The announcement that PTC Creo 3D CAD software has been certified to run on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) G4ad instances powered by AMD offers exciting opportunities for product design and manufacturing organizations. By virtualizing their PTC Creo desktops with AMD powered EC2 G4ad instances, businesses can take advantage of the cloud to improve workforce flexibility, encourage collaboration, and better manage their IT resources and expenditures. Certification by PTC is a critical step toward enabling firms to modernize IT infrastructure and optimize design and product lifecycle management (PLM) to improve workforce productivity and collaboration in a remote environment.
Businesses that already use the PTC Creo application ecosystem can move smoothly to the cloud without disrupting critical application pipelines. IT decision makers’ businesses that are already using these applications can rapidly move to the cloud without disrupting critical application pipelines, experiencing the benefits of cloud migration. This makes it possible for organizations to expand their cloud-based operations, confident that their PTC Creo design teams will be fully supported by a workstation-like experience.
To view the certification, log into the PTC website to access the list of certified and supported configurations. In this case it’s listed under “Amazon Web Services”. Click here to login eSupport | PTC.
What are Amazon EC2 G4ad instances powered by AMD?
Amazon EC2 G4ad instances are powered by 2nd generation AMD EPYC™ CPUs and AMD Radeon™ PRO V520 GPUs Virtualization with AMD powered G4ad instances will enable designers, engineers, and other experts to complete tasks from any location, using even modest hardware. Having both project data and PTC application tools in the Cloud provides workers with continuous access in almost any circumstance. In short, the entire design portfolio is freed from the desktop. When it comes to user experience, the new certification provides assurance from PTC that AMD powered instances of G4ad are optimized for Creo, preserving the productivity, responsiveness, and rich feature set that users expect.Virtual machines delivered from Amazon EC2 data centers make it possible for workers to be productive anywhere. This includes workers like users of PTC Creo who previously relied on high-performance, accelerated workstations.
With both data and applications stored in EC2, the only thing that moves to users’ local devices are encrypted pixel data used to generate the display on the user’s screen. Sensitive project data never needs to be distributed, helping increase security. And since project data isn’t moved from the cloud to a desktop, displays load quickly and there are fewer opportunities for synchronization errors. The entire team is always working with the latest data, no matter where they are in the world.
G4ad instances provide GPU acceleration through APIs including OpenGL®, DirectX®, Vulcan®, or OpenCL™ to power modern applications. AMD enterprise-class drivers are tested and optimized to maximize performance and stability for independent and collaborative workflows. G4ad instances offer support for a range of advanced, remote protocols including Parsec, Teradici and NICE DCV for the best remote user experiences.
Shifting Creo Workloads to the Cloud can be a Game-Changer
Using PTC Creo on AMD processor-powered EC2 G4ad instances can deliver numerous, significant operational benefits, including:
Modernizing IT capabilities:
- Provision Windows® 10 desktops for CAD and design-engineering on-demand with the choice of using Window server or installing Windows 10 licenses owned by the organization.
- Scale the number of virtual workstations up or down as requirements change and to ensure optimal utilization of resources. Support any size team regardless of where individual workers are located.
- Instead of purchasing expensive high-end hardware that needs constant maintenance and replacement, organizations can switch to a flexible OPEX model, renting cloud-based services on a monthly basis and adjusting as dictated by needs.
- G4ad’s security focused, SR-IOV-based GPU virtualization is paired to EC2’s robust security measures to create a highly secured environment.
- Project data anywhere in the system, including data held in GPU memory during 3D model work, Is protected by the SR-IO based memory encryption features and remains in the data center.
- The only thing that leaves the data center is a stream of encrypted pixel data that will be displayed on the user’s monitor. Sensitive project data never needs to leave the EC2 datacenter.
Improved organizational workflows and user experiences:
- Users can enjoy a smooth and responsive experience helping to enhance workplace productivity. G4ad’s powerful CPU, GPU and memory resources make this platform ideal for designer-engineers who deal with 2D & 3D CAD, visualization, and simulation workloads.
- When 3D data is stored on G4ad in the organization’s Product Data Management (PDM) or Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system, large 3D assemblies load quickly since they don’t have to be pulled from the Cloud to the local desktop. All the work remains in the cloud.
- 3D data can just as easily be shared with workers in PLM, PDM, procurement, sales, marketing, operations and maintenance to enhance decision-making or to generate 3D assets.
With PTC Creo certification, companies can embrace modem, cloud-first workflows with confidence. They get the familiarity of their trusted design and PLM application environment, the reliability and accessibility offered by Amazon’s global EC2 cloud infrastructure, and the unmatched cloud-ready performance of AMD EPYC CPUs and AMD Radeon GPUs to drive critical workflows.
More resources:
- AWS Game Tech
- New Amazon EC2 G4ad instance sizes
- Incredibuild
- Unreal Swarm
- Perforce Helix Core
- Amazon Press Release
- AMD Press Release
- Amazon EC2 G4ad product information
- AMD.com/g4ad
- AMD Radeon Pro V520 Graphics
- AMD and AWS
George Watkins is a Product Marketing Manager for AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied. Third party marks are for informational purposes only and no endorsement of or by AMD is intended or implied.
