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© 2001 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Avid, SOFTIMAGE, and the Avid|DS Logo are registered trademarks and AVX is a trademark of Avid Technology, Inc. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. ? The Avid|DS application uses JScript and Visual Basic Scripting Edition from Microsoft Corporation. The Avid|DS application contains portions of imaging code owned and copyrighted by Pegasus Imaging Corporation, Tampa, FL.
accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense. Canadian ICES-003 ? This Class A digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment Regulations.
Australia and New Zealand EMC Regulations ? John Kells, Australian Operations Manager Avid Technology (Australia) Pty Ltd. Unit B 5 Skyline Place French Forest NSW 2086 Australia Phone: 61-2-8977-4800 Taiwan EMC Regulations BSMI Class A EMC Warning Warnings To reduce the risk of electrical shock, do not attempt to open the equipment unless instructed. Do not use a tool for purpose other than instructed.
Contents Contents Chapter 1 An Overview of Remote Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 An Introduction to Avid|DS Remote Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Remote Processing Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Avid|Throttle Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Avid|DS RP Station Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 CPU Usage on RP Stations . . . . .
Contents ? 6 • Remote Processing Guide
? Chapter 1 An Overview of Remote Processing Remote Processing Guide • 7
Chapter 1 • An Overview of Remote Processing In This Chapter... This chapter introduces you to remote processing in Avid|DS, remote processing concepts, and Avid|DS remote processing station requirements. An Introduction to Avid|DS Remote Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Avid|DS RP Station Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 CPU Usage on RP Stations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
An Introduction to Avid|DS Remote Processing An Introduction to Avid|DS Remote Processing Processing, or rendering, is a normal and necessary part of the Avid|DS workflow, as with any system that handles complex compositing and effects. Unfortunately for editors, artists, and their clients, processing takes up time and resources on the workstation being used, and can present frequent and lengthy interruptions to the creative process.
Chapter 1 • An Overview of Remote Processing Floating License: The license for the remote processing station is on the client workstation. This license information is appended to the dongle-based (or “nodelock”) information in the Softimage.lic file. In this context, the client workstation is a “license server” for the remote processing station. Avid|Throttle Manager ? Avid|DS workstations share their storages with Avid|DS RP stations during remote processing.
Avid|DS RP Station Requirements Avid|DS RP Station Requirements The remote processing station must meet the following requirements: • Intel Pentium II 400 MHz (single or dual CPU; MMX not enabled), Intel Pentium III up to 1 GHz (single or dual CPU; MMX enabled), or Intel Pentium 4. ? Intel Celeron and AMD processors are not supported. • 512 MB RAM (or 1.
Chapter 1 • An Overview of Remote Processing CPU Usage on RP Stations In some cases, users may find that the CPU usage on their RP station or their client workstation during processing is low. This may be more obvious when the RP station is a faster machine, and in some cases the CPU usage may be lower on the RP station than on the client workstation. This is a normal occurrence however. CPU usage is an indicator of processor activity.
? Chapter 2 Networking Guidelines Remote Processing Guide • 13
Chapter 2 • Networking Guidelines In This Chapter... This chapter general guidelines with regards to setting up a network for remote processing, and gives you some examples of typical remote processing configurations. Typical Networking Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Optimizing the Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Typical Networking Configurations Typical Networking Configurations On the network, there are two possible ways of setting up your site with remote processing stations: Point-to-point: A single client workstation is connected to a single remote processing station. Workgroup: One or more client workstations are connected to one or more remote processing stations.
Chapter 2 • Networking Guidelines This mini-network is isolated, and is not part of a larger corporate network. However, you need a network switch to isolate the traffic between the different client workstations and the remote processing stations within the workgroup. A network hub is not recommended for this configuration. In a workgroup configuration, all user accounts must be defined on each of the workstations within the workgroup.
Optimizing the Network Optimizing the Network Remote processing is largely dependent on the configuration of the network that links the client and remote processing station. Special care must be taken to obtain the maximum available bandwidth. Authentication and Security ? Since remote processing is based on shared folders within a Windows network, take special care when creating user accounts for the people who will be using the remote processing stations.
Chapter 2 • Networking Guidelines Networking Protocol Avid|DS RP uses the TCP/IP networking protocol for licensing. Other protocols don't need to be installed, unless they're required for other network activities. To see which networking protocols are installed on Windows NT 4.0 1. Right-click on Network Neighborhood and choose Properties. 2. Select the Protocols tab.
Optimizing the Network To see which networking protocols are installed on Windows 2000 1. Right-click on My Network Places and choose Properties. The following window is displayed. ? 2. Right-click on Local Area Connection and choose Properties. A dialog box similar to the following is displayed.
