Houdini 20.0 HQueue

Network Folders

How to use the Network Folder management page.

On this page

Overview

Network folders (or shared folders) are shared filesystems that can be accessed by the clients and workstations that submit jobs. Using the Network Folders page, you can register as many network folders as you want with HQueue. However, there must always be at least a saved HQROOT network folder.

Assuming you have mounted your network share properly, you can create a reference to it in the Network Folders page under a variable of your choice. The variable can then be used in Houdini when submitting render/simulation jobs.

Note

You can alternatively manage network folders directly in the network folders configuration file. See Network Folders Configuration for more details.

Note

The first time you start your server, there’s one network folder already loaded when you open the Network Folders page under the name HQROOT. You may modify this variable, but deleting it is not recommended.

How to

In a web browser, connect to the HQueue server (http://hostname:5000/). Hover over the menu icon, then click Network Folders.

The Network Folders page lists all network folders registered with the server.

To...Do this

Add a Network Folder

  1. On the Network Folders page, click Add.

  2. Fill in the newly added form with the required data.

    • Variable Name: The variable name to use in job environments. The environment variable evaluates to one of the mount point path options depending on the operating system of the client machine running the job.

    • Linux Mount: The path of the network folder mount point when mounted on Linux machines. This option only needs to be set if you have Linux client machines in your farm or if you submit jobs from Linux workstations.

    • macOS Mount: The path of the network folder mount point when mounted on macOS machines. This option only needs to be set if you have macOS client machines in your farm or if you submit jobs from macOS workstations.

    • Windows Mount: The mapped drive letter that connects to the network folder on Windows machines. Alternatively, this option can be set to the UNC path of the network folder. This option only needs to be set if you have Windows client machines in your farm or if you submit jobs from Windows workstations.

  3. Press Save.

Delete a Network Folder

  1. On the Network Folders page, click Delete on the Network Folder you would like removed.

Modify a Network Folder

  1. On the Network Folders page, change the field value you would like to change in the Network Folder to modify.

  2. Press Save.

HQueue

Getting started

  • About HQueue

    HQueue is a general-purpose job scheduling system. You can use it to distribute renders, simulations, and other work to remote clients.

  • Installation

    How to set up a basic HQueue farm.

  • Configuration

    How to set configuration options for the HQueue server and clients.

  • How to submit jobs

    How to put work on the farm.

Managing the farm

  • Managing jobs

    How to view and manage jobs on the farm.

  • Managing clients

    How to use the web interface or local logins to add, remove, restart, and manage client machines.

  • Managing client groups

    How to use the web interface or local logins to create and manage groups of client machines.

  • Network Folders

    How to use the Network Folder management page.

  • Resources

    You can specify what resources (such as licenses) are available on each client, so jobs can be scheduled on clients where they can run.

  • Notes

    Each client and job can have informational notes attached.

Next steps

  • Logging

    HQueue stores separate logs for server errors and scheduling events, and each client also generates a log.

  • Uninstalling

    How to uninstall the HQueue server or client software.

  • FAQs

    Answers to frequently asked questions.

Guru level

  • Remote API

    You can connect to the HQueue server over the network and call functions to manipulate and query jobs and other information.

  • Jobs specification details

    More detail on the internals of a job specification for users who want to submit custom jobs.

  • Multiple clients, single machine

    A guide on how to run multiple HQueue clients on a single machine.