2011

2 Create a new partition and use the restore disc or product disc to install
the operating system.
Install mental ray for Maya satellite
Overview of mental ray (satellite)
mental ray for Maya supports a different form of network rendering: mental
ray satellite rendering. The new network rendering capability, based on mental
ray satellite technology, allows you to install a version of mental ray (satellite)
on any networked computer. This special version of mental ray resides on
that machine and waits for rendering tasks from Maya. It supplements the
mental ray rendering capabilities in Maya with the additional rendering power
provided by the networked computers’ CPUs.
A mental ray distributed rendering can speed up all of the following tasks:
■ interactive rendering (through the Maya interface)
■ IPR rendering with mental ray for Maya
■ interactive batch rendering (a batch render started by Maya)
■ command-line rendering
The rendering process is typically initiated from the master machine (the
machine running Maya or where the command-line render starts from). The
slave machines (satellite rendering computers) process rendering tasks they
receive over the network from the master and send back results. The master
machine handles task distribution, load balancing, and the collection of
received rendering tasks which make up the rendered image.
For more information about mental ray satellite, including how to set up the
rayhosts file to get and receive data from Maya, see the Maya Help. In the
Maya Help, navigate toUser Guide > Rendering and Render Setup > Rendering
> mental ray for Maya rendering > Network rendering using mental ray for
Maya.
Setting up the rayhosts file is required for mental ray for Maya satellite
rendering to work.
52 | Chapter 2 Maya Installation