I have posted this thread yesterday accidentally into the wrong subforum (hardware fx) and obviously nobody answered. So sorry for crossposting and mods feel free to delete the other thread. I hope this is the best subforum for this type of question. So here we go:
I would like to try out Vienna Ensemble Pro as I need more ram/cpu and have a spare computer.
The computers I have are a 2016 Macbook Pro (with 1 free TB port) and a 2012 Mac Mini (with a free Ethernet connector), the Macbook will obviously be the master and the Mac Mini the slave.
I am planning to use it primarily for orchestral sessions and to run only Kontakt instruments on it. EastWest and similar will run on the master computer as I don't want to mess with another Ilok and most of my instruments are Kontakt anyway.
I will first try the keyless demo so I will buy the 2 e-licensers only after I decided that VEPro works for me.
Internet needs to be accessible from the master computer and preferably wifi as it would be very inconvenienty to run a cable to the router outside of the studio.
My question is, based on this info, what do I need to get to try it out?
Would a TB2-ethernet adapter + a cat6 ethernet cable suffice?
Or do I need to get a network switch (and a second cable) as well, as some videos suggest?
In that case, what does one need the switch for, why wouldn't a direct cable connection work?
Also, do I need to connect the switch to the router (with a third cable) to access internet, or can I keep working normally with wifi?
Any other hardware I need to be able to demo VE Pro 7 and see if it works for me?
VE Pro 7 - hardware requirements (beside computers)?
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- KVRAF
- 26033 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
If it’s just one slave to one master, a CAT6 is all you need.
The thing many miss starting out is the requirement of a static network connection. Historically this was not well-documented by them.
Do not mix it w. ethernet for internet or now you need to worry about routing. Wifi has little-to-nothing to do with it. Once upon a time you’d see advice to turn your wifi off w. VEP, it hasn’t been a thing here.
The thing many miss starting out is the requirement of a static network connection. Historically this was not well-documented by them.
Do not mix it w. ethernet for internet or now you need to worry about routing. Wifi has little-to-nothing to do with it. Once upon a time you’d see advice to turn your wifi off w. VEP, it hasn’t been a thing here.
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- KVRAF
- 26033 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
If you have an adapter to make yer Thunderbolt into ethernet, get a CAT6 & you have sufficient hardware now. You can use it as Local Host w. significant gain in performance per se, for that matter.
The slave should be the more robust of two machines in the typical use case. You may not need a slave for yours. The old model of server farms belongs with older/too slow computers (every orch. section in Gigastudio, if not every instrument, meant its own computer dedicated to it); today a really massive symphonic template calls for slaves after a point, especially if you need it all up in realtime. 2016 MBP is a good start, and you may want to demo it on that alone. I had two MacPros when I started w. VEP in ‘09 or ‘10 and when I downsized to the one it hardly mattered, in my use (not full symphonic/fully desked).
The slave should be the more robust of two machines in the typical use case. You may not need a slave for yours. The old model of server farms belongs with older/too slow computers (every orch. section in Gigastudio, if not every instrument, meant its own computer dedicated to it); today a really massive symphonic template calls for slaves after a point, especially if you need it all up in realtime. 2016 MBP is a good start, and you may want to demo it on that alone. I had two MacPros when I started w. VEP in ‘09 or ‘10 and when I downsized to the one it hardly mattered, in my use (not full symphonic/fully desked).
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 103 posts since 22 Nov, 2015
Ok thanks for the pretty clear/exhaustive answer! One little thing I still don't really understand.. if I connect the two machines without switch will the IP addresses be static or not? If not, will this add considerable complications?
Other than that, I guess I'm fine with just getting the adapter and cat 6 cable for now.
The computers are almost equally specced with the Mac Mini (slave) having just a slightly higher clockspeed (but at the expense of older generation components). Anyway I think the Mac Mini has more efficient cooling than the Macbook and I suppose in either way I will have significantly more power to load more Kontakt instances, which is my goal.
Other than that, I guess I'm fine with just getting the adapter and cat 6 cable for now.
The computers are almost equally specced with the Mac Mini (slave) having just a slightly higher clockspeed (but at the expense of older generation components). Anyway I think the Mac Mini has more efficient cooling than the Macbook and I suppose in either way I will have significantly more power to load more Kontakt instances, which is my goal.
