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SquidNet Network Distribution Processor Changelog

What's new in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.66P135

Apr 8, 2015
  • Changes include:
  • New web server interface.
  • Bug fixes.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.66P128 (Jan 5, 2015)

  • New command line interface for cloud rendering GUI,
  • New cloud server archiving feature for cloud interface.
  • Bug fixes.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.66P125 (Jan 5, 2015)

  • New cloud rendering interface
  • Performance increases for main GUI and servers.
  • Bug fixes.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.66P85 (Dec 20, 2012)

  • New SquidNet Applet.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.66P69 (Sep 11, 2012)

  • New render farm network map..
  • Significant performance improvements.
  • New Application Path/Installation Scanner.
  • New tile rendering interface.
  • New render graph timeline.
  • New Cross Platform User Interface.
  • Job slice memory cache to increase performance.
  • New sqnAPI SDK version 1.0 release and command line interface
  • Submit job requests from command line and user-defined scripts.
  • Develop your own submission applications with SquidNet sqnAPI SDK.
  • Updated Maxwell Render template.
  • Enhanced modo support.
  • SquidServer OSX Server.
  • LightWave Template enhancements.
  • Job id filter in job queue window.
  • Minor enhancements and bug fixes.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.66P68 (Sep 4, 2012)

  • Significant performance improvements.
  • New Application Path/Installation Scanner.
  • New tile rendering interface.
  • New render graph timeline.
  • New Cross Platform User Interface.
  • Job slice memory cache to increase performance.
  • New sqnAPI SDK version 1.0 release and command line interface for Windows, Linux and Mac OS.
  • Submit job requests from command line and user-defined scripts.
  • Develop your own submission applications with SquidNet sqnAPI SDK.
  • Updated Maxwell Render template.
  • Enhanced modo support.
  • SquidServer OSX Server.
  • LightWave Template enhancements.
  • Job id filter in job queue window.
  • Minor enhancements and bug fixes.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.66P61 (Jul 12, 2012)

  • New tile rendering interface.
  • New render graph timeline.
  • New Cross Platform User Interface.
  • Job slice memory cache to increase performance.
  • New sqnAPI SDK version 1.0 release and command line interface for Windows, Linux and Mac OS.
  • Submit job requests from command line and user-defined scripts.
  • Develop your own submission applications with SquidNet sqnAPI SDK.
  • Updated Maxwell Render template.
  • Enhanced modo support.
  • SquidServer OSX Server.
  • LightWave Template enhancements.
  • Job id filter in job queue window.
  • Minor enhancements and bug fixes.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.66P40 (Feb 23, 2012)

  • New Cross Platform User Interface.
  • Job slice memory cache to increase performance.
  • New sqnAPI SDK version 1.0 release and command line interface for Windows, Linux and Mac OS:
  • Submit job requests from command line and user-defined scripts.
  • Develop your own submission applications with SquidNet sqnAPI SDK.
  • Updated Maxwell Render template.
  • Enhanced modo support.
  • SquidServer OSX Server.
  • LightWave Template enhancements.
  • Job id filter in job queue window.
  • Minor enhancements and bug fixes.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.66P22 (Nov 11, 2011)

  • New Features:
  • SquidNet OSX Server support (BETA).
  • New Enhancements:
  • Updated Maxwell Render template.
  • Network installer now supports UNC or mapped drive paths
  • Support for spaces in all network paths.
  • Nodename aliases: Substitute node name with a different one. (Display only)
  • Data content check. Receive event notifications if no output content is detected after job slices completes.
  • MODO:
  • Camera selection in multi-camera scenes.
  • Allow mapping of both UNC and Mapped drives within modo scenes.
  • User notification during path registration if Modo SquidNet plugin is not installed in Modo installation tree.
  • User warning message if errors are detected while parsing scene file.
  • Added OSX option in Path Translation Manager.
  • Allow frame zero for AE jobs.
  • Added "Submit To SquidNet Software" button to License Manager. Used for MAC address license registration.
  • Warn users if specific WINDOWS nodes have incorrect Admin password.
  • Added designation to show if Linux operating system is 64Bit based in Network View Window.
  • Prevent relocation of MASTER node when jobs are active in the queue.
  • In job slice view, added push button to always show active jobs in window list.
  • Added job id filter to job queue window.
  • LightWave Template: Parse LWS scene file and populate template fields.
  • Job description field no longer mandatory. Defaults to "-".
  • Set H.264 video output filename from scene filename.
  • Maya Template (V-Ray renderer):
  • Don't allow "-fnc" option.
  • Prevent passing of "-rt" and "-n" options.
  • Use all available cores when processing V-Rau job slices.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed bug that was causing network connection drops when job slice packets exceeded 20MB in size. (Linux Only)
  • Fixed bug that caused UI to crash if master node was taken offline.
  • Fixed blender3D path conversion issue. (Linux Only).
  • Fixed bug that appeared on WIN7 O/S when SquidNet password was longer than 15 characters.
  • Fixed bug that intermittently ignored job slice errors on master node. Would cause every jobslice to error out before job was stopped.
  • Fixed bug that crashed SquidNet UI if local service was not running.
  • Fixed to reset statically set node IP address if HDCP address for node changed after a reboot.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.66P15 (Oct 5, 2011)

