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+ | ====== The nXt Render Farm ====== | ||
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+ | A render farm is a group of networked computers working together to complete large rendering tasks. | ||
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+ | Many third-party render farm products are currently available. | ||
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+ | The nXt Render Farm includes two basic pieces of software: | ||
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+ | - nXtFarmer.exe (nXtFarmer64.exe) is a small program that runs on each network rendering station and waits for jobs to be generated. | ||
+ | - nXtFarmMonitor.exe (nXtFarmMonitor64.exe) is an applet that shows you the state of your render farm and provides some simple control tools. | ||
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+ | The following procedures apply to nXt's included render farm. If you are planning to use third-party render farm software, some of these procedures will be different. | ||
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+ | ===== Installing and configuring the Render Farm ===== | ||
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+ | Create a shared folder for use by the Render Farm. All the network rendering computers must have read/write access to this folder. The shared folder should have lots of available disk space to store both data (input) and images (output). | ||
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+ | - Install the nXt Render Farm software. | ||
+ | - From the Start menu, run the Render Farmer on each machine. | ||
+ | - Right click on the icon and select **Restore**. | ||
+ | - Select **Options-> | ||
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+ | The Render Farm is now configured. To verify that the farmer machines are responding run the Render Farm Monitor from the Start menu on any of the workstations. | ||
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+ | **Updating the Render Farm software** | ||
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+ | All participating computers must be updated before a new job can be submitted to the farm. Use the following procedure: | ||
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+ | * Wait for any active farm jobs to complete before beginning your update. | ||
+ | * For each participating computer: | ||
+ | - If the Render Farm is currently running, close down the Render Farmer by right-clicking on the tray icon and selecting **Close**. | ||
+ | - Install the nXt Render Farm software. | ||
+ | - Run the Render Farmer from the Start Menu. The tray icon should appear. | ||
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+ | ===== Licensing the Render Farm ===== | ||
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+ | The evaluation version of the Render Farm lets two network machines (nodes) work on jobs simultaneously. If you wish to have more network nodes running simultaneously you can buy an unlimited node license [[http:// | ||
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+ | Once you have purchased your license and have acquired a Product Key, use one of the following procedures to license your farm. | ||
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+ | // | ||
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+ | - Wait for any active farm jobs to complete before beginning your licensing. | ||
+ | - Save your Product Key to a network location so you can cut and paste it into each node. | ||
+ | - For each participating computer: | ||
+ | - If the node is currently active, shut it down by right-clicking on the Render Farm tray icon, and selecting **Close**. | ||
+ | - Run the Authorize Farm applet from the nXt Render Farm folder in the Start Menu. | ||
+ | - Paste in your Product Key and select **OK**. | ||
+ | - Start the node by selecting Render Farmer from the nXt Folder of the Start Menu. | ||
+ | | ||
+ | // | ||
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+ | - Wait for any active farm jobs to complete before beginning your licensing. | ||
+ | - Shut down all network nodes first by visiting each machine, right-clicking on the Render Farm tray icon, and selecting **Close**. | ||
+ | - Save your Product Key to a network location so you can cut and paste it into each node. | ||
+ | - For each participating computer: | ||
+ | - Run the Render Farmer from the Start Menu. The tray icon should appear. | ||
+ | - Right click on the icon and select **Restore**. | ||
+ | - Select **Options-> | ||
+ | - Paste in your Product Key and select **OK**. | ||
+ | - Shut down the node by closing the window. | ||
+ | - Once all computers are licensed you can restart each node. | ||
+ | | ||
+ | **To verify that you are now running a licensed copy, view the About... box:** | ||
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+ | - Right click on the tray icon and select **Restore**. | ||
+ | - Select **Help-> | ||
+ | - The word // | ||
+ | - Minimize the Render Farmer window to return it to the tray. | ||
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