ZuniComm, which is a service for controlling the required SDKs in the Workflow, has been available as an external service called Render Satellites since version 1.10.0. With Render Satellites, ripping (rendering as well as rasterizing) can be distributed as a separate entity using available computer resources. A Render Satellite thus represents a dedicated installation of the ZuniComm application on a computer system or virtual machine.

The installation of Render Satellites must be done separately on each respective computer system. We explain the setup and installation process in further detail in this article.

Before a Render Satellite can be installed and created and/or used in the Workflow, the FileManagement directory located on c:\pms_data or d:\pms_data in the Workflow workstation must be shared in Windows. Follow these steps to accomplish this:

1. First, stop the PMS service.
2. On the Workflow workstation, open Windows Explorer.
3. Navigate to the FileManagement directory under either c:\pms_data or d:\pms_data.
4. Open the Properties settings by right-clicking on the FileManagement directory.
5. Select the Sharing tab [3].
6. Open the Advanced Sharing option [6] by clicking on the button.
7. Activate the Share this folder [1] option.
8. Under Share name [2], make sure FileManagement is selected.
9. Open the Permissions [4] for FileManagement by clicking on the button.
10. Under Group or user names [8], select the users or groups that are allowed to access the folder.
11. Under Permissions for the "Name of selected user" [9] activate the permission Read [10] – write permissions are not required and in this case should not be granted.
12. Confirm your settings by pressing OK [7].

Figure 1: The various dialogs with which the FileManagement directory can be shared when using Windows.

13. After setting the appropriate permissions for the FileManagement directory on the Workflow workstation, the Share must be entered in the application properties of the Workflow. Proceed as follows:
14. Open the application.properties file under c:\program files\ppd\pms.
15. Enter the following information in the file:
    • ppd.commons.filemanagement.share=FileManagement
    • ppd.commons.filemanagement.share.username= <SMB username of the Workflow workstation>
    • ppd.commons.filemanagement.share.password= <SMB password of the Workflow workstation>
16. Save the file.
17. Re-start the PMS service again.

After the Workflow workstation has been correctly prepared and configured, the Render Satellite can be installed on other hardware devices. Please note that no additional Workflows may be installed on the device. In other words, two ZuniComms cannot be installed on the same machine. To install a Render Satellite, follow these steps:

1. Open https://extranet.durst-group.com/
2. In the release directory, download the setup for installing the Render Satellite RS_Versionsnummer(Build number).exe.
3. Run the setup and start it by clicking Install [11].
4. To configure the Render Satellite:
   • Select the correct drive under FileManagement Drive [12] This is where the FileManagement is located.
   • Enter the IP Address [13] of the Workflow.
   • Click Next [15].
5. Confirm the setup dialog by clicking on Yes [14] to continue.
6. Click on Finish to complete the installation.

Figure 2: The four dialogs quiding the user through the DW Render Satellite Installer setup.

After the Workflow workstation has been successfully configured and the Render Satellite has been installed, it can then be created, configured and used in the Workflow. Proceed as follows:

1. Select Administration > Interfaces.
2. Click on the ZuniComm tab. By installing a Render Satellite on an external workstation, it is automatically registered in the Workflow and displayed in the Render Satellite list under the ZuniComm tab.

Figure 3: The Create, Manage and Verify External Services area with the ZuniComm tab enabled, which you can view via Administration > Interfaces.

3. Select the newly created Render Satellite in the list and click on Edit in the action bar. In the Edit ZuniComm Instance dialog you can now choose the following options:
   • Name – Select a name for the Render Satellite. You should make sure when multiple Render Satellites are installed, the name of the Render Satellite is unique, which allows easy identification.
   • HHR Instances – This defines amount of HHR instances that should be allocated from the total number of the HHR instances that are currently licensed in the Workflow. The number of available HHR Instances is listed below this input field.
   • Assigned Printers – Select printers in the Workflow that will serviced by the Render Satellite.

Figure 4: The Edit ZuniComm Instance dialog.

Article Update: Version 1.11.1 01/2022