Assistnce on Setting up a Render Farm

Good Morning CGP!

Mga sir....! anybody can help me setting up a render farm (set-up, hardware requirements, software and usage).

Got 6 PCs here at the office, InteL Xeon, 12gig Ram each and quadrofx vcard. As of now they are connected to a switch hub,

with one as the monitor PC (correct me for the right term).

Queries:

1. Do all PC requires the same set-ups (e.g. computer names, softwares and hardwares)

2. Does the monitor needs a complete PC setup (monitor, mouse and keyboard)

3. Does all PC requires 3ds max and vray if im using those software on my own PC as my rendering engine? a bit confuse. . .

4. Backburner?

Thanks CGP in advance. Ngayon lang ako gagamit neto... sana matulungan nyo ako mga Sir.

Thanks in Advance.

UP

yes sagot sa lahat bro. except #2. You just need the monitor to see if the set ups are correct, pwede mo na tanggalin of ilipat after yung KVM switch.

Thanks ser boks...! pero need ko pa din ng assistance s oag setup at pagamit neto... a tutorial maybe...!

Meron sa youtube bro. Hanap ako mamaya.

bro, di pa ako nakagamit driectly pero nakita ko sa dati kong office pano gumagana.

Simple direct process.

1. Everything should be connected as a network. yung tipong connected lahat ng PC para ma read nila yung mga mappings.

2. go to render setup>setting tabs>distributed rendering>settings

3. another window(will appear)>add server>saka ka mag add ng PC sa network

4. once done tapos nagclick ka na ng rerender. makikita mo na madami na yung bucket mo ibig sabihin gagamitin nya yung ram ng other PC na.

correct me if im wrong. pag di gumana off mo lang ulit yung distribution rendering para ma-disable.

Ito bro.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=3ds+max+backburner&oq=3ds+max+backburner&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=youtube-psuggest.3...4165.6086.0.6276.8.8.0.0.0.0.396.705.3-2.2.0...0.0.fKI6gamDDAQ

Norman wrote:bro, di pa ako nakagamit driectly pero nakita ko sa dati kong office pano gumagana.

Simple direct process.

1. Everything should be connected as a network. yung tipong connected lahat ng PC para ma read nila yung mga mappings.

2. go to render setup>setting tabs>distributed rendering>settings

3. another window(will appear)>add server>saka ka mag add ng PC sa network

4. once done tapos nagclick ka na ng rerender. makikita mo na madami na yung bucket mo ibig sabihin gagamitin nya yung ram ng other PC na.

correct me if im wrong. pag di gumana off mo lang ulit yung distribution rendering para ma-disable.

Thanks bro...! iba pa ito dun sa sinsabi ni sir boks...! distrobuted rendering ito...! actually na try ko ito kahapon kaso hindi sila magkita kita hehehe!. may error na ni-rerefuse nung iba pc na maka connect...! still trying to figure out pano ito...!

bokkins wrote:Ito bro.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=3ds+max+backburner&oq=3ds+max+backburner&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=youtube-psuggest.3...4165.6086.0.6276.8.8.0.0.0.0.396.705.3-2.2.0...0.0.fKI6gamDDAQ

Thank you sir boks...! Very helpful ito...! mejo napi figure out ko na paano...! just need to set up the farm first...! softwares issues hehehe

Each and every machine including the backburner manager (the one managing the render tasks), the monitor (the one distributing the tasks from the manager), and the servers (the machines doing the actual renderings of each frame of the sequence) should be in a single workgroup. Meaning they should be connected to a single local network and able to see each other; have permissions to read and write files on a certain location where you put your maps and write the rendered files.

The manager and the monitor can be the on the same machine. It could even be the one you are using to send the rendering task.

Each server should have the same installation of max and vray (no need to license them, vray should only be able to point to where the dongle is)

The purpose of a monitor screen (if you have them) for the rendering servers is for you to see what each server is working on. You can have a single monitor/keyboard mouse for a set of rendering servers via a kvm switch. In the absence of one, you can use VNC to connect to those machines online using a VNC viewer installed in any machine connected to the same LAN. It could even be the same machine you are working on.

The scenario is: You work on a single machine, say your own workstation,

1. When you are ready to render, write the Network Location where you want the files saved (again make sure that each rendering servers has the permission to write the files)

2. Make sure the Backburner Manager is running as well as the Backburner Monitor. Same goes for the Rendering Servers.

3. Make sure that the Rendering Servers are running the Backburner Server Application and correctly pointing to the IP address or Machine Name of the machine running Backburner Manager. (refer to the manuals for the setup)

3. Select Network Rendering and Hit Render.

4. On the next dialog, you write the name or IP Address of the workstation that has the Backburner Manager running. You will then see the list of available Servers depending on whether those servers were able to connect. If you don't find a particular server then it was probably not able to connect for some reason (Check trouble shooting manuals)

5. By default, the dialog is set to use all available servers automatically, so just hit render.

6. All the files will be sent from this workstation via Backburner to the Manager, the manager will then send these to the Monitor which will then distribute the task to all available rendering servers.

7. You then view the backburner Monitor for issues (error reports), whether the files have been rendered or still waiting to be processed. Almost all information regarding the status or a particular scene in the queue can be found in the backburner Monitor.

Read the manuals. It's all there.

The Distributed Rendering capability of Vray via Backburner or plane Vray is another story.

Well said....! A bit enlighten with the process... just need to try. . . !

Just one last query Sir V....! do the computer names plays a big part on the setup....! coz my australian colleague told me that computer names shoud be starting with letters not in numbers (we got a company policy of computer names starting in numbers) ?

Salamat sir V

Stryker wrote:Well said....! A bit enlighten with the process... just need to try. . . !

Just one last query Sir V....! do the computer names plays a big part on the setup....! coz my australian colleague told me that computer names shoud be starting with letters not in numbers (we got a company policy of computer names starting in numbers) ?

Salamat sir V

You can even name your computers after your girlfriends, your siblings or even your dogs.
As long as the names are unique (meaning each computer names are different from any other machines in the LAN) then it will be alright.

v_wrangler wrote:

Stryker wrote:Well said....! A bit enlighten with the process... just need to try. . . !

Just one last query Sir V....! do the computer names plays a big part on the setup....! coz my australian colleague told me that computer names shoud be starting with letters not in numbers (we got a company policy of computer names starting in numbers) ?

Salamat sir V

You can even name your computers after your girlfriends, your siblings or even your dogs.
As long as the names are unique (meaning each computer names are different from any other machines in the LAN) then it will be alright.

Copy V....! Thanks again....!

hi guys...! sirs....!

another thing... already configure the farm ... problem is the LC and IR maps are missing...

Where should i place the maps? so the other servers can locate them?

Thanks in advance..

SOLVED! ok n mga ser... thanks CGP!