  • New Enhancements:
  • Nodename aliases: Substitute node name with a different one. (Display only)
  • Data content check. Receive event notifications if no output content is detected after job slices completes.
  • MODO: User notification during path registration if Modo SquidNet plugin is not installed in Modo installation tree.
  • Allow frame zero for AE jobs.
  • Added "Submit To SquidNet Software" button to License Manager. Used for MAC address license registration.
  • Warn users if specific WINDOWS nodes have incorrect Admin password.
  • Added designation to show if Linux operating system is 64Bit based in Network View Window.
  • Prevent relocation of MASTER node when jobs are active in the queue.
  • In job slice view, added push button to always show active jobs in window list.
  • Added job id filter to job queue window.
  • LightWave Template: Parse LWS scene file and populate template fields.
  • Job description field no longer mandatory. Defaults to "-".
  • Set H.264 video output filename from scene filename.
  • Maya Template (V-Ray renderer):
  • Don't allow "-fnc" option.
  • Prevent passing of "-rt" and "-n" options.
  • Use all available cores when processing V-Rau job slices.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed bug that caused UI to crash if master node was taken offline.
  • Fixed bug that appeared on WIN7 O/S when SquidNet password was longer than 15 characters.
  • Fixed bug that intermittently ignored job slice errors on master node. Would cause every jobslice to error out before job was stopped.
  • Fixed bug that crashed SquidNet UI if local service was not running.
  • Fixed to reset statically set node IP address if HDCP address for node changed after a reboot.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.66P11 (Sep 22, 2011)

  • New Enhancements:
  • Allow frame zerfor AE jobs.
  • Added "Submit TSquidNet Software" button tLicense Manager. Used for MAC address license registration.
  • Warn users if specific WINDOWS nodes have incorrect Admin password.
  • Added designation tshow if Linux operating system is 64Bit based in Network View Window.
  • Prevent relocation of MASTER node when jobs are active in the queue.
  • In job slice view, added push button talways show active jobs in window list.
  • Added job id filter tjob queue window.
  • LightWave Template: Parse LWS scene file and populate template fields.
  • Set H.264 videoutput filename from scene filename.
  • Maya Template (V-Ray renderer):
  • Don't allow "-fnc" option.
  • Prevent passing of "-rt" and "-n" options.
  • Use all available cores when processing V-Rau job slices.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed bug that was causing network connection drops when job slice packets exceeded 20MB in size. (Linux Only)
  • Fixed bug that caused UI tcrash if master node was taken offline.
  • Fixed blender3D path conversion issue. (Linux Only).
  • Fixed bug that appeared on WIN7 O/S when SquidNet password was longer than 15 characters.
  • Fixed bug that intermittently ignored job slice errors on master node. Would cause every jobslice terror out before job was stopped.
  • Fixed bug that crashed SquidNet UI if local service was not running.
  • Fixed treset statically set node IP address if HDCP address for node changed after a reboot.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.66P9 (Sep 12, 2011)

  • New Enhancements:
  • Allow frame zero for AE jobs.
  • Added "Submit To SquidNet Software" button to License Manager. Used for MAC address license registration.
  • Warn users if specific WINDOWS nodes have incorrect Admin password.
  • Maya Template (V-Ray renderer):
  • Don't allow "-fnc" option.
  • Prevent passing of "-rt" and "-n" options.
  • Use all available cores when processing V-Rau job slices.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed bug that was causing network connection drops when job slice packets exceeded 20MB in size. (Linux Only)
  • Fixed blender3D path conversion issue. (Linux Only)
  • Fixed bug that appeared on WIN7 O/S when SquidNet password was longer than 15 characters.
  • Fixed bug that intermittently ignored job slice errors on master node. Would cause every jobslice to error out before job was stopped.
  • Fixed bug that crashed SquidNet UI if local service was not running.
  • Fixed to reset statically set node IP address if HDCP address for node changed after a reboot.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.66 (Jul 30, 2011)

