• What is BOINC
• How does the BOINC system work?
• Should I install BOINC if I want to run a DC project?
• I've chosen a BOINC project, so how do I install BOINC and that project?
• Will BOINC running in the background interfere with other programs I run?
• Can I run a BOINC project alongside another DC Project?

(back)Boinc stands for Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing. Simply put, BOINC is an open source software platform to allow distributed computing projects which use volunteered computer resources to run.

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by Xaak
last modified: 2006-05-05 08:58:33

(back)BOINC is a client server system that takes care of the most of background tasks involved in a Distributed Computing project.

The project owners first create a boinc compatible science application to process their project's work units. Then then load the science application and work units onto their BOINC server for distribution to the project participants.

The project participants install the BOINC client on their computers, and then attach to the project they're interested in running. Once this happens, the BOINC client program then downloads the science application and work units from the BOINC servers. The BOINC client then starts the science application to process the work units. When done, the BOINC client uploads the completed work unit to the BOINC server, which then verifies the work done and grants credit to the participant.

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by Xaak
last modified: 2006-05-05 08:56:37

(back)The answer to this question depends on which project you wish to run.

Choosing a distributed computing project is a personal decision. BOINC is not a DC project, and not all distributed computing projects run on BOINC. You should research the various distributed computing projects and the various DC forums here at BBR to find a project you are comfortable with. The DC project you choose will dictate whether or not you should install BOINC.

Some DC projects only run on BOINC, others only run on clients dedicated to that project and yet others give you the choice to run either a dedicated client or BOINC.

Resources:

Distributed Computing Clubs at Broadbandreports.com

Active DC Projects by Distributed Computing Info

How-To: Join Distributed Computing projects that benefit humanity

List Of Distributed Computing from Wikipedia

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by Xaak
last modified: 2006-05-05 08:56:55

(back)The best way to find instructions on how to install and run a BOINC project is by going to the project's website and follow the instructions on how to join that project. Some projects allow you to sign up from the BOINC Manager application, but with others you must sign up on their website first before you can attach that project. In all cases, you will need the project URL, which is the web address of that project's BOINC server in order to connect to the project.

The BOINC website lists all of the current production BOINC project with links to their website.

Resources:

BOINC Homepage at Berkeley

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by Xaak
last modified: 2006-05-05 08:57:37

(back)With very rare exception, BOINC will not interfere with any other programs running on your PC. BOINC projects play nice with other programs that you run. BOINC runs the science applications at the lowest priority, so that the science application only runs when the CPU is otherwise idle. When another program asks for CPU time, the BOINC projects simply move out of the way and allow the other programs to take whatever resources they requests.

You can also configure BOINC so that it only runs if the system is idle for a user defined period of time. For example, you can tell BOINC to run your project only if the computer is idle for 3 minutes.

Additionally, you can also configure BOINC to run projects only during a range of hours. For example, you can configure BOINC to run project only between the hours of 5PM and 8AM.

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by Xaak
last modified: 2006-05-05 11:48:12

(back)BOINC allows you to run multiple BOINC projects easily. You can set a percentage in each project so that BOINC will run multiple projects in a ratio that you determine.

One example would be that you want to run one project 60% of the time, and the second at 40%, and BOINC will automatically download work and manage the work unit deadlines so that the projects will get approximately the amount of time you specify.

You may also wish to set up a second project as a "backup project". A backup project means that if your primary project runs out of work and for some reason can't download more work, BOINC will automatically download work units from your backup project, then switch back to your primary project once more work becomes available. This is usually accomplished by setting a large percentage for your primary project (99.999%, for example), and a complimentary percentage for your backup project (in this case, 0.001%).

When initially setting up a backup project, BOINC may download what seems to be a large amount of work before you get the chance to set up your percentages. If this occurs, just set your project percentage on the project's website under your account, and once the initial downloaded work is completed, BOINC will then start to work in the percentages you have set up.

If you are running a non-BOINC project, ordinarily you would not be able to run a BOINC project along with that project. The two projects will compete for CPU cycles and the results are unpredictable as to how much idle time each project would get, and they would be constantly competing for idle time.

There is one situation where you may be able to run BOINC along with a non-BOINC project. If you have either a multiple processor PC, a Hyperthreading enabled PC, or a Dual Core processor PC, and the other DC project does not support multiple CPUs, you can run that DC project, then set BOINC to use only 1 CPU, and both projects should take 100% of one processor. If your computer shows more than 2 processors, you can adjust the BOINC properties accordingly so it leaves one CPU free for the other project.

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by Xaak
last modified: 2006-05-05 12:10:27