Hi there,

Just wondering if it's possible to network render with indie? I have a spare machine kicking around and I'd love to get it rendering test frames.

Thanks,
Pete

I don't know if it will split single frames up over a network like v-ray, but you can queue jobs with indie.
You would need another indie or indie engine lic for that pc.
Then you can go through the pain of setting up hqueue, but yeah.. then it should work
I've done it on a few jobs so far.
G

Hey cool thanks.

Mantra has a flag for a list of hosts to render an ifd; below is from the output ofmantra -h:


You can write the ifd, then from the commandline, render the ifd with -H to put it on multiple hosts. I believe (though I'm not able to test it currently), you can add -H and the hostname to the Mantra output driver's command parm here:



This page has more helpful info WRT working with Mantra and IFDs: IFD Workflows [sidefx.com]

If you're using another renderer, you'll have to see if they support a similar mechanism.

goldleaf
Mantra has a flag for a list of hosts to render an ifd; below is from the output ofmantra -h:

pretty sure you can't make ifd files with indie.. unless this changed with 15.5
G

It has indeed changed, in 15.0; see the IFD Workflows page:

Writing IFDs to disk requires a Houdini, Houdini FX, Education, or Indie license.

You can setup Hqueue wich will give you the start for a render farm… I also have an extra machine at home but so far I set it up only to have an efficient way to set up queue renders. (later on I will probably grow it)

But in reality Houdini Indie 15.5 will not generate an IFD file. It just errors out when you try to use that feature.

Enivob
But in reality Houdini Indie 15.5 will not generate an IFD file. It just errors out when you try to use that feature.

Huh, I was sure it worked with Indie licenses too… I'll ask support.

Well, I was wrong; that doc will be updated to reflect the fact that Indie can't generate IFDs.

Sorry for causing so much confusion everyone!

Please submit an RFE if you'd like to see IFD disk file support for Indie!

^ Indie won't support IFD files. It is like this intentionally (got a word from support).

It may work with Houdini Engine (the free Engine Indie licenses) but I can't find anything about the setup.
Launching jobs within Houdini Indie (using mantra ROP, no IFD) will print a license error on the slave machine, even when the HQueue server has a valid Indie License with the additional Houdini Engine licenses installed.

So.. link to updated documentation, anyone?

If you use an HQ Simulation ROP, and plug your Mantra ROP into that, does it work? The HQ Sim ROP should launch hbatch/hengine jobs via HQueue, as it's intended for sims, but it should still render your ROP.

Yes, HQ Simulation ROP works too but only in the houdini indie workstation. The workstation with engine license won't work (same license error).
I'll do a more detailed test and send to support.

I remembered this link in an odForce thread (http://forums.odforce.net/topic/24063-is-hqueue-for-indie-a-production-ready-tool-under-windows/?do=findComment&comment=145377 [forums.odforce.net]) and in particular the PDF guide sebkaine put together in that post.

In his guide, there is an Engine Indie license on a separate machine, and it seems to be working; though the guide has more to do with getting everything setup and working in general. In it he does mention making sure all of the ‘Generate IFD’ checkboxes are turned off on the HQ ROP(s).

It may or may not apply, but thought I'd add it to the conversation here in case it's helpful!