Appendices

The Configuration Files

These important files, named server.ini or client.ini, (these lie in the server prefs and client prefs directories respectively) are for the manual configuration of CINEMA 4D NET Render. For the server, the files may contain additional data about all configured users. The configuration files are ASCII text files and can be opened easily with any text editor. Do not use an office application like Word because it normally destroys the original file by converting it into its own file format. Notepad for Windows or TextEdit for Mac should be sufficient for editng these files. The easiest way to make changes to the server.ini or the client.ini files is via the Network Settings in the C4DN console.

The structure of the configuration files is similar to that of the .INI files from Windows and should be easy to understand. The documents are divided into several sections. Each section starts with a name in square brackets, for example settings followed by the data section. In each line you can set variables. Comments start with a semicolon.

Tip:
If there is an error in the file, CINEMA 4D NET Render shows an alert box with the line number where the error is located.

This is an example for the client.ini file:

Client Settings

settings

serveraddress = 192.168.0.227

serverport = 80

password = maxon

priority = 1

clientaddress = 0

clientport = 1800

clientinfo = ZZ's Dungeon

server.ini has additional information about configured users. An example could look like this:

Server Settings

settings

serveraddress = 0

serverport = 80

password = maxon

refreshtime = 20

timeout = 60

clearpics = 0

showalljobs = 0

browsertype = 0

User

admin

name = Administrator

password = Hallo_Passwort

info = Programmer

priority = 100

user

name = Guest

password =

info = Test Account

priority = 0

user

name = pablo_picasso

password = paloma

info = Artist

priority = 50

In this example there are multiple sections. You can see that there is an administrator account as well as two additional user accounts with the name Guest and pablo_picasso. The user Guest has no password at all and therefore can be accessed by everybody; logically this user is given the lowest priority possible!

On the following pages you will get a detailed explanation of every section.

General Rules

comments start with a forward slash
you can define only one section or variable per line
use the ‘=’ operator to assign a value to a variable
you can assign text directly to a variable. You only need to enclose text in double quotes if you want to use blank spaces for separation of words. Example name=test_user but name=test user
unless otherwise stated, all sections and entries are required
the order of the variables within a section as well as the order of the sections is not important

Sections and Variables of the client.ini File

settings (Client network settings) Section

In this section you can specify the TCP/IP information.

serveraddress (Server address) – Specifies the TCP/IP address of the computer running the C4DN server so the client knows where the server is located.

Tip:
This is normally the only value you will have to configure manually.

serverport (Server port) – Specifies the port number of the computer running the C4DN server. A default of 80 (PC) or 8080 (Mac) is used.

password (Password) – This is a security measure. Only if the server and client passwords match will the server send data to the client to be rendered. The default is ‘maxon’. You will find further information in the server.ini appendices in the following chapter.

clientaddress (Client address) – Specifies the TCP/IP address of the computer running the client. Normally the Client is configured to react to all messages and therefore the default value is 0 (use all addresses). But if you have multiple TCP/IP addresses installed on your local machine you can instead specify a particular address. The C4DN Client then ignores messages from other addresses.

clientport (Client port) – As soon as you want to have multiple clients running at the same time on one machine you have to give them individual port numbers so they do not interfere with each other. You could, for example, use the numbers 1800, 1801 and 1802 if using three clients on a single machine. If you want to additionally run the server application, the port number of the clients must be different from the server’s port number.

Tip:
Normally you should not start multiple clients on a single computer because this lowers overall performance.

If you have a server machine with multiple CPUs and Windows running on it you can optimize overall performance by assigning a single application to specified processors by using the Task Manager; for example Server = CPU 0 and Client = CPU 1, .

clientinfo (Client information) – Here you can specify additional information about the client, for example the name of the computer the client is running on.

priority (Adapt thread priority) – If the client is behaving strangely, try enabling this option. This may, in rare instances, be necessary.

More entries are not necessary for a client.

