AVS NETWORK NEWS INAUGURAL ISSUE AVS Network News The first full issue of AVS Network News will be published January 1992 and on a quarterly basis thereafter. The success of the magazine depends largely on AVS user participation. Each $3 color issue will feature updates about AVS programs, articles from users about their work, tips for using AVS modules, an editorial section featuring user viewpoints, and other general AVS information. The magazine will include usersU color images and will solicit submissions from users interested in sharing information about their work. AVS vendors and independent software developers are encouraged to post product information in order to keep the AVS user community better informed about AVS developments. Copies of AVS Network News may be obtained from your AVS vendor. Copies also may be obtained by completing and mailing the magazineUs enclosed subscription form, along with a check or money order payable to the International AVS Center. In addition, magazine subscription is included when joining the International AVS Users Group. Refer to the article on the AVS Users Group for more information. To have your work considered for inclusion in AVS Network News, send your article describing your AVS application along with color slides of your work to the International AVS Center. For more information, email to avs@ncsc.org or use the CenterUs U.S. mail address. AVS Catalog A yearly catalog of AVS modules, networks, scripts, etc. will be available April 1992. The catalog will list all the known modules and will provide information about commercially available AVS products. Vendors with AVS-related products will be allowed to advertise in the catalog. To obtain the catalog, complete and return the form on the inside back cover. AVS Network News The International AVS Center serves as a catalyst for expanding the AVS user base and for increasing AVS functionality by fostering discipline-specific module development and new AVS uses. As a worldwide clearinghouse, the Center collects, ports, and distributes user-contributed, public-domain modules and acts as liaison between users and vendors. AVS Network News is the CenterUs quarterly magazine serving users and vendors with updates on AVS programs and their use, usersU color images and editorial viewpoints, and product information postings from vendors and independent software developers. For magazine subscription, a check or money order for $3 per issue or $12 annual subscription should be made payable to the International AVS Center and mailed to Post Office Box 122889, 3021 Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2889. Front cover design and cover inset, AVS Covers the World, by Scientific Animator Chris Landreth of the North Carolina Supercomputing Center. Back cover photography by Jay Mangum Photography. David Bennett, AVS Project Leader, avs@ncsc.org Joel Page, Editor, page@mcnc.org Fran Wise, Layout Coordinator, wise@mcnc.org For more information The International AVS Center Post Office Box 12889 3021 Cornwallis Road Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2889 919-248-1100 avs@ncsc.org AVS Newsgroup The AVS newsgroup will be called comp.graphics.avs. The newsgroup will be unmoderated as requested by the AVS Users Group at SIGGRAPH. The International AVS Center will monitor the group closely and will assist however possible. The Center also will post new information as it becomes available. A how-to posting on submitting and obtaining modules will be issued monthly. Information about new portings, vendor updates, bugs, special projects, changes or additions to the Center or the AVS Consortium, new vendors, and general topics of interest also will be posted by the International AVS Center. Information on commercial AVS developments and their evaluation by the Center will be featured. The newsgroup will provide a means for communicating anything related to AVS. AVS usersU comments are encouraged in order to help shape the directions of the International AVS Center. The need for subset newsgroups for specific fields is anticipated as the AVS community grows. A request for modules will be posted weekly. The goal is to accumulate as many modules as possible for sharing with the AVS community. The initial goal of the International AVS Center is to have 1000 modules available via ftp or email within three months of the CenterUs opening; 100 modules should be available by opening date, with several hundred more pending submission. Most platforms are currently in beta format for the AVS port; we will work to make ports available as AVS becomes available for each platform. We can achieve this only with your assistance. You can help by donating modules, by suggesting to others that they write modules or port their public domain software into an AVS module, by encouraging commercial software companies to make their products available through AVS, and by letting others know about AVS. AVS Consortium The intention to form the AVS Consortium was announced at SIGGRAPH, along with the selection of the North Carolina Supercomputing Center as the site of the International AVS Center. The primary function of the Consortium will be to provide strategic input regarding the growth, direction, and promotion of the Application Visualization System, the de facto standard visualization environment. The Consortium also will manage the activities and allocation of resources of the International AVS Center. The AVS Consortium, which began operations October 1, 1991, initially will consist of representatives from a number of the existing AVS vendors, including CONVEX Computer Corporation, Digital Equipment Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Set Technology Corporation, Stardent