Adjusting Preferences
This is the first step and defines the global settings for your network. Before you fill in the empty fields it is important that you make some decisions and answer a few questions:
Which computer should serve as the “Job Manager”?
This computer does not have to be the fastest machine, because it is just the web-based control centre where you can monitor your RealFlow “Job Nodes”, the available machines and the running or finished jobs.
What is the IP of the computer with the “Job Manager” running?
The IP address is important, because it is needed to call the web interface, so please write it down.
Which open port can be used for RealFlow's “Job Manager” and “Nodes”?
A port can be seen as a private communication channel in a network. For many network applications it is required to specify such a port and it is sometimes not easy to find an open channel. Nevertheless, there are some open ports which can be used in most cases. One of these ports is 65454 and this is also the default value. We therefore recommend you use this port. If it is already used by a different application, please choose another one. Sometimes, firewalls or anti-virus programs can block open ports for security reasons. If you cannot use certain ports, please check the preferences of your router, firewall or anti-virus software. There you also have the possibility to enable/disable ports. The port is also important for the configuration of the manager-node applications.
Now you have almost all of the global settings and you can proceed with the settings. Please open RealFlow and got to:
File > Preferences > Job Manager (Windows, Linux)
RealFlow > Preferences > Job Manager (OS X)
The first entry requires the name of the “Job Manager Plugin”. To add this plugin, please click on the “Select Simulation Plugin...” button, select “CmdSendJob” from the list and confirm “OK” (see image below). This plugin is used to trigger a network simulation manually and can be called individually for each IDOC. The plugin writes out an RFS script file, containing simulation path and information, and an appropriate FLW file. If you want to create Maxwell renders and previews via a network, please use the "Select Preview Plugin..." button.
Under “Manager Location” you have to enter the IP address of the computer that will serve as the manager, e.g. 192.168.1.15. “Port” specifies the open port – the default value is 65454.
If you work in a heterogenous network (in such a network the computers can have different operating systems) then you most probably have to specify “Path Translation Rules”. These rules make sure that the different volumes, path notations and directories will be found by the “Job Manager”. Please go to the “Path Translation Rules” chapter for detailed information and examples.
“Delete temporary files if success” should be active, because it helps you to keep your disk drive(s) clean. When the simulation has been successfully finished, the “Job Manager” will delete all temporary files. In case of a failed job, these files are normally kept and you have to remove them manually.
The second section concerns the “Web Interface”. If you do not want to monitor the “Job Manager” directly inside RealFlow you can leave this field empty. In this case you have to call the web interface from a web browser. The address consists of the IP of the machine where the “Job Manager” application is running (the same as under “Manager Location”) and another open port (8080). Please add everything to “Default URL”, e.g.: http://192.168.1.15:8080. You should not forget the “http” prefix, because some operating systems require it. The IP address entered here must also be used when you want to open the web interface via a web browser.
If you have more than one RealFlow GUI license on different computers then you can adjust these preferences individually on each machine. The settings are exactly the same and must always point to the computer with the “Job Manager” application installed.