Previous Topic (None) Up (Contents) Next Topic (Monitor)

Launcher User Guide


The Deadline Launcher

The Deadline Launcher's main use is to provide a means of remote communication between the Slave/Pulse and the Monitor/Configuration applications, and therefore should always be left running on your Deadline Client machines. On Windows, a icon will be displayed in your system tray, unless you are running the Launcher as a service. On Linux, it will simply run in the background.

Whenever you launch a Deadline application (Monitor,Slave, etc) using the Deadline Launcher, it will check the Deadline Repository for updates and upgrade itself automatically if necessary before starting the selected application.

Note that because Deadline Launcher allows the execution of arbitrary commands and executables, it is a potential security risk to leave it running if you are connected to the internet and are not behind a firewall. If you wish, you can disable this feature in the Repository Options from the Monitor.

On Windows, the Deadline Launcher system tray icon provides some options, which can be accessed by right-clicking it:

  • Launch Monitor: Launches the Deadline Monitor application. If the repository has been upgraded recently, this will automatically upgrade the client machine.
  • Launch Slave: Launches the Deadline Slave application. If the repository has been upgraded recently, this will automatically upgrade the client machine.
  • Launch Slave: Launches the Deadline Job Monitor application. If the repository has been upgraded recently, this will automatically upgrade the client machine.
  • Launch Slave at Startup: If checked, the slave will launch when Windows starts up (checked by default).
  • Change Repository: Change the repository that the client connects to.
  • Change User: Change the current Deadline user on the client.
  • Change License Server: Change the license server that the Slave connects to.
  • About: Displays the Deadline Launcher "About" message.
  • Exit: Closes the Deadline Launcher task bar icon. This will not close either the Deadline Slave or Deadline Monitor. For ease of remote administration, it is recommended that Deadline Launcher be left running.

Running Deadline Launcher As A Service

On Windows, you can choose to install the Launcher as a service during installation. You can also manually install/uninstall the launcher service using Deadline Command with these options: 

InstallLauncherService        Installs the Deadline Launcher Service, and
                              optionally starts it.
  [true/false]                Whether or not to start the Launcher Service
                              after it has been installed (optional)


UninstallLauncherService      Stops and uninstalls the Deadline Launcher
                              Service.


StartLauncherService          Starts the Deadline Launcher Service if it is
                              running.


StopLauncherService           Stops the Deadline Launcher Service if it is
                              running.

When running as a service on Windows, the system tray icon will not be displayed. In addition, the Slave and Pulse applications will run in the background when launched through the Launcher. Finally, the Launcher can still update itself, but only when launching the Slave and Pulse applications (launching the Monitor, for example, will not invoke an upgrade).

On Linux, you can configure your machine to start the Launcher on startup. In will run in the background, but will function as if you started the Launcher from a terminal.