StudioZ RenderRAX II
Quick-S tart Guide
December 1997
DHA025700
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The information and the software discussed in this document are subject to change without notice and should not be
considered commitments by Intergraph Corporation. Intergraph Corporation assumes no responsibility for any errors
in this document.
The software discussed in this document is furnished under a license and may be used or copied only in accordance
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and nothing stated in, or implied by, this document or its contents shall be considered or deemed a modification or
amendment of such warranties.
Copyright
1997, Intergraph Corporation including this documentation, and any software and its file formats and audio-visual
displays described herein; all rights reserved; may only be used pursuant to the applicable software license
agreement; contains confidential and proprietary information of Intergraph and/or other third parties which is
protected by copyright, trade secret and trademark law and may not be provided or otherwise made available without
prior written authorization.
Restricted Rights Legend
Use, duplication, or disclosure by the United States Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subdivision
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Unpublished rights reserved under the copyright laws of the United States.
Intergraph Corporation, Huntsville AL 35894-0001
Trademarks
Intergraph and the Intergraph logo are registered trademarks of Intergraph Corporation. StudioZ and TDZ are
trademarks of Intergraph Corporation.
Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
Introduction
Intergraph’s StudioZ RenderRAX II is a rack-mount computer configured for use as a 3D animation
rendering engine. The RenderRAX II features dual Pentium II processors and Intel’s 440FX chipset
for high-performance rendering. You can use multiple RenderRAX II systems to create a networked
“render farm” for distributed rendering.
Your RenderRAX II system was delivered with the Microsoft Windows NT Workstation operating
system and associated system software. After setting up the system hardware and the operating system,
you can install popular animation packages such as Softimage Mental Ray, Kinetix 3D Studio MAX,
and Newtek Lightwave.
Use this Quick-Start Guide to get you started in setting up your RenderRAX II system. Along with this
document, you will use the following documents to set up and configure the system:
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TD-x20, TD-25, TDZ-x20, TDZ-x25 Late-Breaking News and StudioZ Late-Breaking News
provide important hardware and software information not covered in the other documents. Review
these documents before you start setting up and configuring your new RenderRAX II system.
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Rack-Mount Workstation/Server Installation Guide provides instructions for unpacking and
installing the RenderRAX II base unit in a standard 19-inch rack.
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TD-x20, TD-x25, TDZ-x20, TDZ-x25 System Setup provides instructions for setting up and
configuring the hardware and system software for your RenderRAX II system.
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Microsoft’s Windows NT Workstation Start Here and online Help provide detailed information on
installing and using Windows NT Workstation.
NOTE Your RenderRAX II system is based on Intergraph’s TDZ-425 RAX rack-mount workstation. In the
documentation delivered with the system, references to TDZ-425 RAX also apply to RenderRAX II.
After you set up and configure the system hardware and the operating system, you can refer to the
following documents for more information on the system:
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For basic information about your system’s hardware, an online introduction to your new system is
provided in the TD-x20, TD-x25, TDZ-x20, TDZ-x25 System Introduction. The System
Introduction covers subjects such as system features, system controls and connections, and
Intergraph customer support.
To view the System Introduction, select System Introduction in the system’s Welcome dialog, or
run
SYSINTRO.HLP in C:\WIN32APP\SYSINTRO. System Introduction is a Windows Help 4.0
document.
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Detailed hardware reference information for your new system is available in the Rack-Mount
Workstation/Server System Reference. The System Reference covers subjects such as system
components, system wiring diagrams and functional block diagrams, system board descriptions,
and upgrading and servicing procedures.
The System Reference is delivered on the system disk in C:\WIN32APP\SYSREF. The document is in
Portable Document Format (PDF), and is shipped with a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader for
viewing. See the
README.TXT file in C:\WIN32APP\SYSREF for more information.
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Getting Started
To set up and configure your RenderRAX II system:
1. Review the TD-x20, TD-25, TDZ-x20, TDZ-x25 Late-Breaking News and StudioZ Late-Breaking
News documents before starting.
2. Unpack the system hardware and install it in the rack as described in the Rack-Mount
Workstation/Server Installation Guide.
3. Set up the system hardware as described in the System Setup and Late-Breaking News documents.
4. Set up the system software as described in the System Setup, Windows NT Workstation Start Here,
and Late-Breaking News documents.
5. Configure the system as described in the System Setup and Late-Breaking News documents.
6. Configure the system’s network hardware and software as described in the documents delivered
with the network adapter and the Late-Breaking News documents.
7. Install and configure the 3D animation software as described in the documents delivered with the
software. For additional technical help when installing and configuring this software, see the next
section, “Setting Up Application Software.”
Setting Up Application Software
After you set up and configure the system hardware and operating system, you can install your choice
of 3D animation software programs on your RenderRAX II system. These programs are delivered with
documentation that describes how to set up, configure, and use the programs. If you need more help
when setting up an 3D animation software program, you can get it from the vendors of these programs.
Following are pointers to getting additional technical help when installing and configuring several 3D
animation software programs on your RenderRAX II system:
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Program
Lightwave 5.5 For help setting up a screamernet rendering system, use a World Wide Web
Softimage 3.7 For setup help and tips for optimizing a Mental Ray render farm, use a World
3D Studio MAX The best source of information on the setup and optimization of a 3D Studio MAX
Where to Find Help
browser to go to http:\\www.newtek.com. Currently, select Technical Support
FAQ, and then select the Intel choice under Lightwave 3D. This contains a
section titled Questions about Screamernet, which is a step-by-step guide to setting
up a screamernet render farm.
Wide Web browser to go to http:\\www.softimage.com. Click the Support
button, and then choose Softimage 3D. This contains information that should help
you get your render farm set up and running efficiently.
render farm is currently in the online Help provided with 3D Studio MAX 1.2.
Currently, 3D Studio MAX 2.0 does not have online Help files that contain
information on network rendering.
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