Thinkbox Software launched a public beta for its Deadline Cloud Wizard for Google Cloud Platform, a new feature for its Deadline render farm management system. Launched in December, Deadline 7 includes built-in VMX (Virtual Machine Extension) capabilities, which enable artists to harness render cores in public and private clouds. Deadline Cloud Wizard for Google Cloud Platform allows customers to quickly scale their internal Deadline 7 render farms by tapping added cloud-based resources via the Google Cloud Platform.
While configuring cloud-based render farms can be complex and time-consuming, Deadline Cloud Wizard condenses the process into a one-time automated task that takes about 30 minutes to complete.
As a special offer, Google is providing a $500 credit for render resources to beta customers on a first-come, first-served basis.
“Deadline Cloud Wizard provides artists with the freedom to easily and quickly build their own cloud-based render farms along with the flexibility to use their existing tools, workflows and local computers,” said Chris Bond, founder, Thinkbox Software. “For advanced users, it provides a jumping off point for direct links into Google Cloud Platform, whether companies are setting up a simple Pop-Up Cloud to manage overflow or laying the groundwork for more complex pipelines.”
Using a customer’s Google Cloud Platform account, the software creates a basic virtual private network (VPN) connection between the user’s workstation and cloud account for secure communication. Demo Slave virtual machines and jobs are automatically set up so that the user can immediately experiment with cloud rendering, without additional setup.
