Exposing Application Graphics to a Dynamic Heterogeneous Network

Abstract

With the abundance of high performance personal computers, rendering thousands to millions of polygons per second is an inexpensive task. In recent years, there have been advances in networking technologies that have enabled applications to become distributed over a network and many applications require this functionality. These applications can range from driving a large display, collaborating over an internet, or supporting pervasive environments. Solutions currently exist in providing graphics over a network. However, they are usually targeted to satisfy particular problem domains or are otherwise difficult to adopt as applications require major adjustment. OpenGL R is a graphics drawing library. Although many applications have made use of this API, few provide direct interaction within networked environments. In this paper we present Lumino, a framework that enables graphics from an existing OpenGL application to become available to a dynamic heterogeneous network. What differentiates Lumino from prior work is that it provides this functionality to existing unmodified applications at a very low level and is capable of supporting flow control, quality and scalability. Moreover, it is targeted at wide adoption and will be released under a Free Software license.