Install P4 Render

After you have installed P4 Search, you can install P4 Render. P4 Render is a service that processes 3D assets from P4 Search's render queue and creates a preview of the image. To learn more, see About P4 Render.

P4 Render can be installed with or without support for Maya files (.mb, .ma). When supported, Maya files are converted to FBX format in a Docker container before they are rendered by P4 Render.

Before you begin

• You must have a P4 Server running (P4 Server 2024.1 or later is supported).

  Set the following configurable on the P4 Server:

  p4 configure set trait.storagedepot.min=1024

  To learn more about the trait.storagedepot.min configurable, see Configurables reference in the P4 Server Administration Documentation.

• Install Elasticsearch and start up a server.

• Install and configure P4 Search.

• Ensure you meet the system requirements. Each instance of P4 Render needs at least 4GB of RAM and a single CPU.

• Your host system must support Docker, and the user deploying the Docker container must have permissions to access Docker. To learn more, see:

  • Install Docker Engine on Ubuntu

  • Linux post-installation steps for Docker Engine

• Ensure that the P4 Search Index user uses an all-hosts ticket.

• (Optional:) Use a 3D graphics card to improve render performance.

Install P4 Render on Linux

P4 Render can be installed with or without support for Maya files (.mb, .ma).

Install P4 Render with Maya support

To install the P4 Render service with support for Maya files, you must run the P4 Render configuration script. This script builds and starts p4render and p4render-maya Docker containers on a shared volume.

1. Open a terminal window and navigate to the containers directory:

   cd /opt/perforce/helix-p4search/containers

2. Run the P4 Render configuration script:

   ./render-configure.sh

3. Respond when prompted. The [Y/n] option defaults to yes. Press Enter to move on to the next configuration item.

4. The script looks for a Maya installer in the following directory:

   containers/p4render-maya/files/maya/

   If no installer is detected, you can download one:

   • Automatic download: Enter y when prompted. The script downloads the latest Maya installer.

   • Manual download: Go to the Autodesk Maya product page and download the latest installer for Linux.

     Place the installer in the /maya directory.

   If you do not install Maya, P4 Render cannot render Maya files (.mb, .ma).

5. Enter your P4 Search URL and X-Auth-Token when prompted.

   The script builds and then starts the containers. This process can take several minutes.

Install P4 Render without Maya support

P4 Render without support for Maya files is provided as a P4 Render Docker image.

1. Fetch the P4 Render Docker container:

   docker pull perforce/p4render:latest

2. Run the P4 Render service, providing the P4 Search X-Auth-Token and URL:

   docker run --restart always -d perforce/p4render:latest /opt/perforce/p4render/entrypoint.sh -m worker -S http://<p4-search-url>:1601 -x <X-Auth-Token>

   entrypoint.sh serves as a wrapper script for p4render.py, initiating the rendering process with an enforced maximum execution time of 10 minutes.

You can run multiple instances with one command. For example, run 10 instances:

for i in {1..10}; do docker run --restart always -d --name "${i}_render" artifactory.bnr.perforce.com/helix-p4search-dev/p4render /opt/perforce/p4render/entrypoint.sh -m worker -S http://<p4-search-url>:1601 -x <X-Auth-Token>; done

The following flags are available for p4render.py:

p4render.py (-m|-S|-x|-i)
	Optional:
		-m / --mode		The mode to run p4render(worker, lamda)
		-S / --p4searchURL	URL of the queue
		-x / --xAuth		Token for connecting to p4search
		-i / --ignoreSSL	Skip certificate check on p4search

Next steps

• (Optional:) Connect external services.

• Check the status of P4 Search.

Related topics

• Configure rendering.