Problems with Render Nodes
 
 
 

These problems can occur with a render node or the jobs sent to it on Linux or Windows systems.

Problem Common Cause
A render node appears unavailable in the Backburner Monitor or Web Monitor. The workstation is offline, the Backburner Server is not running or is hung, the Server is not using the correct IP address for the Manager, or the Manager cannot communicate with the Server.

See Resolving an Unavailable Render Node Problem.

A render node is idle and cannot connect to the Backburner Manager. Check the render node to make sure that the IP address for the Manager is correct. Other networking devices such as a second network card, or wireless device connected through a USB port may cause problems. See Resolving Network Card Priority.
A Cannot network render. Backburner not found or not installed. error appears in the application when a job is sent for rendering on a Windows system. Either Backburner is not installed or its path is not defined in the Path environment variable. Verify that Backburner is installed and/or see Adding the Backburner Path to the Windows Path Environment Variable.
A render node remains suspended even while jobs are being processed by Backburner. The render node is unavailable. See Restarting Suspended Render Nodes.
A render node fails when a job is assigned to Backburner. Render nodes can fail during a network render job for a variety of reasons, some of the most common ones being incorrect paths, missing plug-ins, fonts, or codecs, or insufficient disk space. See Resolving a Render Node Failure.
An Unknown TCP gibberish from <Backburner_Manager_IP address_or_hostname> error appears in Backburner Server. There is not enough free disk space on the render node, the connection between Backburner Manager and Backburner Server is bad, or network drivers are not working properly. Check the amount of free disk space on the render node and resubmit the job, if this is sufficient. If the problem reoccurs, check the drivers used for the network card and TCP/IP protocol as well as the physical network connection to the render node.
A Task Error: The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect (0x7b) error appears in the log file of Backburner Server. This error occurs when the output folder or directory name is misspelled or contains invalid characters. Check the output details for the job in the Backburner Monitor and correct the output folder name or path to fix this problem.
Only a single render node can be assigned to a job. The output of the job is not an image sequence (for example, it is an AVI or MOV file). A job that does not produce an image sequence can only be assigned to a single server. Note that if such a job is stopped for any reason (to deactivate it or because the server goes down), re-rendering the file restarts at the first frame. Frames cannot be appended later to these file types.

You can change which server a single-server job uses by removing the current server from the job, and then adding a different one.

No additional render nodes can be assigned to a job, even if render nodes are available. The maximum number of render nodes per job is reached. You can change this maximum number to avoid this problem. See Adjusting the Maximum Number of Render Nodes Per Job. However, changing these settings is not recommended. Increase these values only if you are sure that there is sufficient slack in your Backburner network.