[Chimera-users] Running graphical Chimera from remote server

Mon Mar 30 10:33:07 PDT 2015

Hi Darrell,

  You are trying to remote display Chimera from a Linux machine to a Mac using the XQuartz X11 window server.  As you’ve found out this doesn’t work very well.  Unfortunately X remote display hasn’t worked very well with OpenGL for a decade or more.  Basically the X client on your Linux machine isn’t compatible with the X server on your Mac, even though there are standards and they should work.  The graphics card on your Linux server is not relevant — it is not used.  The Linux machine will send OpenGL to your Mac and its graphics card and the Mac graphics driver will be used.  The output of glxinfo run on the Linux machine indicates you have a NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics card on the Mac and the Linux machine is using Mesa for its OpenGL.  It looks like your Linux Mesa (which is the software OpenGL library) is version 1.4 which is archaic.  The Mac graphics driver is willing to run OpenGL 2.1.  (The Mac is the “server” and the Linux machine is the “client” — the server actually renders the graphics on its screen).

  The only chance of success with this setup is to update your Linux Mesa to a modern version.  I don’t think it is likely to work, but there is a chance.  Usually remote display from one linux machine to another will work, and probably from Mac to Mac will also work.  But once you get different X/OpenGL implementations on the client and server some bugs cause them to be incompatible with each other.

  None of what I said pertains to VirtualGL — I don’t know what that is or whether it could help.

