If you’re familiar with Deadline 10 and looking to start using AWS Portal, we recommend starting here.

Note

While AWS Portal can enable cloud rendering in Deadline 10, AWS Deadline Cloud is a newer offering that has been built specifically for the cloud. It is a fully managed service that does not require installation or maintenance of infrastructure (e.g., repository, database, or license server). Worker fleet auto-scaling, asset synching, and licensing are all managed natively within AWS by Deadline Cloud. See here for more information on Deadline Cloud and its capabilities.

AWS Portal Introduction

AWS Portal Overview

AWS Portal is a Deadline 10 feature that lets you create or extend a render farm using Amazon Web Services (AWS). It allows you to launch render nodes in the cloud, transfer files between your network and AWS, and manage rendering licenses—all from the Deadline Monitor.

What Does AWS Portal Do?

AWS Portal connects Deadline 10 to your AWS account and uses EC2 Spot Instances to run cloud-based workers. These workers can be used to build a render farm entirely in the cloud, or to supplement your existing on-premises deployment of Deadline 10. Through the Deadline Monitor, you can control how many workers are launched, monitor worker activity, and configure settings related to asset transfer and licensing.

When to Use AWS Portal

AWS Portal is suitable for teams that: * Want to extend their existing on-premises Deadline 10 farm temporarily using cloud capacity * Need to handle peaks in rendering workload * Are working on short-term projects that do not require permanent hardware

Main Capabilities

Worker Management

You can launch and manage EC2 Spot Fleets directly from the Deadline Monitor to run cloud-based render Workers. These workers join your render farm and process jobs like any other Deadline 10 Worker running on your premises.

Asset Management

Scene files, assets, and render outputs are automatically transferred between your network and AWS over encrypted connections. AWS Portal service components handle this file movement in the background.

Note

Assets stored on AWS EC2 instance storage are not encrypted by default.

Additional Resources

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

See also: AWS EC2 Considerations.

Next: AWS Portal Cost >>