From: Greg Ercolano <erco@(email surpressed)>
Subject: Re: How do I submit jobs with a staggered start?
   Date: Sun, 23 Oct 2005 18:23:53 -0700
Msg# 1067
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Bryan Blevins wrote:
Thanks for the response. I'm intrigued by the sleep in blocks suggestion. As I'm not a programmer/scripter type, how do I go about adding that bit when I submit a job?

	It's a 'scripter type' of change that would involve modifying the
	submit script you're using in a text editor.

	If you feel up to it, you can make a copy of the submit script
	on your file server, and then edit the copy, and use that for
	submitting your current job.

	Or, if you email me the submit script you're using as an attachment,
	I can mail back the modified script which you can save under a different
	name on your file server, and use that for submitting the jobs.
	(My address is erco <at-sign> seriss <.> com )

	BTW, this same question came up on the group as a thread last year:
	http://seriss.com/cgi-bin/rush/newsgroup-threaded.cgi?-viewthread+585+602+603+605+606+613+604

	I would echo Steve Kochak's observation in that thread that this is
	likely symptomatic of a file server that needs to either be tuned
	or replaced with a better box. It sounds like you're skating the edge
	of your file server's ability to handle the load of the number of
	machines you have for network rendering.

	Until tuned or replaced, you're very likely to overload your box
	at random times, depending on how I/O intensive your renders are.
	Possibly too, a throttle can be used at the switch to control the
	load to the server, so that the workstation's requests for data
	from the file server are higher priority than your render farm machines.

	The amount of productivity lost to users waiting for the file server
	often vastly outweighs the cash outlay for purchasing a better server.

	As most folks here know, I maintain there's a magic number of about
	30 or 40 render nodes that can be served by a 'PC based file server'
	before you max it out.

	More than 30 or 40 machines, I strongly recommend the company get a
	'real' file server like a NetApp or BlueArc, which can handle 100's
	of machines rendering. Possibly other products are up to the task
	(I know NetApps and BlueArcs are).. I've heard of folks evalling
	the Max-T Sledgehammer. I've also heard some companies have success
	with Sun and SGI servers, which have better load balancing and more
	robust I/O abilities.

	(It's quite possible a PC based file server can be 'tuned' into handling
	load for >40 hosts, but this surely involves the assistance of the vendor,
	as tuning often involves extreme knowledge of the OS in question,
	and often such knowledge is specific to particular revs of the OS)

I tried a simple cut and paste into the 'submit options' area of our Maya submit script, but just get an error.

	Yes, that won't work.

	The 'Submit Options:' prompt is only for adding rush 'submit commands':
	http://www.seriss.com/rush-current/rush/rush-submit-cmds.html#Submit%20Command%20Reference

--
Greg Ercolano, erco@(email surpressed)
Rush Render Queue, http://seriss.com/rush/
Tel: (Tel# suppressed)
Cel: (Tel# suppressed)
Fax: (Tel# suppressed)

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