RenderWorkshop Distributed Rendering Plugin User Guide

Preparation Before Use

1. Shared Storage Space
   Ensure you have a shared storage space (e.g., //192.168.0.10/render) accessible by all computers.
2. Computer Settings
   Set all computers to not sleep.
3. Blender File Preparation
   In Blender, prepare the .blend file to be rendered (e.g., test.blend):
   - Select File -> External Data -> Pack Resources.
   - Set rendering parameters (e.g., rendering engine, resolution, color management, etc.).
   - Place the test.blend file in the shared storage space (e.g., //192.168.0.10/render/test.blend).
4. Blender Installation
   Install Blender on all computers. It is recommended to use the same version.
5. Resource Allocation Suggestion
   Use less powerful computers as Manager and more powerful computers as Worker.

Worker Usage Instructions

1. Download and Extract

Download the latest Worker compressed file to the Worker computer and extract it.

2. Start Worker

Select the file suitable for your operating system and start the Worker.

3. Initial Setup

On the first launch, the setup interface will appear. Configure the relevant parameters, press Control + S to save, and then press Esc to exit. You can see a description of each in the appendix below

4. Restart Worker

Restart the Worker. On the first launch, it will automatically detect the Cycles rendering devices and GPU backend set in Blender (this may take several seconds).

5. Network Permissions

If the system prompts for network access permissions for the Worker, allow it.

6. Configuration Success

If the Worker homepage displays all parameters correctly, the configuration is successful.

the initial display may be incorrect on computers with multiple resolutions and different scaling ratios at the same time. Manually adjust the worker window size to restore normal display

Manager Usage Instructions

1. Install the Plugin

Download the latest Manager plugin file to the Manager computer, install it in Blender, and enable the plugin.

2. Open the Blend File

Open the .blend file to be rendered (e.g., //192.168.0.10/render/test.blend).

3. Open the RenderWorkshop Panel

Press N to open the N panel and locate RenderWorkshop.

4. Set Server IP address and Port

In the Network Service section, set the server IP address and port (must be the same as the port number in the Worker settings). If your computer has multiple IP address mappings, you can set the IP address manually. If there is no port conflict, it is recommended to keep the default value.

5. Start the Server

Click the Start Server button to start the server. If the system prompts Blender for network access permissions, allow it.
The message list will display the server's IP address and port number for manual Worker configuration.

6. Worker Connection

If the Worker is running and configured correctly, it will automatically connect and appear in the Worker list.

7. Worker Verification

By default, the Manager will automatically verify the Worker. Upon successful verification, the button on the left side of the Worker will turn into a solid circle.
If automatic verification fails, manually click the button on the left side of the Worker to verify.
If verification fails, adjust the parameters according to the prompts in the message list.You can see a description of each in the appendix below

8. Refresh Scene List

Click the Refresh button to display the scene information of the .blend file.

9. Select Rendering Type

Choose between Image or Animation pages as needed.

10. Set Rendering Parameters

• Image:
  Tiles: Divide the image into several blocks for rendering (e.g., 4 means dividing into 4x4=16 blocks). It is recommended to set a larger value for high resolutions.

    Samples Length: Divide the image samples into different sampling length intervals (for example, 4096 samples, each sampling length is 1000, each segment renders 1000 samples, and a total of 1000+1000+1000+1000+96 images are rendered), and finally merge the images into a fully sampled image Only supports Blender 4.4.0 and above and the rendering engine is Cycles

• Animation:
  Split: Divide the animation frames into different intervals for rendering (e.g., 1-60 frames divided into 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-60). It is recommended not to set this value too small.

You can click the expand button on the right side of the scene to expand the scene's additional settings, specifying a specific view layer or a specific camera to render.

You can also enable multiple view layers or multiple passes for AOV rendering, and if your Blender version is higher than 4.4.0 and uses the Cycles renderer, you can also use the render subset feature for image rendering.

11. Add Scenes (Optional)

To add the same scene for rendering, click the + button at the bottom left of the scene list, set the scene parameters, and add it to the scene list.

12. Real-Time Preview

To preview the image rendering in real-time, check the Preview option under the scene list.

13. Check and Re-render Missing Frames (Optional)

To check and re-render missing frames after rendering is complete, check the Check and re-render missing frames option (automatically enabled for image scenes).

14. Verify Settings

Ensure that the hosts in the Worker list are connected and verified successfully.
Confirm that the scenes to be rendered are selected and the rendering parameters are set correctly.