Sections and Variables of the server.ini File

settings (Server network settings) Section

In this section you can specify the TCP/IP information.

serveraddress (TCP/IP address) – Specifies the TCP/IP address to which the C4DN server listens. Normally it reacts to messages from all addresses. Therefore the default value is 0 (=all addresses). If the computer has multiple TCP/IP addresses you can assign a specific one. The C4DN server will then ignore messages from other addresses.

serverport (Port) – Specifies the port number of the computer running the C4DN server. The default value is 80 (PC) or 8080 (Mac).

password (Password) – This is a security measure. Only if the password of the server and of the client match, will the server send data to be rendered to the client. The default password is maxon. You may want to set a password if you want to prevent anyone from having access to your files. Imagine you receive a confidential project from a customer; if someone knows your server's IP address a client simply has to be started with this address and the server will start uploading the scene and textures onto that computer as soon as the job is ready to be rendered.

refreshtime (Refresh time in seconds) – Some pages (Jobs page, Clients page) have an automatic refresh to show you current project information. If you find the time between refreshes too short or too long just change this value manually. Enter the time between refreshes in seconds.

If you do not want to have an automatic refresh at all enter 0. Then you will have to refresh manually by clicking on your browser’s Refresh or Reload button.

timeout (Timeout in seconds) – From time to time the server checks to see if all clients logged in are still part of the network. The timeout value allows the server to detect inactive clients; if timeout seconds have passed without the client responding to the server, the client will be considered disconnected and removed from the clients list. Frames that still need to be rendered will be distributed amongst the other clients. Possible reasons for the absence of a client could be a network failure or just that the client has quit. The default for timeout is 60 seconds.

clearpics (Delete pictures after assembling) – As described in the How to… section you can render ready-to-use animations under certain circumstances. With the clearpics option you can decide whether a previously rendered sequence of frames should be deleted after the finished animation is compiled (enter 1) or not (enter 0). The default is 0; the pictures will not be deleted automatically.

Tip:
You will need twice as much free space on your hard disk (space for the individual frames and for the complete animation) if you create a ready-to-use animation because the frames will only be deleted after the task is complete.You will need twice as much free space on your hard disk (space for the individual frames and for the complete animation) if you create a ready-to-use animation because the frames will only be deleted after the task is complete.

showalljobs (Show all jobs) – Usually, a user only sees his own jobs – assuming he is not the administrator. If the value of this variable is set to 1 all users will see all jobs. By doing this you may get a better idea of how long it will take before your own job is rendered. The default value is 0; only the administrator sees all jobs of all users.

Tip:
This is for monitoring purposes only. As a normal user you can only affect your own jobs (e.g. stop the processing, delete them, rearrange them etc.) not the jobs of other users.

browsertype (Browser supports direct image download) – This variable can have two values. If it is set to 0 (the default), when you click on the download button on a job’s details page, a separate download page will appear. If it is set to 1, all files will be downloaded into the browser directly from the result files list.

Tip:
It is recommended that you set this variable to 1 only if you are not working with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Switch it back to 0 whenever you encounter problems with downloading.

Admin Section

This section defines the administrator account. This section needs to be there at least once because running CINEMA 4D NET Render without any administrator makes no sense.

name – The unique user name of the administrator.

Careful!
The user name will be used for naming the user’s folder. It should contain a maximum of 31 characters. You are allowed to only use the characters A–Z, a–z, 0–9 and the underscore (underline) character. A blank space or special characters are not permitted.

password (optional) – The encrypted password for the administrator. After installation the administrator has no password. therefore, without any login (=entry of user name and password) from the start page you will proceed directly to the job page. If you have multiple users installed you should immediately configure a password for the administrator account to protect it. You can do this from the Users page if you have started the C4DN server. Every user then must log in with user name and password in order to access his or her user folder.

info (optional) – Here you can specify additional data for your own needs, for example info=My best paying user. This information will be displayed on the user administration’s web page.

priority (optional) – Here you can give users different render priorities (do not mix this up with the priority of user jobs). Jobs for users with a high priority are rendered prior to jobs for users with a low priority and therefore effectively get rendered more quickly. You can choose any value between 0 (lowest priority) and 100 (highest priority). By default the administrator has a value of 100 and every user a value of 50.

When installing an Internet rendering service you could for example configure priorities according to what each customer is paying. Users paying a premium would be allocated a higher priority and would receive their work more quickly. But if you do not have any additional users configured except for the administrator you should not have to worry about this value.

