Parallels introduces virtualisation for 3D workstations

Tool enables virtual machines to run demanding graphics applications on Nehalem systems

New virtualisation software can consolidate several workstations into one physical system

Parallels has announced new virtualisation software that can consolidate several workstations into one physical system. The tool could save users such as graphics professionals the expense of having to run two or more costly systems for high-end applications.

Available within six weeks, Parallels Workstation Extreme (PWE) makes use of features in Intel's new Nehalem-based Xeon chips to deliver a dedicated graphics adapter to each virtual machine in a workstation, allowing demanding applications to run without any compromise on performance, according to Parallels.

Developed in partnership with Intel, Nvidia and HP, the tool is aimed at professionals working with visualisation applications, such as geophysical simulation, digital content creation and financial analysis, who often have several systems under their desk, each running a different application.

"They might have a car designed on one workstation, but need to move the 3D model to another running a different application and operating system to simulate airflow," said Bryan Goode, vice president of business development and alliances at Parallels.

While virtualisation is already widely used in server environments to consolidate several systems into one physical box, this approach has proved impractical for workstations because graphics performance has been an issue.

PWE solves this by using Intel Virtualisation Technology for Directed I/O, an enhanced feature in Intel's new Nehalem Xeon chips. This enables specific hardware resources in the host system to be dedicated to a particular machine. In this case, each virtual workstation can be mapped to a separate Nvidia graphics accelerator.

Parallels said that the FastLane Architecture in its software provides low latency and high bandwidth, and showed performance test results indicating that applications such as Autodesk, UGS NX and Dassault's SolidWorks all run at close to native performance under PWE.

"In every case, graphics performance in the virtual machine is the same as running the application natively on the host," said Goode, adding that "these tests would not even run in a virtual machine" without PWE.

Parallels introduces virtualisation for 3D workstations

Tool enables virtual machines to run demanding graphics applications on Nehalem systems

The software calls for specific Nvidia graphics adapters - the Quadro FX 3800, FX 4800 and FX 5800 - which have virtual machine-aware drivers and firmware.

"Each guest virtual machine gets its one driver stack and everything the end user has come to expect in an Nvidia 3D environment," said Andrew Page, Nvidia's senior product manager for professional solutions.

Each adapter is connected to at least one separate monitor, but users can switch to a different virtual workstation by simply moving their mouse pointer off the side of one screen, whereupon it appears on the next one just like using multiple screens with one computer, Goode said.

PWE costs $399 (£282), but will typically be sold with hardware through channel partners, the company said.

HP's Nehalem-based Z800 Workstation, unveiled today, is already certified for PWE, the company said.

While buyers may have to purchase workstations with a higher specification to support a virtual environment, Parallels said that customers will see savings because each one will be able to replace several existing systems.

"Workstations typically cost thousands each, so we can ultimately give customers significant savings here," said Goode.

Other advantages include seamless sharing of information across virtual machines through shared folders, and support for snapshots that allow a guest machine to be rolled back to a previous state.

PWE allows each guest machine to have up to 12 virtual processors, 64GB RAM, 2TB of storage and up to 16 virtual network adapters.

HP's Z800 Workstation is currently the only certified platform available. The software requires a 64-bit edition of Windows Vista, Windows XP or Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3, and supports 64-bit Windows or Linux guests.