Distributed Processing Setup Guide

Transcoding or processing a series of large files on one desktop computer is processor
intensive and time-consuming. You can increase speed and productivity by distributing
processing across multiple computers.
This preface covers the following:
• About the Apple Qmaster Distributed Processing System (p. 5)
• About the Distributed Processing Documentation (p. 6)
• Additional Resources (p. 6)
About the Apple Qmaster Distributed Processing System
High-volume processing is sometimes addressed by carefully managing multiple
computers; technicians set up batches of processing tasks for each computer and then
monitor their progress, collect and route the processed files, and start over again with
new batches. Although this is an improvement over the single-computer method, the
resource and process management can be laborious and slow.
The Apple Qmaster distributed processing system provides a more efficient solution,
handling all the work distribution and processing for you, behind the scenes.
Apple Qmaster and the Apple Qmaster features of Compressor manage the processing
across designated computers. They subdivide the work for speed, route the work to the
computers with the most available computing power, and direct the processing.
The Apple Qmaster system uses the processing capacity of your network computers for
a wide range of tasks, including transcoding and rendering for digital visual effects software
packages such as Apple Shake, Adobe After Effects, and Autodesk Maya.
5
Welcome to Distributed Processing
Preface