[feynman]

Sometimes, but not always(!), the cooperative render merging process fails



...so I do as the message suggests and select the files manually...



...but that fails also.



What could I do? Can I still somehow get at my final images?

ps: When I RDP into the other PCs, the nodes show these messages:



pps: I can manually merge the MXIs from PC1 and PC2 (both "dumb" render node PCs) but when I want to merge the MXI from PC1 and PC3 (the laptop running the Manager, etc.) then it fails. So, it seems that the MXI rendered on the laptop is the culprit that fails merging all three MXIs...

[Mihai]

If you look at the error message in Manager it clearly says: "The MXI sources don't match".

So in that case I would usually go through the MXI files and see if there is something different about them.

[polynurb]

could it be a temp folder "not empty" problem?

[feynman]

Thanks for coming back on that one. Well, all three MXIs look pretty similar to the untrained eye... What do you mean by "temp folder not empty problem"? I start a new cooperative render over night and see if it happens again. The funny thing is, it does happen only every second time or so.

I also noticed that, although the RLM is definitely running by checking as advised in the release notes, each time I start Maxwell Studio on my laptop, I have to obtain a license by entering my e-mail, login and the license code provided after purchase.

[polynurb]

if node crashes, there can be mxi left over in tmp, and the manager might get confused.
eg. sometimes you press "preview" but get a different image in the Monitor.

[feynman]

I see. Well, the Temp folders were emptied manually and no render crashed before the one that did not merge. It is just that the merging process crashes, not the rendering process itself.

[Mihai]

I also noticed that, although the RLM is definitely running by checking as advised in the release notes, each time I start Maxwell Studio on my laptop, I have to obtain a license by entering my e-mail, login and the license code provided after purchase.

You don't have to do that. Open Maxwell instead (not Studio) on that laptop and check if you get any licensing errors.

That error you are getting about MXI merging means one of these files is not the same.

You should not empty temp folders manually but instead use the File>Purge temp folders in: Manager, Nodes, Monitor.

[feynman]

Ok, the licensing "error" was resolved by doing the troubleshooting once more - running the licensing application from Program Files > Next Limit > Maxwell 3, so that looks solved.

I wonder how the MXI rendering on the third node (the laptop that runs the Monitor and Manager) can be different, though, so it won't be mergeable with the MXIs from the other nodes at the end of the render process. That particular issue never occurred on the 2.6/2.7 versions. I did use File > Purge Temp now and see what gives.

[Fernando Tella]

It's funny that the mxi from PC3 has different size than the other two.

[feynman]

Yes. I have no idea why that is. I am trying another cooperative render at the moment and will see if this one merges. The "Preview" while rendering does work, so that means PC3 can merge all three MXIs at some point before the end. So far, so good...

[Fernando Tella]

As a side note: remember not to resume any render unless you know what you are resuming.

[feynman]

As a side note: remember not to resume any render unless you know what you are resuming.

You are speaking in tongues : )

[Fernando Tella]

When you launch a render through the network it may ask if you want to resume, start or cancel. If mxi and mxs names are the same it could succesfully resume a previous render despite the settings are the same or not. Of course if anything changed between the existing mxi/mxs and the new ones, the result could be funny. So you should only resume a render if you actually want to do that and nothing changed in the mxi/mxs files.

[feynman]

Yes, I did that once, after changing some materials. The result looked, well, interesting ; )