Render Farm

A render farm is a computer cluster built to render computer-generated imagery (CGI), typically for film and television visual effects, using off-line batch processing. This is different from a render wall, which is a networked, tiled display used for real-time rendering. Use of render farms isn’t and shouldn’t be just restricted to large studios and 3D artists.

So you are interested in getting into 3d rendering and architectural visualisation? Want to know what software and hardware all the professional cg artists are using? In this article I will explain everything you need to know to start creating high quality 3d architectural renderings.

If you are interested in architectural visualisation it helps to have some sort of a background in architecture or design…simply so you are able to easily read and interpret the often complicated architectural drawings. This is by no means essential…but it helps! If you don’t have a background in architecture or building design there are thousands of resources on the net which can help you to get a grasp of the major concepts.

The first thing you will need is a computer. Architectural rendering is a very cpu intensive business, so the more powerful your computer is – the better. Try to get at least a quad core processor and as much RAM as possible (6gb is an ok start). Use 64 bit operating systems…this way you can access more RAM. Also spend a bit of money on a good graphics card. Once you start getting serious about your 3d renderings you will want to think about a renderfarm, which is a series of computers linked together to make a big powerful processing unit. But for now a good quality, powerful workstation should do the trick.

Ensure that each machine has a unique name and IP address. These can be set under your computer’s Properties settings and Network Connections settings. This is standard practice for multiple machines on the same network, but should be double-checked. Also, be sure that the names of the computers DO NOT start with a number. This will cause problems. It may be helpful to keep a list of the physical locations, machine names, user names and passwords of all the rendernodes for quick reference when you need to troubleshoot or administer the farm render.

Configuring the Remote Desktop is not required, but it’s a good way to log-in to your rendernodes to troubleshoot or make system changes remotely. It’s also handy if you are using rack-mounted rendernodes without a dedicated monitor/keyboard/mouse or a KVM switch.

Now, if you want to connect to a rendernode from another machine on the network, simply go to Start->Programs->Accessories->Communications->”Remote Desktop Connection.” In the Remote Desktop window, type the name of the rendernode you want to connect to, then click on Options and type in the user name and password of that specific rendernode. You will now be able to take control of the remote PC in a render farm as if you were sitting right in front of it.

There are many ways to set up a renderfarm. Every facility has different requirements and methodologies for their network infrastructure. Ideally, a renderfarm should have its own network “segment.” This means they should all be attached to the same network stitch and/or have IP addresses of a related IP range (subnet). This strategy helps ensure that network traffic can flow smoothly between the rendernodes and any manager/server machines also involved in rendering. This strategy also keeps the rest of your local network (LAN) from getting bogged down with rendering traffic.

You will need to find out if your network uses the DHCP protocol to automatically assign IP addresses to each computer. With DHCP, a computer will be assigned a new IP address every time it reconnects to the network. This can be problematic if the renderfarm is not set up to accommodate this. If it’s not enabled, your IT person will need to manually assign specific IP addresses to each new machine on the network. If more than 10 nodes are to be networked, a PC running Windows Server 2003 must be present on the network due to an inherent limitation in Windows XP built-in networking.

Make sure that all PC’s in the render farm are behind your company’s firewall, and on the same network segment. If not, you will need to have your IT person configure Ports 3234 and 3233 on any firewall or router to allow for communication between network rendering nodes.