This document describes how to install RenderMan Pro Server on your Macintosh, including PhotoRealistic RenderMan, RenderMan.app, Alfserver, and the License Server.
Pixar's software will run only with a valid license, and the installer will require you to supply a valid license. Licenses are obtained from Pixar, and are keyed to a special machine designated as your license server. RenderMan Pro Server can run using an existing license server on another machine on a network. If you are already running a license server, skip ahead to the Installation Process. If you will be installing a new license server, please read this documentation.
RenderMan Pro Server is installed using the Mac OS X installer. The programs, in their entirety, are contained in a single .pkg file (unzipped from a .tgz bundle). The installer can open and install this package from a Downloads directory, your desktop, or wherever it resides on your Mac.
To Install RenderMan Pro Server
Double-click on the Pixar_RenderManProServer_version.pkg to start the installation.
After double-clicking on the installer package (Pixar_RenderManProServer_version.pkg), you will be greeted by an introductory screen. Please click Continue to proceed with the installation.
A “Read Me” file appears on the next screen. This will provide you with important information regarding the release. You can print or save this information if you so desire, or click Continue to continue.
Next is the Software License Agreement. You can print or save this information or just read it, then click Continue. A new window will appear and ask you to agree or disagree to the terms. If you disagree, click disagree, and the installer will quit. If you click Agree the installer will proceed and you will be bound to the terms of the license agreement, whether you read it or not.
The installer requires that you select a disk upon which to install the software. Please do so, then click Continue to continue. You will be asked to Authenticate yourself. Please note that you need Administrator permissions to install the software.
If this is the first time you are installing RenderMan Pro Server, you will be asked to click Install to proceed with the installation. Any subsequent installations, even after uninstalling the same or a different version, will ask you to click Upgrade.
Here's where the magic happens. After a moment or two, RenderMan Pro Server will be installed and will start itself up. The Preferences window will appear and you will need to enter the License Server information. Please enter the Server Location and Port Number (note that the default port is 9010). You will need to hit the “Enter” key after typing each of these important bits of information into their respective fields. You can change this information at any time by going back to your Preferences. Click Close upon completing this task, and then quit RenderMan Pro Server to complete the installation.
The installation is hereby complete. Go ahead and click Close. Now you can start rendering.
Environment Variables
Proper configuration of environment variables is necessary for full functionality.
The environment variable $RMANTREE should be set to point at the location
of RenderMan Pro Server. $RMANTREE/bin should be added to the computer's paths. To
set $RMANTREE follow the procedure outlined here:
Please note that these guidelines for command line rendering are based on the default installation, as provided by the installer. For more information on using and Pixar's RenderMan, please consult the User's Manual.
Alfserver
Alfserver
provides remote execution services for Pixar's NetRender and Alfred
products. Typically the server runs as an unattended service or
'daemon' on each remote host in the renderfarm. It waits for
connection requests on a specified set of network service ports, and
processes the requests it receives; usually this means launching the
RenderMan renderer, prman.
Alfserver runs in the background and will automatically start (as “nobody”) when a system comes online. It can be started and stopped from the RenderMan.app preferences panel, from the command line, or via telnet from remote hosts (port 1501 by default). Please note that Alfserver should not be run as “root”, or it will not be able to perform certain tasks (e.g. netrendering).
Check out the RenderMan Support Forum.
If that fails, try customer service:
Email: rmancusp@pixar.com
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Pixar Animation Studios
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