V-Ray DR Spawners are not getting called by the Server when a new Job starts up unless servers are manually resolved during render

[mpfonzen]

We are currently experiencing issues with DR Spawners on a couple of our machines not getting added to jobs in our manager queue. There are no errors or warnings about them not responding, they simply just don't show up in the messages window.
Our Farm consists of 3 computers and 2 nodes. The 2 nodes and PC we are using as our manager and server are running on windows 7, and our two workstations that aren't getting added are running on windows 10.

On the windows 10 workstations our spawners are on and registered, but as a job starts they don't get picked unless we manually resolve the servers during the render in the DR settings. Once the servers are resolved, the IP addresses for the windows 10 machines show up in the messages window, and start rendering the job with the other machines.

After hours when we aren't here to resolve the servers, they don't contribute to the jobs in our queue which slows down our render times.

The ports are 20204, IP addresses are correct, and the servers are checked. To reiterate, there are no errors or warnings when our windows 10 machines don't get added, there is not data in the messages window about them until the servers are resolved in the DR settings during the render.

Can anyone offer some advice on how to fix this issue?

So it turns out this was a very simple solution. I was submitting the jobs from my workstation, and I did not have my PC entered on the DR server list. I was submitting jobs from my workstation with my PC missing from the DR Server list, so when it got to the manager (which has all machines on the list), I saw it checked but the actual jobs were not calling my host. That's why resolving would work After going into the scene, adding my PC to the list and resubmitting the job, my DR spawner finally got picked up!

Just make sure all your DR Spawners are included in the DR server list on all your PCs, including the Workstations you are submitting jobs from. Thanks for the help guys!

[ivan.slavchev]

Which V-Ray / 3dsMax version do you use? There's a general DR troubleshooting guide here - https://docs.chaosgroup.com/display/...shooting+Guide

Apart from that - do you use DHCP and do the IP addresses of the computers change, or are they always the same? How are the computers added in DR server list - with hostnames or IP addresses?

On the windows 10 workstations our spawners are on and registered, but as a job starts they don't get picked unless we manually resolve the servers during the render in the DR settings. Once the servers are resolved, the IP addresses for the windows 10 machines show up in the messages window, and start rendering the job with the other machines.

I'd check the power settings - you should turn off sleep / hibernation, since it's possible that the computers are waking after they are contacted when you press the "Resolve servers" button.

[PIXELBOX_SRO]

To add to this we javent been able to get the spawners running reliably for more than two years now. They are very sensitive to many window settings. One window update and you can start troubleshooting from scratch. I think they should get some sort of an overhaul. They tend to be very moody. Sometimes restart helps too.

[mpfonzen]

Which V-Ray / 3dsMax version do you use? There's a general DR troubleshooting guide here - https://docs.chaosgroup.com/display/...shooting+Guide

Apart from that - do you use DHCP and do the IP addresses of the computers change, or are they always the same? How are the computers added in DR server list - with hostnames or IP addresses?



I'd check the power settings - you should turn off sleep / hibernation, since it's possible that the computers are waking after they are contacted when you press the "Resolve servers" button.

We are using 3ds 2019 and V-Ray 4.02. I'll take a more detailed look through the trouble shooting guide and see if I can figure it out.

The IP addresses don't change, I believe we entered the hostnames to add them to the DR server list. I can try re-entering my machine with the IP. Our sleep and power save settings are configured for DR, so I would rule that out.

I just witnessed a new job start up from the manager, and sure enough even though my PCs spawner is running and is checked in the list, there is nothing in the messages window reporting about the issue with the spawner. Moreover, the other Windows 10 PC was called and added to the job with no errors.

Could there be a permissions setting in windows that I may have overlooked?

[ivan.slavchev]

You can try to:

- add the Windows 10 machines with IP addresses to check if there's an issue with incorrect resolving of the hostnames.
- try a simple ping to the Windows 10 machines before you initiate a DR job (without using "Resolve servers" button firs) to check if the problem is that the machines need to be contacted/ woken up to become reachable.

Regarding permissions - you can try if there's any difference if you run the DR spawner manually vs running it as a service, also - try rinning it with an admin account if you don't already use one.

If you don't find the problem - you can always message us at support@chaosgroup.com (include a link to this topic) and we'll look into it.