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DU-06574-001_v01  |  October 2012 

User’s Guide 

QUADRO SYNC 

Summary of Contents for QUADRO SYNC

Page 1: ...DU 06574 001_v01 October 2012 User s Guide QUADRO SYNC ...

Page 2: ...Quadro Sync DU 06574 001_v01 ii DOCUMENT CHANGE HISTORY DU 06574 001_v01 Version Date Authors Description of Change 01 October 16 2012 AP SM Initial Release ...

Page 3: ...tion Cluster 11 Windows Driver Configuration 11 Enabling Frame Lock 13 Configure Frame Lock Clients 15 Linux Driver Configuration 16 Set Driver Security to Allow Remote Management 16 Configure Frame Lock 17 Sync to an External Timing Source 20 External Timing Sources 20 Synchronize to an External Sync Source for Windows 21 Synchronize to an External Sync Source for Linux 22 Monitoring Display Sync...

Page 4: ...igure 3 3 x 3 Mosaic with Quadro Sync 6 Figure 4 NVIDIA Driver Downloads 7 Figure 5 Frame Lock Connections on Timing Server 9 Figure 6 Board Level Status Indicators 24 Figure 7 Frame Lock and Stereo Sync Status LEDs 25 Figure 8 System Topology Viewer for Windows 26 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Sync Timing Limits 28 Table 2 Symbols on Equipment 31 ...

Page 5: ...hich are compatible with Sync For an up to date list of the Quadro boards compatible with Sync see www nvidia com sync Operating Systems Windows 7 64 bit recommended 32 bit supported Linux 64 bit recommended 32 bit supported Limited support for Windows XP 32 bit and 64 bit 2 GPUs per Quadro Sync board 2 displays per GPU and no support Multi GPU NVIDA Mosaic features Driver R304 branch display driv...

Page 6: ...uadro Sync Board Overview For high vibration environments there are cable retention clips not pictured which hold all cables securely in place on both the Quadro Sync board and Quadro GPU Since the SATA power connector has no physical retention the board has a hole which can be used to secure the cable with a cable tie Frame Lock Connectors Status LED SATA Power GPU Connectors Hole for cable tie r...

Page 7: ...s no need to connect the Quadro boards to the connectors on the Quadro Sync board in any particular order 3 Connect a 6 pin PCIe or SATA power connector 4 Optional Place the included cable retention clips on both the Quadro Sync board and Quadro board s Note When properly installed the PCIe finger on the Quadro Sync board may not touch the bottom of the PCIe slot When using Quadro Sync in a system...

Page 8: ... at www nvidia com drivers When choosing the drivers for use with Quadro Sync make sure to select the following from the pull down lists Quadro Sync Series from the Product Series pull down list Quadro Sync from the Product pull down list Figure 2 Quadro Drivers Compatible with Quadro Sync Quadro Sync is supported for single GPU operations with the R304 branch driver multi GPU features are support...

Page 9: ...ame Lock a single display is chosen as the timing master and all other displays in the cluster align to it Frame Lock can be used with individual physical displays and single or multi GPU Mosaic displays Sync to an External Timing Source Aligns a selected display to an external timing generator The selected display can be a Mosaic or physical and can be used as the Frame Lock master if desired The...

Page 10: ... Quadro Sync and supported Quadro GPUs up to 16 displays can appear as one to the operating systems and any application that runs on them The image in Figure 3 is an example of a 3 3 display wall connected to 3 Quadro K5000 graphics boards Figure 3 3 x 3 Mosaic with Quadro Sync When working with multi GPU Mosaic Quadro Sync automatically keeps all the displays that are part of the Mosaic synchroni...

Page 11: ...through one of the programmatic interfaces The configureMosaic utility is not part of the standard driver download but is easily downloaded from www nvidia com drivers Figure 4 NVIDIA Driver Downloads Mosaic is compatible with the other synchronization methods covered in this user s guide When combining Mosaic with other forms of synchronization make sure to enable Mosaic first then continue with ...

