The Render Nodes

The Render Nodes are the slave computers that actually render the frames. To add a computer as a Render Node to the network, double-click on the mx_node shortcut icon.

The Node icon

You can only run Maxwell Render in network if you have more than one license, for example 2 Standard licenses or 1 Standard license and 1 RenderNode. You can then use the Standard license to run your main machine, where you set up your scenes and the Manager to distribute jobs. The RenderNode license can be used to run an additional machine for rendering only. Always make sure that all the machines in your network have access to the Maxwell installation folder where your license file is located. 

When the Rendernode is running, its console panel is opened to display information about the status of the render.

The Node console panel

On the console panel menu bar you can find the following options:

• Preferences: This is a Preferences panel. You can choose which TCP port the Node should use for the network rendering and you can also specify the maximum number of nodes that should be used for network rendering. The TCP port setting is useful for networks that block certain ports. You can force any node to work always in Low or Normal priority, or to share a desired number of threads. You can also start the Render Node hidden in tray if you prefer. It also allows you to set the Minimum Log Verbosity, to control the amount of information you want to be displayed on console. The Deep Debug is the mode that displays more information, that can be useful in case of problems. 
• Open temp folder: Opens the temporary folder of the Maxwell Render network where all the temporary files of the render jobs are stored.
• Purge temp files: Use this option to delete all the temporary files on this computer. The temporary files are purged automatically when a render job has finished.
• Save Log: Use this option to manually save the log in a location you choose. 
• Find: On long logs, this option can be helpful to find certain message or info. 
• Clear console: Clear the messages in the Console panel.
• Quit: Quits the Render Node application. 
• Help: Help resources and information about the Maxwell Render version in use.