Remoting client having GPU off-loader

Abstract

A remoting client can be configured to offload various graphics-based remoting protocol processes to the GPU to thereby free up the CPU for performing other remoting tasks. In this way, a remoting client can be executed on a client terminal that has a less powerful CPU even when a graphics-rich desktop is virtualized on the client terminal. When the remoting client receives remoting communications containing graphics display data, the remoting client can write the graphics display data to a location in memory that is accessible to the GPU and can then pass the graphics display data to the GPU for further processing. The CPU is therefore freed from having to fully process the graphics display data including from having to copy the graphics display data to a display buffer.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]N / ABACKGROUND[0002]The present invention is generally directed to a remoting client for use within a desktop virtualization environment (commonly referred to as virtual desktop infrastructure or VDI). In particular, the present invention is directed to a remoting client that is configured to offload various graphics-based remoting protocol processes to a graphics processing unit (GPU).[0003]In a desktop virtualization environment, a desktop is hosted on a server but is made accessible on a client terminal by sending the desktop's graphical output to the client terminal for display. In this specification and the claims, the term “remoting” will be used to refer to this process of virtualizing a desktop on a client terminal. Remoting can be accomplished using a number of available protocols including ICA, RDP, VNC, PCoIP, etc. A remoting client executing on a client terminal can employ a remoting protocol to communicate with a corresponding...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This approach significantly reduces CPU load, enabling efficient rendering of graphics-rich desktops on low-cost client terminals with less powerful CPUs, improving performance by at least 50% by minimizing the CPU's processing responsibilities.

Problems solved by technology

In short, a remoting client typically must perform a substantial amount of processing to virtualize a desktop on the client terminal which can place a significant burden on the CPU.

However, these low cost client terminals oftentimes have CPUs with reduced processing power.

In many cases, the CPUs on these low cost client terminals may not be capable of handling the load associated with virtualizing a desktop that provides a rich graphics experience.

In particular, when graphics display data is transferred in an encoded format, the CPU may become overloaded during the decoding process which may cause the display to be updated less frequently than is desired, may cause keyboard and mouse input to lag, and / or may cause other performance issues.

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