  • New Features:
  • New Modo 501 Support:
  • Auto-installed into Modo installation folder from SquidNet installer.
  • Output resolution field in template.
  • Selectable Render Outputs. Select from Modo's built in output formats.
  • Debug option from template.
  • New Blender 2.5X Support: Includes support for latest output image formats. Note: Starting with version 2.5X, in order for Blender to find the PYTHON libraries, you must set the path to blender.exe in your $PATH variable.
  • New /etc/hosts editor: Remotely manage entries in /etc/hosts files for WINDOWS and LINUX nodes.
  • Maya Template:
  • Added EXR support for Maya Tile Rendering.
  • Added "V-Ray" option to render options.
  • New SquidNet Image and Sequence Viewer application: View image and image sequences for all supported formats (OpenEXR, PNG, IFF, PNG, etc...) in standalone application.
  • New File Check & Analysis (BETA): Check for missing frames and badly formatted images. Automatically requeue missing frames, create H.264 videos from image sequences and more...
  • New Power Management Dialog (BETA): Automatically start and stop render nodes. Features include:
  • Auto-start nodes based on pool selection.
  • Auto-shutdown nodes after specific activity and CPU idle periods.
  • New Application Path Manager (BETA) to manage application installation paths. Features include:
  • For each application, define individual install paths on each node.
  • No longer a need to add application paths to system PATH variables.
  • Verify application installation on each node before job is submitted.
  • New Production Daily Queue (BETA): Schedule daily rendering and video creation jobs.
  • New Recent Jobs Manager (BETA): Quick access to recently submitted jobs.
  • New Network IP Address setup utility to assign a specific IP address to SquidNet nodes. Helpful for render nodes that have multiple network interfaces.
  • 3DSMAX Tile rendering: Render a single image across multiple nodes and stitch together when complete.
  • Added feature to ignore specific application return status codes.
  • System configuration Report. Capture your system's configurations in a single report.
  • Output directory checker and analyzer.
  • New Enhancements:
  • Added "Powerup Render Farm" and "Shutdown Render Farm" options to network view window.
  • Client nodes configured to process jobs when user is logged out will immediately cancel jobslice(s) when user logs in.
  • Job Submission form: Added feature to allow setting of specific color to job request for viewing in job queue, work queue and project view windows.
  • Expanded width of job submission form.
  • Updated SoftImage/XSI -2011 template support:
  • Added XML parser to read SCNTOC file and populate template.
  • Added output resolution option.
  • Updated Linux installer:
  • Remote installer.
  • Enhanced progress bar for when performing long operations.
  • Optimized Peer-to-Peer (P2P) and Client,Master,Slave (CMS) configuration. Configuration now done from Network view window.
  • Improved OpenEXR support.
  • Node configurator: Revert node type to PEER when removing from CLIENT or SLAVE lists.
  • New "Daylight" theme (default UI theme).
  • Better support for systems that use Microsoft UAC settings.
  • Adding $(TSTAMP) to H264 video filename automatically adds timestamp to output video filename.
  • Network installer: Bypass UAC settings during installation.
  • New option in job submission form that automatically creates output folder if it doesn't already exist.
  • Updated After Effects template.
  • Added ability to edit project's folder location. Still defaults to config-dir\project-dir.
  • Master and peer nodes now retain list of render nodes until explicitly removed by "remove all offline" menu option.
  • Added tooltips to main menu and popup menu items.
  • Added description field to node "Details" view.
  • Simplified Project Manager. Removed manual entry of project path.
  • When creating H.264 video, auto-create video output folder if "Create Output Directory" is selected.
  • Mapped drive support for image display feature.
  • Mapped drive support for image transfer feature.
  • Mapped drive support for H.264 video creation.
  • Maya template: Mapped drive support.
  • Allow mapped drives to be used for log copy feature.
  • Maya template: Show frame completion within multi-frame slices.
  • Mapped drive support for LightWave jobs.
  • LightWave template: Show frame completion within multi-frame slices.
  • LightWave template: Enable "Use All Available Cores" checkbox by default.
  • Modo template: Show frame completion within multi-frame slices.
  • Update Version Check now prompts user to install patched SquidNet versions.
  • Fullscreen option now available for UI themes.
  • Added admin account column that SquidNet runs under in network view.
  • Added pool, state, o/s type and node-type filter to network view.
  • 3DSMAX template:
  • Custom image resolution.
  • Local Project copy rendering. Automatically copies project folder to render drive for faster render times.
  • Added additional image format parameters (BMP, JPEG, EXR, etc...)
  • Return specific error for 3DSMAX errors.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed bug that prevented image display to function on client workstations.
  • Fixed bug that prevented video playback to function on client workstations.
  • Fixed bug that prevented Master node from sending jobs to nodes that had idle cores. Only occurred if a single client node was configured to "never" process jobs.
  • Fixed correct display of current client mode in Client configuration dialog.
  • Fixed intermittent issue that caused job slices with fast processing (less than 2 secs) to stall in queue.
  • Fixed small memory leak in Linux server when launching local jobs.
  • Fixed bug that showed jobs "stuck" in network even though queue was actually empty.
  • Fixed syntax error in Blender3D script that caused Blender jobs to fail.
  • Fixed path translation issue in Blender 3D plugin script when output folder path had multiple sub-directories.
  • Fixed return status response when executing jobs DOS within batch files.
  • Fixed bug in CMS mode that prevented user from sending message to job owner.
  • Fixed intermittent dialog-transparency issue.
  • Fixed update issue the prevented job to start if dependent jobs were removed from queue.
  • Fixed issues with image display not being properly updated when running job is updated.
  • Fixed bug that prevented all logs from being copied when saving log files.
  • Fixed display issue with "select All" option in Tile Rendering Setup window.
  • Fixed bug with template list not updating properly when project was changed.
  • Node configuration dialog:
  • a. Notify user is node is offline. Used to "hang" while detecting if node was available.
  • b. Control positioning when dialog was resized.
  • Fixed character display issues with directory picker dialog.
  • Fixed display issue with transparent background in job submission form.
  • 3DSMAX template: Added workaround option to automatically set "-workPath" command line option..

