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Installation Guide


Please do not hesitate to contact Deadline Support if you run into any installation problems.

When the installation process is complete and Deadline is up and running, it is recommended that you read the How Deadline Works section of the manual, which describes how the jobs are scheduled by Deadline.

It is also recommended to read the Deadline Monitor section of the manual, which describes how to monitor and control the network queue, as well as the Plug-ins Guide, which describes how to submit jobs from your 3rd party rendering packages.

Before You Get Started

1. Check System Requirements
Check out the Deadline System Requirements for more information.

2. Setting Up Your Network
There are some things that should be taken into consideration before installing the Deadline software. Please see the Network Setup Guide for more information.

3. Microsoft .NET Framework and Mono Installation
Before installing the Deadline Repository and Client software, the Microsoft .NET Framework Run-Time v2.0 must be installed on your Windows machines, and the latest version of Mono must be installed on your Linux machines. The last version of Mono that Deadline was tested with was 1.9.1.

The .NET 2.0 Framework redistributable packages can be downloaded from here:
.NET 32 Bit Installer
.NET 64 Bit Installer

The latest version of Mono can be downloaded from here:
Mono Downloads Page

Deadline Repository Installation

The Deadline Repository only needs to be installed on one machine, and must be installed with Administrator privileges. The repository machine is the computer that will function as the storage location for all jobs that are submitted to the Deadline Network Render Manager. There is no need to run a server application because the slave machines check the repository for jobs themselves. The absence of a server application improves Deadline's robustness because it removes a single point of failure.

If you have more than 100 machines in your farm, we recommend you run Deadline Pulse on your repository machine. Deadline Pulse is included in the Client Installation, which is explained later on. This application reduces the load on your network, and speeds up the process of searching for jobs. If Deadline Pulse is terminated for whatever reason, the slaves will revert back to searching for jobs themselves. Whether you decide to run Deadline Pulse or not, you will still benefit from Deadline's robustness.

Deadline includes Repository installers for both Windows and Linux. To install the Deadline Repository, simply run the appropriate installer and follow the steps. On Windows, after the Deadline Repository is installed, the Repository Setup Wizard will be launched to allow you to configure the repository settings. Note that these settings can be changed from the Deadline Monitor at a later time by entering Super User Mode (Tools -> Super User), and then by selecting Tools -> Configure Repository Options.

Installing the Deadline Repository on any type of existing share (like a NAS drive, or a share on OSX)

Because the Deadline Repository is just a collection of files and folders, it is possible to host the repository on machines running operating systems other than Windows and Linux, or any other type of share. There are two common ways to do this:

  • Install the repository on a Windows/Linux machine. Then create a share on the machine you wish to host the repository and move the contents of the local installation folder to the share. When you go to configure your slaves, point them to the share.
  • Create a share on the machine you wish to host the repository. Then run the installer from another machine, but choose the share as the installation directory.

Depending on the machine you are running the installer from, you may have trouble running the Repository Setup Wizard at the end of the installation. However, you can run the Deadline Monitor from another client, enter Super User mode (Tools -> Super User), then select Tools -> Configure Repository Options. You'll see three options on the list on the left, which replicate what you would see when running the wizard.

Setting Permissions for the Deadline Repository Folder

If you are planning on running you slaves under an Administrator user, you can skip ahead to Step 4. However, if you do not want to run the slaves under an Administrator user, follow the steps below to allow access to the Deadline Repository for all users. Note that the images shown here are from Windows XP, but the procedure is basically the same for any Windows or Linux operating system.

  • On the machine where the Deadline Repository is installed, navigate to the folder where it is installed using Windows Explorer.
  • Right-click on the Deadline Repository folder and select Properties from the menu.
  • Select the Security tab.

  • If there is already an Everyone item under Group or user names, you can skip the next two steps.
  • Click on the Add button.
  • In the resulting dialog, type Everyone and click OK.

  • Select Everyone under Group or user names.
  • Ensure that Modify, Read & Execute, List Folder Contents, Read, and Write are all checked under the Allow column.

  • Click on the OK button to save the settings.

License Server Installation

If you wish to run Deadline in Free Mode, you can skip this step. The only limitation to running Deadline in Free Mode is that you can only have two slaves in your repository. Before you can setup the license server, you must receive a license file from Frantic Films Software.

