Cloud Controls

Overview

Deadline has some built in cloud features that allows it to connect to different cloud providers and control your instances. Currently, Amazon EC2, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, OpenStack, and vCenter are supported, but more providers may be added in the future.

Note that Deadline only allows you to control existing instances. It does not create instances for you, except in the case where you clone an existing instance. In order to use instances for rendering, you will need to set them up first, which includes installing the Deadline Client, installing your rendering software, and setting up any licensing that is required.

Permission for the Cloud Panel can be edited in the User Group Permissions form. See Controlling Feature Access.

Cloud Providers

Cloud providers can be configured from the Monitor by selecting Tools -> Configure Cloud Providers. By default, this option is hidden for normal users, so you may need to enter Super User Mode. This will bring up the Cloud Options window.

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Adding Providers

To add a provider, click the Add button under the Cloud Region list. Choose the Cloud plugin you wish to use, and give it a region name. This is useful for providers like Amazon EC2 that have more than one region. Then click OK.

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The new Cloud region will now show up in the Cloud Region list.

Configuring Providers

To configure an existing provider, select it in the Cloud Region box, which will bring up its configuration settings. These are the settings that the Monitor will use to connect to your cloud provider(s).

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Every provider has an option to enable or disable it, but the other options can vary between providers. To get more information about a particular setting, just hover your mouse over the setting text, or refer to the Cloud Plugins section of the documentation.

Cloud Panel

The Cloud panel in the Monitor shows all the instances from the cloud providers that the Monitor is connected to. By default, this panel is hidden for normal users, so you may need to enter Super User Mode before you can open it.

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If the Cloud panel is not visible, see the Panel Features documentation for instructions on how to create new panels in the Monitor.

Controlling Instances

The Cloud panel allows you to create new instances and control your existing instances using the right-click context menu. The following options are available when you right-click on an instance:

  • Create New Instance: Creates a new instance.

  • Start Instance: Starts an instance that is currently stopped.

  • Stop Instance: Stops an instance that is currently running.

  • Destroy Instance: Destroys an existing instance. Once an instance is destroyed, it can not be recovered.

  • Clone Instance: Clones an existing instance. This allows you to quickly launch multiple copies of the selected instance.

  • Reboot Instance: Reboots an instance that is currently running.

It should be noted that some cloud providers don’t provide the ability to Start/Stop instances.

Cloud Plug-ins

Cloud providers are supported via the Cloud Plug-in system. This means that the existing ones can be customized, or you can write your own. See the Cloud Plugins documentation for more information on creating cloud plug-ins. Plugin data is only loaded and updated when the Cloud Panel is being displayed.