Arnold Licensing Setup & Model | headless cloud rendering

[MonkeyBallArt]

I successfully create a linux docker image with Maya2022 + MtoA 5.1.13 (Arnold 7) for headless arnold rendering via MtoA python SDK.

Now I'm having trouble figuring out the licensing setup and model needed in order to manage a small 3-5 nodes/containers render "farm".

Would love a quick walkthrough on which license to buy (and how), how to setup a headless license server, and how to connect each node to the above server.

Official guides are seems to be lacking detailed and latest information.

Any help would be great!

@Stephen.Blair 

[Stephen.Blair]

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@MonkeyBallArt wrote:

I successfully create a linux docker image with Maya2022 + MtoA 5.1.13 (Arnold 7) for headless arnold rendering via MtoA python SDK.

Now I'm having trouble figuring out the licensing setup and model needed in order to manage a small 3-5 nodes/containers render "farm".

Would love a quick walkthrough on which license to buy (and how), how to setup a headless license server, and how to connect each node to the above server.

Official guides are seems to be lacking detailed and latest information.

Any help would be great!

@Stephen.Blair 

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Network licenses.

License server is just a service, you don't need a user interface.

The ADLM download includes a PDF version of the Flexlm Admin Guide.

"c:\Autodesk\Network License Manager\lmgrd.exe" -c "c:\Autodesk\Network License Manager\licenses" -l "c:\Autodesk\Network License Manager\adskflex.log" 

To connect the license server, set ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE on the render nodes.

[MonkeyBallArt]

1. license service - note taken, thanks!
2. regarding the network license, it seems from docs that I MUST set the hostname and mac address. since i'm attempting to use docker on a cloud-env with no way of manipulating either, is there a workaround for setting the mac-address and hostname?
if no, is there another license model I can use to avoid a network license?

[Stephen.Blair]

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@MonkeyBallArt wrote:

1. license service - note taken, thanks!
2. regarding the network license, it seems from docs that I MUST set the hostname and mac address. since i'm attempting to use docker on a cloud-env with no way of manipulating either, is there a workaround for setting the mac-address and hostname?
if no, is there another license model I can use to avoid a network license?

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MAC address is an absolute requirement. hostname can be localhost

Yeah, there's also single-user licensing? But I wouldn't recommend it, because I don't think that is reliable for render nodes. Single-user licensing is for artist workstations. Plus, it requires a GUI for signing in (you have to sign in once every 30 days, or maybe every day if your virtual machine wipes some of the stored settings). Sure, you can maybe do X-forwarding to get the sign in GUI.