Installing Essentials or Advanced

After you download XSI, double-click the downloaded .exe file. This extracts the Setup program onto your hard disk and then automatically launches the Setup.

Finally, the Setup program starts.

Next, you'll have to agree to licensing agreement. You can even take the time to read it, but it is pretty much standard stuff (except maybe for the part about XSI not being designed to operate nuclear facilities :-). Select I accept the terms of the license agreement and then click Next.

By default, XSI is installed in the folder C:\Softimage. We recommend you use this folder. If you do want to use a different location, click Browse.

Click Next to continue.

Click Next to install XSI Essentials or XSI Advanced.

Essentials or Advanced is the default software package. To install the render slave or the license server, click the corresponding button.

Select Custom Install if you want to set up distributed rendering (satellite or standalone) or if you want to install the Avid DIO | Mojo Software.

Otherwise click Typical Install or Next to continue with the Typical Install.

If you selected Custom Install, you can select one or both of these options.

• Configure distributed rendering services. Select this option if you want to make this computer available to be used for distributed rendering (see xxx).

• Install the Avid DIO | Mojo Software. You need this only if you intend to output hardware- and software-rendered effects from XSI to a monitor through an Avid Mojo or Adrenaline system. See the XSI Setup Guide for more details.

Select one of the following for your license server location:

• Select Using this computer as my license server to install the SPM license server on this computer. If you select this option, Setup installs the SPM license server and the dongle driver on the local computer. This is typically necessary only if you are installing XSI on a stand-alone computer.

or

• Select Using a license server running on another computer to point to the computer that is acting as the SPM license server for your network. See xxx for more information.

If you select this option, this screen appears in which you must enter the name of the license server.

Under License Server, type the name of your computer in the text box. If you don't know the name of your computer, type "localhost" (without the quotation marks).

Next, assuming that you have already installed SPM, click Test to verify that your computer can connect to the license server. Then click Add. Note that you can add more than one license server.

Click Next to continue.

The Setup program now has all the information it needs to install XSI. You can review your installation choices, and when you're ready to go ahead with the install, click Next.

This dialog box appears only if you selected Custom Install > Distributed rendering.

Usually you can use the default ports for distributed rendering. If you know you need to use a different port, select the Edit Port Number check box and then click Next Free Port.

If you want to set up distributed rendering using mental ray, select the Configure standalone distributed rendering check box.

When you click Next, Setup will install and start the services used for distributed rendering.

Click OK.