Octane for Maya - rendering remotely

[sampakinpa]

Hello,
First I want to apologize for the awkward question.
I`m using Octane for Maya 3, rendering remotely on a farm with several computers using Backburner. Each computer has an Octane-Maya plugin and a standalone installed and authorized.
Does the Mayas that are installed on each computer in the farm needs to be activated? can I use the Maya demo version on them? do I need to buy a copy of Maya for each computer in the farm?
I`m assuming this because Backburner is using the Maya batch render mode and don`t need the GUI of Maya.
Doe's anybody is using this kind of setup?
P.S
I can`t use `Octane network rendering` because the farms GPU amount exceeds the 20 GPU limit.

Thanks in Advance,
Ethan

[BK]

Hello,
First I want to apologize for the awkward question.
I`m using Octane for Maya 3, rendering remotely on a farm with several computers using Backburner. Each computer has an Octane-Maya plugin and a standalone installed and authorized.
Does the Mayas that are installed on each computer in the farm needs to be activated? can I use the Maya demo version on them? do I need to buy a copy of Maya for each computer in the farm?
I`m assuming this because Backburner is using the Maya batch render mode and don`t need the GUI of Maya.
Doe's anybody is using this kind of setup?
P.S
I can`t use `Octane network rendering` because the farms GPU amount exceeds the 20 GPU limit.

Thanks in Advance,
Ethan

Hello Ethan,

If backburner is using the Maya batch then try a quick test command line render locally. However, we recommend checking with Autodesk regarding the licensing since it's a farm setup.

Hope this help !!!

cheers

[sampakinpa]

Thanks, I will check this out.

[sampakinpa]

Hi again, Just came across an Autodesk product called `Maya LT`. does `Octane for Maya plugin` works with this version of Maya?

[BK]

Hi again, Just came across an Autodesk product called `Maya LT`. does `Octane for Maya plugin` works with this version of Maya?

Hi, Ethan,

Thanks for getting back.

I am sorry. Autodesk Maya LT maybe not suitable for a farm setup since this product is specialized for gaming pipeline.

Here is the link [ https://www.autodesk.eu/compare/compare ... vs-maya-lt ]

Please let me know if this setup can exceed the 20 GPU limit.

[adrienneloux]

I created a six machine octane for maya renderfarm. Everything is managed using deadline. It works great! It turns out you dont need additional maya licenses to do this (well you still need one to work with maya itself, but just the one). Maya licenses arent cheap!

There is no activation needed either. The important thing is to install maya, plus the plugin. You can even use your autodesk account install the autodesk desktop app (on windows) to install maya and easily deploy updates, new versions etc. When using mayabatch with a third party renderer like octane, there is no check for an active maya license! You can go ahead and install maya to as many machines as you want and use batch rendering with octane. Of course you will still need standalone and the octane for maya plugin, one for each system.

I've read about this 20 gpu limitation thing. I am currently using about 9 gpus across 6 machines. I know that distributing cards to many machines is not getting the most for your $$$ out of your octane licenses per machine. Then again using this method is a way of distributing everything nicely so each machine is focusing on one frame at a time. You really are getting the most out of your gpus by setting it up this way, remember there are parts of the rendering process that involves loading files and setting up the scenes before the actual gpus kick into gear.

Deadline has a new pricing model. They are really pushing people to just pay a yearly rate. If you plan to test any of this know that you can load up the full version of deadline and user it with up to 2 machines (2 nodes). This is killer if you have only 2 machines and want to pay zero dollars to have a state of the art rendering manager. Another tip: Even though you can still buy perpetual licenses from them, they tailored the price in a way where there is almost no benefit. Crunch the numbers and you will see. It's worth it to just go with the sub for the ongoing updates and support.

[BK]

I created a six machine octane for maya renderfarm. Everything is managed using deadline. It works great! It turns out you dont need additional maya licenses to do this (well you still need one to work with maya itself, but just the one). Maya licenses arent cheap!

There is no activation needed either. The important thing is to install maya, plus the plugin. You can even use your autodesk account install the autodesk desktop app (on windows) to install maya and easily deploy updates, new versions etc. When using mayabatch with a third party renderer like octane, there is no check for an active maya license! You can go ahead and install maya to as many machines as you want and use batch rendering with octane. Of course you will still need standalone and the octane for maya plugin, one for each system.

I've read about this 20 gpu limitation thing. I am currently using about 9 gpus across 6 machines. I know that distributing cards to many machines is not getting the most for your $$$ out of your octane licenses per machine. Then again using this method is a way of distributing everything nicely so each machine is focusing on one frame at a time. You really are getting the most out of your gpus by setting it up this way, remember there are parts of the rendering process that involves loading files and setting up the scenes before the actual gpus kick into gear.

Deadline has a new pricing model. They are really pushing people to just pay a yearly rate. If you plan to test any of this know that you can load up the full version of deadline and user it with up to 2 machines (2 nodes). This is killer if you have only 2 machines and want to pay zero dollars to have a state of the art rendering manager. Another tip: Even though you can still buy perpetual licenses from them, they tailored the price in a way where there is almost no benefit. Crunch the numbers and you will see. It's worth it to just go with the sub for the ongoing updates and support.

Hi, Adrienneloux,

Thank you so much for the setup details. This will be very helpful for many users who is looking for an Octane Render farm.

Cheers again

[sampakinpa]

Thanks Adrienneloux, sorry for the late reply...

[frankmci]

I can second the Deadline solution without needing additional Maya licenses. We've been running Maya on AWS with for years that way with no problems, but that's been CPU rendering with VRay (but that does require a VRay license for each machine, fed by a license server). We've also managed our local machines running Maya and Octane, but like you, we haven't gotten into the double digits for GPUs on any single render.