User Section(s)

This section is for configuring an additional user so you can have multiple user sections.

Tip:
You can configure this data much more easily by using a browser and accessing the user administration web page.

name, password, info, priority – These variables are identical to those described in the admin section. The only difference is that they are for the specified user.

UsingPlugins and Modules

In contrast to textures and shaders, plugins and modules are not automatically distributed to the clients. If a scene needs a special plugin or module you have to install this plugin or module manually on all clients. Make a new plugins or modules folder for each client in the client folder and copy the plugin or module into the appropriate folder.

Attention!
Please read the plugin or module license agreement carefully and contact the plugin or module publisher if you need multiple licenses for use with CINEMA 4D NET Render.

Installation and Configuration for Large Networks

If your network has a file server, you can simplify the installation process. Simply copy the CINEMA 4D NET Render folder to a directory on the file server.

The C4DN server and C4DN clients can be allocated to as many other computers as you like.

Tip:
Each client (including any modules used in the scene) must be installed on its own computer and started from that location. Do not start the clients from the file server.

Tip:
For heterogeneous (unlike) networks it is best to create separate CINEMA 4D NET Render folders for each operating system (Windows, Mac OS).

Attention!
The network’s file server is not related to the C4DN server. CINEMA 4D NET Render will function even without an installed file server.

# Security Issues

If you are system administrator (not the CINEMA 4D NET Render administrator) and if you are installing the access privileges and user accounts on the file server you should give each user full access only to his own CINEMA 4D NET Render user folder.

Attention!
Under no circumstances should a user be able to access the file named server.ini from the server folder because he will find there all user IDs and passwords. Use of unauthorized access in local networks causes headaches at the most, but when connecting CINEMA 4D NET Render to the Internet you must be aware of these important security issues

It is best that you give access only for the user folder and hide and protect all other folders — mainly the server folder — from user access. This is very important if using CINEMA 4D NET Render in conjunction with the Internet. Additionally, you should always configure passwords for all users. User access without password is hard to control.

Tip:
CINEMA 4D NET Render is not able to create and control user accounts on the file server for you because this depends on the operating system and network configuration.

IP-Adressing

An IP address is a 32-bit number stored in four bytes (4 * 1 byte = 4 * 8 bits = 32 bits). It is usually displayed as four decimal numbers separated by periods (full stops). Each values can, in theory, contain a value between 0 and 255. In practice, though, the numbers 0 and 255 are generally reserved for special purposes, so all in all, 254 values are available.

For IP classification purposes, networks are divided into five classes (A, B, C, D and E) depending on the size of the network and the number of computers connected:

Class A networks have the subnet mask 255.0.0.0. This supports up to 254 networks with a maximum of 16,387,064 computers per network.
Class B networks have the subnet mask 255.255.0.0. This supports up to 64,516 networks with a maximum of 64,516 computers per network.
Class C networks have the subnet mask 255.255.255.0. This supports up to 16,387,064 networks with a maximum of 254 computers per network.

These values are theoretical maximums. Some IP addresses are reserved for special tasks. Numbers that begin with 192.168.xxx.yyy belong to a special block that does not occur in the real Internet. All IP numbers beginning with these digits are filtered out by the routers and ignored. Numbers beginning with 192.168 are for networks with a gateway (a computer that interfaces between the company’s internal and external TCP/IP network). This gives you the freedom to install a class B or several class C networks within your company. Each computer has a further special IP address: 127.0.0.1 which is specific to itself. This address is often termed a ‘localhost’.

Usually your Internet service provider allocates you explicit IP addresses. These are addresses that can identify your computer unambiguously across the Internet. These addresses play a secondary role in an intranet and are only of interest to the gateway computer, the so-called gate to the world. As a rule, this gateway has more than one IP address (at least one internal IP address in addition to the external address). For more information check related literature under the terms multi-homing, gateways or firewall.

TCP-Port Numbers

One might think that all you need is a globally explicit IP telephone number. Well yes, but …

Thanks to multitasking, computers these days are now in a position to send and receive data on more than one Internet connection. Without some form of control the data packets would mix. For this reason the control information for a TCP data packet also contains a reference to a port.

