This page provides information on setting up a V-Ray render service.
Overview
With registering and running the V-Ray spawner and V-Ray GPU server as services the machine is set at all times to join respective Distributed Rendering requests as a render server. Both services can be set up to run automatically when Windows boots.
Distributed Rendering can also be performed on demand without registering as a service. For more information, see the Set Up Distributed Rendering page.
Register V-Ray render servers as service
You can register the V-Ray spawner service so that it runs automatically on Windows boot from the Windows Start > Programs > V-Ray for 3ds Max #### > Register as a service the V-Ray spawner for 3ds Max ####.
When registering the V-Ray DR spawner for 3ds Max as a service, it always asks for a Username and Password. This means that additional commands need to be added if you want to do that on multiple machines through an unattended install. There are two different approaches:
- Add "-quiet" to the command line - this installs the service from the Local Service Account and does not ask for username/password. Then you need to set a real user for the VRaySpawner#### service to use it.
Example
For 3ds Max 2021 and earlier: "C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max ####\vrayspawner####.exe" -service -quiet
For 3ds Max 2022 and above when installed for all users: "C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\VRay3dsMax####\bin\vrayspawner####.exe" -service -quiet
For 3ds Max 2022 and above when installed for the current user: "C:\Users\<user_name>\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\VRay3dsMax####\bin\vrayspawner####.exe" -service -quiet
#### is the version number of your 3ds Max.
You can register the V-Ray GPU render server as a Windows service so that it runs automatically on Windows boot from the Windows Start > Programs > V-Ray for 3ds Max #### > Register as a service the V-Ray GPU render server for 3ds Max ####.
It is possible to use V-Ray GPU as a Windows service only with a CUDA-capable GPU with appropriate drivers. For more information, see V-Ray GPU Setup page.
When registering the V-Ray GPU render server for 3ds Max as a service, it аlways asks for a Username and Password. This means that additional commands need to be added if you want to do that on multiple machines through an unattended install. There are two different approaches:
- Add "-quiet" to the command line - this installs the service from the Local Service Account and does not ask for username/password. Then you need to set a real user for the VRayStdSpawner service to use it.
Example
For 3ds Max 2021 and earlier: "C:\Program Files\Chaos Group\V-Ray\3ds Max ####\bin\vraystdspawner.exe" -service -quiet
For 3ds Max 2022 and above when installed for all users: "C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\VRay3dsMax####\bin\vraystdspawner.exe" -service -quiet
For 3ds Max 2022 and above when installed for the current user: "C:\Users\<user_name>\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\VRay3dsMax####\bin\vraystdspawner.exe" -service -quiet
#### is the version number of your 3ds Max.
2. Add params "-username=..." and "-password=..." (without the quotes) to the command line - this tries to use the supplied username/pass to register the service.
- if the username or password contains spaces it must be in quotes. For example: -username="John Smith"
- If the user is part of a domain - it must contain the domain too: -username="DomName\John Smith".
- If the log file for the spawner (located in %temp%) contains messages like:
*** ALERT! Couldn't create service: The account name is invalid or does not exist, or the password is invalid for the account name specified.
and there is no domain you could try adding ".\" to the username: -username=".\John Smith"
Mapped Drives and UNC Paths for Texture Maps and Other Rendering Assets
If you are using mapped drives or UNC paths for your rendering assets, you should set up a Log On account for the V-Ray spawner service. Оtherwise, the textures or any other external assets are not accessible.
To set up the Log On account:
- Open the "Services" applet from the Control Panel (Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services) and find "VRaySpawner ####" service;
- With the right mouse click expand the drop-down menu and choose Properties;
- Go to the Log On tab and instead of the default Log on as local system account choose This account and put there the account that has adequate privileges on the machine and access to the shared resources over the network.
Alternatively, you can use the automatic asset transfer mechanism of V-Ray as described above to send the required assets from the client machine to the render servers.
For a troubleshooting guide, visit the Distributed Rendering Troubleshooting Guide.