Frequently Asked Questions F.A.Q.

No. SquidNet 2.x licenses will no longer be valid with the new 3.x release. If you upgrade your version to 3.x, you’ll be provided with a new LOCAL RENDER FARM license.

SquidNet’s licensing models are as follows:

  • Local license:
    • Good for all versions and future updates
    • Unlimited jobs and local users (RenderFarm account)
    • Command line interface and tools
    • SQL Database access
    • Based on number of local render nodes. Renewed annually
  • Cloud license:
    • Includes local license
    • Unlimited studio and user accounts
    • Remote command line interface and tools
    • Based on number of local render nodes. Renewed annually

Reseller agreements can be arranged. Please send us an email for additional information.

Yes. A 20% license discount is provided for educational institutions.

To obtain an evaluation license just send us an email with a short description of your requirements. Evaluation licenses are good for 15 days but can be extended upon request.

The cloud interface provides the following types of reports:

  • Per-job render reports
  • Job error email notifications
  • Daily, weekly and monthly studio render reports
  • Periodic farm status render reports
  • Searchable SQL database (via cloud user interface )

You may have an unlimited number of studio accounts and users with the cloud interface. Each studio account provides an interface for admins to create an unlimited number of render accounts.

SquidNet uses render credits to determine the amount of rendering resources used by a specific job. Render credit consumption is base on the the PPI (Processor Performance Index) of the rendering node. Higher performing render nodes consume render credits at a higher rate than lower performing render nodes. However, in the end, the overall cost of rendering each frame is the same.

Job profiles are created from application templates and contain the rendering instructions and parameters for a render job. Both the local and cloud interfaces allow job profiles to be created, edited, submitted and saved. Each profile can be re-opened, edited and resubmitted to the render farm.

Technical support is provided by email, phone, Skype and remote desktop connections (AnyDesk, RDP, Teamviewer, etc…).

Free online training is provided upon license purchase. Typical training sessions are as follows:

  • Render Farm Installation (1 hour): Includes installation and setup of master, client and slave render nodes.
  • Local interface (1 hour): Includes job submission, troubleshooting and monitoring of farm activity.
  • Cloud Interface(2 hours): Includes cloud interface, studio and user account setup, render credit setup and monitoring of farm activity.
Please email us to schedule your training session.

For feature requests and recommendations, please send us an email.

SquidNet supports the following rendering applications:

  • Autodesk Maya
  • Autodesk 3DSMAX
  • Maxon Cinema 4D
  • Blender
  • The Foundry Modo
  • Newtek Lightwave
  • FFMPEG
  • Adobe After Effects
  • The Foundry Nuke
  • Maxwell Render
  • V-Ray Standalone
  • Redshift Standalone
  • more…
SquidNet can support any application that provides an API/SDK or command line interface.

Render farms require centralized storage of render content. Farm render nodes access (render) the project content stored on the storage device. Upon render completion, the images are typically written to the same storage device.

Any network accessible storage (NAS) device will suffice. However, use of Windows (non-server) mapped drives are not recommended because Microsoft limits the number of concurrent network connections.

SquidNet runs as a background service (daemon on Linux and Mac OS). This service runs at all times and is persistent between host restarts. The main SquidNet GUI connects to the service via direct inter-process communications (IPC – TCP/IP). Service prerequisites are as follows:

  • Windows (Vista, 7, 10, etc…):
    • Full Administrative privileges.
    • Network access privileges
    • Access credentials provided during installation phase
  • Mac OS and Linux:
    • Runs under system root account
    • Network access privileges