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- KVRAF
- 26033 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
up in Sys Prefs/Network. Ask someone at VSL for the settings. They’re really friendly. This is determined in your settings in Network, the switch does not look necessary at all so far.
I would say the cores factor more than the slightly faster clock for choice of slave. That said, your use case as described is prob not going to call for 8 cores and more. Prob the cooling is the real diff tho.
I would say the cores factor more than the slightly faster clock for choice of slave. That said, your use case as described is prob not going to call for 8 cores and more. Prob the cooling is the real diff tho.
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 103 posts since 22 Nov, 2015
Thanks a lot, seems clear now! Cable + adapter aren't all too big of an expense so I'll just buy them, download the demo and then take a day to find out how to set it up, try all things out and see if the workflow is as expected.
If it all works smoothly I will very happily buy the license, dongles and any other HW that might prove useful and set up an orchestral template for fast workflow.
Btw both machines are i7 quad core with 16GB ram. But while the Macbook has 2.2GHz clock speed the Mac Mini has 2,4 or 2,6 IIRC (would have to check). I know there are better choices for a slave computer (windows), but as I have this one just collecting dust I guess for now with a comparatively small investment I can basically double the available processing power and RAM.
If it all works smoothly I will very happily buy the license, dongles and any other HW that might prove useful and set up an orchestral template for fast workflow.
Btw both machines are i7 quad core with 16GB ram. But while the Macbook has 2.2GHz clock speed the Mac Mini has 2,4 or 2,6 IIRC (would have to check). I know there are better choices for a slave computer (windows), but as I have this one just collecting dust I guess for now with a comparatively small investment I can basically double the available processing power and RAM.
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- KVRAF
- 26033 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
Check.
You can make the most of your said master with it as local host in combo w. the slave, but that’s two licenses. VEP7 buys only one.
You don’t need one on the master just to connect via the plugin. Used to come w. 3, costs less now.
I bought a docking thingy, happened to have an ethernet out w. all the rest, 30 bucks.
You can make the most of your said master with it as local host in combo w. the slave, but that’s two licenses. VEP7 buys only one.
You don’t need one on the master just to connect via the plugin. Used to come w. 3, costs less now.
I bought a docking thingy, happened to have an ethernet out w. all the rest, 30 bucks.
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 103 posts since 22 Nov, 2015
Oh thanks for the info, that's actually another thing I was not sure about. So I do not need a license for every involved computer but for every computer on which I want to use the VEP7 host software? Basically in a setup where I have 1 master loading only the VEP7 DAW plugins and 1 slave running the VEP7 host software I only need 1 license? But if I intend to use the VEP7 host software on both computers I need to get the second license?
What advantage does it bring to load plugins into the VEP7 host on the master computer instead of just loading them inside the DAW (beside having them always ready when switching projects)? Does it in some way optimise CPU/RAM usage?
What advantage does it bring to load plugins into the VEP7 host on the master computer instead of just loading them inside the DAW (beside having them always ready when switching projects)? Does it in some way optimise CPU/RAM usage?
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- KVRAF
- 26033 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
If you’re going to launch VEP Server on a machine, key needed, just to open the plugin in DAW, no. With your particulars I think I’d want two keys, in order to get the most out of yer MBP.
It’s a huge difference here vs running say Kontakt in DAW. NB: for larger projects.
For several reasons. 1) decoupled from teh DAW, save DAW project is much faster and after a point more stable. 2) It’s its own process, DAW and instrument plugins in the DAW’s process is crippled by comparison. 3) Multicore handling is IME optimal using VEP.
I noticed yesterday I had multicore enabled in Cubase, Kontakt, and VEP which was long considered as a thing to avoid
It’s a huge difference here vs running say Kontakt in DAW. NB: for larger projects.
For several reasons. 1) decoupled from teh DAW, save DAW project is much faster and after a point more stable. 2) It’s its own process, DAW and instrument plugins in the DAW’s process is crippled by comparison. 3) Multicore handling is IME optimal using VEP.
I noticed yesterday I had multicore enabled in Cubase, Kontakt, and VEP which was long considered as a thing to avoid
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 103 posts since 22 Nov, 2015
Ok got it. For trying it out I will now just get the most basic things and if I like how it works (also interaction-wise between DAW and VEP) I'll get 2 licenses and keys. I guess offloading plugins to an external app will also reduce DAW crashes as less calculations are interlaced between plugins and DAW-specific operations. But I am no expert in IT things so it's just a guess.