Author Topic: Cross Platform team render. Win & Mac  (Read 7098 times)

2019-09-23, 15:26:08

Nuno

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Hello I would like to know if it is possible to use team render with windows and Mac together as clients.

I had some issues in the past with lighting as described in this here  https://forum.corona-renderer.com/index.php?topic=23429.msg142852#msg142852

Had anyone tested or have a team render setup with cross platform OS?

Thank you, best
Nuno

2019-09-23, 16:35:22
Reply #1

BigAl3D

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As far as I know, the Corona Camera Tag on the Mac is still an issue. If you copy the camera tag setting to the Camera/Post Processing tab in the render settings and check Use Photographic Exposure, everything renders fine. At least it's an easy workaround.

2019-10-03, 15:07:55
Reply #2

Nuno

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As far as I know, the Corona Camera Tag on the Mac is still an issue. If you copy the camera tag setting to the Camera/Post Processing tab in the render settings and check Use Photographic Exposure, everything renders fine. At least it's an easy workaround.

Hi BigAl3D

Yes that is a alternative to bypass that issue. Thank you very much for your input :)

I had a test to see it. Just did the post processing on the render settings and the camera without any corona tag. Works like a charm :) although, I think that corona team should fix this issue as it's annoying and would never bypass it if you didn't helped.

Thank you ;)

2019-10-04, 08:00:23
Reply #3

davetwo

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I was working from MAC with PC as renderclient this week. No issues to report. All good ;)

2019-10-04, 22:46:14
Reply #4

BigAl3D

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@davetwo That's very curious. I launch my render from my Mac and use a Windows 10-based render client and I have this problem. Wonder why you don't have this problem?

2019-10-05, 12:00:57
Reply #5

lollolo

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I also work on a Mac and use a windows 10 client to render, but I never had this issue.

So TeamRender works mostly on cross platform.

2019-10-05, 15:01:24
Reply #6

Designerman77

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Hey fellow Mac users,

can any of you guys share a quick explanation, how you wired up the machines for TR?
Mac to Mac and/or Mac to WinPC.
I mean especially the connection via router.

All the tuts on the net like from Grayscalgorilla & co, only show how it´s set up in C4D... which is a child's play.
But I haven't found an instruction about how to wire the machines through the router.
Do the machines only need an internal network - so I can use a router without internet connection?

Thanks in advance.


2019-10-05, 17:27:55
Reply #7

BigAl3D

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@Designerman77 Yes, you can use a local network without internet. The process is the same on Windows for the Client. Prefs, Announce to Network, Token. Also make sure you have any 3rd party plugins on each client.

Sometimes I find, in order to see the Windows client on my Mac, I need to Add Machine (in the Render Machines window) and type in the IP of that machine, followed by a colon and the port number. Typically would look like this — 000.000.00.00:5401. That last number is the default port so try that first. If successful, it will then ask for the Security Token for that client. Since you're not running a paid render farm, I'd keep that token super simple to remember.

2019-10-05, 19:55:21
Reply #8

jojorender

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Question for the guys with a mixed OS setup.
When using the UHD Cache “load from file” in a animation render, where do you save the cache file, so both systems have access to this file?
TR can’t find the UHD Cache in the “tex” folder or any other default project folder.
Tom G’s UHD Cache video on the help page, mentions to use “a networked drive” but doesn’t give any detail about how to setup a networked drive so the UHD cache lives in the exact same location on Mac and PC.
In the Render settings/ UHD Cache, the filename field does not take a URL.
On macs I can setup a WebDAV on all my Macs from my nextcloud server, and all my nodes have the exact same mount point. /Volumes/Frank/UHD_CACHE/Cache.hdc. (See screenshot)
That mount point would of course be different on a PC and TR wouldn’t be able to find the cache file.
Any advise on how to get this to work?

2019-10-06, 00:53:04
Reply #9

Designerman77

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@Designerman77 Yes, you can use a local network without internet. The process is the same on Windows for the Client. Prefs, Announce to Network, Token. Also make sure you have any 3rd party plugins on each client.

Sometimes I find, in order to see the Windows client on my Mac, I need to Add Machine (in the Render Machines window) and type in the IP of that machine, followed by a colon and the port number. Typically would look like this — 000.000.00.00:5401. That last number is the default port so try that first. If successful, it will then ask for the Security Token for that client. Since you're not running a paid render farm, I'd keep that token super simple to remember.


Hey BigAl3D,

thanks a lot for your description!

One could think that I might be lazy or a tech ignorant... to ask such basic questions. :)
Neither nor...
I had only read so much about all kind of bugs with TR in the past, that it kept me away from the render-farm concept.
Luckily, my Xeon iMacPro is fast enough for my render jobs... but connecting my older i7-iMac to it cannot be wrong.

