kinkabobba Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Hi all, first time poster, long time reader. Lot of great minds here I'm heading off to London in a few weeks for a semester abroad, but am worried about the rendering capabilities of the laptop I'm bringing. It's not bad, really, but I spent last summer building a computer with a Quad Core CPU that renders, well, ridiculously fast. Does anyone know of a way that I might be able to render on my Home Computer while I'm abroad, perhaps using VNC or something similar? My ideal workflow would be something like this: 1) Create my incredibly complex scene in 3ds Max/Revit/Rhino using Laptop in London. 2) Get the scene and all required materials to my Home Computer. 3) Render on ridiculously powerful home computer. 4) Retrieve beautiful images on Laptop. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manta Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Well I just rendered on my other computer using remote desktop, I couldn't drag a file over to the other computer, so I emailed it, and downloaded it onto the other computer all remotely, then I opened Max and opened the file, and rendered it, it was pretty easy, just make sure you change the disply driver to OpenGL, or you won't see anything in the veiwports... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandmanNinja Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 http://www.logmein.com it's free and works GREAT! I often 'pop in' from work to check on a render, email, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbibb Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 I'd also set up an ftp server for yourself so you can transfer the files without resorting to email. Do you have a someone at your house to turn on your computer if your power goes out? If you don't, perhaps look into a wake-on-LAN solution. Whereabouts in NH are you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil poppleton Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 I would second logmein.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinkabobba Posted July 16, 2008 Author Share Posted July 16, 2008 Thanks for the advice guys. I do have someone at my house to turn on the computer, so no worries there. I looked into LogMeIn and am wondering if I'll be able to do everything I need with the free version, or if I'd need to purchase the pro version. I do need to transfer files from one PC to another (and probably large ones). Are there any free FTP sites? Oh, and Bethlehem, NH. Never actually been to Dover... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtaddei Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 my fiancee used to play the sims 2 on my computer from her work over logmein. As far as i'm concerned that's enough right there to say that the free version should work well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackb602 Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Thanks for the advice guys. I do have someone at my house to turn on the computer, so no worries there. I looked into LogMeIn and am wondering if I'll be able to do everything I need with the free version, or if I'd need to purchase the pro version. I do need to transfer files from one PC to another (and probably large ones). Are there any free FTP sites? It's not free, but CrushFTP is a very powerful FTP server for only $30. Once you install it on your desktop machine, you can easily transfer files back and forth with an FTP client or through a very capable web interface. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandmanNinja Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 The free version of logmein lets me do anything I want. The pro version will extend the free version, letting you 'drag' files from remote machine to the machine you are on. You can also print and have sound with the pro version as well. I already have CuteFTP, so I just upload any files I need to my web server and then download them with my web browser to where ever I happen to be. It really impressed a client I was doing a demo for as well. I left a file, I said "Excuse me. I've forgotten a file. May I use your internet connection?", then they saw me quickly connect to the computer, ftp it up, then I web browsed it down. I got the photo assignments from them and their IT guy contacted me the next day asking "What program did you use!? I have to order a site license for it!" hehe So, weigh up buying an FTP program versus seeing what the Pro version of logmein costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinkabobba Posted July 16, 2008 Author Share Posted July 16, 2008 (edited) Thanks guys. Is CrushFTP (or other FTP's for that matter) a one time fee, or recurring? Oh, and I'm trying to use LogMeIn right now but having a lot of trouble with display. I've tried using 3ds max on Direct3D, OpenGL, and Software settings. Software works fine, but based on what manta said above, it seems like OpenGL should work as well. (On that setting, I can only see freezes of what's in the viewport when various menus are opened then closed; otherwise it just displays the desktop behind it). I also tried several video games to no avail, but based on what jtaddei said about the Sims 2, it would seem like this would be possible! Anyone know how to do this? Edited July 17, 2008 by kinkabobba UPDATE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackb602 Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 CrushFTP is a one time purchase. You install the server on your desktop machine. To access the server from another location, you'll most likely need a dynamic DNS service, which lets you find the desktop machine even if it has a dynamic IP address. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtutaj Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 take a look at hamachi. it is a vpn client. i've used this before with backburner rendering with systems here in the US and London. VNC will also be your friend as well as setting up an ftp server. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex York Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 I use this system quite frequently. - UltraVNC - free VNC app which works with max viewports (I had problems with RealVNC and others). Works perfectly. - My own FTP server so I can dump files back and forth - NoIP domain so if my net reboots and my WAN IP changes it automatically updates my memorable domain address, so I can always connect without having to know the IP - WakeOnLAN is enabled (if this doesn't work I can call my flatmate!) I have all this hooked up to run over LAN for remote render node duties and obviously across the net for remote access as well. Works a charm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinkabobba Posted July 19, 2008 Author Share Posted July 19, 2008 So LogMeIn Pro (with file transfer) is 12.95 a month per computer...seems a little expensive. Alex York, how much does your system cost you? I'm trying to set up a system similar to yours but seem to be having trouble understanding how all the pieces fit together. Can someone please explain how it would function in detail? Basically, what exactly is an FTP server and how does it connect/relate to a VNC app? Do you need to purchase a domain to do anything with an FTP server? I'm just a tad confused...THANKS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex York Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 very straightforward - vnc app (ultraVNC for example, which is free) is used to connect and remote control your computer noIP is used to assign a memorable "name" to your dynamic internet address (so if (when!) your router reboots you can still connect because the address will be updated by noIP). the ftp server is simply "web space". you need a domain as well for this. this can be very very cheap indeed and works better than file transfer over VNC systems usually. 3dpixelnet is good one, i use them. you just use this purely to dump files onto so you can access your renders or other content (and send over files to render). hope that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandmanNinja Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 But you don't have to have the pro version of logmein. I am able to transfer multi-megabyte files absolutely free and I don't have to set up a virtual network or anything. I'm away from work and need that 10-meg file - bing - I get it. Just by sending an email. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtutaj Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 you also don't have to have a domain to have a ftp server. ceaserftp is free, and just install it on the system that will be offsite. redirect the port on your router for the ftp server to the machine hosting ftp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manta Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 Thanks guys. Is CrushFTP (or other FTP's for that matter) a one time fee, or recurring? Oh, and I'm trying to use LogMeIn right now but having a lot of trouble with display. I've tried using 3ds max on Direct3D, OpenGL, and Software settings. Software works fine, but based on what manta said above, it seems like OpenGL should work as well. (On that setting, I can only see freezes of what's in the viewport when various menus are opened then closed; otherwise it just displays the desktop behind it). I also tried several video games to no avail, but based on what jtaddei said about the Sims 2, it would seem like this would be possible! Anyone know how to do this? Sorry..didn't mean to confuse you...OpenGL when using "Windows remote desktop"...I started using Logmein...and now I'll be using that from now on...much easier... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandmanNinja Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 I concur. I do tech support and am pretty tech savvy, but I still like to keep it simple. Less things to break. Less things to go wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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