	Tom

> On Mar 29, 2015, at 3:55 PM, Hurt, Darrell (NIH/NIAID) [E] wrote:
> 
> Hello again,
> 
> I still have to try VirtualGL (as suggested on a previous thread).
> However, I want to share the following information:
> 
> I learned that the 60 fps I was getting on glxgears is likely due to
> Ubuntu having "sync" enabled by default, which means that glxgears always
> runs at about 60 fps. So let's ignore that bit of information.
> http://askubuntu.com/questions/31488/how-to-test-if-my-video-card-has-3d-su
> pport
> 
> My glxinfo (see below at "OpenGL renderer string") suggests that I have an
> NVIDIA graphics card installed. But "lspci -vnn | grep -i VGA" suggests
> that I have a simple Matrox graphics card:
> 
> 
> <output of lspci>
> 
> 01:00.1 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Matrox Electronics Systems Ltd.
> MGA G200EH [102b:0533] (rev 01) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
> 
> 
> 
> <output of glxinfo>
> 
> name of display: localhost:11.0
> display: localhost:11  screen: 0
> direct rendering: No (If you want to find out why, try setting
> LIBGL_DEBUG=verbose)
> server glx vendor string: SGI
> server glx version string: 1.4
> server glx extensions:
>    GLX_ARB_create_context, GLX_ARB_create_context_profile,
>    GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_import_context, GLX_EXT_visual_info,
>    GLX_EXT_visual_rating, GLX_OML_swap_method, GLX_SGIS_multisample,
>    GLX_SGIX_fbconfig
> client glx vendor string: Mesa Project and SGI
> client glx version string: 1.4
> client glx extensions:
>    GLX_ARB_create_context, GLX_ARB_create_context_profile,
>    GLX_ARB_get_proc_address, GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_import_context,
>    GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating, GLX_EXT_framebuffer_sRGB,
>    GLX_EXT_create_context_es2_profile, GLX_MESA_copy_sub_buffer,
>    GLX_MESA_multithread_makecurrent, GLX_MESA_swap_control,
>    GLX_OML_swap_method, GLX_OML_sync_control, GLX_SGI_make_current_read,
>    GLX_SGI_swap_control, GLX_SGI_video_sync, GLX_SGIS_multisample,
>    GLX_SGIX_fbconfig, GLX_SGIX_pbuffer, GLX_SGIX_visual_select_group,
>    GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap, GLX_INTEL_swap_event
> GLX version: 1.4
> GLX extensions:
>    GLX_ARB_create_context, GLX_ARB_create_context_profile,
>    GLX_ARB_get_proc_address, GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_import_context,
>    GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating,
>    GLX_MESA_multithread_makecurrent, GLX_OML_swap_method,
>    GLX_SGI_make_current_read, GLX_SGIS_multisample, GLX_SGIX_fbconfig,
>    GLX_SGIX_pbuffer
> OpenGL vendor string: NVIDIA Corporation
> OpenGL renderer string: NVIDIA GeForce 9400M OpenGL Engine
> OpenGL version string: 1.4 (2.1 NVIDIA-8.16.81 310.40.00.20f04)
> OpenGL extensions:
>    GL_ARB_depth_texture, GL_ARB_draw_buffers, GL_ARB_fragment_program,
>    GL_ARB_fragment_program_shadow, GL_ARB_imaging, GL_ARB_multisample,
>    GL_ARB_multitexture, GL_ARB_occlusion_query, GL_ARB_point_parameters,
>    GL_ARB_point_sprite, GL_ARB_shadow, GL_ARB_texture_border_clamp,
>    GL_ARB_texture_compression, GL_ARB_texture_cube_map,
>    GL_ARB_texture_env_add, GL_ARB_texture_env_combine,
>    GL_ARB_texture_env_crossbar, GL_ARB_texture_env_dot3,
>    GL_ARB_texture_mirrored_repeat, GL_ARB_texture_non_power_of_two,
>    GL_ARB_texture_rectangle, GL_ARB_transpose_matrix,
> GL_ARB_vertex_program,
>    GL_ARB_window_pos, GL_EXT_abgr, GL_EXT_bgra, GL_EXT_blend_color,
>    GL_EXT_blend_equation_separate, GL_EXT_blend_func_separate,
>    GL_EXT_blend_minmax, GL_EXT_blend_subtract, GL_EXT_clip_volume_hint,
>    GL_EXT_draw_range_elements, GL_EXT_fog_coord,
> GL_EXT_framebuffer_object,
>    GL_EXT_multi_draw_arrays, GL_EXT_point_parameters,
> GL_EXT_rescale_normal,
>    GL_EXT_secondary_color, GL_EXT_separate_specular_color,
>    GL_EXT_shadow_funcs, GL_EXT_stencil_two_side, GL_EXT_stencil_wrap,
>    GL_EXT_texture_compression_dxt1, GL_EXT_texture_compression_s3tc,
>    GL_EXT_texture_edge_clamp, GL_EXT_texture_env_add,
>    GL_EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic, GL_EXT_texture_lod_bias,
>    GL_EXT_texture_mirror_clamp, GL_EXT_texture_rectangle,
>    GL_APPLE_packed_pixels, GL_ATI_draw_buffers,
> GL_ATI_texture_env_combine3,
>    GL_ATI_texture_mirror_once, GL_ATIX_texture_env_combine3,
>    GL_IBM_texture_mirrored_repeat, GL_INGR_blend_func_separate,
>    GL_NV_blend_square, GL_NV_depth_clamp, GL_NV_fog_distance,
>    GL_NV_fragment_program_option, GL_NV_fragment_program2,
>    GL_NV_light_max_exponent, GL_NV_multisample_filter_hint,
>    GL_NV_point_sprite, GL_NV_texgen_reflection, GL_NV_texture_rectangle,
>    GL_NV_vertex_program2_option, GL_NV_vertex_program3,
>    GL_SGIS_generate_mipmap, GL_SGIS_texture_border_clamp,
>    GL_SGIS_texture_edge_clamp, GL_SGIS_texture_lod,
> GL_SUN_multi_draw_arrays
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Darrell Hurt, Ph.D.
> Acting Chief
> Bioinformatics and Computational Biosciences Branch (BCBB)
> OCICB/OSMO/OD/NIAID/NIH
> 
> 5601 Fishers Lane, 4A31
> North Bethesda, MD 20852
> Office: 240-669-2741
> Mobile: 301-758-3559Web: BCBB Home Page
> <http://www.niaid.nih.gov/about/organization/odoffices/omo/ocicb/Pages/bcbb
> .aspx#niaid_inlineNav_Anchor>
> Twitter: @niaidbioit <https://twitter.com/niaidbioit> , @NIH3Dprint
> <https://twitter.com/nih3dprint>
> 
> 
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> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 3/29/15 7:10 PM, "Hurt, Darrell (NIH/NIAID) [E]"
> wrote:
> 
>> Hi Chimera friends,
>> 
>> I want to run a graphics-enabled Chimera from a remote Ubuntu server. The
>> Ubuntu server is quite beefy (and not virtualized), but it has a stock
>> video card. When I run "glxgears", I can see the gears and get about 60
>> fps (reported), but the gears don't move and aren't interactive.
>> 
>> I found this message from the listserv a few years ago that recommends
>> the use of VirtualGL:
>> http://plato.cgl.ucsf.edu/pipermail/chimera-users/2012-September/007953.ht
>> ml
>> 
>> My X windowing system is Xquartz on a Mac. Is my problem related to
>> software GL or to the poor graphics card?
>> 
>> Related question: what X windowing system do you recommend on a Windows
>> system? CYGWIN?
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> Darrell
>> 
>> --
>> Darrell Hurt, Ph.D.
>> Acting Chief
>> Bioinformatics and Computational Biosciences Branch (BCBB)
>> OCICB/OSMO/OD/NIAID/NIH
>> 
>> 5601 Fishers Lane, 4A31
>> North Bethesda, MD 20852
>> Office: 240-669-2741
>> Mobile: 301-758-3559
>> Web: BCBB Home 
>> Page<http://www.niaid.nih.gov/about/organization/odoffices/omo/ocicb/Pages
>> /bcbb.aspx#niaid_inlineNav_Anchor>
>> Twitter: @niaidbioit<https://twitter.com/niaidbioit> ,
>> @NIH3Dprint<https://twitter.com/nih3dprint>
>> 
>> Disclaimer: The information in this e-mail and any of its attachments is
>> confidential and may contain sensitive information. It should not be used
>> by anyone who is not the original intended recipient. If you have
>> received this e-mail in error please inform the sender and delete it from
>> your mailbox or any other storage devices. National Institute of Allergy
>> and Infectious Diseases shall not accept liability for any statements
>> made that are sender's own and not expressly made on behalf of the NIAID
>> by one of its representatives.
>> 
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