Ports are not physical connections to the computer. Rather, ports are simply numbers ranging from 0–65535. Each computer eavesdrops on behalf of the ports for their port numbers in the network. Only when the first data packet with a recognized port number shows up will communication be sent directly to the port in question.

Two computers can only then have several conversations at once if each conversation has its own port number (the port number is included in the TCP packets). Without ports you wouldn’t be able to have an FTP download running on your machine at the same time you browse the web via HTTP.

Some port numbers are reserved for specific uses. These port numbers are often termed well-known ports. Some of the well-known ports are listed in the table below.

If you find that a standard port number is already in use, you need to find an alternative. You should never use a value less than 1024 as the alternative port — always use values greater than 1023. The first alternative value for web servers is port 8080. You need to add the port to the IP address when you type it in the browser’s Location box. The port is separated from the IP address by a colon. For example, a valid entry could read: 192.168.0.144:8080

You can find more information on this in the Troubleshooting chapter.

Port Description

20 FTP-Server (Data)

21 FTP-Server

23 Telnet-Server

25 Mail-Server

53 DNS-Server (Domain Name Service)

80 Web-Server

110 POP3-Server

119 News-Server

6667 IRC (Internet Relay Chat)

With CINEMA 4D NET Render, the communication is at port 8080. Thus, in the browser always enter the port in the form of ‘xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:8080’.

Problems can arise if another web server is running on one of the computers in the render farm. For example, installing Microsoft Frontpage always installs a web server (i.e. the Microsoft Personal Web Server). You can read how to overcome this scenario in the Troubleshooting chapter.

Tip:
The combination of the IP address and the TCP port number is referred to as the Socket. The two parts are separated by a colon, e.g. 192.168.0.144:8080. A socket represents a unique TCP/IP address, whereas an IP address itself is insufficient. The port number does not need to be entered for the well-known ports (see above), but it is present in the TCP/IP packets themselves. Computers always send sockets to each other. These sockets use a programming concept that is also found in the Winsock DLLs under Windows. These Libraries are very important for TCP/IP running under Windows and they tend to be susceptible to manipulation. You’ll find more about that in the Troubleshooting chapter.

192.168.0.144:8080

Installing and Configuring a TCP/IP Network

from Jason Goldsmith (with help from thorn)

Although the installation of CINEMA 4D NET Render is pretty straightforward, the reality is that some users will not be able to set up CINEMA 4D NET Render by themselves. This will probably have nothing to do with CINEMA 4D NET Render — setting up TCP/IP is not easy. In order to give you some assistance in this difficult area, here is an attempt at a very basic rundown of creating a TCP/IP Ethernet based network that doesn’t connect to the Internet. But, please, if you continue to experience problems talk to a network expert or your network administrator — we cannot give support for networking in general.

Almost every TCP/IP network starts out the same … and, once you start, they go in wildly different directions. The more machines you add and the more different types of machines on the network, the uglier it gets.

Tip:
The following explanation covers a basic setup of a TCP/IP network. It is very general and may not cover all situations. This does not cover setting up a network that is connected to the Internet. Such a network is beyond the scope of this document.

Hardware Considerations

You will need a TCP/IP network. Most are based on Ethernet, for which there are many types of installation possibilities (nowadays the most common are 10BaseT, 100BaseT and 10Base2). Typically, to install an Ethernet network you will need one Ethernet card per computer and, for 10/100BaseT, an Ethernet hub with a minimum of one port per computer. You will also need Cat-5 standard cables for 10/100BaseT or Thinnet cabling for 10Base2.

Install the Ethernet cards, one per computer (please refer to the instructions that come with the cards). Plug one end of a Cat-5 cable into the Ethernet card and the other end into the Ethernet hub. Repeat this procedure for each machine. Number your computers from 1 to x where ‘x’ is the number of machines you will connect. Which machine gets which number is not important but write this down, you’ll need it later.

Note:
Some Macintosh computers come with built-in Ethernet, so connecting them is all you have to do.

If you want to connect only two computers there’s no need for a hub. You have to buy a special cross cable from your hardware dealer. Just plug this cable into the Ethernet cards.

