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Distributed Computing. A few questions before i get into it.

B

BoomAM

Diamond Member
Hi,
I was thinking of trying out Distributed Computing, cos when im at college my pc does sod all all day, But i have a few questions about it.

1) Does anything run in the background whilst not in idle mode? Or is it just a screensaver?
2) If something does run in the background, how much memory/cpu time does it take up?
3) Apart from the program itself, is anything else installed, such as adware?
4) Whist not running will the program affect my general use of the PC (Games, internet, DLing large files, listening to music, ect😉
5) Can i listen to MP3 music at the same time as running it?
6)Which project do you think that i should run?

Thanks for any help given.
 
I was thinking of running Seti@Home.
What addins should i DL with it, should i choose to do this?
I`d like something that shows detailed information on the screen while running.
 
I believe the screensaver DC projects run slower than their GUI versions.






SOB and Chess Brain can run together while doing other stuff and you never notice them.
I dont know about SETI or the other projects.
Other people will post I'm sure and give you a ton of info.
Whatever you run, welcome aboard.🙂



🙂
 
Originally posted by: BoomAM
Hi,
I was thinking of trying out Distributed Computing, cos when im at college my pc does sod all all day, But i have a few questions about it.
Click to expand...
Glad to hear you're interested in getting started! I'll try to answer your questions, as best as I can, one by one:
1) Does anything run in the background whilst not in idle mode? Or is it just a screensaver?
Click to expand...
There are screensaver versions of some DC programs, but they are terribly inefficient. The console or system tray versions of the client for whatever project you choose would be highly recommended.
2) If something does run in the background, how much memory/cpu time does it take up?
Click to expand...
Console or system tray clients (also known as CLI or GUI) that run all of the time are designed to run at the lowest priority, and will yield CPU time to anything and everything else that needs it. Some memory is always consumed, but if the client is not doing anything (say, you're recalculating a spreadsheet or playing a game) and the system needs more memory, it will just get swapped out or moved aside until it can run again.
3) Apart from the program itself, is anything else installed, such as adware?
Click to expand...
No. Not on the well known and well respected distributed computing programs, anyway. Stick with something like SETI, Folding@Home, RC5, Distributed Folding, FindADrug, United Devices (cancer research), or DPAD (and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few), and you'll be fine. Just a note: Team AnandTech (I think I speak for most of us when I say this) does not condone the running of the Neo or Xbox cracking project due to legal issues. Other than that, there are few (if any) projects that are not good to run.
4) Whist not running will the program affect my general use of the PC (Games, internet, DLing large files, listening to music, ect😉
Click to expand...
No, even when a console or system tray client is running in the background, the rest of the programs on your PC will not be affected. With Windows 9x, you may need to shut the client down while gaming, however.
5) Can i listen to MP3 music at the same time as running it?
Click to expand...
Absolutely! See above.
6)Which project do you think that i should run?
Click to expand...
I like Folding@Home, but you should just check out the various projects' websites, and see which one appeals to you the most. You can find anything from astronomical, to medical, to particle, to mathematical research. Pick whichever you like, and you're certain to find several projects working in that area. 🙂
Thanks for any help given.
Click to expand...
No problem! Hope this helps. If not, I'm sure somebody will come along and post a better, more detailed, etc. list than I have posted (if they haven't posted it already while I was typing this). 😱

Edit: Of course, if we're in to linking instructional guides (as I see done below), here's a Folding@Home link thread if you're interested. 😉
 
Ok First off Welcome to the world of Distributed Computing!!! The group of people here are very friendly, helpfull, and have an unending base of knowledge!!!! OK know to your concerns about running DC software. First off none of the software that I know of uses or installs ADWARE! NONE!!!

Ok now that I said that, here is a link to an article descibing the perfomance impact on running one of the clients: Folding at Home. Most of the programs will perform similarly. A few, Seventeen or Bust and ChessBrain, can run with even less impact. Almost all of the programs run quicker when you run the command line client vice the screensaver version. But once again the people of the DC world wrote other less demanding GUI's to make the software interactive and even cool looking!

Since you showed interest to SETI, here is a link to a link page made by our own sukhoi that gives access to install guides, service installs, and add-ons for SETI.

I hope this helps. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask!
 
The computers I have are mainly for gaming.... OK homework.... if we HAVE to.

I think the only thing that might encourage you to turn off a DC client during gaming would be if you have 256MB or less of RAM. Even then, I don't think you would find it necessary.

each of my computers is presently running 3 DC clients (ChessBrain, Folding@Home and Distributed Folding). It's a long story why I crunch this way... but I do.

I never turn off the DC clients. they just step right out of the way when we rip or play.

-Sid

Welcome to DC. I enjoy it and hope you do to. If you haven't seen it yet, you will...... TeamAnandtech DC folks are THE BEST.... helpful, incredibly knowledgable and just plain pleasant to be around (unless we're gumpy 😀 )
 
Originally posted by: ReaganCRW
Ok First off Welcome to the world of Distributed Computing!!! The group of people here are very friendly, helpfull, and have an unending base of knowledge!!!! OK know to your concerns about running DC software. First off none of the software that I know of uses or installs ADWARE! NONE!!!

