OK, I have tried so many different settings, I think I need very specific instruction because I'm sure, I'm entering a setting wrongly somewhere along the way..
Here is what I have done:
The project is stored on an external HDD, connected to the Aurora as drive E:\ on a USB-C port, The project folder, ie --root lives right on the first level of the disk. The network path to it is (according to Windows file sharing): \\Aurora\Project_File\ProjectFile
The network path to which my Mac connects to the project folder is (according to Terminal df command): //USERNAME@Aurora/Project_File
IP Aurora: 192.168.2.31
Mac: 192.168.2.1
The machines are connected via WIFI with the Mac acting as a router (Internet sharing). The Aurora Project folder is mounted as a network drive on the Mac's desktop and all files are fully accessible.
My Metashape configurations are as follows:
Server (Aurora):
metashape --server --control 192.168.2.31:5840 --dispatch 192.168.2.31:5841
GUI Client:
Host Name: 192.168.2.31
Root: \\Aurora\Project_File
Node (Aurora):
metashape --node --dispatch 192.168.2.31:5841 --capability {gpu}
Node (Mac):
/Applications/MetashapePro.app/Contents/MacOS/MetashapePro --node --capability{gpu} --dispatch 192.168.2.31:5841 --root <? ? ?>
I used to state the root on the Aurora Node but it didn't make a difference for connectivity of either nodes, so I excluded it to rule out any potential interference with the Mac Node.
Communication between Client, Server and Aurora Node works just fine. The Mac is accepted into the network but as soon as a task is assigned to it I get the following error:
Can't open file: no such file or directory (2): /[whatever I put in as root on the Mac Node]/E:Project_File/Landscape Final.psx
When I state [whatever I put in as root on the Mac Node] then that's exactly what I mean. I tried any kind of path smb prefix, the path from terminal, the path from Windows, the path Metashape assigns. The same error occurs every single time.
At this point I really need someone to tell me the exact string I have to put into the --root variable for every single instance of Metashape on both machines.
Server (Aurora): --root
GUI Client: Root (Aurora):
Node (Aurora): --root
Node (Mac): --root