Here’s a little curiousity: at some point last year, Softimage 2014 SP2 tried to check out a 3D_NINTENDO token. I wonder what I did to make that happen.
FLEXlm checkout error: Invalid returned data from license server Feature 3D_NINTENDO
None, not for the render farm itself. You just need Arnold licenses for the render nodes. You need Softimage licenses for artist workstations; on the render nodes, you’ll be using xsibatch -processing -render to render (and -processing doesn’t take a Batch license for third-party renderers).
You wouldn’t need Maya Batch licenses for Arnold render nodes either. The Maya render/mayabatch command line tools won’t take a Batch license for third-party renderers either.
Someone asked me if they could use Arnold with a standalone Softimage license.
Yes, of course you can. You can use Arnold with a trial version of Softimage; the Arnold license is completely separate. As long as you can start Softimage and load the SItoA plugin, you can render with Arnold.
The SItoA plugin itself is not licensed. It isn’t until you start a render that Arnold checks out a license.
So, how does it work if you have one Standalone Softimage license and five Arnold licenses?
Port 2080 is the default port used by the Autodesk licensing service daemon (adskflex).
In most cases, you don’t have to specify the port number when you set ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE:
set ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE=LICSERVER-PC
Sometimes, depending on how the server is set up, you may need to add the port number:
set ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE=2080@LICSERVER-PC
Port 2080 is registered with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), and it’s unlikely you’ll ever have to use a different port.
But if you do, there’s two things you have to do. First, you need to change the port number on the VENDOR line of your license file:
SERVER LICSERVER-PC 0000deadbeef USE_SERVER VENDOR adskflex port=2081
Then, on all workstations and render nodes, you’ll have to include the port number in ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE:
set ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE=2081@LICSERVER-PC
When you install Softimage 2014 on Linux, the license server name (or IP address) that you enter during setup goes into $SI_HOME/Application/bin/License.env.
rem Licensing method: Standalone | MSSA | Network SOFTIMAGE_LICENSE_METHOD=Network rem License servers specified from the setup. Format: [port1]@host1[;[port2]@host2]... ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE=@my_license_server
So, if you need to change ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE, edit License.env.
ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE is also set in the .xsi resource file (eg $SI_HOME/.xsi_2014_SP2), but License.env takes precedence. Unless, of course, you set ADLM_LICENSE_METHOD or SOFTIMAGE_LICENSE_METHOD:
# Set the ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE setenv ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE "@192.168.1.221" # Get License if ( $?ADLM_LICENSE_METHOD ) then setenv SILicMethod $ADLM_LICENSE_METHOD setenv ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE $ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE else if ( $?SOFTIMAGE_LICENSE_METHOD ) then setenv SILicMethod $SOFTIMAGE_LICENSE_METHOD setenv ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE $ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE else if ( -f "$SI_HOME/Application/bin/License.env" ) then setenv SILicMethod `sed -n s/SOFTIMAGE_LICENSE_METHOD=//p "$SI_HOME/Application/bin/License.env"` setenv ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE `sed -n s/ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE=//p "$SI_HOME/Application/bin/License.env"` else setenv SILicMethod Network endif
See how the .xsi resource file uses the sed swiss army knife to extract the environment variable values from License.env?
Ever wonder what happens if you lose your connection to the license server?
Well, two hours after the connection is lost, you’ll get a warning:
When you click OK, you’ll be prompted to either save or discard your work.
And after you save your scene, Softimage will exit.
Hat tip: Andy Jones on the Softimage mailing list
You can use xsibatch -processing to render scenes with third-party renderers like Arnold. With -processing, xsibatch uses a Processing token instead of a Batch license, so you’re not limited by the number of Batch licenses you happen to have. Back in the days before third-party renderers, -processing for was for non-rendering tasks. Now it’s for non-mental ray tasks!
I was sure I tested this long ago, but obviously I must have made a mistake on my command line.
xsibatch -processing -render //server/project/Scenes/example.scn ======================================================= Autodesk Softimage 11.1.57.0 ======================================================= License information: using [Processing] # INFO : [sitoa] SItoA 2.7.1 win loaded. # INFO : [sitoa] Arnold 4.0.12.1 detected.
Here’s actual proof in the form of a screenshot 🙂
It’s rare, but the occasional customer has a problem where the license server keeps stopping (for example, after the computer goes to sleep). Normally the license service should always be running, but if you were really stuck and needed a workaround, you could add something to XSI.bat to start the license server before starting xsi.exe.
For example, here’s something I got from stackoverflow. You probably could just call sc start; if the service is already running, sc will just report that and nothing bad will happen.
@echo off
for /F "tokens=3 delims=: " %%H in ('sc query "Softimage License Server" ^| findstr "STATE"') do (
if /I "%%H" NEQ "RUNNING" (
sc start "Softimage License Server"
echo "Starting Softimage License Server"
)
)
The service name (on lines 2 and 4) is the same name you specified in LMTOOLS:
This Try/Activate screen means that you are running in Standalone mode. Try gets you a Trial standalone license, which is good for 30 days and cannot be reset. Activate is for Standalone licenses only. If you try to activate a Network license, you’ll get an Error 123. I used to see these types of errors every release.
Here are some related links:
From the 2014 version of setenv.bat, which uses the for command to parse the [new] License.env file.
for /f "delims== tokens=1,2*" %%i in (License.env) do ( if "%%i"=="SOFTIMAGE_LICENSE_METHOD" ( set SILicMethod=%%j ) else if "%%i"=="ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE" ( set _ADSK_LicServers=%%j ) )
License.env is a file that looks something like this:
rem Licensing method: Standalone | MSSA | Network SOFTIMAGE_LICENSE_METHOD=Network rem License servers specified from the setup. Format: [port1]@host1[;[port2]@host2]... ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE=2080@somewhere.someplace.com
eX-SI 