Chapter 2 • Networking Guidelines Network Addressing Since the Licensing program uses specific classes of IP addresses, you must enter valid IP Address and Subnet mask values or the licensing server will not function. In particular, IP addresses in the Private Address Space cannot be used unless the Avid|DS RP station and the License server (client workstation) are on the same side of their network router. Refer to your system administrator or networking documents for more details.
? Chapter 3 Setting Up Remote Processing Remote Processing Guide • 21
Chapter 3 • Setting Up Remote Processing In This Chapter... This chapter describes how to set up Avid|DS remote processing. Setting Up a Client Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Installing Avid|DS RP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Configuring the Remote Processing Station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 ? Licensing Avid|DS RP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Setting Up a Client Workstation Setting Up a Client Workstation Once you’ve installed Avid|DS on the client workstation, you should make sure that the license server software is installed and running, and that the floating license is appended to the Avid|DS license file on one of the client workstations in the workgroup. Although this procedure only outlines how to share your video storages in a workgroup, you must share the audio storages as well.
Chapter 3 • Setting Up Remote Processing Sharing the Primary Storage In an Avid|DS workgroup environment, the video storages of the client workstations are shared among the workstations in the workgroup. You must, therefore, share the video storage on each of the client workstations in the workgroup. To share the primary storages on the client workstations 1. Go to Start > Programs > Avid Products > Avid|DS v5.x > Storage Utility. ? The Storage Utility on the client workstation JDUFF4 2.
Setting Up a Client Workstation 3. Select the Shared option, and in the accompanying text box, enter the client workstation’s network name followed by Local #x, where x is the storage ID. By using this naming convention, a shared storage’s share name indicates the storage’s ID and the client workstation to which it is connected. ? Any share name or computer name is acceptable. However, the suggested convention makes it easier to configure the Storage Utility on the remote processing stations. 4.
Chapter 3 • Setting Up Remote Processing Installing Avid|DS RP Before you set up a remote processing station, you must install Avid|DS RP on the workstation. To do this, you need the Avid|DS CD. Important Preinstallation Notice • Make sure you have sufficient space on the installation drive. • After the installation, the drive must have over 20% of free space at all times.
Installing Avid|DS RP 4. The Hardware Setup is a crucial step. The following dialog box shows an installation on a workstation that is not a full Avid|DS hardware system. ? You can ONLY select the Supported OpenGL graphics card option if you’ve installed one of the supported display cards on the remote processing station. 5. If the remote processing station does not have the standard Avid|DS drive partitions, simply install it on the available drives.
Chapter 3 • Setting Up Remote Processing 6. In the Licensing Information dialog box, select the License Server option, and enter the following in the text box: 744@machine_name (machine_name is the network name of the computer that will be the license server, usually your client workstation). Click Next. ? 7. In the Avid|Throttle Manager dialog box, do one of the following: - If you don't have an Avid|Throttle Manager for your workstation, select No Throttle Manager and click Next.
Installing Avid|DS RP The Avid|Throttle Manager can be installed before or after the Avid|DS RP installation. It is a separate component. 8. In the SMTP Server Identification dialog box, enter the name or IP address of your SMTP server and click Next. 9. The Setup program displays what the program will install. If you change your mind, click to continue. ? The required software files are copied and registered to the Windows operating system. 10.
Chapter 3 • Setting Up Remote Processing Configuring the Remote Processing Station You need to create a special user name/account for remote processing on the remote processing station; it should be the account used in this setup. Otherwise, the same drive mappings must be configured for each user name/ account on the remote processing station. In addition, make sure that you use the same drive letters for the same shared video storages on all remote processing stations in your workgroup.
Configuring the Remote Processing Station Linking to the Shared Storages Once you’ve shared the video storages on your client workstations, you must create a link to those shared storages on the workstation that is running Avid|DS RP, using the Avid|DS Storage Utility. This lets the remote processing station access the shared storage, process the necessary caches, and then save them on the shared storage without having to copy the media between the remote processing station and client workstation.
Chapter 3 • Setting Up Remote Processing 2. Click Link. The Browse for Computer dialog box is displayed. ? 3. On the workstation, browse to Network Neighborhood (Windows NT) or My Network Places (Windows 2000), select the name of the workstation on which the shared storage resides, and click OK. A list of all shared storages on that workstation is displayed. Do not use the top level ds_video_1 and ds_audio_1 shares. You must go through Network Neighborhood or My Network Places.
Configuring the Remote Processing Station ? 4. From the list, select the storage from which the remote processing station will retrieve the media and save the processed caches, and click OK. The Modify Storage dialog box displays the settings of the shared storage. The fields are read-only, except for the name of the storage, which you can modify. By default, the storage is called: Shared storage_media_type storage storage_id_number on remote_machine_name.
