Background Reactor

Background Reactor accelerates rendering by processing effects in the background on the same workstation running Flame while work continues on other tasks in the foreground. It runs in a single-GPU configuration (Rocky Linux and macOS), but supports running on a second GPU (Rocky Linux only).

Installation of a Second GPU

Background Reactor can run on a second GPU, where background rendering operations are offloaded. This second GPU must be the same as the main one. See the system requirements for supported configurations.

After installing the GPU and rebooting the workstation:

Remove or move the xorg.conf file.
Install the application or the DKU. This will create a new xorg.conf file.
Reboot the workstation.

Background Reactor Configuration

Single GPU Configuration

Running Background Reactor on a single GPU requires some additional configuration. You must specify the amount of memory (RAM and VRAM) allocated to the Flame Family products and to Background Reactor. If you do not, the Flame Family products hoard the RAM and VRAM, starving Background Reactor for resources. Use the Setup application or edit the /opt/Autodesk/<flame version>/cfg/init.cfg file to set the Flame Memory Consumption Target (RAM) and Graphics Memory Consumption Target (VRAM) settings to your need. Edit the /opt/Autodesk/<backgroundreactor version>/cfg/init.cfg file to do the same for Background Reactor. Suggested memory allocation values are:

Flame Family products
- MemoryConsumptionTarget 45%
- GraphicsMemoryConsumptionTarget 55%
Background Reactor
- MemoryConsumptionTarget 45%
- GraphicsMemoryConsumptionTarget 35%

Note: These values are only suggested. Many factors (VRAM size, effects used, size of media) can impact the stability of the application. You might have to experiment to find the values that are right for you.

Dual GPU Configuration

If you are using Background Reactor on a dual-GPU workstation, you do not have to specify memory allocation.

Application Preferences

Additional rendering options are available from within the Flame Family products.

Background Reactor can be selected as the default option under the Default Rendering Options section of the General Preferences.
Background Reactor tasks can be assigned to Backburner Manager in the Backburner Preferences. Background Reactor and background tasks (that is, proxy generation, media export, wire, etc.) can run simultaneously on the same workstation. Background jobs are still performed in serial.