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Backburner, XRefs and Save Locations

11 REPLIES 11
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Message 1 of 12
danielnitsche333
585 Views, 11 Replies

Backburner, XRefs and Save Locations

I have two networked computers and I'm trying to set backburner up so that one can be used as a workstation and the other as a rendering machine (see signature for system specs). I've got the backburner manager and servers setup so that they can see eachother but because all of the Xrefs are on the workstation as well as the save location I get errors when trying to render on the rendering machine. I can bypass the xref issue by merging my xrefs into the scene file when rendering but then I get a second error saying that it can't find the save location (because I'm trying to save onto the workstation).

Ideally I'd like to be able to have the xrefs and save locations on the workstation but render (using backburner) on the rendering machine. I think the rendering machine would somehow need access to the workstation hard drive via the network. Is this possible without purchasing a third computer as a dedicated server - where all files are stored)? If so, how do I go about setting it up?

Any help would be much appreciated,

Thanks,
Dan
11 REPLIES 11
Message 2 of 12
samab
in reply to: danielnitsche333

The most reliable way is to use UNC paths. For example, you have the Xref in the scene:-
C:\My Scenes\My Xref File.max
And the output file is:-
C:\My Renders\Rendered Frame0000.png
But that is just the file's address localy on the computer, not on the whole network
The render slave looks on it's own C: drive, doesn't find the file or folder and returns an error.
With UNC paths it's written like this:-
\\My Workstation Computer Name\My Scenes\My Xref File.max
\\My Workstation Computer Name\My Renders\Rendered Frame0000.png
This gives the full address on the network: which computer, which shared folder and which filename.
Make sure the folders are shared and the user account on the render slave has permissions to read the source file folder and to write in the output folder.
A tip for browsing to a UNC path, instead of typing it is to browse through "My Network Places" to the location.
You can use this for all file types referenced by the scene, such as Point Cache, FG maps, or anything else. You can also use it for texure maps instead of using the Include Maps option.
If you still don't get UNC paths, some people like the analogy I use to explain it in this thread.
Message 3 of 12
danielnitsche333
in reply to: samab

Thanks Samab.. great advice.

I just tried it though and when I try typing the UNC path into the output file name it said that the path was invalid and then when I tried browsing to the directory through Max through 'My Network Places' it was empty after my workstation name. (and in windows explorer it's empty after My Network Places)

eg.
Through Max output file name browser:
My Network Places > Entire Network > Microsoft Windows Network > Workgroup > Dan (then empty)

Through Windows Explorer:
My Network Places (then empty)

Do I need to set the network up in windows?

Also shouldn't my render machine be showing at the same level as Dan?
Message 4 of 12
samab
in reply to: samab

Ensure that the folders are Shared, or they won't show on the network.
Message 5 of 12
samab
in reply to: danielnitsche333

The first picture shows shared drives and folders as they appear on the host machine, in my case all source and destination files are on a server, for you the host is your workstation. The shared folders have the little held-out hand icon. Right click a folder and choose "Sharing and Security..." to enable sharing, also set the appropriate permissions for the user accounts.
When browsing, it should look like the second picture

Message 6 of 12
danielnitsche333
in reply to: samab

Wow.. Thanks Samab.. I've got it working now.

I can get the render to save with out errors if I type the UNC path but if I try to browse through 'My Network Places' it defaults to back C:

The render machine has windows 7 and the workstation has xp. I wonder if that's causing issues??

Any ideas?
Message 7 of 12
samab
in reply to: samab

Could be the Win7 security. All my stuff is on XP except for the server (Win Server 2003), so i'm not familiar with Win7, but I understand that the security is stricter with it.
Message 8 of 12

So I've upgraded the xp system to Windows 7 Pro 64 bit and am now able to click through the UNC path without having to type it all out when rendering on the server through backburner.

However, XREFs still seem to cause issues. When rendering through backburner on the server machine the geometry in the XREFs come through fine but SOME (not all) of the maps in XREF'd files render black (without having a missing map error).

I have the include maps checkbox checked and use UNC paths for all XREFs. If I merge all of the XREFs into the main scene file that I'm rendering from, all maps render correctly.

The following two images show cropped renders from a test scene. The only thing that was changed bewtween the two scenes was that the top render has the XREFs using UNC paths and the other has the XREFs merged. Notice that the grass and paving maps work in both but the brake lights map only shows in the scene with the XREFs merged. This was true for various maps within this scene. What I did notice was that all maps either show up for a specific XREFd file or all maps don't show up for a given XREF'd file. eg. the grass and paving maps are both in an XREFd file called Site.max. All maps for the Site.max file show up fine. Whereas none of the Vehicle.max file showed up including the brake lights jpg. This occurs even though all files use the same UNC path conventions. All maps are referenced correctly in all files and include maps is checked. This is true for all other XREFd files. The maps either all show up or none show up for any given XREFd file.

Has anybody experienced this issue before? What can I do to get around it without having to merge all XREF files in before rendering (waste of time and has the possibility of accidentally saving the merged XREF scene file)?

Thanks,
Dan

Message 9 of 12
samab
in reply to: danielnitsche333

I'm not sure because it's not the same way I work, but I think the Include Maps will take care of the scene's native maps including those on merged Xrefs. But I don't think it includes maps referenced by the Xrefs since it does not include Xrefs themselves and they have to use UNC paths, so their maps are not found unless they are referenced by UNC also.
I have heared of people having problems with the include maps option because it does not include everything the scene needs to render. I never use the include maps option and reference everything in the scene with UNC paths, that way I never have any of these kind of problems. Though keeping thing stored on a server rather than a workstation does force more that way of working.
Message 10 of 12
danielnitsche333
in reply to: samab

Thanks Samab..

I've now changed all map referenes in the XREF files to UNC paths and I've unchecked 'include maps'.

Works perefectly... It seems obvious in hindsight
Message 11 of 12

Xrefs are supposed to be zipped up with your job send when you click 'include maps'. The help file says this so it is an error. This worked in 2009, 2010. It now does not work in 2011 or 2012.
Message 12 of 12
samab
in reply to: danielnitsche333

Yes, I think it's a bug with "Include Maps". It does not seem to include everything.
I have heared of people still having problems with Xrefs when they are referenced by UNC if Include Maps is on. I'm guessing that because Include Maps is on, BB looks to the Zip for the Xref regardless of the path in the scene, but the Xref was never added to the zip.

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