Configuring TCP/IP under Windows

Windows 2000/XP

In Windows 2000/XP; go to Control Panel / Network Connections or Control Panel / Network and Dialup Connections. (If this is missing refer to the Windows 2000/XP documentation or go to Microsoft’s website at www.microsoft.com for help).

Go to your Local area connection and select Properties. Select the TCP/IP protocol from the list. If the TCP/IP protocol is missing from the list refer to the Windows documentation on how to install this protocol.

Firstly, check use the following IP address. Subsequently, set the IP address to 192.168.0.x where ‘x’ is the number of the machine at which you’re working. You wrote the number down earlier, didn’t you? Set the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0.

Click on OK until you’re back on your Windows desktop.

Configuring TCP/IP on MacOS

MacOS X

On Mac OS X go to System Preferences and select Network. In the Network preferences choose show: Built-in Ethernet. Below, choose Configure Manually.

Set the IP address to 192.168.0.x where ‘x’ is the number of the machine at which you’re working. You wrote the number down earlier, right? Set the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0.

Click Apply. This should give you a functioning Ethernet-based TCP/IP network. Please remember that the above instructions are meant to serve as a very basic guide; if you have any difficulties, please contact a local networking consultant as the intricacies of a TCP/IP network are far beyond the scope of these instructions.

Support

What if neither the manual nor your own tests can resolve a problem? It’s time to contact the Technical Support department. MAXON Computer will be more than happy to help you solve your problems. We would like to help you as effectively as possible, so please try to follow these guidelines:

Please contact MAXON Computer in writing, preferably by email.
Even though you can reach us on the phone, programs as complex as CINEMA 4D NET Render can rarely be solved over the phone in a matter of minutes … and Murphy’s Law (If something can go wrong it will) dictates that our telephone lines will be busy just when you happen to call. If our lines are busy, please bear with us - we will take your call as soon as possible.

Please keep suggestions or orders separate from support questions, otherwise your inquiry is likely to disappear in one of our departments.
One reason why this might happen is that we must keep a copy of your order for tax purposes. Once your order has been processed, the paperwork is promptly filed away and is next seen by the auditor.

If you send us a fax, we will answer it as quickly as we can.
We deal with support questions on a first-come, first-served basis. We work hard to ensure that you, our customer, receive a speedy and efficient support service.

Please include your telephone number and times when you can be reached at that number.
Sometimes we need to ask you for further information.

Please include your serial number and program version number.
You can find these in the CINEMA 4D About/Info dialog.

Please list your hardware configuration.
I have a Macintosh/PC is not enough information.
Please tell us about any system update or new hardware drivers that you may have installed.
If you have Internet access, please use the support form on our web site.

Please send us sample scenes if possible.
The program doesn’t work. We cannot possibly solve the problem based on this information alone. After all, we have tested CINEMA 4D NET Render extensively without encountering problems.

Please reduce the size of your sample scenes as much as possible.
If, for example, the problem only occurs on the hubcap of a car model, the rest of the car model will be of no use to us. Please delete all information in the scene that is not relevant to demonstrate the problem. By simplifying the scene you help us to identify the problem more quickly.

Please include specific details on the procedure you have tried (but please don’t write a ten-page novel — oh, it’s been done!).
I created an object and then I went into the raytracer and … (see above).

Please include rendered pictures and/or screen shots if they help to demonstrate the problem.

Please describe which settings you used in any relevant settings windows.

Please tell us which programs or system extensions you have running at the same time as CINEMA 4D.

Error messages usually appear if the program crashes. Please tell us what the exact message was. Windows lists many details in addition to the program error report. These extra details are about as helpful as the famous Macintosh error: The application unknown has unexpectedly quit because an error of type 1 has occurred.

If you have Internet access, please look for the solution in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). Chances are you’ll find the answer there. You can find the FAQ in the support section of our web site.

Please note that we cannot do your projects for you!
I’ve enclosed a CD including textures and models. Please animate this for me in the following format so that I can play it smoothly from my video card.
Don’t laugh — we really do get such requests. Services of this kind are beyond the bounds of technical support.

