Connect to a ray tracing cluster

NoteThis feature requires the additional Autodesk product called Autodesk Real Time Ray Tracing Cluster. The software and the consulting required to set up the environment for best results can be obtained by contacting Autodesk Consulting directly or through your local reseller.

Ray tracing delivers superior quality visuals compared to traditional rendering but is also very computationally intensive. In order to speed up the ray tracing process and provide higher quality images, Autodesk® Real Time Ray Tracing Cluster software (Also known as Autodesk RTRT) can be used with Showcase Professional.

Using this Autodesk software and recommended hardware, several computers can cooperate to produce stunning images in record times. Showcase can connect to a high-performance compute cluster running the cluster software to increase both the quality and frame rate of ray tracing displayed in the local Showcase viewport, and also render single frames or animations.

Set up the RTRT Cluster environment and software

Purchase a license for Autodesk RTRT Cluster from Autodesk.
Follow the set up instructions provided with the software.
Test you cluster hardware and network environment.

Set the Cluster preferences

In the Options menu, select Ray Tracing Cluster Preferences.
The preferences panel will appear.
Set the Cluster IP. This is the IPV4 address of the machine that acts as the master machine in the cluster.
NoteIf your cluster master machine is the same as the machine you are running Showcase on, enter localhost here.
Set the Port for connecting to the cluster. If you change the listening port on the cluster, use the same port here.

Connect to the cluster

NoteTo connect to a cluster, the Autodesk RTRT Cluster software and all associated extensions must be running, and the RTRT Cluster license must be available to the master machine.

Press Y to open the Ray Tracing Control panel, or select Ray Tracing Control Panel from the View menu.
The Ray Tracing interface will appear in the lower, right corner of the Showcase window with a new section for Clusters.
In the Use Cluster area, click the ON button.
The HUD will display the message Connecting to Cluster.

NoteIf the cluster is unavailable or if there is an error in the configuration, a warning dialog box will appear. Check your preference settings and refer to the cluster software installation guide.
Once the cluster connection is established, click the Settings button in the Ray Tracing Status and choose a higher quality Preset, or increase Samples Per Pixel to 1 or higher to maximize available processing power.

Disconnect from the cluster

NoteOnce disconnected, only the local processors will be used for ray tracing within Showcase. It is highly advised to set the Ray Tracing Performance and Quality to a lower level before disconnecting.

Press Y to open the Ray Tracing Control panel.
In the Use Cluster area, click the OFF button.
The HUD will display the message Disconnecting from the Cluster.