Also those 32 core Ryzens as a client are surely a nice option.
So maybe one day I´ll also set up a "hybrid render collective".

Thanks again!


2019-10-07, 12:28:47
Reply #10

davetwo

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Although its not usually advised - I just use my wifi connection. Thus far its been stable enough (I only render stills). My TR setup is as per the reliable 3D Fluff method:

2020-09-11, 11:35:50
Reply #11

Designerman77

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Question for the guys with a mixed OS setup.
When using the UHD Cache “load from file” in a animation render, where do you save the cache file, so both systems have access to this file?
TR can’t find the UHD Cache in the “tex” folder or any other default project folder.
Tom G’s UHD Cache video on the help page, mentions to use “a networked drive” but doesn’t give any detail about how to setup a networked drive so the UHD cache lives in the exact same location on Mac and PC.
In the Render settings/ UHD Cache, the filename field does not take a URL.
On macs I can setup a WebDAV on all my Macs from my nextcloud server, and all my nodes have the exact same mount point. /Volumes/Frank/UHD_CACHE/Cache.hdc. (See screenshot)
That mount point would of course be different on a PC and TR wouldn’t be able to find the cache file.
Any advise on how to get this to work?




Hey JOJORENDER,

despite this post & topic being older... but I have the same problem with the UHD cache not being read by the client computer.

It is happening even on a simple network consisting only two Macs (wired by Thunderbolt).

All other assets are recognized like a charm, even the Laubwerk plants plugin. But the Corona UHD-cache constantly gets an error message: "UHD cache cannot be opened / read".
This results in visible differences of those frames rendered by the client computer - especially flickering GI splotches in corners (yes, flicker-feee is activeated).

Have you been successful by placing the UHD cache on a networked external drive?

Thanks in advance for any tip!


This thing drives me nuts. Need to render an animation and not being able to profit from team render.



2020-09-11, 12:16:29
Reply #12

mmarcotic

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Question for the guys with a mixed OS setup.
When using the UHD Cache “load from file” in a animation render, where do you save the cache file, so both systems have access to this file?
TR can’t find the UHD Cache in the “tex” folder or any other default project folder.
Tom G’s UHD Cache video on the help page, mentions to use “a networked drive” but doesn’t give any detail about how to setup a networked drive so the UHD cache lives in the exact same location on Mac and PC.
In the Render settings/ UHD Cache, the filename field does not take a URL.
On macs I can setup a WebDAV on all my Macs from my nextcloud server, and all my nodes have the exact same mount point. /Volumes/Frank/UHD_CACHE/Cache.hdc. (See screenshot)
That mount point would of course be different on a PC and TR wouldn’t be able to find the cache file.
Any advise on how to get this to work?




Hey JOJORENDER,

despite this post & topic being older... but I have the same problem with the UHD cache not being read by the client computer.

It is happening even on a simple network consisting only two Macs (wired by Thunderbolt).

All other assets are recognized like a charm, even the Laubwerk plants plugin. But the Corona UHD-cache constantly gets an error message: "UHD cache cannot be opened / read".
This results in visible differences of those frames rendered by the client computer - especially flickering GI splotches in corners (yes, flicker-feee is activeated).

Have you been successful by placing the UHD cache on a networked external drive?

Thanks in advance for any tip!


This thing drives me nuts. Need to render an animation and not being able to profit from team render.

As mentioned in https://forum.corona-renderer.com/index.php?topic=30816.0, for anyone wondering this as well, the UHD cached can be placed to a network drive which is mapped from both computers, and the secondary GI will be loaded correctly.
Learn how to report bugs for Corona in C4D here.

2020-09-12, 00:35:14
Reply #13

jojorender

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Hi Designerman77,
yeah this issue really sucks, and is unnecessarily complicated to setup….
As I described  in my post, a networked drive (WebDAV) that 4 Macs have access to, does work for me. The mount point is identical on all 4 machines. You just need to make sure the WebDAV is mounted on all TR machines when rendering.


Hi mmarcotic
I’m still not sure about a mixed OS environment since I don’t have any Win machines, yet.
The WebDAV mount on MacOS starts with “/Volumes/“ that concept is different on Windows, I believe.

Can you confirm how exactly the uhd cache can be accessed in a windows / mac TR setup?

I still think it would be best if the cache can be accessed from a relative path in the project directory, like all other assets. 
Even for still images, render farms ask to save out the uhd cache, since different cpu’s can calculate the cache differently and can potentially cause banding in the image.

I already posted a feature request last year…
https://forum.corona-renderer.com/index.php?topic=27144.msg160711#msg160711

Can you check with the dev team if this could be possible?