Please do not be concerned if there is a slight delay before until respond.
Sometimes even we need a little time to solve problems, which may include consulting with the programmers.

Glossary

42	1. The extension for the MAXON Computer GmbH Technical Support hot line; 2. The answer to all questions.
Application	Another name for program.
Browser	1. A program for controlling and viewing files; 2. A program that displays HTML pages or accesses the Internet.
C4DN	CINEMA 4D NET Render
C4DN client	CINEMA 4D NET Render client program — renders frames.
C4DN-Server	CINEMA 4D NET Render server program — controls and distributes the render jobs.
Client	A computer upon which a C4DN client program was started. A client uses the services provided by a server by sending network information and commands that will be processed by the server.
Codec	A codec compresses information such as pictures, animation or sound. Information is sometimes lost through the compression process (e.g. pictures develop artefacts), the extent of which depends on the type and quality of the compressor used.
DNS	Domain Name Server. Converts a meaningful name (e.g. www.maxon.net) into an IP address.
Download	The transfer of programs or files from another computer to your computer - the opposite of upload.
FAQ	Frequently Asked Questions. A list of questions and answers to help you troubleshoot.
File server	The network’s server. This is a computer that, in addition to other qualities, can be accessed both by PC and Macintosh computers.
Firewall	A software or hardware-based system for protecting unauthorized access to your firm’s internal network from the outside world (e.g. via the Internet). Computers protected by a firewall are invisible to external computers.
FTP	File Transfer Protocol. A protocol used for controlling the transfer of files.
Gateway	A computer that interfaces between the firm’s network and the Internet. The gateway usually has more than one TCP/IP address (at least one internal and one external address).
Header	Information at the start of a file containing general, often important information. An analogy is the address at the head of a written letter.
Homepage	The page you are meant to see first when accessing a website. The home page usually has links to other pages on the same website.
HTML	HyperText Markup Language. The language in which web pages are written. HTML documents can include texts, pictures and even links to other websites.
HTML browser	See web browser.
HTML file	A text file containing HTML data. You can load and view HTML files in a web browser.
HTTP	HyperText Transfer Protocol. Protocol used for transferring web pages across the Internet.
Hyperlink	Hypertext Link. See link.
Internet-Browser	See web browser.
Intranet	A company’s internal network. Internal networks are based on Internet technology and protocols. An intranet can be connected to the Internet, though this is optional.
IP	Internet Protocol. A means by which data is transferred over the Internet. See also TCP and TCP/IP.
IP address	A unique identification number for a computer that enables it to communicate with other computers via TCP/IP. An IP address consists of four numeric characters in the range of 0 to 255 separated by dots, e.g. 207.159.139.136.
ISP	Internet Service Provider. This is a company that provides you with Internet access. Your ISP usually issues you with your external IP address.
Job	CINEMA 4D scene that has been submitted for network rendering.
Link	A link is often text (usually underlined), a graphic or an icon on a web page that does something useful when you click on it. Clicking on a link often loads another HTML document, though links are also used to carry out many other functions such as to select a file to download or to launch another application.
Log file	A log file stores useful information about a program’s activities. The log file can be useful for troubleshooting in particular.
Network	Two or more computers that are connected and are able to communicate with each other.
Port	A number that is attached to an IP address. Two computers are able to have several communication channels open at the same time by using a different port number for each channel.
Protocol	A set or rules adopted by computers so that they can communicate with each other.
Proxy	A server that stores commonly accessed data. This enables you to access that data more quickly than by accessing the computer where the original data is stored.
Server	Computer on which the C4DN server was started (not to be confused with the network’s file server). Generally, a computer that processes the information from clients and distributes these tasks.
Socket	1. Combination of an IP address and a port number; 2. Programming concept.
TCP	Transmission Control Protocol. A means by which data is transferred over the Internet. See also IP and TCP/IP.
Upload	The transfer of programs or files from your computer to a server — the opposite of download.
URL	Uniform Resource Locator. An Internet address.
Web Page	HTML file on a server that can be displayed in a web browser. Web pages can contain text, pictures and links.
Website	Server that hosts one or more HTML pages that can be accessed via the Internet.