Distributed render missing texture

Question

Hi! 
 I ran into a problem. I'm rendering a flythrough video with distributed rendering. The process runs fine only some of the finished frames lack the terrain's texture. The material uses a seamless jpg as pattern map, which is in our company dataset. I'm running AECOsim SS5 with ProjectWise managed workspace (DatasetNM, company dataset in Dataset Extensions), project also on PW, working directory is c:/projectwise/szcs. Other materials using ABD's own maps (eg. dirtmap002.jpg) as pattern work fine. Last night four computers -all under my login- were working on the render, finishing around 940 frames of which 45% don't have the texture. 
 For a test scenario I started a render on my computer but ran no MSProcessors in Scheduler, so only one other computer did the actual rendering. The terrain had no texture. 
 As far as I understand the process: when I start ABD on my computer, it downloads all needed workspace files to HDD (global and company datasets, project files), then runs using this local workspace for the session. When I start a distributed render my computer processes geometry and lighting, then sends the data to the network shared render folder from where all the other computers can reach it. Is the local copy of the workspace data including my out-of-ABD texture map also sent at this time? Or does ABDs running on the other computers look for it somewhere else individually? PW? Network workspace (we used it before we managed to set up the workspace on PW)? Program install folders? ProgramData/Bentley folder? 
 When I start the record on Distributed Process Settings I "Do Not Specify Workspace". If I use "Current" or want to specify it, ABD only sees the network, no PW. 
 Also can I search back somehow that which image was created by which computer or monitor it while running a render process?

Jerry Flynn · Accepted Answer

Hi Csaba, 
 
Here is the Distribute Rendering workflow that I use. 
 
For one you should know that when rendering animation frames using DR that we send all the textures to the shared folder so the only way to have missing textures would be to have a machine that cannot find the textures start the process. This can happen easily enough and has happened to me the machine that I am working on has the textures but it does not get the 1st frame so it has textures and the other machines do not. 
 
1.	Make sure all the DR process controllers are turned off on all the machines but the one that you are working on (hopefully the fastest computer) when you start the job. 
2.	Start DR on the fast computer that can for sure render frame with textures. 
3.	Wait for the DR job to start check the monitor and make sure the machine you intended is working on frame 0 or the start frame. ( wait for preview to appear with textures to be sure) 
4.	Start the process controller on the other machines and they will pick up the job (and the textures) from the shared location. 
 
Another tip MicroStation always looks in the folder where the design files are located for textures. Putting all the textures in this folder is a good safety valve I usually use Packager to gather up all the textures and dump them to a folder. MicroStation does not need any paths set to look in folder where dgn is, this just always works by default. Usually what happens when you have missing textures is a machines workspace configuration does not have the pattern search folder set correctly or you are pointing to drive that is no longer mapped. Using UNC path in configuration should help I would not recommend using a mapped drive letter. 
 
Cheers, 
 
Jerry