#3dstudio+OS/2 Warp
14 messages in this thread
Is anybody using OS/2 Warp on a multiprocessor machine?…Networked?
It seems like we could have 2 machines in one box… wouldn't that make a cute
little rendering farm?
IBM has told me that the SMP version of OS/2 Warp (the version made
specifically for mulitple processors) has not been released yet. It is due to
be released in Q1 of '95. (I'm waiting to make the leap!!!)
I do not believe you will see much faster rendering using 2+ CPU's unless 3DS
really takes advantage of this. Depends on how IBM implements VDM's if each
runs on a processor then purhaps a slight increase…this is doubtful though.
It is a shame that Autodesk/Yost are so wishy washy about what they are
doing…purhaps a 4.1 that uses 2+CPU's or a native *nix version or even a OS2
version (OS2 will have OpenGL soon it is in Beta) and forget about NT (-:
Again I will say that a portable 3DS is the only salvation it is a shame as I
wanted to buy a Power personal but what for 3DS is still a 32-bit DOS code…I
wish Yost/Autodesk would see the light.
Jeff
>>Again I will say that a portable 3DS is the only salvation it is a shame as I
wanted to buy a Power personal but what for 3DS is still a 32-bit DOS code…I
wish Yost/Autodesk would see the light.<<
How do you know they haven't? They could be working on a version for NT as we
speak.
And how are they wishy/washy? They are definately tight lipped, but I don't see
much that could be called wishy washy.
by the way, NT has openGL now.
Tim
(playing devil's advocate)
Tim,
Well wishy washy in terms of supprting only NT and not creating a portable 3DS
like for unix and X…BTW OS2 will have OpenGL and the GUI is much cleaner than
that of NT…I run NT and think of windows with the outdated passe windows
look…microsoft should change to look more like a workstation GUI than that of
an entry level interface like OS2 has now!
I read about a Kubota graphics card for PCI and Pentium based workstations
supports OpenGL…too bad 3DS won't be here to take advantage of it…like wait
until 11-95 for 3DS R5…yea right! Yost people need to release NT/R5 in 1st
ATR thats QTR (-:
R4 is not a real release it should have been 3.1
Jeff
Much as I would like them to release R5 in 1st qtr 95, I doubt that is going to
happen. I figure they still gotta lot of work to do before it will be released.
Other than that, can't really argue with anything you have said. Can't say I
would prefer a UNIX version of 3ds though. UNIX is already a headache, even
with X. This is just my opinion, of course.
My contention is that with 2 processors in one box, I would save money on
hardrives, video cards, monitors, and controllers, and still have the
equivalent of a two machine rendering farm.
Today I've been told that OS/2 doesn't have peer-to-peer networking so I'm not
sure how two sessions of 3dStudio would work.
PMFJI
I do not know how you would actually set up peer to peer in your two processor
system, but there *are* LAN products available for OS/2, e.g Lantastic for
OS/2 from Artisoft and OS/2 Lan Server from IBM, both can provide peer to peer
sharing without the need for a dedicated server.
Peter.
> I've been told that OS/2 doesn't have peer-to-peer networking
Slap the person who told you that. First, we're talking about ONE BOX
(intra-computer networking). OS/2 has had that for years. I've been able to
run 2 copies of 3DS on OS/2 (only 1 CPU) since OS/2 2.1. For "inter-computer"
networking, I am using IBM LAN Mgr. It supports both client/server and
peer-peer networking. If you have a small network (no dedicated server) you
should look at LANTastic for OS/2. You can mix OS/2 & DOS clients on that
network, and even tie in a Novell or IBM server.
— Doug Azzarito
> Depends on how IBM implements VDM's if each runs on a processor
> then purhaps a slight increase…this is doubtful though.
Why? OS/2 implements SMP (Symmetric MultiProcessing) with some hybrid
modifications. A process can be assigned to a CPU. A VDM is a process, so if
you run 2 of them on a 2 CPU machine, they could run at the same time on
different CPUs. When one of them needs kernel resources (usually a process
spends <10% of its time in the kernel), that process will relinquish its CPU
until the kernel is available. Assuming no other CPU-bound processes are in
the system, 2 3DS sessions should both run at close to maximum speed.
> portable 3DS is the only salvation it is a shame as I wanted to
> buy a Power personal but what for 3DS is still a 32-bit DOS code
Imagine a native OS/2 version of 3DS? Multiprocessing would be even easier
(because 3DS would be able to tell OS/2 what threads need the CPU, instead of
letting OS/2 decide). As a bonus, a recompile gets you a PPC version of 3DS.
Yes, I've seen this myself – 32-bit OS/2 apps that were written before we ever
heard of PPC *have* been recompiled, and they now run on OS/2 for PPC.
— Doug Azzarito
I would not mind at all a native OS2 version o 3DS… that is up the
Autodesk/Yost…chances are that they will do a NT version…kinda sucks they
should use come kind of port lib that allows different OS.
3_Tw Jeff
> a native OS2 version o 3DS… that is up the
> Autodesk/Yost…chances are that they will do a NT version.
I think it's up to Autodesk. I just hope they've looked at something
like WATCOM C/C++, which comes in both 16 and 32-bit flavors, and
does DOS/WIN/OS2/NT in the same package. The port would be much
easier this way. Of course, if you look at the technical comparison,
OS/2 wins over both NT and Win95. NT is too resource
intensive/expensive, and Win95's multitasking is a joke. OS/2 Warp
has a footprint as small as Win95's, it multitasks better than
anything, and it's well under $100!
Yes I agree OS2 foes multitask better than NT and Win95 ..however,
the user interface for windows95 is *much* better than OS2 and
NT…it is still designed for the user who just is buying a
computer…I am using Beta2 of Win95 and find it cumbersome…OS2
interface is really a joke…If only IBM would allow the user to
choose the interface from OS2 WPS…Windows or my choice Motif
style…
I read that Sun is porting NT to their sparc…if I were a Sun user
and was forced to use some a primitive GUI I would switch over to SGI
or IBM for WS.
I have been saying purhaps to deaf ears that 3DS needs to be available
on the most advanced systems like WS and not on PC's…due to the
fact that it is some a compute intensive application…it needs very
fast floating point which Intel CISC cannot do…whereas the RISC
PowerPC, MIPS, Sparc zip along at.
People buyt software and then the HW it needs…3DS can grab a very
big market from the likes of Softimage Wavefront, etc. buy offering
their code on those WS at a price point say $1000.00-$1200 above the
DOS price…I would buy immediately if it was avail for SGI Indy or
Indigo or IBM RS6K or even Sun.
If 3DS is such a professional package then it needs to be run on a
real OS…not DOS and sure as hell not NT as long as NT has that
stupid as sin GUI.
Even OS2 needs help in the user interface dept. Why not adopy the CDE
across all platforms OS2, UNIX?
One interface for all OS's…Motif is here to stay and is much better
than OS2…I would love to be able to change the widgets OS2 uses to
that of Motif as well as the behavior of the windows ala X-Windows.
> the SMP version of OS/2 Warp (the version made specifically for
> mulitple processors) has not been released yet.
Why wait for SMP Warp? SMP OS/2 2.11 is out on the market NOW. Sure, Warp has
an updated GUI, and a smaller memory footprint, but that's not top priority in
an SMP machine. If you have a dual-pentium box that is MPS 1.1 compliant, you
could use SMP to do rendering on one CPU and modelling (or game playing) on the
other!
— Doug Azzarito