Topic: Net Render Client SW 2013 - Is Not Running!
I have been excited to try out the new 2013 PhotoView 360 Net Render Client, I even put in a enhancement request for it over a year ago. Boy have I had to be patient after a process of over three weeks of off and on tech support and sharing my workstations (via GoToMeeting) with SolidWorks and my VAR for almost three hours we cannot get the current Net Render Client Nodes to run and render. My VAR can get it to go and the SolidWorks Corporate Tech can on their end but I am having no luck. I have consulted two SolidWorks rendering guru's out there and I have still not had any success yet anyway.
The Network Monitors have been Setup on each of my two nodes and the one Coordinator workstation. We went through all the Net Render Client settings, steps and setups methodically; I am not sure what we are missing. We even tried it for a period without the Fire Wall and Virus Software running. The Net Render Client software is the [BETA 52488] Edition and I confirmed that it is the current and correct version for SolidWorks 2013 SP0.0. Each Net Render Client shows up on the Coordinator Computer menu at the bottom that the ID is “unlicensed” the Status is “Idle” and the mode is “Client” for each node. I confirmed with SolidWorks that this is the correct expectation “unlicensed” in the menu at this time.
My 2013 subscription is currently activated and up to date with my VAR and SolidWorks that has been confirmed. The Network Monitor App for each computer is set to “Allow Tasks” The network PhotoView 360 renderings have been sent off as stills “Final Renders” directly from SolidWorks and tested still renderings sent out through the “Schedule Render” and launching the SolidWorks “Task Scheduler” app.
Today I sent off the Application and System Events data, System Info and Luxology User Data to Solidworks for review of my two node and one coordinator computer configurations. I have my fingers crossed that they will find something to solve this issue.
Steve
References:
From PhotoView 360 Net Render Client Help: (As of 2013 SP0.0)
Setting Up Your Network
To set up your client and coordinator machines to perform network renders:
- Install PhotoView 360 Net Render Client on the client machines using the SolidWorks Installation Manager. You select the software on the Product Selection page.
You do not need a SolidWorks license to install the PhotoView 360 Net Render Client.
You can use up to 50 client machines, but for most renders 3-4 client machines is ideal, and using more might even slow down renders, due to network latency.
- On the client machines, confirm that the PhotoView 360 Net Render Client is running in client mode. When the software is in client mode, the Render Client dialog box appears with the message Waiting for a job.
Client machines must be turned on, with the Net Render Client running in client mode to assist with renders.
- If the PhotoView 360 Net Render Client is not in client mode, do one of the following:
- Click Enter Client Mode Now.
- Set the options on the Schedule tab and click Start Schedule.
- On the coordinator machine, in the SolidWorks application, click PhotoView 360 > Options.
- Select Network Rendering and set the options.
When you initiate a render on the coordinator machine, it uses the processing power of the available client machines to accelerate the render time.
PhotoView 360 Net Render Client User Interface
The PhotoView 360 Net Render Client must be running and in client mode to assist with network renders. You can set a schedule to make the machine available for rendering on specific days and times on the Schedule tab.
Enter Client Mode Now | Activates client mode, making the machine available for network rendering. To minimize the Network Render Client while in Client mode, click the PhotoView 360 Net Render Client icon in the Windows Task Pane. |
Start Schedule | Activates the options set on the Schedule tab. |
Stop Schedule | Deactivates the schedule. |
Schedule tab
You can set detailed start and end times for each day of the week that control when your machine is available for network rendering.
Always Available | Sets the Net Render Client to be available all day, everyday and deactivates specific day and time selections. When cleared, additional options become available. |
Available Every Day | Sets the Net Render Client to be available every day and deactivates selections of individual days. When cleared, options to select specific days become available. |
Available All Day | Sets the Net Render Client to be available 24 hours on the days that it is active. Deactivates the start and end time selections. When cleared, options to set the start and end time for each day become available. |
Use the day and time options (for example Available Monday, Monday Start Time, and Monday End Time) to set the PhotoView 360 Net Render Client to be available on specific days or at specific times.
Options tab
Geometry Cache Size | Determines the maximum amount of system RAM the PhotoView 360 Net Render Client will use to parse scene geometry (such as polygons, vertices, and surfaces) for rendering. You can increase this value to render geometry-intensive scenes. If the amount of geometry in a scene exceeds this value, an error message will appear. For 32-bit systems, this value cannot exceed the maximum amount of addressable RAM (RAM not needed by the system itself), usually about 3 GB. For 64-bit systems, the maximum value can be greater, dependent only on the amount of available system RAM. |
Network Shared Directory | Specifies the directory to use if Shared Network Directory is selected in PhotoView 360 Options on the coordinator machine. The client and coordinator machines must use the same directory. |
Block System Sleep While Rendering | Stops the system from going to sleep while performing a render. |
Reset "In the future..." Messages | Restores dismissed messages. |
Network Monitor Pane
The Network Monitor Pane appears at the bottom of the PhotoView 360 Net Render Client and displays information about other machines in your network.
The following information is displayed:
Send | Displays a check mark when the machine is properly configured. | ||||||
ID | Displays the machine's name and IP address. | ||||||
Cores | Displays the number of cores the machine has and how many are available. | ||||||
Status |
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Mode |
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Group | By default, all PhotoView 360 Net Render Clients are in the same group. | ||||||
Progress | Displays the progress of the current render as a percentage. The percentage is calculated based on the percent of buckets (small areas of the image) completed. |
When to Use Network Rendering
In some cases, network rendering might not reduce rendering time.
There are many variables that affect whether network rendering decreases render times. These variables are specific to your system, your network, and your render. We recommend testing various types of renders both on your coordinator machine and on your network to get an idea of what is best for your setup. In the following situations, it is likely faster to complete the render without network rendering enabled:
- Rendering takes less than five minutes on your coordinator machine.
- The client machines are significantly less powerful than the coordinator machine.
- The preprocessing portion of the rendering takes a third or more of the total render time. Typically, renders with many lights, reflections, and refractions have a longer preprocessing time. You can view the Preprocessing Time on the Statistics tab of the Final Render window.
- Your network is very slow.
Example: Buckets and Network Rendering As your computer renders an image, it divides the image into small areas called buckets.
This image shows a model being rendered with PhotoView 360, using Network Rendering. The orange squares are buckets that the Coordinator computer is processing. The computer has four cores. Each core is processing one bucket.
The blue squares are buckets that the Client computer is processing. The Client computer has four cores, and has been assigned a Client Workload of 200%, so each core is processing two buckets at a time, for a total of eight
End Help Topics