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.64 (Nov 2, 2010)

  • Comments:
  • With the new network installer, the previous dialog-based installer will be deprecated in a future SquidNet release. In order for new installer to function properly, UAC must be disabled in Vista and Win7 hosts.
  • New Features:
  • New theme-based interface. Select between different interface themes.
  • Remote Transfer Queue: Automatically copy rendered images to remote systems via SSH/SCP/SFTP/FTP and NETCOPY (network copy).
  • "Serial Copy" feature that copies completed frames to output directory serially. Helps with performance issues on large render farms when doing parallel rendering. Current support for Maya only.
  • New template: Support for SiTex Graphics AIR.
  • New simplified network installer. Just select "Upgrade" on selected nodes in network view, pick installer package and let SquidNet do the rest !!
  • Added SquidNet access rights to Guest and User (non-admin) accounts.
  • Job Event Monitor: New view that shows real-time events (queued, processing, timed-out, cancelled, etc...) for local jobs.
  • New Enhancements:
  • Simplified image display feature. Just enter frame numbers to display.
  • Save all configuration settings to "Configuration Path" location in preferences dialog.
  • Added "Last Slice Time" field to job queue view.
  • Double-clicking on image preview window opens up standalone window.
  • Added "UpTime" field to network view.
  • Set company and file information in file properties information ('Details") tab.
  • Job Submission: Renamed "Match Processing Threads" to "Use All Available Cores"
  • Job Submission: Cleaned up form. Removed obsolete fields.
  • On initial deluxe installation, open and arrange default windows horizontally.
  • Installer:
  • In version updates, override install path with existing installation path.
  • Set access permissions for Guest and User accounts.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed intermittent UI crash when opening image viewer.
  • Fixed UI crash when selecting blender scene files in batch mode.
  • Fixed UI crash when using localized (non-ascii) characters.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.63 (Sep 7, 2010)

  • New Enhancements:
  • Added option to download new SquidNet version directly from user interface.
  • Image size support when using Blender on Linux systems.
  • Added brand image to SquidNet uninstaller.
  • Network Installer: Check if remote registry service is running before starting installation.
  • Installer:
  • Verify installation account has administrative privileges.
  • Set current password in password field
  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed user interface crash issue with opening purchasing agent. (Ooopss!!)
  • Remove temporary Blender python files on job completion.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.62 (Aug 28, 2010)