15. Start Rendering

Click the Render Image or Render Animation button to start rendering.

16. Rendering Results

The rendered content will be saved in the same directory as the .blend file.

17. Real-Time Feedback

View real-time rendering feedback in the message list.
The scene list displays the rendering status of the scenes.
The progress bar below the message list shows the overall rendering progress.

18. Heartbeat Detection (Optional)

During rendering, heartbeat detection is performed on the Worker. Adjust related parameters in the preferences if needed.You can see a description of each in the appendix below

19. Cancel Rendering (Optional)

To cancel rendering, click the Cancel button.

20. Custom Output Path (Optional)

You can set the path where the rendered files are exported. The manager and all workers must point to the same path.

21. Message List Operations (Optional)

Click the arrow on the left side of the message list to expand/collapse it, or click the Clear button to clear the message list.
To save logs, click the Save button at the top right of the message list.

Appendix

1. Worker Settings Explanation

• Server IP: Automatically detects the Manager's IP address within the subnet by default. Only fill in when manual configuration is required.
• Server Port: Automatically detects the Manager's service port within the subnet by default. Must match the Manager's port.
• Blender Path: Automatically detects the Blender installation path by default. If not detected, manually enter the path to the Blender executable.
• Cycles Render Both: Choose whether to enable both CPU and GPU rendering. By default, only GPU rendering is used.
• Retry Interval Seconds: Set the retry interval (in seconds) after failing to connect to the Manager. It is recommended to keep the default.
• UPnP Discovery Seconds: Set the time (in seconds) for the Worker to automatically search for the Manager upon startup. Set to 0 if the Worker and Manager are not in the same subnet or if the router does not support UPnP.
• Network Interface: If you have multiple network cards on your computer, you can select a specific network card to run the worker.
• Save Log: Enable this option to record Worker rendering information.
• Command Line Mode: Enable this mode to save resources or if the Worker displays abnormalities.
• Pull File: Pull the files from the shared folder to the local rendering, which can improve the blend file reading speed when the network bandwidth is insufficient.
• Check Code: If you are in a multi-user environment, you can set a check code to verify whether the manager and worker belong to you. The check code of the manager and worker must be the same for the check to succeed.

2. Manager Manual Configuration Explanation

• Cycles Devices: Set the devices used by the Cycles rendering engine. It is recommended to keep the default.
• GPU Backend: Set the GPU backend. It is recommended to keep the default.
• Threads: Set the number of threads for Worker rendering (1-1024). 0 means automatic setting. It is recommended to keep the default.
• BlendFile: Set the absolute path for the Worker to access the .blend file. Leave blank for automatic detection.

3. Solutions for detecting workers

• get local blend file error: Re-open the blend file or check Blender's read and write permissions on the blend file
• please save the blend file: Save the blend file to the shared storage space
• xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx check timeout: Check timeout, please check whether the network of the worker and manager is smooth
• xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx can' t get blend file: The worker cannot access the blend file. Please check whether the worker can access the blend file and make sure the path is correct.
• xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx does not obtain the same file: The worker and manager are not accessing the same file. Please ensure that they are accessing the same blend. document. If it is the same blend file, please reopen the blend file in the manager.
• xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx check code does not match: The check codes of the manager and worker do not match. The check codes of both parties must be the same.
• xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx output path does not match or flag file losed: The export paths set by the worker and manager may point to different directories, or the flag file may be missing. You can check whether the worker and manager point to the same directory, or whether the manager and worker have read and write permissions to this directory, or you can restart the server to rebuild the flag file.
• xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx flag file MD5 does not match: The md5 checksum of the flag file does not match. Please check whether the manager and worker point to the same directory and have read and write permissions.
• xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx passed worker detection: The detection is normal.
  

4. Preferences Explanation

• HeartbeatInterval: Set the heartbeat detection interval (in seconds).
• HeartbeatRetry: Set the number of heartbeat detection retries. If no response is received from the Worker after the retries, its tasks will be reassigned to other online Workers.

5. Local Batch Rendering

RenderWorkshop supports local batch rendering. For local batch rendering only, simply set the scene list parameters and click start rendering.

6. How to set worker mutli-language

1. There are two examples of examples of JSON file
2. Copy the language file you need to the same directory of the worker program and modify the name of lang.json
3. Restart the worker to take effect