GPU-Accelerated Compression for High-Speed Acquisition Systems
Modern test and measurement systems are increasingly defined by a single constraint: not compute performance, but the ability to move, store, and retain data at scale. As digitizer bandwidth continues to increase, systems quickly encounter limits in storage throughput, network capacity, and the rising cost of high-performance NVMe infrastructure.
G2CPU v1.7.0 introduces Test & Measurement ZIP, a GPU-accelerated compression feature designed specifically for high-speed acquisition workloads.
Built on the foundation of NVIDIA NVCOMP, it extends GPU compression with G2CPU-specific optimizations for continuous waveform capture, instrument streaming, and high-throughput measurement workloads.
Rather than treating compression as a post-processing step, it is integrated directly into the acquisition pipeline, enabling real-time data reduction at full streaming speeds without disrupting capture.
In PXIe-class environments, G2CPU v1.7.0 sustains up to 6.5 GB/s, while high-end GPU compute systems scale to 20–50 GB/s depending on configuration and workload.
Proven in Real Acquisition Systems
In practical validation using G2CPU v1.7.0 with an NI PXIe-5840, a raw 5.0 GB/s acquisition stream is reduced in real time to approximately 1.5 GB/s, achieving a 3.4:1 compression ratio without interrupting continuous capture.
This reduction propagates through the full data path—lowering storage bandwidth requirements, reducing network load, and extending effective recording duration on existing infrastructure.
Measurement-Optimized Compression
Unlike general-purpose compression systems, G2CPU v1.7.0 Test & Measurement ZIP is tuned specifically for instrument and waveform data. Compression ratios typically range from 2:1 to 8:1 depending on signal structure and algorithm selection.
This directly increases effective storage capacity, enabling longer acquisitions, higher channel density, and improved data retention without changes to underlying hardware.
The graph below shows the compression ratio achieved for s16 IQ data. The numbers where generated with 256MB of data.
Infrastructure Impact in a Cost-Constrained Storage Landscape
As SSD pricing continues to rise—particularly for high-endurance, high-throughput NVMe devices—storage has become one of the dominant scaling costs in modern test systems. Prices have increased from $3 000 to $20 000 in a span of 1 year!
G2CPU v1.7.0 reduces write volume at the source, allowing systems to extend usable storage capacity, delay SSD expansion cycles, and reduce reliance on RAID or striped storage configurations.
In many deployments, this shifts storage from a scaling bottleneck into a managed resource.
GPU Efficiency and Compute Headroom
G2CPU v1.7.0 is designed with a lightweight GPU footprint, ensuring compression does not compete with primary workloads. This preserves compute headroom for real-time visualization, signal processing, analysis pipelines, and application-level rendering.
High-Throughput and Advanced APIs
G2CPU v1.7.0 introduces two integration paths: a high-throughput API for rapid adoption and an advanced API exposing low-level NVCOMP functionality with G2CPU streaming optimizations.
The high-throughput API enables straightforward parallel streaming workflows, allowing measurement data to be ingested from instruments while compressed frames are generated concurrently in a separate execution thread. These frames are optimized for efficient PCIe transfer, SSD storage, and GPU I/O for high-speed persistence.
It also supports reverse workflows, where stored compressed datasets are read while decompression occurs in parallel for analysis or replay.
Data Integrity and Recovery
Compressed measurement data is often transferred across PCIe fabrics, storage systems, and networks where corruption risks increase.
To address this, G2CPU v1.7.0 includes automatic recovery mechanisms designed to detect and recover from partial or corrupted streams, improving robustness in long-running acquisition and distributed data workflows.
Decoupling Acquisition from Storage Constraints
High-speed acquisition systems are increasingly limited by data movement and storage rather than compute performance.
G2CPU v1.7.0 integrates GPU-accelerated compression directly into the acquisition pipeline, reducing data at the point of capture and easing pressure across storage, network, and archival systems.
This shifts scaling away from infrastructure growth and toward data efficiency.
More technical deep dives on Test & Measurement workflows in G2CPU v1.7.0 will follow in upcoming posts.
