust power and impressive versatility of the Silicon Graphics Prism visualization system," said Shawn Underwood, director, Visual Systems Group, SGI. "As scientists, automotive and aerospace manufacturers, and researchers throughout the world are discovering, the Silicon Graphics Prism system processes and delivers the highest fidelity 3D interactive images at real-time speed, and the variety of applications those images can serve-from saving lives to protecting borders-is truly limited only by our imaginations."

About San Diego State University
San Diego State University is the oldest and largest institution of higher education in the San Diego region. Founded in 1897, SDSU offers bachelor's degrees in 81 areas, master's degrees in 72 and doctorates in 16. SDSU's nearly 33,000 students participate in academic curricula distinguished by direct contact with faculty and an increasing international emphasis that prepares students for a global future. The SDSU Immersive Visualization Center is co-directed by Eric Frost (SDSU) and Bob Welty (SDSURF), and is employed extensively in support of Humanitarian and Homeland Security initiatives, and support to the SDSU Interdisciplinary Homeland Security Master's Degree Program. For more information log on to http://www.sdsu.edu.

SILICON GRAPHICS | The Source of Innovation and Discovery?/b>
SGI, also known as Silicon Graphics, Inc., is a leader in high-performance computing, visualization and storage. SGI's vision is to provide technology that enables the most significant scientific and creative breakthroughs of the 21st century. Whether it's sharing images to aid in brain surgery, finding oil more efficiently, studying global climate, providing technologies for homeland security and defense or enabling the transition from analog to digital broadcasting, SGI is dedicated to addressing the next class of challenges for scientific, engineering and creative users. With offices worldwide, the company is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., and can be found on the Web at http://www.sgi.com.

NOTE: Silicon Graphics, SGI, the SGI cube and the SGI logo are registered trademarks and Silicon Graphics Prism, NUMAflex and The Source of Innovation and Discovery are trademarks of Silicon Graphics, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries worldwide. Intel and Itanium are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in several countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

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