Metered licensing now default supervisor; added support for KATANA, Redshift, and Autodesk 2017 line.
LOS ANGELES -- PipelineFX has released Qube! 6.9, the latest update to the leading render farm management software for visual effects. Expanding on previous cloud tools, the Qube! metered licensing supervisor now comes standard with 6.9. Support for KATANA and Redshift has also been added, increasing Qube!’s supported software count to 23.
Announced in July, metered licensing is the first pay-per-minute option for render farm management that doesn’t require studios to pre-pay first. Originally available upon request, metered licensing is now built into Qube! as the default supervisor, allowing studios to burst beyond their paid (perpetual and subscription) licenses whenever they need it. Paid licenses will always be used first, so added costs never occur until everything has been exhausted.
“With metered licensing built-in, Qube! can now be even more responsive to studio timelines,” said Richard Lewis, CEO of PipelineFX. “As cloud rendering becomes more common, bursting to on-site resources like desktops and local servers, or off-site options like private and public cloud nodes on demand, provides the freedom and cost planning studios need to stay competitive.”
- ArtistView GUI Improvements – The soon-to-be-default GUI now offers more stability, updated fonts, OIIO support, a clearer preferences screen and improved colors for users with color blindness.
- Autodesk 2017 Support – The 2017 versions of Maya, 3ds Max, and VRED are all now dedicated job types.
- Direct KATANA Submissions – Users can now submit jobs from within KATANA, bringing added efficiency to their workflows.
- New Cluster Priorities - Users can now assign and prioritize jobs by cluster, so priority departments within studios can get their work done faster.
“We just finished production on a 4K HDR short film and metered licensing came through big time!” said Brennan Chapman, lead pipeline developer at Moonbot Studios. “Not only did it make production and rendering much smoother, but it allowed us to scale up to 29,000 cores, the largest farm we’ve ever had. Metered licensing completely changes what a smaller company like us can do.”
More improvements to the Qube! user interface are planned for the near future, including a faster, simpler experience for artists. Further optimizations for the cloud are also being designed to meet evolving needs.
Customers currently on maintenance and support can download version 6.9 immediately from the PipelineFX ftp site. Monthly subscription licenses are $15/mo. Qube! metered licensing is 10 cents/hour, and only available after a user’s perpetual and/or subscription Qube! licenses are used up.
Source: PipelineFX
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