Corporation, and WaveTracer. Additional AVS vendors may join the Consortium in the near future. Other AVS-supported platforms are Cray, Evans & Sutherland, SGI, and Sun; negotiations are under way for several others. This cooperative effort by so many major vendors to provide a common interface for the benefit of their users is a tremendous step forward in visualization, exemplifying the vision of these companies. Future Directions The International AVS Center will focus on several areas of potential long-term interest that include the following. % Integration of the seamless amalgamation of interactive high- definition television % Televisualization and digital packet video % Full multimedia integration, using AVS over higher speed networks including FDDI, HiPPI, and wide-area gigabit networks at NRI (Corporation for National Research Initiatives) gigabit testbeds % Virtual reality % 3-D visualization methods % Telepresence or teleproximity % Hypermedia % Telosophy and the digital library with knowbots or intelligent agents and insight preservation % Distributed shared AVS allowing multiple users to synchronize views or simulations across several networked AVS workstations % Use of AVS for distributing and sharing medical images and integrating with remote data-gathering devices like CAT scanners % AVS work with massively parallel architecture % Teleconferencing and distributed training environments % Neural nets % Full visual programming and application prototyping % Speech recognition and synthesis AVS Users Group The International AVS Users Group will be managed by the International AVS Center. A president will be elected by the membership at the next group meeting to be held February 11-13, 1992, at the North Carolina Supercomputing Center. Until then, Stephen Franklin of the University of California at Irvine will serve as interim president. In addition, an AVS Advisory Board will be established during the February meeting. The International AVS Users Group will work with individuals worldwide to help organize local users groups. These local users groups will be relied on to provide input on technical and administrative issues and to act as an information exchange. To learn how to form a local AVS users group, contact avs@ncsc.org or send mail to the International AVS Center, Post Office Box 12889, 3021 Cornwallis Road, RTP, NC 27709-2889. Users group annual membership dues are $30. (See subscription form enclosed in this issue.) The AVS Network News quarterly magazine and an application directory and catalog are included with membership. An International AVS Users Group conference will be held annually, and several similar meetings will take place at major conferences beginning this spring. Costs and application forms for conference attendance will be printed in the next AVS Network News and will be posted to the AVS newsgroup, comp.graphics.avs. Costs and forms also may be obtained by request either through email at avs@ncsc.org or U.S. mail addressed to the International AVS Center. AVS Users Group participation at major conferences will be free and open to the public. We encourage equal representation from AVS users such as scientists, researchers, and students, as well as from AVS module developers. AVS Affiliates Program The establishment of an International AVS Affiliates Program is planned for early 1992. This program will develop formal interactions and collaborations with external institutions, providing opportunities to build a greater AVS infrastructure and to establish more direct and regular mechanisms of feedback regarding AVS. A list of potential affiliates has been assembled, and more institutions will be added during the coming months. External programs, projects, and collaborations also will be pursued. Funding for these activities will be sought jointly by the International AVS Center and AVS vendors. A list of potential projects has been compiled and discussed with the AVS Consortium representatives. Users are encouraged to suggest additional programs, projects, and collaborations that might prove beneficial to the AVS user community. Virtual Proximity with CONCERT The Center for Communications at MCNC operates CONCERT (Communications for North Carolina Education, Research, and Technology), a state-of-the-art, statewide interactive video and data network designed to provide "virtual proximity" to researchers and educators in North Carolina. Virtual proximity means that network users, regardless of their location, have access to strategic resources such as expertise, computers, and laboratories. Privately maintained, CONCERT spans a distance of 300 miles across North Carolina and consists of 25 Mbs and T3 (45 Mbs) digital channels and two full-duplex video channels throughout the service area. The video network provides two-way, interactive, face-to-face capabilities for conferences, seminars, classroom instruction, and collaborative meetings. Full duplex broadcast-quality video channels, videoconference rooms, and teleclassrooms on each Concert-connected campus enable researchers and educators to work together. An interactive video channel with videoconferencing facilities recently was established among North CarolinaUs four medical schools, providing them with the ability to share expertise and resources. More than 12,000 users accessed CONCERTUs resources and capabilities last year. The Center for Communications provides North Carolina with a networking infrastructure that has been called a mini-NREN. That infrastructure will continue to position the state competitively in the coming decades. For more information on CONCERT, send email to avs@ncsc.org. Independent Software Developers Arrangements will be made with independent software developers (ISDs) to