C4DtoA on Multiple Computers (but only one at a time)?

[shawn]

Hi:

Am I allowed/able to run C4DtoA (without watermarks) on two different computers as long as I'm not trying to run it on those two computers at the same time?

I bought an Arnold Floating License with a year of maintenance from SolidAngle in December 2016. I renewed the annual maintenance in 2017 and 2018 through Autodesk, grandfathered into the original pricing scheme.

Cinema 4D, X-Particles, etc. allow you to install and run that software on multiple systems as long as you're not trying to run two copies at once. Is the same thing possible with Arnold?

I continue to do most of my work on a creaky 2012 Mac Pro, but I've come into possession of a good PC workstation, and I'm starting to do some work on that including Cinema 4D and After Effects stuff. It would be swell if I could work with Arnold (and try out the GPU renderer) on the PC.

Thanks.

Shawn Marshall

Marshall Arts Motion Graphic

[Stephen.Blair]

You can use C4DtoA on any computer that can connect to the license server computer.

[shawn]

Thanks for the quick reply.

So is at a matter of activating and deactivating the license server software as needed? I assume that if I tried to use C4DtoA on the PC while the license server Terminal thing was running on the Mac Pro I'd get an error message or a watermark?

Shawn

[Stephen.Blair]

You don't have to do anything to the license server.

You just have to connect to the license server computer:

• In CINEMA 4D, click Plugins > C4DtoA > Help > Licensing > Connect to Server
• If you have an Autodesk annual subscription license, then in the "Autodesk (NLM)" box, enter @licserver, where licsever is the name or IP address of the computer where the license server is running

If you are rendering on the Mac Pro, then the PC won't be able to get a license and you'll get a watermark. If you have just one license, then only one machine at a time can render.

[shawn]

Forgive my ignorance, but I've always had trouble grasping all of this license server stuff. I'm just not that Terminal-literate.

I do completely understand that I'd be able to render on only one machine at a time since I've purchased only one license.

A year or so ago you took control of my MacPro to set up Terminal to automatically run the license server upon restart. Let's say I (probably with a lot of help) set up the PC to do the same thing. If I'm not running C4D (and thus C4DtoA) on the Mac will I be able to run C4DtoA on the PC without a watermark?

Thanks again.

Shawn

[Stephen.Blair]

Your license is a floating license (sometimes called a network license), so any machine can use the license. You don't need to move the license server, or install it on the PC. Unless you're going to get rid of the mac.

In that case, you would have to transfer your license to the new machine, so you'll have to contact Autodesk for that part.

Setting up the Autodesk License Manager is actually a lot easier on Windows.

[shawn]

Well, I'm still not getting it. Are you saying that if my MacPro and the license server (you set up to start automatically) are running I can use Cinema 4D with C4DtoA on the PC without watermarks? Do I just install the latest build of C4DtoA on the PC and it magically works, or are there other steps I'd have to take to make it work? If there are specific steps are those directions posted online somewhere?

Thanks.

Shawn

[Eden_Soto1]

You'll have to add the system variable to the machine that wants to connect to the license server... in my case, it's running on a Mac mini on the LAN and this is what my Windows machines look like that tap into it:

Once I do that, any machine I'm working on can access the license server and depending on how many seats you purchased, you can use Arnold on up to that many machines at once... every time Arnold is triggered in C4D, it will check the license server to see if any seats are left... if there are, it will check one out and you won't get the watermark

[shawn]

Thanks for the reply, Eden. I guess I'll have to look up where System variables live on Windows. I've only started to dabble in Windows, so I barely know my way around the OS.

Best.

Shawn

[Eden_Soto1]

Shawn... just hit the Windows key and start typing "environmental variables" like so:

Then once you're in that control panel, click here:

Then in the bottom section, click "New..."

Then fill it out like the image above, typing "ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE" for the Variable and then whatever the address of the machine running the license server on your network is starting with an "@" symbol... can be an IP address or (like mine) a DNS name... would look like this:

Then click "OK"... best to either log out of the current user or restart your machine after that just to make sure it's registering.

After that, you should have no troubles using Arnold on the Windows machine.

Hope that helps

[shawn]

Sorry for the late reply; dealing with deadlines.

Thanks so much for the step-by-step directions. I really appreciate your help. I'll try these out when things have calmed down a bit.

Shawn

[shawn]

I finally got a chance to install Arnold on this PC. I followed the instructions above, and, miraculously, it worked! I'm still not 100% clear on HOW this works, but the upshot was I was able to render a scene on the PC twice as fast than my MacPro would have been able to do, saving 8+ hours of render time.

Thanks again for the directions!

[Anonymous]

Hello,

I was really happy reading this. Tried it...computer says noooooo....
My license is a monthly subscription license, which I believe is a floating license as described in the "buy" page. It reads: "This is a floating license which must be hosted using an RLM license server and can be distributed to multiple clients."

I've done everything as explained above, step by step, restarted and also made sure the windows workstation was connected to the macbook pro (sharing files, etc), but nothing happens. The "connect to license server" in C4DtoA help menu says it can't find the RLM License.
What am I doing wrong?

Thanks,

FC

[Stephen.Blair]

@Francisco Cunha

This question was about Autodesk annual subscriptions, not RLM licenses.

Please ask a new question, and get the diagnostics from Plugins > C4DtoA > Help > Licensing