[feynman]

I just upgraded to V3.0.0.0 thank you very much. But I can't get the notwork to become a network. What I did:

1. Uninstalled V2.7.20 from all computers
2. Downloaded V3 and RLM on my main computer (a laptop, so I can render while out of the office) and only V3 on all nodes
3. Installed as prescribed
4. Set all firewalls to allow maxwell, Maxwell studio, mxnetwork, rlm
5. Set all nodes to start maxwell on startup
6. Opened Maxwell Network Monitor, Maxwell Network Manager, Maxwell Studio on my main computer

The nodes are not found, they display

[27/February/2014 23:26:46] ERROR: Error getting license, returned code : Communications error with license server
[27/February/2014 23:26:46] ERROR: TCP server can not listen port: 45459

RLM is running on the main computer, I checked as described in "Windows Install and Licensing". What gives?

The nodes list the RLM computer (my laptop) alright in their license file (in ProgramData folder).

Thanks!

[Mihai]

I would try first for trouble shooting:

Install the latest beta on all computers from http://www.maxwellrender.com/betas

Remove network from the equation first by simply opening Maxwell.exe on one of the computers intended as nodes and see if it still gives the licensing error, but first turn off completely any firewalls on BOTH computers to rule that out.

Third, open a browser window in the RLM computer and go to localhost:5054, if the RLM UI shows up, click on Status button in the left area and see if the nextlimit ISV server is indicated as running in the table on that page.

In the install guide there is a step 3 - finalizing the install. Did you check all the points in that step so they are all correct?

[feynman]

Thanks, I download the beta 3.0.0.4 first. But I do not want to turn the firewall off on any computer; rather, I'd like to allow maxwell, Maxwell studio, mxnetwork, rlm to pass through. Ok, let's see how this goes...

[Mihai]

Just for testing. If all goes well with firewalls off....then you know where to look.

[feynman]

Ok. I uninstalled Maxwell and RLM on all nodes and the laptop, turned the firewall off on only one node, reinstalled on all nodes and the laptop, and the laptop now shows all nodes - also the nodes with the firewall on (these still had maxwell, Maxwell studio, mxnetwork, rlm allowed to pass through) as before when it did not work. So it seems that I can turn the firewall back on on the node where I turned it off (with the pass throughs as before) and everything should work.

Now the interesting bit - I have rebooted the laptop into OSX. The render nodes are still up. Does this mean that once the render nodes have found the license, the host can be removed? Apparently so. Does this mean that they would continue rendering a cooperative render - while the laptop is removed from the office and hence the network? Would it be possible to start a cooperative render from afar, via TeamViewer, for example, once the nodes had found the license while the laptop was in the network?

[Mihai]

Good question, I'm not really sure if there is a license checking interval with RLM, but I would think there is, so you might have a problem if it periodically checks for a license and doesn't find one.

[feynman]

Good question, I'm not really sure if there is a license checking interval with RLM, but I would think there is, so you might have a problem if it periodically checks for a license and doesn't find one.

Well, I have to give it a try. It has not checked for a day... all nodes still up. If eventually it does not work, one would have to transfer the RLM licensing application to one of the render node PCs before leaving the office, I suppose?

Whatever will be necessary in the end - what I try to set up, now that it all works with the firewall up again, is to be able to render with my nodes while being away on location, see? That'd be excellent, if possible to get that working!

[Mihai]

Well, you could also install RLM on one of these stationary ones, and do the licensing again on one of them, choosing the second licensing option, so that you get a maxwell_suite_floating.lic file on that computer that's running RLM.

We write in the doc pages that people should avoid running two RLM servers, to avoid yet another thing that can go wrong, but you should be able to run two RLM servers ok. So, your nodes will get their license from the RLM server running on one of your stationary computers, and the laptop will get it's license from the RLM server that's running on it, and not from the stationary one.

[feynman]

Thanks, I'll try that.