Chapter 3 • Setting Up Remote Processing This new storage is linked to the shared primary storage of the client workstation through the new mapped drive. ? If you click Cancel in the Modify Storage dialog box, the mapped drive created in step 4 will become unmapped and no storage will be added. 6. To start the remote processing station, double-click on the Avid|DS Remote Processing Server icon on your desktop.
Licensing Avid|DS RP Licensing Avid|DS RP This version of Avid|DS requires a new 5.0 license file to validate the software. This license is provided to all valid Avid|DS customers. In order to use Remote Processing, your license file must also include a floating license. The Softimage License Server must be installed and the license files must be created on a client workstation, not an RP station.
Chapter 3 • Setting Up Remote Processing The FLEXlm License File dialog box is displayed. ? 3. Copy and paste the 5.0 node-lock license text from the licensing e-mail before the existing SERVER lines. 4. Copy and paste the floating license text after the SERVER lines. 5. Click Validate and check the Log Information dialog box: • If no error is reported, save and close the license file. • If there are reported errors, check the FLEXlm License File window for typos in the license text.
Installing Avid|Throttle Manager Installing Avid|Throttle Manager You can install the Avid|Throttle Manager on any computer on the same network as your Avid|DS workstation and your Avid|DS RP station. You can also install Avid|Throttle Manager on your Avid|DS RP station. Do not install the Avid|Throttle Manager on the Avid|DS workstation. ? To install the Avid|Throttle Manager • From the Avid|DS 5.
Chapter 3 • Setting Up Remote Processing To add an Avid|Throttle Manager 1. Go to Start > Programs > Avid Products > Avid DS v5.x and click Throttle Manager Utility. 2. Click Add. The New Server dialog box is displayed. 3. Specify a Server ID between 1 and 9. 4. In the Location text box, specify the network name of the computer on which the Avid|Throttle Manager is installed. ? 5. Select Yes, connect to this server. 6. Click OK. 7.
? A p p en d ix A Troubleshooting Remote Processing Guide • 39
Appendix A • Troubleshooting There’s a licensing error when I start Avid|DS RP. First, you should read the error message. FLEXlm errors are sometimes easy to fix and good indications are inserted in the error message. Consult the GLOBEtrotter web document for error code explanation. C:\Softimage\FLEXLM\Flexuser\chap10.htm. Avid|DS RP starts, but an error in the interface points to licensing.
This is what you will see as default: ? # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # Copyright (c) 1993-1995 Microsoft Corp. This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows NT. This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name. The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one space.
Appendix A • Troubleshooting What can cause the Softimage License Server daemon to stop? The vendor daemon will be stopped if the network configuration IP Address used is not of a valid class. Private or test classes may cause the vendor daemon to automatically stop. This prevents Avid|DS RP from validating the license text on the Avid|DS workstation. Verify with your system administrator or internet service provider that your network address is valid. Example: Although 10.10.10.
• Link was used but the storages were mapped from the Desktop available shares instead of browsing in the Network Neighborhood (Windows NT) or My Network Places (Windows 2000). It is imperative to browse to the Avid|DS workstation computer name and select the available ds_video_1 (2, 3, etc.) and ds_audio_1 (2, 3, etc.) shares to properly map the RP storages.
Appendix A • Troubleshooting The Avid|DS RP application is frozen or processing is interrupted with an error. What could cause this? • The Avid|DS workstation was rebooted. Doing so cuts off access to the mapped storages and cause remote processing to fail. • There is an internal error in the sequence that causes the processing to fail. Try to process on the Avid|DS workstation to verify if the error is replicated locally as well.
Avid|DS RP displays this error message when started: Project ... already exists on the system. Avid|DS RP is unable to use the default Basic Project folder because of network modification done to the system or the Avid|DS workstation. The local DS Projects folder of the RP system should be cleaned of unused projects. If the computer name was modified, all local hal_stores files must be deleted (Opening a project recreates a deleted hal_stores file automatically).
Appendix A • Troubleshooting ? 46 • Remote Processing Guide
1 A B C D E F G H Index A ? adding Avid|Throttle Manager 37 administrator privileges 17 Avid|DS RP requirements 11 setting up station 30 Avid|Throttle Manager adding 37 installing 37 starting 37 stopping 37 I J D license file, creating 35 remote processing 9 Avid|DS RP station requirements 11 client workstation, setting up 23 concepts 9 deleting default storages 30 linking to shared storages 31 requirements 11 station 9 remote processing station setting up 30 requirements, Avid|DS RP 11 license, f
Index 1 A B C D E ? 48 • Remote Processing Guide F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
