Out-of-the-box, Deadline will run in license-free mode for up to two render nodes (client machines). You don’t need to request a license for this - just install, configure and run.
I’ve been confused by sales in the past for this. Sales, or at least some of them, seem to feel that this is only for evaluation, but there is no time limit and the web site does not make any statement about this. I asked for them to clarify their position, but never got a response. With the various changes (from Frantic to Prime Focus Software to Thinkbox), I’m not sure whether the policy has changed. It would be good to have this clarified on the site, if nothing else.
To be on the safe side, please contact our sales team again to request a trial license. Things are a bit hectic over hear during this transition, and we don’t want your request to get lost in the shuffle. You can contact sales here: thinkboxsoftware.com/sales/
Just include the following information:
Your Name
Company
Number of Licenses
Host Name or IP Address of License server
MAC Address of license server
However, as Phil mentioned, if you are only running Deadline on 2 render nodes or less, you do not need a trial license. Deadline runs in Free Mode on up to 2 machines without the need for a license. There is no time limit and no restrictions (other than the 2 node limit). This is very useful if you are only testing on a few machines, or if you have a small startup farm.
To clarify, this is not the same as “2 Free Licenses”. If you need to run Deadline on 3 or more render nodes, you will need to purchase a license for each node.