If you’re new to AWS Portal we recommend starting here. If you’re new to Deadline we recommend starting here.

AWS Portal Introduction

This document outlines the basics of AWS Portal, a secure and affordable solution for creating, or scaling, your Deadline render farm in the Cloud by utilizing Amazon Web Services (AWS).

In a nutshell, AWS Portal creates a render farm, or bridges your current render farm, using AWS EC2 spare capacity, known as EC2 Spot. It also facilitates the secure communication between you and AWS, handling asset transfer and software licensing.

What Is AWS Portal?

AWS Portal, controlled using the Deadline Monitor, connects to an AWS account, and allows you to launch AWS render nodes to create your render farm or connect and extend your local farm. You can choose to launch render nodes with rendering software pre-installed, or you can take a vanilla Deadline render node and install your own software on it.

Is AWS Portal For You?

AWS Portal is designed for users looking to create their render farm or scale their current compute capacity to meet the sharp fluctuations in production demands in a cost-effective manner.

Benefits Of Using AWS Portal

Simple And Secure

AWS Portal handles all the complicated aspects of managing hardware, securely transferring assets, communication, and rendering on the Cloud. You only need to decide how much compute you need.

Fast

Leveraging AWS hardware and pre-existing machine setups, additional render nodes are just a few clicks away. You no longer need to wait for server racks to be shipped, delivered, imaged, and set up; they’re already waiting for you.

Cost-Effective

By only using licenses and compute power as needed, AWS Portal lets you achieve maximum resource efficiency with your render farm by giving you the ability to only pay for what you use.

What AWS Portal Does For You

AWS Portal’s major features can be split up into three main sections:

Resource Management

AWS Portal gives you the ability to create and monitor render nodes on AWS by launching Spot Fleet Instances through the Deadline Monitor.

Secure Asset Transfer

AWS Portal handles the storage and transfer of your assets to AWS and the transfer of render output back to your storage system.

Note

Your asset files and render output are transferred between your network and AWS using encrypted communication. AWS Portal stores your data and runs instances in your own AWS account. However, the instance storage that holds your files is not encrypted by default.

License Forwarding

AWS Portal manages licensing for third party software by using a combination of your existing floating licenses and/or on-demand licenses via Usage-Based Licensing (UBL).

Additional Resources

If you’re looking for more information, we’ve got our:

See also: AWS EC2 Considerations.

Next: AWS Portal Cost >>