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The log file shown in the Render Manager dialog displays messages that can assist with diagnosing why a render or node has failed. The render log shows a step-by-step account of what happened (or didn’t happen) during a render. If a Render node cannot be found, fails to load a composition or render a frame, or simply stops responding, it will be recorded here.
Check the Composition
The Render Manager’s Status field in the render log indicates if a composition fails to render. Some possible causes of this are as follows:
— No Render Nodes Could Be Found: On the Preferences Network tab, make sure that there is at least one Render node available, running and enabled. If all Render nodes are listed as Offline when they are not, check the network.
— The Composition Could Not Be Loaded: Some Render nodes may not be able to load a composition while others can. This could be because the Render node could not find the composition (check that the path name of the composition is valid for that Render node) or because the composition uses plugins that the Render node does not recognize.
— The Render Nodes Stop Responding: If a network link fails, or a Render node goes down for some reason, the Render node will be removed from the active list and its frames will be
reassigned. If no more Render nodes are available, the composition will fail after a short delay (configurable in network preferences). If this happens, check the render log for clues as to which Render nodes failed and why.
— The Render Nodes Failed to Render a Frame: Sometimes a Render node simply cannot render a particular frame. This could be because the Render node could not find all the source frames
it needed, or the disk it was saving to become full or because of any other reason for which Fusion might normally be unable to render a frame. In this case, the Render Manager will attempt to reassign that failed frame to a different Render node. If no Render node can render the frame, the render will fail. Try manually rendering that frame on a single machine and observe what happens.
— Check the Render Nodes: Fusion’s Render Manager incorporates a number of methods to ensure the reliability of network renders. Periodically, the Render Manager will send signals called Heartbeats, generated at regular intervals, to detect network or machine failures. In this event, a failed Render node’s outstanding frames are reassigned to other Render nodes where possible. In rare cases, a Render node may fail in a way that the heartbeat continues even though the Render node is no longer processing. If a Render node failed (although the Render Master may not have detected it) and you do not want to wait for the Frame Timeout, simply restart the Fusion workstation or Fusion Render Node that has hung. This triggers the heartbeat check, reassigns the frames on which that Render node was working, and the render should continue. Heartbeats may fail if the system that is performing the render is making extremely heavy use of the Swap file or is spending an extraordinary amount of time waiting for images to become available over a badly lagged network. The solution is to provide the Render node with more RAM, adjust memory settings for that node, or upgrade the network bandwidth.
— Check the Network: At the Render Master, bring up the Network tab of the Preferences dialog box and click Scan. If a Render node is not listed as running, the Render Master will not be able to contact it for network rendering. Alternatively, bring up a command prompt and ping the Render nodes manually. If the remote systems do not respond when they are up and running, the network is not functioning and should be examined further.