Compressor 3.5. Distributed Encoding.

Get encoding done faster — without interrupting other work — through the power of distributed encoding. Compressor can use the Apple Qmaster application to distribute encoding jobs among multiple computers and selected cores.

Apple Qmaster

Apple Qmaster uses the processing capacity of your network computers — and even multiple cores on a single computer — to perform a wide range of encoding and rendering tasks. It lets you organise clusters of computers and cores for specific jobs, users or applications.

Apple Qmaster now allows you to expand a cluster beyond your local Bonjour network. You can set up a node on any visible IP address within your domain and use the Batch Monitor to view encoding status on all nodes across your cluster.

Distributed encoding with Xsan

Distributed encoding with Apple Qmaster works over any standard network and can include an unlimited number of client nodes. To further accelerate the process, use Xsan, the SAN file system for Mac OS X, to connect encoding nodes on a Fibre Channel network. Because your media files are accessed over a high-speed network, large files never have to be copied to individual workstations.

QuickCluster

The QuickCluster feature in Apple Qmaster dynamically configures a cluster based on available resources. Each computer user makes processing resources available to Apple Qmaster on an opt-in basis. QuickCluster polls the network for available resources and dispatches encoding tasks to computers that have opted in. Users doing processor-intensive work can elect to make their computers unavailable for encoding, then release resources at the end of the task or workday.

Cluster-based reference file encoding

Apple Qmaster now greatly streamlines reference file encoding. It automatically transfers required source media to cluster nodes, eliminating the need for manual copying, and verifies that each node has the required applications and media before encoding begins.