Use a Coprocessor for Hardware Acceleration (Compact 7)
3/12/2014
Device CPU performance is enhanced by using a coprocessor for hardware-accelerated decoding of RemoteFX data. Dedicated coprocessor hardware, such as an ASIC, can perform decoding of RemoteFX data. The coprocessor requires a less powerful CPU and less memory on your thin client device. You can obtain significant performance improvements over CPU-based software decoding when you combine coprocessor offloading with the high-compression ratio of RemoteFX.
If you decide to build a thin client device that uses co-processor offloading to decompress RemoteFX compressed data, you also need to develop a display driver. Your display driver must support a specified set of RemoteFX interfaces and the driver must communicate with hardware that is capable of processing RemoteFX data.
When you use coprocessor offloading, the RDC client receives RemoteFX packets from the server, processes these packets, and then sends the data to a RemoteFX-enabled display driver. The display driver is responsible for processing the RemoteFX data and making the processed data available to the hardware decoder coprocessor. The RDC client then determines where to display the data on a rendering surface. The RDC client interacts with a display driver using a set of well-defined interfaces that use GDI escape sequences.
The following figure shows the relationships among the different elements that are required to create a RemoteFX-enabled thin client device that uses hardware decoding. It shows the dependent components that you need to create, such as the display driver and the hardware decoder driver that work with a RemoteFX-enabled device. It also shows how the RemoteFX-encoded data stream from the server is passed down through the RDP stack, is sent to the hardware decoder for decoding, and is then displayed through the display controller.
Figure 1: RemoteFX Thin Client Architecture with Hardware Decoder
.gif "RemoteFX Thin Client Architecture")
System integrators who want to develop RemoteFX hardware or to implement the RemoteFX algorithm in a coprocessor need to obtain a RemoteFX partner license. Partners who are interested in obtaining this information are encouraged to contact their Technical Account Manager to learn more about becoming a RemoteFX partner.