Page 12: ...y cables using the shortest length possible for your installation Do NOT use Ethernet hubs or switches to branch or extend the signal Quadro Sync is not compatible with TCP IP protocols and the board will not operate if it connected to networking equipment CAUTION Do not connect the Quadro Sync board to TCP IP networking equipment Choose one node as the timing master the machine that will control ...

Page 13: ...ow the frame lock signal is flowing from one Quadro Sync board to the next The light indicates if the port is receiving a Frame Lock signal or sending a Frame Lock signal The ports will auto configure so different nodes in the cluster may have different LED configurations FL 0 FL 1 Timing Server FL 0 FL 1 Client 1 Client 2 Client 3 FL 0 FL 1 FL 0 FL 1 FL 0 FL 1 Client 4 ...

Page 14: ...ock ports the timing server will send two outputs and all the other nodes will configure themselves to one output and one input VISUALIZATION CLUSTER SETUP ORDER When configuring a visualization cluster the order of operations for configuration is important 1 Start with the Timing Master a Enable Sync to Vertical Blank b Enable stereo with the correct stereo mode if using stereo c Configure and en...

Page 15: ...take many minutes for a cluster to fully synchronize WINDOWS DRIVER CONFIGURATION Before configuring any of the synchronization modes verify in the NVIDIA Control Panel that the Vertical Sync setting is on and if using stereo that the correct Stereo display mode is selected and enabled For best performance in a cluster it is recommended that you select the Workstation App Dynamic Streaming driver ...

Page 16: ...Frame Lock Configuration Quadro Sync DU 06574 001_v01 12 3 Enable Vertical Sync 4 If using stereo Select the Stereo Display Mode and enable Stereo with the Stereo Enable entry ...

Page 17: ...this guide it is recommended this node be in the middle of the cluster For best results synchronizing the cluster configure the Timing Master first then the client machines so you can verify each client synchronizes correctly as you add it After the cluster is configured it is recommended to re boot the cluster in the opposite order clients then Frame Lock master Note When rebooting the cluster af...

Page 18: ...is On this system radio button Note Master node refers to the node that is used as the Timing Server There can only be one Timing Server in a cluster All others nodes are commonly referred to as clients or slaves If the system has multiple displays the driver automatically selects the primary display to be the timing server and all other displays are the clients To change the configuration click t...

Page 19: ...Open the NVIDIA Control Panel and select Synchronize Displays 2 Select the displays to synchronize from the box 3 Press Apply During the synchronization the displays may blink as they adjust their timing The Status LEDs on the Quadro Sync board and the System Topology Viewer in the control panel will report when the cluster is synchronized Note The Quadro Sync board requires the timings of all dis...

Page 20: ...gh to allow remote X11 display connections or that you ve configured an alternative mechanism such as ssh 1 forwarding between the machines For the case of listening over TCP verify that the nolisten tcp commandline option was not used when starting the X server You can find the X server commandline with a command such as ps ax grep X If nolisten tcp is on the X server commandline consult your Lin...

Page 21: ... has display privileges on the X server that is to be included for frame lock A system can gain display privileges on a remote system by executing xhost on the remote system See the xhost 1 man page for details Configure Frame Lock 1 On the master machine open the NVIDA X Server Settings and select Frame Lock ...

Page 22: ... and enter the name of the hostname ip address and XServer ID of the XServer you want to add For example localhost 0 0 or in this case our machine named viz0 0 0 3 Select the display that is the Server and those that are clients There can only be on server per Frame Lock group ...

Page 23: ...Frame Lock Configuration Quadro Sync DU 06574 001_v01 19 4 Add the other nodes in the same way as step 2 and then set the Client displays as desired ...

Page 24: ...y signal generator as variances in the external sync frequency will cause the displays to blink as they adjust their timings to follow the wandering input signal When a valid signal is connected to the BNC connector the LED below it will illuminate solid green Once the Quadro Sync board is using the external signal the same LED will flash green at the rate of the incoming sync signal When using an...

