Apple Shake (Qmaster 1.2) Distributed Rendering (10.3) - Manual (Page 13)

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Submitting Render Jobs in the Render Farm Setup
Because of the way access is configured in this setup, all file pathnames are
conveniently consistent for the purposes of specifying them in Shake scripts and in
Shake Qmaster, assuming that:
• Users place all source media for the Shake scripts on the second Xserve drive (which
each user will see mounted in /Network/Servers/XserveName.local/Volumes/).
• Users place all the Shake scripts on the second Xserve drive.
• All folders and files on the second Xserve drive (the media volume) have Read and
Write access enabled for everyone (for Owner, Group, and Others). You can make this
access setting by selecting the folder or file and choosing File > Get Info.
The above three assumptions are very important. They ensure that the user computers
and cluster computers have Read and Write access to all the media source files, Shake
scripts, and output destinations.
Specifying the Media File Locations in Shake Scripts
In the above setup, all the Shake render scripts should specify their source media (File
In) locations and output (File Out) destinations as:
/Network/Servers/XserveName.local/Volumes/MediaDiskName/.
For example: /Network/Servers/Xserve.local/Volumes/Media/.
Specifying Shake Script Locations in Shake Qmaster
In the above setup, all the Shake script locations should be specified in Shake Qmaster
as: /Network/Servers/XserveName.local/Volumes/MediaDiskName/ScriptFilename.
For example: /Network/Servers/Xserve.local/Volumes/Media/Script.shk.
Sample Render Farm Setup for Mac OS X Panther
This section describes setting up a render farm with computers that are running
Mac OS X (or Mac OS X Server) version 10.3.2 or later. See “
Sample Setup for a Full-Time
Render Farm ” on page 6 for a diagram of this setup.
Step 1: Start up the Xserve and use Server Assistant for the initial setup
Turn on the Xserve, which will act as the cluster controller, and follow the Server
Assistant onscreen instructions to get the Xserve up and running. (This sample setup
assumes you are setting up the Xserve for the first time.)
Configure the Xserve for a dynamic address that is assigned by DHCP, making sure to:
• Make the Host Name match the Computer Name and Rendezvous name.
• Select the option to use a dynamic (DHCP) IP address.
• Select the option to be an Open Directory Master.
• Enable Apple File Service.
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