i tried various things to get two computers to connect properly

I have a small render farm (C4D team render), and AFAIK the gateway addess is irrelevant for network render - that's the router. Your render machines just use the local LAN to communicate. My machines are set to home (or private in W10), have the same subnet mask, and IP's in the same range -

IP address 192.168.1.xxx
subnet mask 255.255.255.0
gateway 192.168.1.254 << router address set at factory

the machine IP's and the router IP must be in the same range to access the www's, but not for local traffic only. With my system I have to have static IP's so the render server can find the render clients, then the team render setup software did all the firewall stuff for me. It's possible that your render software doesn't work well with Norton - might be worthwhile trying with the Windows f/w only. Network problems are often down to firewall settings.

I have 6 render pcs, so I have

www - modem/router - 8 way switch - [all pcs go here]

I could disconnect the router, and my render farm would still work. My render boxes run headless (no monitor, kb or mouse) and I use remote desktop to keep an eye on things.

thanks wasnotwas. yes, i use c4d too, but with vray.

on one machine, the network is set to home, but on the other one, it is set to work while remaining unidentified.

setting a Gateway, like 192.168.x.x , the same as the ip adress of one of the machines ( the main machine ) , solved a bit the problem, i mean : when i restart the pc, the network doesn't go back to public automaticaly.
but one machine ( the main machine ) is still set to unidentified. i don't see how to solve this.

i suspect this to be the cause of the problem since even if i desactivate Norton internet security on both machines, it doesn't work.

do you think i should try by uninstalling Norton on both machines ?? i really need norton ..

Do the pcs connect to the internet ? Can you post your IP settings. On my system, the Gateway IP cannot be altered, so if I put a different value in the gateway box, I get unidentified network. Can the machines ping each other ?

yes, my pc connects to internet through a wi fi usb key.

the ethernet network is used between both machines, using their motherboard's ethernet port and yes, i can transfer some files between both pc . but vray standalone doesn't work anyway.

the hard test would be to try by uninstalling both Norton on each machine, but it's a pain in the ass.

On my system, the Gateway IP cannot be altered, so if I put a different value
in the gateway box, I get unidentified network. Can the machines ping each other
?

i think they can ping each other yes, i should perhaps run a new test about it but since the files can be transfered ..

anyway, Microsoft couldn't help me to get this "work" network identified on this machine.

for the gateaway of both pc in ipv4, i see, and that's why i used the fixed ip adress of the main machine ... solving the problem of the second machine, not the main one.

that's where i am now. thanks for your help. any other ideas or tests i didn't imagine i could do perhaps ?

I'm still not clear whether this is a network problem or a Vray problem.

You could try rendering with C4D Team Render (or Net Render if you are on R14), with Norton off and Windows firewall disabled. If that works, try with Win f/w. If still ok try again with Norton on (Win f/w off). If still ok it's a Vray problem.

When I switched from C4D NR to TR, I had a lot of hassle with machines not communicating. I tried the Bonjour app which kinda helped - showed me it was doable - but I wanted to solve it myself. Eventually I had to go into all the Win firewalls and allow TR thru inward and outward. If this is a Vray not LAN prob, maybe you also need to manually allow Vray in and out for both pcs (ditto C4D).

If it's def a Vray issue, you could try asking the experts at CG Talk and/or C4D Cafe forums.

Definitely some very good ideas in it ! thanks a lot ! i will try using c4d DR to see if it works. yes i'm on R14, never tried it and i'll have to learn how to set this up.

How did bonjour help you btw ?

Win firewalls : i can't have access to it, apparently it's because Norton has the hand on it in place of win. i get a message error if i try to access win's firewall.
Edit : oh .... actualy on the main machine, with the unidentified network , that's where i get this 0x6D9 error message when i try to access the Advanced security options of Windows firewall ...... while on the second machine ( identified network ) i can ! i'll probably uninstall Norton on the main machine, let Windows firewall active and restart from there, then reinstal norton.

at vray's forums they're stuck. you probably gave me the best advice. will test and report thanks !

Hi wasnotwas !

so i attempted to do a team render and add a machine, with the ip and port. but even when i desactivated Windows firewall and Norton, it didn't work.

so :

- is windows's firewall simple to desactivate ? i simply entered the Advanced parameters and set it to unactive.
- Norton : i desactivated everything i could.

how did you use bonjour to help you ?

thanks !