port their code to various vendor platforms. These vendors will be charged based on the amount of time, space, supplies, services, and consultation they require. This should facilitate ISDs quickly porting their code to all available platforms and thereby make these resources available sooner. A secure environment is being developed to support this. Fees dependent upon developersU needs will be negotiated. Across the Atlantic "IUll take control of the object now," says IBM Marketing Representative Lisa Bobbitt as a large isosurface of a human spine begins to rotate thousands of miles across the Atlantic in an AVS display window on a workstation at the North Carolina Supercomputing Center (NCSC) in Research Triangle Park. This remarkable collaboration session demonstrates some of the newest technology in AVS distributed viewing and collaboration. At Telecom U91, an international telecommunications conference, IBM demonstrated this technology between two IBM RS6000 graphics workstations running AVS in the IBM conference booth in Geneva, Switzerland, and in NCSCUs Visualization Lab in Research Triangle Park. This proof-of-concept project, developed at NCSC and written by NCSC Visualization Programmer Dave Bock, combines the user interface and visualization capabilities of AVS with network communications to provide network users the ability to share and control common views of any AVS geometry display. The AVS network executing this process includes two newly developed modules that handle all network communications between collaborators and the resulting geometry transformations using AVS upstream data types. The communications module uses DTM, a message-passing facility developed and written by Jeff Terstriep of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. The network allows in-session collaborators their own local, individual control as well as the ability to take master control of the geometry shared among collaborators. By taking master control, a collaborator has the ability to control the movement of the geometry being shared among other collaborators connected in the session. Master control of the geometry is accomplished by means of various AVS scaling, translation, and rotation sliders located in the AVS control panel. Local control of the geometry is accomplished, as usual, by mouse movements in the AVS display window. The ability to share and control common AVS geometry across the network means that researchers and scientists now can visually communicate their results and findings with fellow researchers located in widely separated geographic regions. With the ability to communicate and collaborate on scientific findings as they occur, it is natural to expect an increase in both the efficiency and productivity of joint research among collaborators. Referred to as distributed collaboration, this technology steadily is merging the fields of supercomputing, visualization, multimedia, and education and is providing researchers and scientists the ability to share and collaborate on their results not only across the hall but also across the Atlantic. Obtaining Modules Modules may be obtained by two basic methods. The first is the standard ftp protocol. When you ftp to avs.ncsc.org, you should login as "anonymous" and use your email name for the password. A menu will come up that will guide you in using the ftp site and point you to the AVS_README and the AVS_LICENSE files. The AVS license agreement must accompany all modules obtained and is self-explanatory. The AVS_DB_FILE file is in flatline database format delimited by a colon <:> and will fit into most current database programs. Instructions on the use of the AVS_DB_FILE file are also in the AVS_README file. When you login to the AVS directory at avs.ncsc.org, you will see subdirectories called IN_DATA, FILTERS, MAPPERS, RENDERERS, MISC, and SAMPLE_DATA. Some modules have multiple purposes and will be placed in the most appropriate directory. SAMPLE_DATA will be for data that are donated but have no associated modules. When you cd to the subdirectory, you will see many other directories -- one for each module and its associated files. This will include only non-machine-specific files, such as source code, help files, README files, scripts, sample networks, etc. In that directory, you also will see a selection of vendor names such as DEC, Stardent, and IBM. When you cd to a vendor directory, you will be presented with directories listing the machine type and operating system, such as TITAN_P3G3_OS4.0 (a Stardent platform). When you cd to the appropriate directory for your needs, you will see a listing of AVS versions such as AVS3.0, AVS3.1, AVS3.5, or AVS4.0. After you cd to the appropriate version directory, you will find the files that are specific to each platform -- the Makefile, data, etc. The second method for obtaining modules is through standard email. When you send an email message to avsemail@ncsc.org, you receive an automated listing of all available modules along with a request form. When you return the request form to avsorder@ncsc.org, you receive the modules and associated files (subject to size considerations) through normal email channels. Full information on this procedure is sent with the initial automated mail response. While this process presently is not difficult, it quickly will entail a large maze of directories. By January 1992, we expect to have at least 1000 modules that will create 20,000 to 30,000 subdirectories. Therefore, we will provide a selection of X interfaces and a command line program using WAIS protocol by the end of 1991. This is a hypertext search-and-query program and will be modified for AVS. An AVS_WAIS_README file will explain how to use this method. When you ftp into