This page provides information on setting up Distributed Rendering.
To use V-Ray distributed rendering, the Render Client machine (which starts the rendering job and distributes it to other machines) needs to have both V-Ray for 3ds Max and Autodesk 3ds Max installed.
When using regular V-Ray, the Render Server machines need to have both V-Ray for 3ds Max render server and Autodesk 3ds Max installed.
When using V-Ray GPU, the Render Server machines need to have V-Ray Standalone installed.
V-Ray for 3ds Max render server and V-Ray Standalone can be selected in the advanced options of the V-Ray installer. Alternatively, a default (Workstation) installation of V-Ray for 3ds Max can be used on the Render Server machines.
Step by Step V-Ray DR Setup
1. Set up the Render Servers by starting V-Ray DR Spawner for 3ds Max on each server machine. It starts 3dsmax.exe in server mode which appears as 3ds Max minimized down in the taskbar. It should have the title "vraydummy.max". (This step is not required if the server machine uses the spawner as service)
2. Set up the Render Client. In the V-Ray for 3ds Max interface, enable Distributed rendering from Render Setup > System rollout > Settings tab. Use the Render Server button to add the IPs of all your Render Servers.
! Watch the V-Ray DR video tutorial for more information.
Step by Step V-Ray GPU DR Setup
V-Ray GPU can run on multiple CUDA enabled graphics devices. The preferred set of devices on each server machine must be adjusted before initiating the distributed rendering. To specify which devices to use, go to Windows Start > Programs > Chaos > Select devices for V-Ray GPU rendering on each Render Server machine.
By default, the render server machine uses all its appropriate GPU devices for V-Ray GPU distributed rendering.
1. Set up the Render Servers. You can do this in one of two ways: (This step is not required if the server machine uses the V-Ray GPU render server as service)
a. Start the render server on each server machine from C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\V-Ray 6 for 3ds Max ####\Distributed rendering\Launch V-Ray GPU render server for 3ds Max ####.
b. Start V-Ray Standalone and enter the "vray -server" command in the command prompt.
2. Set up the Render Client. In the V-Ray for 3ds Max interface, bring forth the Render Settings and in the Performance tab under the Distributed Rendering rollout switch On. Use the Render Server button to add the IPs of all your Render Servers.
! Watch the V-Ray GPU DR video tutorial for more information.
! Watch the V-Ray Standalone DR video tutorial for more information.
Step by Step V-Ray DR2 Dispatcher Setup
The second generation of Distributed Rendering (DR2) introduces the concept of the dispatcher node. The dispatcher handles communication between the Render Client and the Render Servers, allowing many more machines to effectively participate in rendering. The Render Client can act as a dispatcher, but optionally, any other machine in the network can be dedicated to this role.
In future versions, V-Ray will be installed with DR2, which improves upon the first generation by offering better scaling when adding multiple Render Server machines, better repeated render startups with the new caching, and enhanced utilization of high-bandwidth networks. See more details on the Distributed Rendering page.
DR2 is not yet available in official V-Ray releases. DR2 is available in separate builds, accessible from My Chaos portal.
1. On the machine you’ve chosen to act as the dispatcher, start the VRaySpawner in dispatcher mode. This is done by running VRaySpawner.exe with the -run-dispatcher=1 or -run-dispatcher=2 argument in the command line.
- 1 means the machine acts only as a dispatcher.
- 2 means the machine acts as both a dispatcher and a render server.
C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\VRay3dsMax2026\bin\vrayspawner2026.exe -run-dispatcher=2
To avoid entering the command manually each time, create a copy of the Launch V-Ray DR Spawner for 3ds Max 20xx shortcut and modify its Target field to include the desired dispatcher mode parameters.
2. On all other machines, start VRaySpawner normally using the standard shortcut.
3. In 3ds Max, set the Dispatcher IP to the machine running the dispatcher spawner. Add all other render servers to the list as usual.
4. (Optional) To use the workstation for rendering, treat it as a render server. Start a standard VRaySpawner on the workstation and add its IP address to the server list (not (!) “localhost”).
5. Render.
For GPU rendering, the process is similar, but rather than starting the VRaySpawner as dispatcher, you start the vray.exe as dispatcher (and GPU servers as vray.exe -server).
