LightWave ScreamerNet Batch + Network (Mode -2) Rendering - DreamLight.com

DLI_SNUB-Launcher LightWave ScreamerNet Batch + Network (Mode -2) Rendering Settings

DLI SNUB Launcher may also be used to configure and launch multiple ScreamerNet lwsn render nodes for use in a batch or network mode -2 render farm. The Batch Render Settings drawer is used to configure DLI_SNUB-Launcher and launch lwsn for batch and network rendering. Run one DLI_SNUB-Launcher on each computer that you wish to launch lwsn nodes on. After launching all the ScreamerNet nodes for mode -2 rendering, you would then use LightWave’s built-in network render panel, or a third party render controller to manage the render queue and send the scenes to the render nodes.

For more in-depth information about batch and network ScreamerNet rendering, see the Batch Rendering tutorial, Network Rendering tutorial and the Internet Rendering tutorial from our Mastering LightWave 3D ScreamerNet LWSN white paper.

Batch/Network (Mode -2) Settings Drawer Button

Click the Open Batch Render Settings (-2) button or select the Settings->Open Batch Render Settings menu item to open the Batch/Network Render Settings drawer. This drawer contains additional settings that are only available for batch/network (mode -2) rendering. The text on the button will change between Open/Close as the drawer is toggled open and closed. For more information about any of the batch/network settings, see below as well as Batch/Network Mode (-2) Command Line Syntax from our Mastering LightWave 3D ScreamerNet LWSN white paper.

First ScreamerNet Node # Field

Enter the node number in the First ScreamerNet Node # field to use for the first (or only) ScreamerNet lwsn instance to run on this particular computer. You would use different node numbers on each different computer if you are setting up a network render with more than one computer. This is the number used after the job & ack ScreamerNet lwsn command line arguments.

The FREE Lite version allows 1 node. The registered standard STD license version allows numbers 1-5, registered professional PRO license version allows numbers 1-10 and the registered enterprise ENT license version allows virtually unlimited node numbers 1-99999999.

This custom setting is only saved between launches for the registered license versions of DLI SNUB Launcher.

Through Last Node # Check Box & Field

The check mark button allows you to optionally enable/disable multiple ScreamerNet lwsn instances for this single computer. Enter the node number in the Through Last Node # field to use for the last ScreamerNet lwsn instance to run on this particular computer when running more than one instance on a multi-core/CPU computer. If running multiple instances on the same computer, be sure to set the Config File’s render threads setting appropriately. This option is not to be confused with the last node used on more than one computer. If setting up multiple computers for network rendering you should use sequential numbers in the First ScreamerNet Node # on each individual computer as each will typically only run one node instance for each different computer in that case.

DLI_SNUB-Launcher will launch instances numbered from the First ScreamerNet Node # field to the number in the Through Last Node # field consecutively on the same computer. The First Node # must be lower than the Last Node #. This is the number used after the job & ack ScreamerNet command line arguments.

This custom setting is only saved between launches for the registered license versions of DLI SNUB Launcher.

Command Folder Button & Field

Click the Command Folder button or drag-and-drop a folder from the desktop to the button or read-only text field to set the path to the Command Folder that ScreamerNet lwsn will use to read/write commands in the job/ack files. All ScreamerNet render nodes must have read/write access to this same folder and your ScreamerNet controller must be set to use this same Command Folder. This is the path used for the job/ack ScreamerNet command line arguments. The field will automatically highlight green if the selected folder is user writable. This will default to a Commands folder inside the default Content Folder if available.

For more in-depth information about the Command Folder see Managing LightWave 3D ScreamerNet LWSN Config Files from our Mastering LightWave 3D ScreamerNet LWSN white paper.

This custom setting is only saved between launches for the registered license versions of DLI SNUB Launcher.

Launch ScreamerNet LWSN Nodes

Once all the batch/network settings are completed. Click the Launch ScreamerNet lwsn Nodes button to launch lwsn instances First Node # to Last Node # on this particular computer.

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