Quite a few people using Mental Ray Standalone have run into this
issue after upgrading to Maya 2011, so I'm posting it here.
* * *
> We just upgraded to Mental Ray Standalone 2011, and are getting
> these errors during rendering from 'ray':
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------
> *MSG .0 error: ProductInformation.pit file not found*
> *MSG .0 fatal: Sorry, no license available*
>---------------------------------------------------------------
>
> We can run 'ray' from the command line OK without getting that error,
> but through rush, or even invoking the render script *manually*
> from the command line, we get this error.
>
> So we think it's something in the render script that's causing
> the problem, but are not sure what.
SOLUTION
The short answer: *don't* set the MI_ROOT environment variable
in your render script when using Mental Ray Standalone 2011.
This may sound odd, given historically things *wouldn't* work
unless that variable is set, but it's now the case in 2011
that actually *setting* that variable *causes* trouble in 2011.
This might change in future releases of Maya, but currently
that's the case with the 2011 release on Autodesk's site
as of this writing (July 2010).
DETAILS
The "ProductInformation.pit" error is a common one, and comes
up prominently if you google for that error, this autodesk article
being the #1 hit as of this writing:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=15131292&linkID=12544120
Quoting the above page (in case the link goes stale):
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> ISSUE
>> You have successfully set up an Autodesk License Server with mental ray
>> Standalone 2011.
>>
>> When you start rendering with mental ray Standalone, you will receive the
>> following error:
>>
>> Render_node1: ~ assist% ./ray –v 5 test.mi
>> MSG .0 info : mental ray, version 3.8.1.28
>> MSG .0 info : use -copyright option to view copyright and terms of use.
>> MSG .0 error: ProductInformation.pit file not found
>> MSG .0 fatal: Sorry, no license available
>> Exit 1
>>
>> SOLUTION
>> Ensure that ProductInformation.pit file exists and MI_ROOT env variable value
>> is *not set* on system level or in a shell. The location of ProductInformation.pit is:
>>
>> Mac OS X:
>> /Applications/Autodesk/mrstand3.8.1-adsk2011/bin/AdLM/ProductInformation.pit
>>
>> Linux:
>> /usr/autodesk/mrstand3.8.1-adsk2011-x64/bin/AdLM/ProductInformation.pit
>>
>> Windows:
>> C:\Program Files\Autodesk\mrstand3.8.1-adsk2011\bin\AdLM\ProductInformation.pit
>>
>> If the ProductInformation.pit file is not found, please reinstall mental ray
>> Standalone 2011.
>>
>> Note: You need to use the supplied setup script when installing mental ray
>> Standalone 2011 on a Linux platform.
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIMULATING THE ERROR FROM THE COMMAND LINE
You can probably replicate the above "pit error" from a working shell
if you first set the MI_ROOT/MI_BIN_DIR variables just before running
the 'ray' command. For instance, from a BASH shell:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
export MI_ROOT="/usr/autodesk/mrstand3.8.1-adsk2011-x64"
export MI_BIN_DIR="${MI_ROOT}/bin"
export PATH="${MI_BIN_DIR}:${PATH}"
ray -render 1 1 -verbose 5 //yourserver/mifiles/your.mi
------------------------------------------------------------------------
..you should likely now get the "ProductInformation.pit" error,
which would prove that is the cause.
MODIFICATION EXAMPLE
So in your submit-maya and/or submit-mray scripts, make sure
MI_ROOT and related environment variable settings are commented out/unset,
and that your PATH is set with an absolute path, instead of one based
on the MI_ROOT/MI_BIN_DIR variables. So for instance, in the LINUX section:
-------------------------------------------- snip
elsif ( $G::islinux )
{
### LINUX
# SPECIAL CASE FOR MR 3.8.1
$ENV{PATH} = "/usr/autodesk/mrstand3.8.1-adsk2011-x64/bin:" . # ADD THIS
"/usr/autodesk/mrstand3.8.1-adsk2011-x64/bin/AdLM:" . # ADD THIS
$ENV{PATH};
## $ENV{MI_ROOT} = "/usr/autodesk/mrstand3.8.1-adsk2011-x64"; # COMMENT THIS OUT
## $ENV{MI_BIN_DIR} = "$ENV{MI_ROOT}/bin"; # COMMENT THIS OUT
## $ENV{PATH} = "$ENV{MI_BIN_DIR}:$ENV{PATH}"; # COMMENT THIS OUT
}
-------------------------------------------- snip
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