  • New Features:
  • Balanced Queuing: Balance CPU usage times across all jobs within the same priority level. Ensures that all
  • job slices from jobs of the same priority use equal amounts of CPU time.
  • New Add-on: Luxology Modo slave manager. Manage Modo slave machines remotely. Features:
  • Start/Stop Modo slave machines.
  • Monitor view (shows slave name, state, CPU usage and memory usage).
  • Persistent state across node restarts.
  • New Enhancements:
  • Improved WINDOWS installation wizard.
  • Modo Template: Added application select dialog to Modo template field.
  • Maya Template: Added Vector rendering support.
  • Added feature to allow templates to accept “0” as a valid start frame.
  • Enhanced directory selection dialog.
  • "Remember" last template selection in project views.
  • Added version to UI title bar.
  • Added WINDOWS-7 32/64 Bit O/S type in node view.
  • Simplified job submission form:
  • Enlarged Submit and Apply buttons.
  • Removed super-job feature. (Priority-0 jobs act the same)
  • Removed priority boost feature.
  • RealFlow-Mesher Template:
  • Renamed to “RealFlow Mesh”.
  • Always use all available cores to create meshes.
  • New RealFlow Simulation template:
  • Set to always use a single job slice to process simulations.
  • If a specific memory limit is reached, automatically restart RealFlow simulation job from last frame
  • processed. Drastically increases simulation times.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed bug in WINDOWS 7 that was cause UI hangs on initial installation.
  • Fixed issue with disappearing title in "License In Use" window.
  • Fixed bug in GUI that could cause intermittent crash when exiting Tile Render Editor.
  • Master/Slave: Don’t send jobs to inactive (locked) or dormant nodes.
  • Fixed bug that was causing the SquidNet-Deluxe service from killing Modo UI when was opened on deskltop.
  • Problem did not appear with SquidNet-Pro installations.
  • Fixed bug that was leaving open network connection when closing license registration window.
  • Removed nag popup messages from expired evaluation licenses.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.61 (Mar 8, 2010)

  • New Add-on: Luxology Modo slave manager. Manage Modo slave machines remotely. Features:
  • a. Start/Stop Modo slave machines.
  • b. Monitor view (shows nodename, slave state, CPU usage and memory usage).
  • c. Persistent state across node restarts.
  • Modo Template: Added application select dialog to Modo template field.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.60 (Feb 11, 2010)

  • New Features:
  • Conditional aborting and requeuing (with optional time delay) of jobs if specific strings are found in application log files.
  • New Enhancements:
  • Improved detection of Hyperthreading support for any processor type on any WINDOWS platforms.
  • Added “Open output folder” menu item to job queue and job slice view menus.
  • Batch mode: Read frame settings from Maya ASCII file.
  • Improved SquidNet service start times.
  • Notification events if job slices are auto-requeued if available memory falls below a preset level. Added “Notification if queued” checkbox to job submission form.
  • Region Rendering:
  • Support for Maya IFF image format.
  • Added image format selection droplist to setup dialog.
  • Fixed resource leak when updating image window while tiles were rendering.
  • Maya Template:
  • Added “Read Maya ASCII File” button to template.
  • Read frame start/end/set settings from Maya ASCII file.
  • Read camera names from Maya ASCII file and add to camera dropdown list.
  • For Software renderer, prevent submitting jobs without specifying the number-of-processors to use.
  • Prevents the over-committing of jobslices to a single node.
  • Image/Sequence viewer:
  • Added rectangular zooming by shift-right-mouse selection.
  • While image panning, replaced arrow icon with hand icon.
  • Added aspect ratio to image details display.
  • Remember UNC settings between restarts.
  • Set “Details” checkbox as the default.
  • Fixed “jitter” problem when selecting/deselecting individual pixels.
  • Fixed Channel selection drop box not changing displayed channels.
  • Superimpose text in front of graphs in system/local cpu-usage views.
  • Automatically update tipnode IPV4 addresses if address changes (via DHCP or static IP change).
  • SquidNet Installer: Restart service to allow system permissions to set properly.
  • Optimized pool management. Real-time changing of node pool assignments while jobs are in progress.
  • Display service/start progress dialog box.
  • When jobs in error state are restarted, also restart job slices in “Aborted” state.
  • Removed “auto-start on error” checkbox. Feature deemed unnecessary,
  • Auto-detect and sync nodes that may have gone out of sync because of over saturation issues.
  • Tipnode properties: Added O/S major/minor numbers and processor-count stats (total, physical, logical).
  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed intermittent Squid server crash when SMC Network Work Queue view was open.
  • Fixed broken remote shutdown, reboot, etc… features with WINXP nodes.
  • Fixed problem with detecting HT support on WINDOWS XP/64-bit systems.
  • Fixed bug in path check dialog that caused dialog to close if return key was pressed.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.59 (Jan 7, 2010)