the International AVS Center, you will see a new directory called WAIS with a code to download and compile for a variety of machines and interfaces. This will be extremely useful as the number of modules and information grows. You will be able to type a sentence in standard English language (e.g., ) and receive a listing of everything relating to that particular request. You then can read the man pages or look at the source code and decide what you want. You will be able to click on a window and have the modules and their associated files or any subset ftpUd to you automatically. You also will be able to use the WAIS interfaces for exploring information from AVS newsgroups and other AVS related topics. If you do not have network capability, you may request a tape via U.S. mail. Send a tape and a $5 postage-and-handling fee along with your request. You should state the vendor type, machine type, and operating system. We then will send you all available files in these categories listed in the AVS_README file. If you do not provide a tape with your order, you must include tape cost. Tapes will not be available from the Center until its porting facility is completed and tape needs and module-to-tape downloading time have been determined. As additional order information becomes available, it will be posted to the comp.graphics.avs newsgroup, included in AVS Network News, and made available through your AVS vendor. Special requests for tapes of modules currently can be made to avs@ncsc.org and will be handled on an individual basis. An automated procedure to be completed by January 1, 1992, will accelerate this process. The Center eventually will provide a full version of WAIS as a repository module and a number of service modules such as MAKE A SLIDE or MAKE A TRANSPARENCY. These service modules will be available for a fee to members of the International AVS Users Group and will allow users to obtain a slide, transparency, color photo, and eventually a video over the net. These service modules will be provided initially by the International AVS Center but after a reasonable period will be turned over to commercial companies. This will be especially useful to those whose limited budget prevents obtaining these services. Bug Reports and General Information Bug reports on user-donated AVS modules may be emailed to avs@ncsc.org or to the International AVS Center by U.S. mail. These reports will be posted to the new AVS newsgroup, comp.graphics.avs, for the benefit of AVS users who already may have the code before the problem is found. Inquires may be sent and general information may be obtained through email or U.S. mail. All inquires will be assigned a unique number and receipt will be verified via an automated response. Your questions will be answered as quickly as possible. Module Submission Criteria Release form -- A release form (enclosed in this magazine), signed by the individual submitting a code, must be mailed to the International AVS Center before the code will be made available to the AVS user community. This signed form indicates that the individual is authorized to submit the module into public domain and releases the Center from any liability from copyright violation. Individuals who submit modules prior to completing a release form will be sent an electronic version of the form for completion. Source file and Makefile -- Source code and Makefile must accompany all modules submitted (unless the module is data only). We encourage extensive commenting and ask that port-specific lines be so commented. Module description -- A detailed description of the module must be included with its submission. This may be in the form of a man page or ASCII text format (as in a README file). Module description is one of the most important criteria for submission. Please note if multiple modules are in one source code file. The International AVS Center staff will rewrite the documentation as necessary. Data -- If your module uses a nonstandard data format, you must include an example (not necessarily real) of that data. Explanations of how to read the data should be placed in the required manual or README file. Miscellaneous -- You are requested to provide sample network and scripts when appropriate. The following disclaimer will be placed with all files donated to the International AVS Center. The International AVS Center Warranty Disclaimer This AVS module and the files associated with it are distributed free of charge. They are placed in public domain, and permission is granted for anyone to use, duplicate, modify, and redistribute them unless otherwise noted. Some modules may be copyrighted. You agree to abide by the conditions also included in the AVS Licensing Agreement, Version 1.0, located in each module directory. The International AVS Center, MCNC, the AVS Consortium, or the individual submitting the module and files associated with said module provide absolutely no warranty of any kind with respect to this software. Any risk as to the quality and performance of this software is entirely with the user. In no event will the International AVS Center, MCNC, the AVS Consortium, or the individual submitting the module and files associated with said module be liable to anyone for any damages arising from the use of this module or associated files including, without limitation, damages resulting from lost data or lost profits, or any special, incidental, or consequential damages. If you wish to contribute toward the improvement, modification, or general performance of this module, please send us your comments, such as why you like or dislike the module, how you use it, and, most importantly, how the module helps your work. Email your comments, as well as any bug reports, to avs@ncsc.org. Author: (Name or control number) Program name, date modified and by whom: To submit modules, ftp to avs.ncsc.org and cd to the SUBMIT directory. You will be prompted in how to create a directory. You will receive a message when the directory has been created and prompted on how to cd to that directory. The directory itself will be invisible so that others may not inadvertently copy over your files. When you are in your directory, use standard ftp protocol to submit your modules and associated files. Information on using ftp for basic submission and retrieval can be obtained by sending a request to avs@ncsc.org. You also can submit modules and associated files by email to avs@ncsc.org and by tape (tape will be returned if requested) to the International AVS Center, Post Office Box 12889, 3021 Cornwallis Road, RTP, NC 27709-2889. International AVS Center Following a comprehensive evaluation and onsite visits by the AVS vendors, the North Carolina Supercomputing Center (NCSC) was chosen as the site of the International AVS Center. The International AVS Center will serve as a catalyst for expanding the AVS user base and for increasing the functionality of AVS by fostering discipline-specific module development and developing new AVS uses. As a world clearinghouse for AVS information, the International AVS Center will collect, port, and distribute user-contributed public domain AVS modules and act as liaison between AVS users and vendors. In addition to helping develop collaborations among AVS users with related interests, the Center will coordinate an AVS users group, a quarterly magazine, a showroom, and the porting of a center for AVS. "NCSC was chosen primarily because of its unparalleled capability to gather and distribute modules and act as a user/vendor communication channel via its CONCERT network, which is ideal to meet the information and module distribution needs of the AVS users and vendors," says Paul Esdale of Stardent Computer. "NCSC also offers the staffing and visualization expertise necessary to meet the demands required." AVS Showroom A showroom representing the AVS vendors is being established at the North Carolina Supercomputing Center (NCSC). This will be available to the AVS community for various uses such as tours, development of modules, and testing. It will be open to the public during NCSCUs normal business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, it may be reserved occasionally for special tours or events for which notification will be posted in the showroom. Vendors will provide literature about their hardware in the showroom and also may use the facilities to demonstrate AVS- related materials on their platforms. AVS training will be available over CONCERT. (See preceding CONCERT article.) Initially, training will be available only to the CONCERT community, but we hope to bring this to the entire AVS community in a few more years as networks develop the ability to handle high bandwidth transmission. A multimedia video/audio system will be an integral part of the environment. This showroom will be updated continually by the AVS vendors in order to provide users with the newest and latest AVS-running hardware. This is an excellent evaluation environment and will cover low-, medium-, and high-end workstations. Over time, we will attempt to add high-tech activities such as a virtual reality laboratory for testing virtual reality over our gigabit network and high-definition television. NCSC The North Carolina Supercomputing Center (NCSC), site of the International AVS Center, began operations September 1, 1989, with the mission to promote computational science education and research in North Carolina institutions and to foster technology- based economic development through the application of high- performance computing to industrial problems. A division of MCNC, NCSC is located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The proximity of a number of high-tech oriented companies, major research universities, medical research centers, and state government facilities provides a wide variety of opportunities for NCSC to fulfill its mission. CONCERT, the outstanding state- supported communications network, makes NCSCUs resources available to various institutions and corporations. NCSCUs Visualization Lab enables scientists and engineers to develop graphical representations of complex scientific processes or data. An intensive effort is under way to build a flexible, statewide visualization environment with transparent remote access that will leverage existing tools from other supercomputer centers as well as locally developed enhancements. One of the primary engines in the NCSC configuration is the CRAY Y-MP 8/464. It has four processors, each capable of a peak performance of 333 million floating-point operations per second; a one-billion-byte (gigabyte) solid state disk with a transfer rate of one gigabyte per second; and 44 gigabytes of online disk storage. Another powerful computational resource is the CONVEX C220, with two processors and one gigabyte of memory for supporting education projects and computationally intensive research projects. To support the extensive data storage requirements of its users, NCSC has an IBM 3090-180J computer (network fileserver) with 60 gigabytes of online disk space. The IBM computer will be the focal point of a virtual mass storage system that potentially will increase online storage resources to trillions of bytes (terabytes) and will be accessible at very high speeds from any other NCSC computer system. All NCSC computers, including visualization workstations, will be connected on a very high speed internal network -- ANSI standard 800 megabit-per-second high-performance parallel interface channels.