Delphi
Driving Home Autonomous-Vehicle Generated Data
Delphi Automotive were struggling to access the vast amount of data in a timely manner. Through a remote desktop application created by OST, engineers are able to quickly access data, make changes to problem areas, and send back to 1 of 2 data centers efficiently.
Speeding Toward Autonomous Vehicles
Delphi Automotive is pushing existing Active Safety technology forward in pursuit of an SAE Level 5 fully-autonomous self-driving vehicle. This activity generates huge volumes of telemetry data from a wide range of sensors including high-definition cameras, LIDAR, RADAR, and more. When an autonomous car is deployed for testing, millions and millions of rows of data are collected on the performance of the system while in transit. One car would create about one terabyte of data a day. In order to analyze and make changes to the algorithms and program, engineers needed to be able to quickly access the data. A ticket would be created for an incident that needed to be addressed, the engineer would download the data (which included full HD streaming video, graphics, and processor intensive workloads), make changes, and send the data and updated algorithms back to the data center. The data was stored in 1 of 2 data centers around the world, so the engineers had remote access to the information and were never directly connected to the content they needed to access. This resulted in long lag times as data downloaded and uploaded. Several hours per day were spent just in moving the data around the globe. Delphi needed a more cost efficient and timely solution to access the data.
The remote desktop reduced the time it took to download and upload data from several hours per day to minutes, returning valuable time to the organization.
Solution
OST has engaged with Delphi Automotive to develop a high-performance desktop delivery environment, deploying workstation-class GPU-enabled Windows 10 desktops with high-bandwidth/low-latency connectivity to the telemetry “data lakes”. By placing the desktop close to the data instead of close to the engineer, we’ve created a fast and reliable user environment which can be presented to users around the globe. This approach has given Delphi Automotive the performance their users demanded while enabling incredible user access flexibility and enforcing strict data security perimeters.
The solution consists of a cluster of HPE ProLiant servers housing NVIDIA GRID GPUs, providing direct GPU access for hundreds of Windows 10 desktops. An all-flash Software Defined Storage stack allows for high availability and high performance in a converged fabric supporting storage, management, user data access, and remote display. The Citrix XenDesktop platform offers a tightly-integrated management and access platform, allowing Delphi staff and customers across several continents secured access to their applications and data.
Being Far from the Data No Longer Slows Engineers Down
The high performance delivery environment that places the desktop close to the data, instead of an engineer. The benefit of the remote desktop is a fast, reliable environment for use around the globe. For Delphi, reducing download times from hours to minutes means the engineers are able to solve issues at a faster rate, moving towards a successful algorithm at a more efficient and cost effective pace.
