Apple Qmaster 3 User Manual
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• Multiple clusters: Depending on how extensive your network is and how many clients
it needs to serve, you may want to divide up available computers and create more than
one cluster to serve various clients. (Users select the cluster they want to send a batch
to when they submit the batch.)
• Multiple service nodes: In general, more service nodes mean more processing power.
In deciding how many service nodes to have in a cluster, consider the ratio of data
movement time to computing time. If the processing demand is greater than the
network demand required to move job segments throughout the cluster, as is the case
with rendering, more service nodes are a good idea. If the computing load, per job, is
closer to the network load, having a smaller number of service nodes per cluster may
be more efficient. If you are using the Apple Qmaster distributed processing system
with applications other than Shake or Compressor, consult the application’s user manual
on how to optimize the number of service nodes.
• Storage device: A storage device, such as a remote disk or group of disk arrays, can be
used as cluster scratch storage, which is a place for short-term storage of temporary
data generated by the cluster controller, clients, and service nodes. (You set the scratch
storage location in the Apple Qmaster pane of System Preferences. See
.) Alternatively, a storage device can be used as a final destination for the files
after they are processed.
For more information, see
Example of an Expanded Distributed Processing Network
.
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Chapter 3
Preparing a Network for Distributed Processing