  • New Features:
  • Batch mode. Submit multiple project scenes within same job request.
  • Selectable column header on tipnode, job queue and work queue views. Cuts down on view clutter.
  • New Enhancements:
  • Region Rendering:
  • Added image channel selector (RGB, ALPHA, etc…) to Region Editor.
  • Added pan/zoom effects.
  • Added image “Details” checkbox.
  • Added system menu (minimize, maximize, close) to caption bar.
  • Image Viewer:
  • Rearranged view for better file selection.
  • Added image channel selector (RGB, ALPHA, etc…).
  • Add directory tree picker.
  • Added pan/zoom effects.
  • Added “Show Image Details” checkbox.
  • Remove SquidNet account password requirement. SquidNet accounts can now be used without passwords if the local account policy is setup correctly.
  • Added user popup message in UI when license limits are exceeded.
  • Allow changing of job priorities on multiple job selections.
  • Added profile type (BATCH/SINGLE) field to project view.
  • Removed job profile limit for SquidNet Deluxe version.
  • Removed maximum job slice limit for SquidNet Deluxe version.
  • Added message popup when an unconfigured window layout button is selected.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed intermittent bug that marked job in “Processing” state even though no jobslice were active.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.57 (Dec 8, 2009)

  • New Features:
  • New “Job Slice Processing Statistics” view. Analyze how each job’s slices are eing processed on your system.
  • Automatic lowering of CPU task priority if local node becomes unresponsive due to excessive processing activity.
  • New Enhancements:
  • Optimized support for hyper-threaded processors. Nodes with HT enabled appear with “HT” label next to umber-of-cores field in tipnode view.
  • Network installer: Added more debug info.
  • Network installer: Simplified installation logic.
  • Network installer: Added “Start Registry Service” to menu.
  • Added format of field’s output flag in template field help window.
  • Maya template: Moved “Renderer to use” field to top of form.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Restart SquidNet service after installation to allow for permission settings to take effect.
  • Fixed region-render bug where temporary files where not being deleted.
  • Fixed service restart option from tipnode view.
  • Fixed UI crash when selecting “Job Details” menu item in job view window.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.56 (Dec 3, 2009)

  • New Enhancements:
  • Redesigned Network Work Queue inter-process messaging transport.
  • Reset network stats in tipnode view when exceptions are cleared.
  • Increased “offline” connection timeouts from 15 secs to 120 secs.
  • Increased read timeouts from 15 secs to 120 secs.
  • Take into account Maya software renderer “-n” option into number-of-cores-inuse calculation.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.55 (Dec 3, 2009)

  • New Features:
  • NEW) Region render management for Maya. Subdivide one or more frames into smaller render tiles
  • Added disk cleanup option to tipnode view. Currently removes all files in WINDOWSTemp directory
  • SquidNet service now runs under squidnet service account. This should resolve issues reported by some users
  • after upgrading to Maya 2010
  • Round-robin queuing for jobs within the same job priority. If selected, all jobs in same priority queue get picked
  • up randomly by farm nodes
  • New Enhancements:
  • Better edit-profile feature. Edit and save both project name and folder
  • Only ask source node for more work only if there’s actual work to do. Optimizes network performance
  • Added network status field (receive, send, timeouts, etc…) to tipnode view
  • To limit connection timeouts on larger render farms, increased network job ‘pull’ timeout value from 15s to 120s
  • Added slice state filter to job slice view
  • Added disk space usage field to tipnode view
  • Ignore WINDOWS error #267 that occurs when too many connections are made to local UNC paths
  • Improved randomization algorithm for random slice processing
  • Cleanup temp directories when SquidNet server process starts up. Removes old logs, jobs, etc…
  • Added template filter option to project view
  • If frame-list is used, disable start, end, step and frames-per-slice fields in template form
  • For network installer, use IP address for connections instead of hostnames. This may fix a WINDOWS
  • hostname lookup problem seen by some customers
  • For better SquidNet server response times, increase priority of all threads to HIGHEST level
  • Added new user permission for region rendering
  • To optimize network performance, created a job slice completion queue that provides a better response to
  • nodes that are reporting the status of a completed job requests
  • Cancel outstanding job slices if job goes into ERROR state
  • Add dropdown list to application path field in Maya template
  • Added restart service menu option to tipnode view
  • Improved CPU monitoring stats
  • Added process-cpu-usage fields to network work queue view
  • Bug fixes:
  • Network installer not setting up remote registry correctly on Windows Server 2003 systems
  • Fixed bug that prevented remote service startup from tipnode view
  • Fixed service stop/start menu selection items to reflect actual state of service on remote machine

