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At Nvidia’s GPU technical conference (GTC) Boxx held sessions to show how the performance of a desktop workstation in a rack-mounted, high-density form factor, they call Flexx, Flexx enables organizations to accelerate workflows onsite or remotely. Boxx featured Nvidia’s new A5000 workstation AIB and used case studies from Solidworks showing how Nvidia’s Omniverse enables borderless and time zone-free collaboration.
Covering concepts like scale-out vs. scale-up when upgrading IT resources, the pathway to virtualization and remote work, and estimated cost percentages per users, Boxx showed the Flexx data center platform at work. The session also offered insights for choosing the optimal solutions for various workforce scenarios. Boxx’s options include bare metal rack workstations like the Boxx Raxx, performance virtual workstations such as Raxx VDI, and Flexx, a high-density bare metal or virtualized solution.
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| A rack of Boxx, high-density form factor Flexx workstations (Image: Boxx) |
A multi-node, data center-ready system, Boxx says Flexx is capable of simultaneously supporting multiple types of compute nodes, providing the highest application performance for engineers, architects, designers, artists, and other professional content creators who are working on-site or remotely. Compute nodes include Nvidia Virtual Workstation nodes that can be accessed from any connected device, delivering performance previously available only in desk side workstations, as well as multi-CPU render nodes and multi-GPU workstation or render nodes. Boxx says Flexx systems are recommended for Autodesk Revit, Maya, 3ds Max, and Arnold, as well as Solidworks Simulation & Visualize, Chaos V-Ray, and other applications.
Boxx also held a session titled, Real-Time Collaboration for Architects Using Omniverse. In it, Robert Cervellione, AIA, of Woods Bagot presented his real-world CAD workflow examples using Boxx workstations and Nvidia Omniverse that provided remote access, virtual collaboration, and real-time physically accurate simulation for digital content creators and their applications.
In another session, industrial design champion Jason Pohl, best known for his work on the long-running television series American Chopper, spoke with Solidworks Senior Solutions Consultant Mike Sande and discussed the use of real-time graphics for product design and the importance of instant results—powered by Boxx of course.
What do we think?
Packing a bunch of Xeons and RTX workstation AIBs into up close and personal tight quarters isn’t just about jamming parts in a box. Those parts get damn hot and that heat has to go somewhere. Microsoft recently revealed their 122 F two-phase immersion boiling effect cooling system to get the heat out of servers. Forced air will only get you so far.
Boxx has always had innovative systems that seem to be a little more aggressive than the norm, squeezing out the maximum performance per watt, and at a cost-effective price. We call that the Pmark—price, performance, power—you can’t be good at only one.