TCP/IP Port Numbers
Distributed rendering works over TCP/IP and requires the following ports:
| Renderer type | Port number | Port type |
|---|---|---|
| DR | ||
| V-Ray | 20204 | TCP/IP |
| V-Ray GPU | 20206 | TCP/IP |
| DR2 | ||
| V-Ray | 20208 | TCP/IP |
| V-Ray GPU | 20209 | TCP/IP |
Port 20203 is only used by render servers to broadcast a message that they are ready to join an ongoing DR rendering.
V-Ray Standalone, when set as a render server, receives rendering requests on port 20207 by default.
V-Ray DR Spawner command line options
You can add command line options to the VRaySpawner.
Numa options
You can specify Numa command line options to VRaySpawner.exe to better utilize processor nodes with Numa architecture:
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| -numa[=N] | Select the number of render server processes to start. If N is not given, N=0 or N>=M, one process per NUMA node is created. Here "M" is the number of selected nodes using "-node", or the number of all available NUMA nodes if no "-node" is used. |
| -node=node1[,node2][,node3]... | Select NUMA nodes that will be used for the render server process(es). Default - use all available NUMA nodes. |
| -port=port1[,port2][,port3]... | Select listening ports for the render server process(es). If the number of processes is greater than the number of ports given, the last port is auto incremented. The default listening port for DR1 is 20204 for 3ds Max. The render client should be set to use the corresponding port range. |
| -Service | Register vrayspawner as a Windows service. |
| -UnregServer | Unregister vrayspawner as a Windows service. |
| -cmdparams="<parameters_string>" | Specifies a string to be provided directly as an argument to the spawned application. |
| -tempdir="<temp_folder_path>" | Override path for vrayspawner's temporary files folder. Vrayspawner is using %temp% to write some files needed for spawning applications. |
| -AppName="<excutable_file>" | Override spawned application file name. For example, for 3ds Max the default name is 3dsmax.exe. |
Example: Using 3ds max #### and a system with 8 NUMA nodes:
vrayspawner####.exe -numa
spawns eight 3dsmax.exe processes, every running on single NUMA node and using listening ports 20204-20211
vrayspawner####.exe -numa=4
spawns four 3dsmax.exe processes, every running on two NUMA nodes and using listening ports 20204-20207
vrayspawner####.exe -node=3,5,6 -ports=30000,40000{{}}
spawns three 3dsmax.exe processes, running on NUMA nodes 3,5 & 6 and using listening ports 30000, 40000 & 40001
vrayspawner####.exe -node=2,3,4,5,6 -numa=3
spawns three 3dsmax.exe processes, running on nodes (2,3) (4,5) & (6) and using listening ports 20204,20205 & 20206
#### is the 3ds Max version.
Notes
- Every render server must have all the plugins and texture maps in their proper directories loaded so that the scene you are sending does not cause them to abort. For example, having a PHOENIX plugin used in the scene causes a server failure in any of the servers that do not have the PHOENIX plugin installed. If you have mapped your object with a file named JUNGLEMAP.JPG and you do not have that map in the BITMAPS directories of the render server installation - you will get bucket rendered at that machine as if the map was turned off, unless you also turned on the Check for missing files option in the V-Ray System rollout, in which case the render server will refuse to render the scene.
When you cancel a DR rendering, it may take some time for the render servers to finish working and they may not be immediately available for another render.
Default lights are not supported in DR mode and do not render. If you need any lighting in the scene, you should add it explicitly.
The default system temp folder, usually C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp on Windows (%TEMP%), is used for copying the assets if the VRAY_ASSETS_CACHE_PATH environment variable is not set.
V-Ray DR can be run automatically as a Windows service whenever the machine boots up. For more information, see Set Up V-Ray Render Service.If you see a 3ds Max window flashing on the taskbar and then disappearing, right-click on the V-Ray DR spawner icon in the taskbar tray, select Exit to close the DR spawner, and try running a regular Backburner job with this machine as the server. After that, try to start the V-Ray DR spawner again.
- For a troubleshooting guide, visit the Distributed Rendering Troubleshooting Guide.
- For versions prior to V-Ray 7, you can specify which CUDA enabled graphics devices to use for distributed rendering from Windows Start > Programs > Chaos Group > Select devices for V-Ray GPU rendering.
- DR2 is not yet available in official V-Ray releases. DR2 is available in separate builds, accessible from My Chaos portal.