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.54 (Nov 13, 2009)

  • Enhanced Visuals

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.53 (Oct 30, 2009)

  • New Features:
  • (Beta) Frame check: Automatically re-queue missing frames within job slice as single-frame jobs.
  • User accounts: Restrict users to only access specific projects.
  • New Path check feature that looks at all network nodes for specific application installations.
  • New Enhancements:
  • Added job form option to have user get event messages when slices timeout and are requeued.
  • Replaced 16x16 icons in view windows.
  • Enabled some features on SquidNet-Deluxe version.
  • User accounts: change field “user name” to “Full name”.
  • Added 3D buttons to Project and Job Submission windows.
  • Colored active Job Submission buttons to indicate that data is set.
  • Added resize feature to event messages.
  • Added project pathname to project view.
  • Added “Enable” checkbox to display frame section In job submission form.
  • For “squidnet” user account, always enable version updates.
  • Added option for user to see release notes on initial startup of UI.
  • User accounts: Removed unused (old) job-manager field.
  • Added “Remove all jobs in error state…” menu option to job view.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Set correct start and end frame numbers on pickup-frame jobs.
  • Fixed bug that set incorrect template paths when creating jobs from quick-launch buttons.
  • Fixed title display refresh problem in job history view.
  • Mapped-drive checkbox was not being set when job was reloaded in job submission form.
  • Fixed refresh annoyance problem on quick launch buttons in project view.
  • Extend title in exception view if window is resized horizontally.
  • Don’t allow installation of previous SquidNet versions over newer versions.
  • Fixed formatting issues with new release notes dialog.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.52 (Oct 30, 2009)

  • New Features:
  • New message services within SquidNet network. Send short text messages to entire network, selected users or
  • to owners of specific jobs.
  • New Enhancements:
  • Added SMPTE time code to image viewer.
  • Added digital counters to sequence viewer section of image viewer.
  • On initial startup, prompt user to create initial project folder if one doesn’t already exist.
  • Upgraded toolbar to include colorized bitmaps.
  • Added account privilege for configuration path settings.
  • Allow multiple selections and settings of node scheduler in tipnode view.
  • Added account privilege for message options.
  • Set default slice timeout value in submit form to 5.
  • Added reminder option to new version information dialog.
  • Added “application-path-not-found” message that pops up when an invalid application path is entered in job
  • request.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed “stuck” attach log check box in email submission dialog.
  • Fixed GDI resource leak in UI SetFont method.
  • Fixed GDI resource leak associated with each open view window.
  • Fixed bug that was causing excessive retries when network UNC path errors were detected.
  • Check for new SquidNet version after user logs in.
  • In LightWave template, changed log file type from “.cfg” to “.log”
  • Fixed color-indicator problem that caused dormant or locked tipnodes to appear in an idle-color-state.
  • Fixed bug that displayed incorrect processing times in job slice view if job was removed from queue while job
  • slice view was still open.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.51 (Oct 30, 2009)

  • New Features:
  • New Maxwell Render template.
  • New Cinema 4D template.
  • New V-Ray Standalone template.
  • New Messiah template.
  • New Vue-7 template.
  • New Autodesk Softimage|XSI template.
  • User-defined quick launch buttons in project view.
  • New Enhancements:
  • Added Hash identifier to SquidNet licenses. Used for license tracking.
  • Removed “optional” string from frame fields in AE template (fields are mandatory).
  • Added “24 FPS” rate option to image viewer view.
  • Reduced size of job submission window to accommodate smaller screen sizes.
  • Prevent “dormant” nodes from being locked.
  • Added new account privilege for “Remove All Offline” menu selection in tipnode view.
  • Added new account privilege to notify user of SquidNet version update.
  • Added randomize job slice option to job submission window.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Enable “Clear Exceptions” menu option even though no node is selected.
  • Fixed GDI resource leak when resizing SquidNet UI.
  • Fixed bug that prevented subsequent openings of image viewer if directory was changed.
  • Fixed header field alignment in Email selection dialog.
  • Fixed bug with job logs not being attached in HTML email notifications.
  • Added missing frames/slice field in Terragen-2 template.
  • Fixed a few spelling typos.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.50 (Oct 30, 2009)

