Editing over a wireless network, is not suggested because of the protocols and overhead being used.

Distributed network rendering was a feature that got dumped about a decade ago because it didn't work. On the other hand, CAT 6 is pretty cheap to try if you have no other alternative.

I render locally, and upload to the NAS for LAN delivery. It works.

Okay got it - thanks for the reply. So I guess what I was hoping to do was render projects on a 2nd system to avoid tying up my main edit system. Is it possible without physically unplugging my harddrive from my main system and plugging into the 2nd system?

Editing over a wireless network, is not suggested because of the protocols and overhead being used.

Distributed network rendering was a feature that got dumped about a decade ago because it didn't work. On the other hand, CAT 6 is pretty cheap to try if you have no other alternative.

I render locally, and upload to the NAS for LAN delivery. It works.

Now that I read it again - curious if you mean I can CAT6 the systems together and render over networked drives that way?

Yes, hardwired connections (at least 1Gb) work well for rendering. Not much fun for editing though.

10Gb connections on the other hand, are doable depending on your footage.

@Ethan-Hill

If you search the forum for @TheRhino, I know he has posted his network system, and computer specs. You might be able to do a PM to him and ask about this. He may not be doing as you have asked, but I am pretty sure he would have a much more knowledgeable answer than I. I know with my computer specs, no problem, but my current network would not handle the "Pain" I would be inflicting upon it! :)

Now that I read it again - curious if you mean I can CAT6 the systems together and render over networked drives that way?

No, I didn't say that, because I have no knowledge of your router speed, bidirectional throughput, traffic congestion, number of router hops, or system integrity. 10/100TX is not going to work.

I did say that the cable is reasonably affordable, and that you can try. It works fine here: YMMV.

If you are familiar with .bat files, here is a little utility I wrote a long time ago.

It gives a relative bidirectional throughput figure for network troubleshooting.

-- Install fping in your User folder

-- Edit the .bat with full path to fping and the remote client IP.

-- No support is provided.

@ECHO ON
@ECHO *
@ECHO Router Ping Utility (routerping.bat)
@ECHO Useful for comparing throughput using various WiFi channels (1, 6, 11)
@ECHO Also 5GHz band and wired connections
@ECHO *
@ECHO EDIT FILE WITH YOUR ROUTER'S IP AND LOCATION OF fping.exe (required)
@ECHO Test takes 2+ minutes to complete (2000 pings)
@ECHO To stop - type Control-C.
@ECHO *
@pause

@REM Add (-L filename.txt) to create a Logfile.
@REM See fping documentation for more parameters.
@REM EDIT YOUR ROUTER IP AND PATH TO fping.exe HERE
@C:\Users\xxxx\fping.exe 192.168.1.xxx -n 2000 -s 1492 -t 1 -f


@ECHO *
@ECHO More than 5 dropped packets may indicate channel interference.
@ECHO DIVIDE 500 BY AVERAGE TIME TO GET RELATIVE THROUGHPUT (Mbps)
@ECHO 30-40 percent of your router max is good.
@ECHO *
@pause

For media with high bit rates, files on a network drive might be a little slow. But as long as your network is healthy and the host system of your network files stays awake, there ought not be any errors seen by Vegas in accessing remote files. I work this way without any problems. My project and media files are on one or more servers. Temp and intermediate files are definitely local. My render output is usually, not always, local.

Since you mentioned WiFi, the performance there is very dependent on the WiFi band used, the distance to the WiFi router, and the general condition of the WiFi band in your area (competition from other people's networks). Also, there occasionally seem to be problems with certain WiFi routers and clients that don't work well together. All of these factors add up to the overall health of your network. Cat5 or Cat6 connections between 1G interfaces will be fine for all but higher bit rate media.

If Vegas always "errors out" by remote access, it is more likely due to filename or drive letter disagreements or file permissions. Media files, temp files, intermediate files, etc. need to have a consistent name space on your A and B computers. What do your errors look like?

