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To change the frame timeout value, choose Set Frame Time Out from the Render Manager’s Misc menu and enter the number of seconds you want for the Time Out.
Heartbeats
The Render Master regularly sends out heartbeat signals to each node, awaiting the node’s reply.
A heartbeat is basically a message from the manager to the Render node asking if the node is still responsive and healthy. If the Render node fails to respond to several consecutive heartbeats, Fusion will assume the Render node is no longer available. The frames assigned to that Render node will be reassigned to other Render nodes in the list.
The number of heartbeats in a row that must be missed before a Render node is removed from the list by the manager, as well as the interval of time between heartbeats, can be configured in the Network Preferences panel of the master. The default settings for these options are fine for 90% of cases.
If the compositions that are rendered tend to use more memory than is physically installed, this will cause swapping of memory to disk. It may be preferable to increase these two settings somewhat to compensate for the sluggish response time until more RAM can be added to the Render node.
Managing Memory Use
Often, the network environment is made up of computers with a variety of CPU and memory configurations. The memory settings used on the workstation that created a composition may not be appropriate for all the Render nodes in the network. The Render node software offers the ability to override the memory settings stored in the composition and use custom settings more suited to the system configuration of a specific Render node.
To access preferences for a node, right-click on the icon in the Windows Notification area or from the macOS menu bar and choose Preferences. In the Preferences dialog, select the Memory panel.
Override Composition Settings
Enable this option to use the Render node’s local settings to render any incoming compositions. Disable it to use the default settings that are saved into the composition.
Render Several Frames at Once
Fusion has the ability to render multiple frames at once for increased render throughput. This slider controls how many frames are rendered simultaneously. The value displayed multiplies the memory usage (a setting of 3 requires three times as much memory as a setting of 1).
Normal values are 2 or 3, although machines with a lot of memory may benefit from higher values, whereas machines with less memory may require the value to be 1.
Simultaneous Branching
Enable this option to render every layer in parallel. This can offer substantial gains in throughput but may also use considerably more memory, especially if many layers are used in the composition. Machines with limited memory may need to have Simultaneous Branching disabled when rendering compositions with many layers.