Page 25: ...ing 1 will cause the Quadro Sync board to send every other received pulse causing the internal sync pulses to run at half the speed of the external Define a start Sync Delay in µSeconds between the external signal and internal sync pulses Synchronize to an External Sync Source for Windows 1 Open the NVIDIA Control Panel and select Synchronize Displays 2 Select The timing server is On this system r...

Page 26: ...er Settings and select Frame Lock 2 Add Device if needed and configure a display to be the timing server 3 Select Use House Sync If Present and define and other options needed 4 Press Enable Frame Lock 5 Once enabled the UI will reflect the status in the Device list and the House Sync options will be grayed out until Frame Lock is disabled ...

Page 27: ...tors for the synchronization status BOARD LEVEL STATUS INDICATIOR The bracket of the Quadro Sync boards has multiple lights to provide configuration and status information At system startup all LED s will turn and stay on until the graphics driver loads Once the driver loads the LEDs will start to show the status of the board and GPUs If the LEDs do not turn on at startup verify that the external ...

Page 28: ...operating correctly Frame Lock and Stereo Sync Status LEDs The two rows of status LEDs provide information on the current state of synchronization of the board There is one LED for each of the GPUs that can be connected The top row of LED s shows the synchronization status of the connected GPUs STEREO SYNC FL 0 HOUSE SYNC FL 1 Frame Lock 0 Out Frame Lock sync status LED Stereo phase status LED Hou...

Page 29: ...s LEDs SYNC LED Status STEREO LED Status GPU Not connected Stereo not active no GPU GPU present but not synchronized Stereo locked GPU synchronized Stereo in process of locking GPU is synchronized but within 5 of the threshold of losing sync GPU is synchronizing GPU 3 GPU 2 GPU 1 GPU 0 STEREO SYNC 0 1 2 3 GPU ...

Page 30: ...nization Quadro Sync DU 06574 001_v01 26 SYSTEM TOPOLOGY VIEWER FOR WINDOWS The System Topology Viewer provides a single screen overview of the GPU displays and synchronization status Figure 8 System Topology Viewer for Windows ...

Page 31: ...izing the control panel is recommended 3 Start at the top and work down the page a Sync Board Settings verify that the Framelock sync pulse and External sync signal are as expected b Scroll down to the individual displays within the GPUs c Verify the Timing entry for the Server is locked to the internal or external timing d For the other displays verify they are locked to the sync pulse and that S...

Page 32: ...imings If the timings are outside this range the board will not be able to synchronize them The Frame Lock status LEDs on the board will indicate that the board is approaching these limits as well Table 1 Sync Timing Limits Display Refresh Rate Hz Minimum Hz Maximum Hz 200 199 996 200 004 120 119 9976 120 0024 100 99 998 100 002 60 59 9988 60 0012 50 49 999 50 001 ...

Page 33: ...nagement Group of New Zealand C Tick Bureau of Standards Metrology and Inspection BSMI China Compulsory Certification CCC Conformité Européenne CE Federal Communications Commission FCC Class B Interference Causing Equipment Standard ICES Imaging Science Foundation ISF Korean Communication Commissions KCC Underwriters Laboratories UL CUL Voluntary Control Council for Interference VCCI ...

Page 34: ...his also covers the national implementation of IEC 60950 1 based safety standards around the world e g UL 60950 1 These standards reduce the risk of injury from the following hazards Electric shock Hazardous voltage levels contained in parts of the product Fire Overload temperature material flammability Mechanical Sharp edges moving parts instability Energy Circuits with high energy levels 240 vol...

Page 35: ...s are not observed Consult your documentation for specific details This symbol indicates the presence of hazardous energy circuits or electric shock hazards Refer all servicing to qualified personnel WARNING To reduce the risk of injury from electric shock hazards do not open this enclosure Refer all maintenance upgrades and servicing to qualified personnel This symbol indicates the presence of el...

Page 36: ...ents or other rights of third parties that may result from its use No license is granted by implication of otherwise under any patent rights of NVIDIA Corporation Specifications mentioned in this publication are subject to change without notice This publication supersedes and replaces all other information previously supplied NVIDIA Corporation products are not authorized as critical components in...

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