Do you use DR?

[Sascha Selent]

But nevertheless now I do not get VRaySpawner to work via service. As service VRaySpawner is up, max is up, it starts to load the scene but then hangs up with 50% of the dual-core in usage. Grmpf. I also changed the user for the service to be sure it can access the network-paths, but this had no effect...

I was happy too quick: Doesn´t work. It works with a simple test-scene without mappings, but at the moment the machines try to access the Fileserver to get the maps they fail. This is only via service. Manually started it works fine except the unstability. Copying all the maps locally is no solution for me...

Anyone any suggestions?

[Clifton Santiago]

All your file paths are UNC?

[Sascha Selent]

All your file paths are UNC?

Ahm, no, everything is mounted to a fixed drive-letter. It works well if I use the spawner manually not via service.

If I use an UNC-path it works via service. Seems that max launched via service has not the rights to access a mounted drive (?!?)...

...I do not like to use UNC-paths, i like mounted drive-paths more, but anyway - seems that max has some problems with the option "Convert file paths to UNC". When I check this and choose a file from a mounted drive it just doesn´t take the new map and keeps the old one in slot...

Gooosh...

[ene.xis]

u mean a usb drive, or a network attached drive?

[Sascha Selent]

u mean a usb drive, or a network attached drive?

Network attached drive.

I did heavy testing. Seems that it is more stable if no Win XP Home-machine is involved in DR rendering, but still slaves are dying continuously even if only Win XP Pro-machines are involved.

I do not understand why. Last thing I can try to change all file-paths to UNC to see whats happening.

DR via service didn´t provide more stability...

[Clifton Santiago]

Yeah, I would think any "home" version of a windows product would be a bad thing. Actually I have never even seen a home version of Windows. I would upgrade everything to XP 64 Professional.

Are you using workgroups or something? I've only ever set this up on a proper network.

[ene.xis]

I've only ever set this up on a proper network.

yeah! propper network is indeed fundamental, unfortunately i can t be of any help there!
but depending on the number of machines acessing the data and on the OS on the atached media drive it can get pretty tight, and some nodes might not get the data back...me thinks

[Subburb]

nice discuss here....
Clifton, i've tried the PStools succefully (start - stop Vrayspawner service from a vista64 ultimate sp1 to a XP32 pro).. nice tip

as i'm actually working on the next build of SolidRocks script, i've just finished a "share lightcache" tool. very simple, but very convenient : it launches first a prepass with DR off to render lightcache only, and save it (on specified path). then it launches a second pass, with DR on, and lightcache in "from file" mode. like this, on the second pass, the slaves starts immediatly rendering without waiting them to calculate their own and useless lightcache.

More than that, your PStools tip gives me an idea to add in the script a simple DR manager, with start/pause/stop Vrayspawner service for each slave.
Does it souns interesting ? or perhaps a tools like this already exists..?

[Sascha Selent]

More than that, your PStools tip gives me an idea to add in the script a simple DR manager, with start/pause/stop Vrayspawner service for each slave.
Does it souns interesting ? or perhaps a tools like this already exists..?

Maybe this is interesting for all of you?

I solved my problems with DR Spawner with a really crazy workaround

Sascha

[Clifton Santiago]

@Subburb: Both your suggestions sound brilliant. If they work as you suggest, they might well be in high demand on this forum .

[Clifton Santiago]

@Sasha: Steps 1 to 4 are to be expected when setting up DR. Step 5 is not necessary in my case.

[Sascha Selent]

@Sasha: Steps 1 to 4 are to be expected when setting up DR.

Ah, except that nobody tells you that your node may not have the appropriate rights to access needed network-drives and that mounted network-paths do crash the slaves when in service mode...

Step 5 is not necessary in my case.

Lucky you

[Clifton Santiago]

Okay. Well, I always set everything up as an administrator, so I don't have these problems. The only time I had to address these issues was setting up the DR to work with BB. Congrats on getting it to work

[Subburb]

Wow !
nice and detailed

[Sascha Selent]

I always set everything up as an administrator, ...

Me too. But that doesn´t help with NAS-Linux-Storage.

Congrats on getting it to work

Wow !
nice and detailed

Thaaanks, now I´m really happy with DR under VRay!