Setting Up LucidLink with AWS Deadline Cloud Service-Managed Fleets
By Braincuber Team
Published on February 11, 2026
Modern VFX and animation studios need a file system that moves as fast as their creativity. LucidLink has become the gold standard for streaming media assets instantly to remote workstations. But how do you connect this high-performance file service to AWS Deadline Cloud Service-Managed Fleets for scalable rendering?
In this guide, we'll walk through setting up a "Cloud Studio" environment for NebulaStudios. You'll learn how to securely store credentials, install the LucidLink client via fleet scripts, and mount your assets dynamically whenever a render job hits the queue.
The Two-Phase Strategy
- Phase 1 (Fleet Startup): Install the LucidLink software and start the background daemon. This happens once when the EC2 instance boots.
- Phase 2 (Job Execution): Mount the specific Filespace for the job. This happens every time a render task starts, ensuring isolation and flexibility.
Step 1: Secure Credentials
Never hardcode passwords in scripts! We'll use AWS Secrets Manager to store the LucidLink service account details.
{
"username": "nebula-service-user",
"password": "super-secure-password-123"
}Save this secret as nebula/lucidlink-creds.
Step 2: Fleet Initialization Script
When configuring your Service-Managed Fleet in Deadline Cloud, enable the Worker Configuration Script. This script installs the LucidLink client on the Linux render node.
#!/bin/bash
set -ex
# 1. Install Dependencies
yum install tree -y
# 2. Download & Install LucidLink
echo "Installing LucidLink client..."
wget -q https://www.lucidlink.com/download/new-ll-latest/linux-rpm/stable/ -O lucidinstaller.rpm
yum install -y lucidinstaller.rpm
# 3. Configure Systemd Service
echo "Creating systemd service..."
cat << EOF > /etc/systemd/system/lucidlink.service
[Unit]
Description=LucidLink Daemon
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target
[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/lucid3 daemon
ExecStop=/usr/local/bin/lucid3 exit
Restart=on-failure
User=root
Group=root
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF
# 4. Start Service
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable lucidlink
systemctl start lucidlink
# 5. Prep Mount Directory
mkdir -p /mnt/lucid
chmod a+rwx /mnt/lucidStep 3: The Job Environment
Finally, we create a Queue Environment using the Open Job Description (OpenJD) standard. This YAML file tells Deadline Cloud how to mount the drive when a job starts, and unmount it when it finishes.
specificationVersion: 'environment-2023-09'
parameterDefinitions:
- name: LucidSecretName
type: STRING
default: nebula/lucidlink-creds
- name: LucidFilespace
type: STRING
default: nebula.projects
environment:
name: LucidLinkMount
script:
actions:
onEnter:
command: "{{Env.File.MountScript}}"
onExit:
command: "{{Env.File.UnmountScript}}"
embeddedFiles:
- name: MountScript
type: TEXT
runnable: true
data: |
#!/bin/bash
set -euo pipefail
MOUNTPOINT="/mnt/lucid/{{Param.LucidFilespace}}"
mkdir -p "${MOUNTPOINT}"
# Retrieve Secret
SECRET=$(aws secretsmanager get-secret-value \
--secret-id "{{Param.LucidSecretName}}" \
--query 'SecretString' --output text)
USER=$(echo "$SECRET" | jq -r '.username')
PASS=$(echo "$SECRET" | jq -r '.password')
# Mount
echo "$PASS" | lucid3 link \
--fs "{{Param.LucidFilespace}}" \
--user "$USER" \
--mount-point "${MOUNTPOINT}" \
--fuse-allow-other
- name: UnmountScript
type: TEXT
runnable: true
data: |
lucid3 unlink --fs "{{Param.LucidFilespace}}" || trueConclusion
By integrating LucidLink with AWS Deadline Cloud via Service-Managed Fleets, NebulaStudios now has a rendering pipeline that is both elastic and data-aware. Render nodes spin up in seconds, instantly see the asset library, render the frames, and spin down—all without complex data sync operations.
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