Feature Request: Render Client Tray Application

Hi,

In earlier versions of Muster, there used to be the ability for people whose machines were used as Render Clients, to open the Render Client manager and quickly do a “Kill And Pause” or “Resume”.

In 5.31, this ability has disappeared, as all machines are managed centrally. I understand the design philosophy of managing render clients centrally, and that’s a good thing.

But you are also misunderstanding the user demographic, as it is quite common to use every PC in the building as a render client and leave them on 24/7. During the day, these workstations are used for regular business, at night they render.

It’s neither safe or appropriate to start giving a receptionist or an accountant access to Muster Explorer, so that they can turn their own computer on or off as a render node.

I think that you need to write a tiny and dedicated tray application that is idiot-proof, where people can quickly select their computer’s status, such as Active, Pause, Kill And Pause. You could possibly also make an availability detector that reenables a render client after a preset amount of inactivity (i.e. 20 minutes or 30 minutes). This could then open a floating window in the middle of the screen alerting the user that the machine is now being used as a render node, giving people the option to Kill And Pause.

The important part is that on a big job, everyone’s computer will be used for rendering, but many of those people don’t even know what rendering is, let alone know what to do inside Muster Explorer. I think you need to write an interface allowing people to control their computer’s status without requiring them to be a network administrator as well.

Someone who is a power user would simply opt to not have this tray application installed on his computer. Power users can control their computer through Muster Explorer. Everyone else can control their computer through a friendly and simple tray application.

Thanks,

Per