  • New Features:
  • (Beta) Support for ILM OpenEXR image format.
  • New Enhancements:
  • Changed Lightwave “Image Output “and “Matte/Alpha” template fields to file paths.
  • Sequence Viewer: Reset image cache if system memory is below 20%.
  • Sequence Viewer: Set initial cache size to 1.
  • Sequence Viewer: Added start and ending frame markers.
  • Disabled Image Viewer as menu option if no output directory is specified in job request.
  • Enabled or Disabled job queue and tipnode view menu depending on selections made.
  • Added DNS lookup address to email setup dialog. Used for SMTP connection debugging.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed distortion problem when displaying re-scaled Maya IFF images.
  • Fixed bug that wasn’t displaying correct image dimensions in Image Viewer.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.49 (Oct 30, 2009)

  • New Enhancements:
  • Sequence Viewer: Added “Clip #” field.
  • Sequence Viewer: Added “Open In new view…” menu option.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed bug that produced incorrect end frame values if frames-per-jobslice value was greater than 30.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.48 (Oct 30, 2009)

  • New Features:
  • (New) SquidNet Image Sequence viewer.
  • Support for Maya IFF image format.
  • (New) Terragen-2 template.
  • (New) Fusion 5 template.
  • New Enhancements:
  • Allow multiple selections for image popup windows in SquidNet viewer.
  • Added rendering process name to network work queue view.
  • Added User Account privilege item under UA manager.
  • Added ”Use scene name” button to job submission form. Job id can now be derived directly from scene or
  • project filename.
  • Relaxed SMPT server connection requirements to ease latency issues between client and server(s).
  • Added SMPT connection error string for connection debugging.
  • Added warning message when versions between SMC and local SquidNet service are different.
  • Network Installer: Close remote SMC process before starting installation procedures.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed sorting problem with SquidNet image viewer.
  • Fixed bug that send in-advertent "Insufficient memory” event messages to SMC console.
  • Job start times now reflect the actual processing start time and not the queuing time.
  • Restore original project in project view on SMC restarts.
  • Fix bug with duplicate email accounts in email settings

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.46 (Oct 30, 2009)

  • Addendum to previous release:
  • New Holomatix Rendition template.
  • Improved job template selection inferface.
  • Added “Log…” menu option to network work queue view.
  • Added memory constraints (per job request) to prevent errant jobs from overloading processing nodes.
  • Added SquidNet thread count to tipnode, system load and CPU load views.
  • Fixed some WINDOWS theme-based issues with SMC controls.
  • New Features:
  • Wake-On-LAN support.
  • Render Frame List: Ability to render specific frames and ranges (for example: 1,5,19,2,15-20,45,21,90-190,
  • etc…) from a single job request. (As apposed to using a linear render operation with starting and ending frame
  • numbers.)
  • New Holomatix Rendition template.
  • New Enhancements:
  • Only remove old job profile if edited profile is saved and not submitted. (Retain re-submitted job profiles if
  • renamed beforehand).
  • Changed filter string from “all” to “no filter”.
  • Added pid, memory and process thread fields to network work queue.
  • Job slice view: Colorized completion time to indicate processing has completed.
  • Display warning message to local user of specific events (shutdowns, errors, etc…)
  • Added new on-job-completion options: Remove now, don’t remove, remove after a specific number of hours in
  • the queue, set SquidNet in standby mode and shutdown SquidNet network.
  • Added spinner controls to specific fields in job creation dialog.
  • Added STANDBY and HIBERNATE options to tipnode view.
  • Added render status bar to bottom of job creation form.
  • If a remote SquidNet service is stopped made sure that any existing jobs that are on that node are redistributed
  • to rest of network.
  • On a remote node shutdown or reboot operation made sure that any existing jobs that are on that node are
  • redistributed to rest of network.
  • Added “Redistribute…” menu option to tipnode view. Forces selected nodes to redistribute existing workload.
  • Added “Lock immediately...” menu option to tipnode view. Forces selected nodes to redistribute existing
  • workload before being locked (disabled).
  • Added “Remove all offline…” option to tipnode view.
  • Bug fixes:
  • (Ooopss!) Fixed bug introduced in last release that prevented cut/paste operations from text fields on template
  • forms.

New in SquidNet Network Distribution Processor 2.17 (Mar 23, 2009)

  • Enhanced Visuals