PRB: Render Farm Jobs Terminate Prematurely
  
PSS ID Number: Q175824
Article last modified on 11-07-1997
 
IRIX:3.7
 
IRIX
 

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The information in this article applies to:
 
 - Softimage 3D for IRIX, version 3.7
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SYMPTOMS
========
 
Lack of swap when you really have enough swap set results in renders
prematurely terminating.
 
CAUSE
=====
 
When render farm jobs are run with soft -R, and you use pre- and post-frame
render scripts, SOFTIMAGE 3D (SI3D) uses the system() call to execute the
render scripts; this causes the problem. When the render type is set to
mental ray, enough memory and swap is required to accommodate multiple
copies of the scene: mental ray's internal version, SI3D's version, and a
duplicate version that is created when the pre- and post-frame scripts are
run.
 
For many SI3D scenes, this is a problem; with at least 192 MB in your
machine, with 500 MB of swap, this is still insufficient.
 
RESOLUTION
==========
 
If virtual swap space (swap -a -v) is properly set, problems will not occur
because the computer is tricked into thinking the memory is there, but the
memory is never accessed.
 
STATUS
======
 
This behavior is by design.
 
REFERENCES
==========
 
If you have any questions concerning the information contained in this
article, contact support@softimage.com by e-mail.
 
Additional query words: si si3d si3dren
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Keywords          : si si3d si3dren
Version           : IRIX:3.7
Platform          : IRIX
Issue type        : kbprb
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Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1997.