[Paraview] Can pvserver run without X server?

[Moreland, Kenneth]

You should be able to use the OSMesa library to open a software-emulated
OpenGL context without connecting to an X host.  If you compile with the
OSMesa library and then use the offscreen command line option on the
client, then you can render and composite on the server without an X
host there.

We have been doing that for years with ParaView 2.X.  If it does not
work with ParaView 3, that would be a bug.

-Ken

> -----Original Message-----
> From: paraview-bounces+kmorel=sandia.gov at paraview.org
[mailto:paraview-
> bounces+kmorel=sandia.gov at paraview.org] On Behalf Of Kent Eschenberg
> Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 11:33 AM
> To: Weiguang Guan
> Cc: ParaView
> Subject: Re: [Paraview] Can pvserver run without X server?
> 
> Weiguang Guan wrote:
> > Has anyone run Paraview in client/server mode where the pvserver run
on
> > a computer (or cluster) without X server running? It seems to me
that
> > DRI can let an application access video hardware directly without
going
> > through X server.
> 
> I think the answer is no. When composite is off the client does the
> rendering and the graphics card has to be at the client. When
composite
> is on the server does the rendering but it only works through OpenGL
or
> through Mesa which emulates OpenGL.
> 
> I think both must reach the graphics card through the X server. In
other
> words, the X server "owns" the graphics card and manages all access to
it.
> 
> The last system I know of that would do what you wanted was from SGI
> using their GL language, the precursor to OpenGL.
> 
> Kent
> Pittsburgh Supercomputer Center
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