Compressor 4 - Basic Components of the Apple Qmaster Distributed Processing System

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Basic Components of the Apple Qmaster Distributed Processing System

.

Basic Components of the Apple Qmaster Distributed Processing
System

Although the Apple Qmaster software includes a few different applications (see

The

Interfaces in the Apple Qmaster Distributed Processing System

), as a whole it is part of a

networked system that includes the following basic components.

Note: Within a distributed processing system, the Compressor, QuickTime, and Mac OS
versions must all be identical.

Client(s): The computer or computers that use Compressor or Apple Qmaster to submit

jobs for distributed processing. Applications that can use Apple Qmaster services for
processing include Compressor, Shake, Autodesk Maya, and many UNIX command-line
programs. Computers with Final Cut Pro and Motion can also be clients.

An Apple Qmaster cluster: An Apple Qmaster cluster contains:

Service nodes: The computers that perform the processing of batches submitted via

Compressor or Apple Qmaster. A batch can include one or more jobs.

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Chapter 29

Apple Qmaster and Distributed Processing

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Cluster controller: The software, enabled on a computer by means of the

Apple Qmaster Sharing window of Compressor, that divides up batches, determines
which service nodes to send work to, and generally tracks and directs the processes.

Cluster controller manages the

distribution of client’s jobs across the cluster

Service node

processes jobs

Cluster

(can contain multiple service nodes, but only one cluster controller)

Client computer from

which users send jobs to the cluster

Service node

processes jobs

Service node

processes jobs

Service node

processes jobs

The client computer, the service nodes, and the cluster controller are often on separate
(but network-connected) computers, for the most rapid processing potential. However,
the cluster controller could be on a client computer or a service node. See

Using One

Computer to Serve Two Distributed Processing Roles

for more information on this scenario.

Following is a closer look at the part each component plays in the Apple Qmaster system.