Usually within one business day of sending this information to Frantic Films Software, someone will contact you regarding your license. Once you have your license, see the Licensing Section of the manual for instructions on how to setup and install your license server.

Deadline Client Installation

The Deadline Client contains several key components, including the actual slave application, the Deadline Pulse application, tools to submit jobs to Deadline, and tools to manage slave machines and submitted jobs. It must be run with Administrator privileges. If you wish to perform a silent installation, see the bottom of this step.

The Deadline Client software must be installed on all machines that will be used for rendering, and all machines from which jobs will be submitted from. If you wish to run Deadline Pulse or if you with to render on the repository machine, you should install the Deadline Client on the repository machine as well.

Deadline includes Client installers for both Windows and Linux. To install the Deadline Client, simply run the appropriate installer and follow the steps. During the installation, you will be given the option to install Deadline as a service, and you will be prompted for the location of the Deadline Repository that you installed in Step 2, as well as your license server information. Note that if you plan to run Deadline in Free Mode, you do not have to specify a license server.

If you fail to set the repository path or license server correctly during the setup process, both settings can be modified at a later time by right-clicking on the Deadline Launcher system tray application on the client machine, by running the Deadline Configuration tool, or by running Deadline Command with the -ChangeRepository or -ChangeLicenseServer options.

After installation of the Deadline Client is complete, the Deadline Launcher application will be launched, and you will be prompted to choose whether to start the Deadline Slave application.

Silent Client Installation

You also have the option to do a silent install of the Deadline Client software. Again, you must have have Administrator priviledges to do this.

On Windows, simply use the following command line (substituting your repository root for "\\your\repository" and your license server machine name for "yourserver "). Note that this is the same for the 32 bit and 64 bit installers: 

   > msiexec /passive /i \\path\to\DeadlineClientInstallerWin64.msi REPOSITORYINSTALLDIR=\\your\repository LICENSESERVER=yourserver

Currently, silent installations are not supported on Linux.

Plug-in and Submission Script Configuration

Deadline has a plug-in for each software application it supports (3ds Max, Maya, etc), and they should be configured before doing any rendering. They can be configured from the Deadline Monitor while in Super User mode by selecting Tools -> Configure Plugins.

Deadline also includes integrated submission scripts for many applications, which allow you to submit your job from within the application itself. Currently, the integrated submission scripts must be installed manually. You can submit jobs for any applications that do not have their own integrated submission script from the Submit menu in the Deadline Monitor.

See the Plug-ins Guide for information on configuring and setting up submission scripts (where applicable) for each plug-in.

Deadline Network Configuration (Windows Only)

If you have already configured the Deadline Repository location and License Server for the client machines during Step 3, you can skip this step.

After installing the Deadline Client software, you will have to use the Deadline Configuration utility to ensure that all the client machines correctly point to your repository. If the clients do not, they will not be able to submit any jobs to the repository, nor will they render any jobs from the repository.

You will also have to ensure that all the client machines that you plan to run the Deadline Slave on correctly point to your license server. If the clients do not, they will not be able to start the Deadline Slave application.

The Deadline Configuration utility is installed along with the Deadline Repository. You will find this tool in the Deadline folder under the Windows Start menu: 

   Start -> Programs -> Deadline -> Utilities -> Deadline Configuration

Follow these steps to configure your client machines:

  • Start the Deadline Configuration
  • When the software starts, a dialogue will be presented with a list of available domains and/or workgroups. Select the domains and workgroups that contain the workstations and slaves that will access the Deadline Render Farm. If you are unsure of which domains to check, just select all of them.

  • After the configuration tool has scanned the selected domains/workgroups on the network, it will display the current configurations for the machines running the Deadline Client.

  • Select the group of machines you would like to set the repository path for and right-click and select Modify Repository. Set the repository path to the location where you have installed the Deadline Repository.

  • Now select the group of machines you would like to set the license server for and right-click and select Modify FLEXlm License Server. Simply specify the name of your License Server (or the location of the license file) and click OK.

Start Render Farm Slaves (Windows Only)

If the Deadline Slave application is already running on your client machines, you can skip this step.

If you enabled Remote Administration in the Repository Configuration Wizard during Step 3, it is possible to remotely start the Deadline Slave application on all the slave computers from the Deadline Configuration utility. To do this, select the slave computers, then right-click and select Remote Control -> Start Slaves. This command may take a few moments, and once it has completed, your Deadline Render Farm will be up and running.