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To disable the Render node application from starting up automatically, choose Quit from the Render node icon in the macOS menu. On Linux, right-click over the icon and choose Kill Process, and on Windows, delete the shortcut from the Windows Startup directory.
Licensing for Network Rendering
Most versions of Fusion Studio are licensed by connecting a single-seat hardware key (dongle) to the same computer where Fusion is installed. Each dongle includes an unlimited number of cross- platform Render node licenses, which you can install on as many macOS, Windows, and Linux
computers as you need. For Fusion Studio to access the Render nodes, the computer with the Fusion Studio dongle needs to be on the same local network subnet as the Render nodes. The network licensing does not require individual license files; instead, the Render nodes automatically search for the dongle on the subnet, making it easy to set up. Single-seat dongles do not “float” over a network; they must be connected to the same computer where Fusion Studio operates.
Multi-License Dongles
Using a multi-license dongle, you can license 10 copies of Fusion Studio by connecting the dongle to any computer on the same subnet. Since these licenses “float” over a network, Fusion Studio does not have to be running on the same computer where the dongle is connected. As long as Fusion Studio is on the same subnet, it can automatically find the license server and check out an available license.
Multi-seat dongles can be combined together to tailor the number of Fusion seats in a larger facility. For example, three dongles each licensed for 10 Fusion Studios would serve up 30 licenses. This also allows for redundancy. For instance, in the example above, three computers can act as license servers. If the first server fails for some reason, Fusion Studio will automatically try the next server. Alternatively, multiple dongles can also be plugged into a single computer.
Setting Up a License Server
Setting up the license for network rendering begins by connecting either a single-seat or multi-seat dongle to a computer that will act as the host for the license server. The Render node installer installs Fusion Server, which acts as the license server, although the Render node does not have to run on that same computer. The Fusion Server is set up to launch at startup and run unobtrusively in the background as a service/daemon, ready to serve licenses and Fusion bins. The Fusion Server is used to serve up multiple licenses so it must be running whenever you want to operate Fusion Studio or use the Render nodes for network rendering. Its default is to start up automatically and remain running as long as a license is being used by another computer or a Render node is operating. If nothing is using the Fusion Server, it will quit after 30 seconds.
You will need your network administrator to set firewall rules allowing the Fusion Server, FusionScript, and the Fusion Render node applications to communicate and confirm licensing with the computer that has the Fusion Studio dongle.
If for some reason you remove a dongle or the network drops out, the licenses of any connected Fusion Studio application will also drop. Upon losing its license, Fusion Studio will start searching for another license, locally or on a different machine. If no license is found, Fusion pauses rendering and displays a dialog with options to retry the search or autosave the comp and quit. Render nodes only check for a license on the network once during startup, so they are not affected by removing the dongle or network issues.