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Repetier Server Print Farm

dean1170dean1170
in Questions & Answers
I am having a difficult time finding a suitable connection setup with my current configuration. I love using the Repetier server software, it was super easy for me to set up and run when I had 4 printers. I have grown to 8 with plans to move on to more. I am having issues with connecting them all via USB to the server, it's a linux desktop machine, single core AMD64 bit processor. Currently using a powered USB Strip, however when I plug in the 5th printer the connection cycles on and off restarting the printer every 2-5 sec's. I have attempted to connect a octopi instance on a printer and connect to the Repetier server instance through the octopi via TCP/IP without success. When I attempt to set up the printer in RS, when I get to the connection method box and select TCP/IP connection, input the IP address it just spins with no connection being made....I tried port 80, 5000, 3344 and 23 with no luck.  I see the Repetier host is available however it is not built for raspberry pi, so I haven't tried anything with that option. Is the best course to run multiple instances(I have 4 licenses left) with the Repetier Server multiple linux/windows computers and connect in groups of 4 or 5 via usb, or is there a way to leverage the TCP/IP connection using on ly one RS computer? I guess what I am asking is what is the preferred method from the companies viewpoint on how to handle this method of operations?  Thank you for the assistance.

Comments

  • RepetierRepetier
    If you have more then one Server running we suggest using Repetier-Server Monitor as desktop app. It unifies all instances into one gui, so you can have 1 or more pis all connected through it.

    Running multiple printer on one machine is in general no problem and we have no real limit. But hardware might get problems with power. Quite some printers draw current from usb port and that can give problems. Linux will also disable usb ports if power goes down which might explain the on/off case. Try connecting printers without 5V see bottom of:
    https://www.repetier-server.com/knowledgebase/undervoltage-and-throtteling-of-pi/

    Then they get power from their main power.

    Not sure what octopi has to do with our software. For pi we have own images that run server. We can not simply connect to octoprint. Over tcp/ip we can connect to printers that offer a tcp port similar to serial that just wants the communication data. These printers often also have a web interface on port 80 or 8080 whcih is the wrong port. We need more a telnet port. For reprapfirmware this for example exists but must be activated explicitly.
  • dean1170dean1170
    Thank you for the quick response, concerning the Rpi, I was using that device to connect to the server via TCP/IP, my printers are primarily Creality Ender 3 v1 and Ultimaker 2EXT's . because the creality or ultimaker boards  do not have RJ45 connectors, I needed a solution to overcome that limitation in my setup. I can review the link provided and see about the undervoltage issue. I was not aware of that being a problem. I assumed by using the powered usb strip it would cover the under voltage concerns. Thank you again for the quick response you guys are great, and I love using your software....it's the best at managing my environment, I have tried several different tools and in my opinion it is the best.
  • RepetierRepetier
    So you use the pis as remote connection. Well that is exactly why you can run server on them as well:-)

    In theory the powered usb is a help if it has enough power. Regular usb 2 must allow 500mA so a 8 port active usb must deliver 4A. But then pi might also get some power from it (also as I understand that should not happen most hubs behave like that) or it might just have 2A extra power not expecting all devices to draw 500mA or even more (some do draw in deed more). So that is where theory and practice can differ causing problems.
  • dean1170dean1170
    Repetier said:
    So you use the pis as remote connection. Well that is exactly why you can run server on them as well:-)

    In theory the powered usb is a help if it has enough power. Regular usb 2 must allow 500mA so a 8 port active usb must deliver 4A. But then pi might also get some power from it (also as I understand that should not happen most hubs behave like that) or it might just have 2A extra power not expecting all devices to draw 500mA or even more (some do draw in deed more). So that is where theory and practice can differ causing problems.

    I did purchase a usb power stripe with a 4A plug but, I am not sure what the max is at the USB plug individually. I did manage to install RepetierHost onto the Rpi and and connect to the printer just fine, but now for some reason when I use the connection from RepetierHost it connects the the RepetierServer, however when I attempt to set the Printer up in RepetierServer I can not get past the area where you plug in the IP address and port number of the printer.....It just says 'awaiting connection'. and doesn't connect....I did use the API key of the RS on the RH. Still working that....I am hesitant to just use RS on each Printer like many have suggested...I know I get 5 uses per license, but if I can set up 5 servers I can have 25 machines....however if buying a license for each machine needs to happen to get a stable print farm then so be it....just wanted to try several ways first before I buy.
  • RepetierRepetier
    Not sure if using host on pi is clever. It has high resource usage. You might use it on a pc with server connector.

    > however when I attempt to set the Printer up in RepetierServer I can not get past the area where you plug in the IP address and port number of the printer
    Why do you connect with usb when it is a printer with TCP/IP interface? When you connect with usb you use the serial connection in server configuration! Then you can use the pi ip to connect your browser but there is no direct ip for the printer directly. Maybe some misunderstanding here?
  • dean1170dean1170
    Repetier said:
    Not sure if using host on pi is clever. It has high resource usage. You might use it on a pc with server connector.

    > however when I attempt to set the Printer up in RepetierServer I can not get past the area where you plug in the IP address and port number of the printer
    Why do you connect with usb when it is a printer with TCP/IP interface? When you connect with usb you use the serial connection in server configuration! Then you can use the pi ip to connect your browser but there is no direct ip for the printer directly. Maybe some misunderstanding here?
    Yes I agree, spent the weekend working this issue with RPi. I first tried loading RS using the RPi image, I have no touch screen and I set up with monitor and Keyboard...I couldn't get it to work....I loaded linux Mint on the Rpi and then installed RH....when you try it this way you have to figure out how to auto start RH on start up....I am not really strong with linux but I got it to work....again very sluggish on the RPi....So I went back to using a PC and existing RS license. I went back to the comment concerning the cable voltage and that seem to work really well. So for my workflow the best deployment is setting up a PC and using the RS interface with several printers connected via USB. If you are using the Linux OS like I am then be sure you apply the voltage drop modification like you recommended earlier. Thank you so much for your input....I hope these post help others....I really like the interface with the Repetier Server. I will forgo the IP connection issue, I may look into it again but not at this time.  
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