Network rendering is indeed possible through FrameServing. I was a bit skeptical at first, but finally discovered that it's fairly straightforward. Here's a link to the discussion https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/happy-otter-scripts-for-vegas-pro--113922/?page=28#ca760533

I was able to successfully FrameServe from Vegas on computer 1 over a 1gb network to computer 2. For demo, I opened the frameserved file using VirtualDub and successfully rendered to a MagicYUV intermediate. Since Vdub supports x264/x265 renders, one could easily do final renders in this way.

If there was sufficient interest, network rendering could be added to the Render+ tool in HappyOtterScripts.

over a 1gb network

Wired LAN?

@Ethan-Hill

From 39,000 feet, here are the steps to create Vegas projects that can be edited from any node on a Local Area Network.

1) Save yourself a lot of frustration, forget Wi-Fi ever existed.

2) It's simpler to include all required assets in the same project folder. It's just more work if you don't.

3) Map the project folder to the same network drive letter on all machines on the LAN, including the local machine.

4) Navigate to the Vegas project on the newly created network drive and edit away. For existing projects, you might have to resolve path conflicts at least once.

@Ethan-Hill

If you search the forum for @TheRhino, I know he has posted his network system, and computer specs. You might be able to do a PM to him and ask about this. He may not be doing as you have asked, but I am pretty sure he would have a much more knowledgeable answer than I. I know with my computer specs, no problem, but my current network would not handle the "Pain" I would be inflicting upon it! :)

Currently I have (3) workstations & a QNAP NAS connected by $30 Mellanox 10G PCIe cards:

https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/affordable-10g-network-for-small-studios--115799/

All drives are shared (so I can copy files to/from any drive on any system) but I do NOT attempt to have Vegas access source files on drives across the network... My projects are rather long, so if Vegas has trouble accessing one of the source files, the whole render stops, even if it's 2 hours in and 95% complete... Rather, I just copy the source media across the fast network (when I'm getting it from the camera cards at USB 3.0 speeds...) & then share a copy of the final VEG if I want to use one of the other workstations to render-out various file formats. This way all of my CPU & GPU resources are available for the new project I am editing while another workstation handles rendering of completed projects....

I've been using multiple workstations this way since Vegas 3.0... However, it also means I have to keep copies of stock footage, music, sound effects, templates, etc. on all workstations & I name all of the drives the same on each so Vegas always knows where to look to find stuff... For instance, music is always in the M: drive on all workstations so Vegas does not have to ask me where to find a source file... Hope that makes sense & helps...

Hey thanks so much everyone!! That is super helpful!
BTW I had contacted Magix support the same time I posted here and they just got back with this message:
#############

Hello Ethan
Thank you for your message.
This is a known issue where will be resolve din a future version of the application.  
--
Best regards,
MAGIX Software GmbH
**** *******

##############

@Ethan-Hill, I see this is an old post, but here is my two cents anyways, regarding your statement, (in part):

"Hello Ethan
Thank you for your message.
This is a known issue where will be resolve din a future version of the application.  
--
Best regards,
MAGIX Software GmbH
**** *******

##############"

I would not hold my breath.

@crown2020

I gave the 39,000 ft. overview of this methodology previously and TheRhino described how he works everyday. There is nothing required from Vegas Creative Software to allow you to edit and/or render over a network. I'll come down a few feet and show you how it can be done on two of my four machines. I'll even do one of the machines via RDP so I don't have to get up from my chair.

The only requirements are:

• Knowledge of networks
• Organization of assets

I'll say it one more time. Forget Wi-Fi ever existed.

Full Disclosure

I rarely do this over a gigabit network. My next upgrade will include a 10 Gigabit connection between at least the edit workstation and the media server.

@john_dennis, Thanks for the instructional video. I have ordered a custom built Asus with an i5 processor, 6 cores and a, wait for it............... 10G network card and switch for a home NAS system. The NAS will be running the TrueNas latest version. (ZFS file system I do believe). I will primarily access the NAS via SMB on my Windows 10 Pro machine. This should work out nice don't you think? I am always open to suggestions that save me costly mistakes down the road or up front.

@crown2020

"I have ordered..."

Too late for that.

@john_dennis, They have a liberal return policy. 😀 Thoughts on what "I have ordered"? Will you rubber stamp my purchase john? 😂 In all seriousness, does your experience tell you my little scheme should work.