pixelpwnr server

Note: This project is in the prototype phase, and is in development and tested with. Further optimization of this server for high performance use will be done at a later time.

A blazingly fast GPU accelerated pixelflut (video) server in Rust.

Features

• Blazingly fast pixelflut rendering
• GPU accelerated
• Highly concurrent, to support many connections
• Linux, Windows and macOS
• Optional binary PX command for reduced bandwidth requirements (enabled by default).

Installation

For installation, Git and Rust cargo are required. Install the latest version of Rust with rustup.

Then, clone and install pixelpwnr-server with:

# Clone the project
git clone https://github.com/timvisee/pixelpwnr-server.git
cd pixelpwnr-server

# Install pixelpwnr server
cargo install --path server -f

# Start using pixelpwnr server
pixelpwnr-server --help

# or run it directly from Cargo
cargo run --bin pixelpwnr-server --release -- --help

Or just build it and invoke the binary directly (Linux/macOS):

# Clone the project
git clone https://github.com/timvisee/pixelpwnr-server.git
cd pixelpwnr-server

# Build the project (release version)
cargo build --release

# Start using pixelpwnr-server
./target/release/pixelpwnr-server --help

The binary PX command

This implementation adds a new command to the protocol.

This type of command is enabled by default, but can be disabled by passing the --no-binary flag to pixelflut-server when running the exectuable.

The command is laid out as follows:

PBxyrgba

where:

• x and y are Little-Endian u16 values describing the X and Y coordinate of the pixel to set.
• r, g, b and a are single-byte values describing the R, G, B, and A components of the color to set the pixel to.
• It is important to note that this command does not end in a newline. Appending a newline simply causes the server to interpret that newline as an empty command (which is fine).

Requirements

• Rust (MSRV v1.58.1 or higher)
• Build essentials (Ubuntu package: build-essential)
• freetype2 development files (Ubuntu package: libfreetype6-dev)

Performance

Here are some points that help with the pixelflut server performance, under heavy load:

• Use a --release build.
• Use a CPU with as many cores as possible.
• Use a fast Ethernet connection, preferably 10Gb/s+.
• Use a dedicated graphics card.
• Use a Linux machine.
• Increase the file descriptor limit (on Linux).
• Quit as many other running programs.

Relevant projects

• pixelpwnr (client)

License

This project is released under the GNU GPL-3.0 license. Check out the LICENSE file for more information.