[AG-TECH] Portable AG node

Wed Mar 30 14:12:38 CST 2005

Natalia,

I hate to say it this way... but it depends. That's one of the things 
about the AG is that it IS so flexible for the environment you are 
putting it into. Will you use the portable in a small room, large room, 
auditorium, etc? everywhere?

I'm currently upgrading our portable node and putting as much 
flexibility and power into as small a box i can get was one of my 
dilemmas. I'm still looking at motherboard slot configurations, etc. 
I'm going to be trying out one of those quad-capture cards...

However: this is what my current portable node looks like below (LSU's 
portable node is affectionately named "Wilbur the PIG")

two 15" LCD monitors
one dual head AGP Matrox card (I forget which)
one quad head PCI Nvidia card (I forget which)
two Canon VC-C4 cameras
one Sony EVI-D100 camera
3 tripods
wireless keyboard and mouse
one trackerpod quickcam (WDM) for operator
three osprey 100 capture cards
on board audio/network (100mbit on this one)
CPU is a dual 2.2 xeon running XP(SP2)
XAP400
one wireless lapel mic
i borrow crown mics from my full node as needed for inputs 2-4
pair of genelec 1029A speakers
surgeprotector/filter
50' to 100' of just about every cable - well shielded s-video cables 
btw.

my upgrade will speed up the CPU/motherboard, replace the video card 
with a single quad card, put in a single capture card, have audio and 
firewire and gigabit. I'm going to add a 2nd wireless mic (for audience 
on a stand) and a couple of table mics I can attach. I'll upgrade the 
cart - pneumatic tires probably or build a split "cart" where the top 
and bottom are removable for easier travel in vehicles. I've taken 
Wilbur all over the state. Fortunately, this design fits in the back 
"well" of my van (where the back seat folds up into). Note, the tripods 
do fold up small enough to fit inside the cart. EVERYTHING fits on the 
cart.

The bottom half of this card holds ALL the cameras, cables, etc. The 
top half holds the CPU, echo canceler, wireless receiver, monitors, and 
speakers (velcro holds them in place during the long rolls across 
campus). There is even a plastic cover (see picture with umbrella in 
the corner?) that keeps it dry in the event of a sudden down pour 
(which has happened... it's Louisiana, thunderstorms happen). =)

The reason for the mismatch on the cameras is that i ended up with a 
spare camera from another project... and two cameras is NOT enough. 
I'll even say 3 isn't, but 3 is okay.

The cart is a rubbermaid cart... we removed the drawer section in the 
top half, put a plywood board in for more support (that CPU is heavy), 
and cut one small hole for the cables into the bottom half where we 
have a powerstrip/surge protector.

Hope this gives you some ideas. Basically though, this has allowed most 
of the flexibility I needed - I have a spare projector but it's not 
that bright and i have to rely on the installed projectors in rooms I 
go to, but 1 projector isn't enough (no one seems to understand that 
until they see our full node in action). They keep wanting to squeeze 
everything into one screen. Argh. Terrible.

-John Q.

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-- 
John I. Quebedeaux, Jr.
Louisiana State University
Computer Manager / LBRN & CCT / 131 Life Sciences Bldg. & 339 Johnston 
Hall
e-mail: johnq at lsu.edu or johnq at cct.lsu.edu / web: http://lbrn.lsu.edu & 
http://cct.lsu.edu
phone: 225-578-0062 / fax: 225-578-2597

On Mar 30, 2005, at 11:06 AM, Natalia Costas Lago wrote:

> ?
> Hi everybody!
> ?
> ?
> We are in a new stage of AG deployment, our new challenge is to 
> develop a mobile AG node. It's a room one, but we need to move the 
> equipment wherever is needed.
> ?
> And, we are in a hurry, as we need to purchase and have it working 
> properly for an important event soon.
> ?
> I've seen this isnt a brand new idea, there is a pic of one "portable 
> ag node" on the Internet2 website, and?there are more sites that have 
> one. The problem is that i couldnt find?precise details about the 
> hardware we should purchase. Or the better configuration (cable 
> length, wireless video, maybe rack?PCs?), there are so many choices!!.
> ?
> We greatly appreciate any suggestion, configuration and/or advices 
> provided.
>  ?
> Has anyone out there worked on a similar configuration?
>  ?
> Thankx in advance,
> ?
> Kind regards,
> Natalia.
> ?
> -----------------------------------
> Natalia Costas Lago
> email: natalia at cesga.es
> ?
> Centro de Supercomputacion de Galicia (CESGA)
> Avenida de Vigo, s/n Campus Sur
> 15706 Santiago de Compostela - SPAIN
> Tel:?? +34? 981 56 98 10
>  Fax:? +34? 981 59 46 16
> http://www.cesga.es/
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