by Virtual Vertex s.r.l.·Rendering
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Muster 9 stands out for pairing automated farm management with a template system that adapts to different render engines. Version 9.0.14 carries long-term support, and it installs through a custom installer rather than the standard App Store installer.
Muster 9 is Virtual Vertex's render farm management system for film production, game development, and visual effects. It monitors farm usage, recovers from faults, and can power off racks when they are no longer needed. You can add hosts, disconnect them from the farm, and start renders when no one is logged in or even when a screen saver starts, with Muster assigning tasks on the fly.
Muster 9 runs natively on Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Apple Mac OS X, so you can deploy render engines on the operating system that fits your environment. Mixed environments are fully supported through an internal substitution path engine, letting you run the same job across different platforms. Integration with render engines works through a built-in template system that uses a macro language to design submission views with fields, selectors, and checkboxes, plus per-engine custom actions, licensing limits, and rules.
Muster can also dispatch single-frame images across multiple hosts for Autodesk Maya and Autodesk 3ds Max, dividing images into slices rendered simultaneously and assembled by the Dispatcher into a final coherent image. Image slicing is particularly useful for high-resolution images for printing. Version 9.0.14 is the last 9.0.X release with long-term support.
Muster 9 is best for render farm management for film production, game development, and visual effects teams running 3ds Max across mixed operating systems.
Muster 9 is completely free to download and use.
Muster 9 is available natively for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Apple Mac OS X, so you can deploy your render engines on whichever operating system suits your environment. Mixed environments are fully supported through an internal substitution path engine, which lets you run the same job across different platforms and get back the result you expect. This cross-platform design is a core part of the system, built for production setups that span multiple operating systems at once.
Muster 9 handles render engine integration through a built-in template system. Using a macro language, templates define how the system integrates with external batch renderers and let you design the submission view dynamically, adding fields, selectors, and checkboxes that translate into commands sent to the engine. Templates also customize behavior on a per-engine basis, so you can embed custom actions at points in the render process, define licensing limits, and set special rules directly inside the template while keeping the options exposed to end users low.
Muster 9 is listed here as free for up to four concurrent render nodes. Beyond that, licensing details can change, so check Virtual Vertex's developer page for current terms and any options for larger farms. Note that Muster 9 uses a custom installer rather than the standard App Store installer, which is worth knowing before you set it up. The current release listed here is version 9.0.14.
Muster 9 can dispatch single-frame images across multiple hosts for Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya. The image is divided into slices that render on several hosts simultaneously, then the Dispatcher assembles them back into a final, coherent image. Image slicing is particularly useful when you need high-resolution images for printing: increase the number of slices and let Muster render the frame across your hosts in just a few minutes.
Muster 9 uses a custom installer rather than the standard App Store installer, so you will set it up outside the usual Autodesk app flow. For the installer and setup, head to Virtual Vertex's developer page. Since Muster 9 runs on Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Apple Mac OS X, make sure you grab the build that matches your target operating system. The current release is version 9.0.14, noted as the last 9.0.X release carrying long-term support.
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