Ok now that I said that, here is a link to an article descibing the perfomance impact on running one of the clients: Folding at Home. Most of the programs will perform similarly. A few, Seventeen or Bust and ChessBrain, can run with even less impact. Almost all of the programs run quicker when you run the command line client vice the screensaver version. But once again the people of the DC world wrote other less demanding GUI's to make the software interactive and even cool looking!

Since you showed interest to SETI, here is a link to a link page made by our own sukhoi that gives access to install guides, service installs, and add-ons for SETI.

I hope this helps. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask!
Click to expand...

Yeah...I suppose I should update my webpage this summer. 🙂

I dunno if anyone has mentioned it yet, but SETI takes 16 MB of RAM.
 
1) Does anything run in the background whilst not in idle mode? Or is it just a screensaver?

Most projects run all the time, in the background, using either a command line client, or a system tray client. There are versions that run when only your screensaver is running, but as has been said, they are normally a lot less efficient.

2) If something does run in the background, how much memory/cpu time does it take up?

Each project will use a different amount of memory. Most, however, seem to use about 16mb of memory. As for CPU time, it will use whatever is not used by any other program that is running.

3) Apart from the program itself, is anything else installed, such as adware?

Any projects that install Adware or similar, would definately not be recommended here. All of the main ones that we run here (Seti@home, Seventeen or Bust, Folding@home, Distributed Folding, DPAD to mention just a few) do not install any adware or spyware, and I'm sure that if they decided to, there would be a huge boycott of that project until it's removed!

4) Whist not running will the program affect my general use of the PC (Games, internet, DLing large files, listening to music, ect😉

I have run DC projects for 2 and a half years, and I have noticed no difference between when a DC program is running and not running, in games, music, DVD ripping, anything! The only way I can tell if a project isn't running is if my CPU temperature drops down! There is no "hang on, my computer seems quicker", because the programs make no impact to any other things running!

5) Can i listen to MP3 music at the same time as running it?

Yeah, sure. You can do absolutely anything you normally do, and it won't interrupt at all!

6)Which project do you think that i should run?

Each person will give you a different answer here, depending on which project they run. My suggestion is to have a look in the stickied thread at the top of this forum, and take a look at the descriptions of the projects, and pick one that interests you. Seti@home is looking at radio signals coming from outer-space to look for any signs of non-natural signals, and has helped find many pulsars, black holes and some other spacey things. Seventeen or Bust is trying to prove the Sierpinski Prime problem, using quite a nice little client. This is the project I run, and there is a nice Service install, so you wouldn't even know it's running!

Thanks for any help given.[/quote]

No worries 🙂 And welcome to whatever project you choose 🙂


Confused
 
Right then, i`ve downloaded Seti@Home, same username as im using here, and there is now a little "dish" icon in my system tray.
When a screensaver starts, rarther than a screensaver coming up, Seti@home comes up, and begins/resumes the data analysis.
Does this sound about right?
Are any of the addons/plugins worth getting?
 
I run Seti@Home while listening to mp3's, burning DVD's, and playing games. So far I haven't noticed any problems with it and I'm over 4 years now. 🙂

Oh, and Welcome to the TeAm! 😀 Hope you stick around and have fun. 😀
 
Sounds like you've downloaded the Seti@home GUI (screensaver) version...which is highly inefficient!

The behaviour you're describing is right for the GUI client. We recommend to use SetiDriver and the CLI client, check the Team Anandtech SETI link for how to set up the CLI and SetiDriver, and how to join Team Anandtech 🙂 The CLI is MUCH more efficient. It won't have the pretty graphics, but the graphics can slow down the processing, the important science bit, by anywhere from 25-75%!! We'd much rather have your CPU time being spent doing the actual science, rather than drawing the graphics!

SetiDriver will also allow you to store a stock of Work Units, in case your internet connection goes down, or the Seti servers are inaccessible (has happened a few times!), which will mean you won't go dry 🙂

Any more questions, just ask 🙂


Garry
 
Heres what i`ve done.
Ive DLed and installed SetiDriver like the AT Guide says, and joined TeamAT.
Ive set cached processes to 30 bty, cos it says 20 for a 1ghz, 40 for a 2ghz, so as my rig is 1.5ghz, i set it to 30. Is that OK?

Now, what exactely is the CLI Client?
Cos the fancy graph thing that gets displayed, makes a great replacement screensaver.
 
Here are my settings in the SetiDriver bty.
Max Processes = 1
Cache Size = 30
Hide Processing = off (whats this setting mean?)
Auto Transmit = on (whats this setting as well)
Display Transmit = on (and this!)
Client Priority = low
Use SetiDriver = on
Create SetiLog.csv = on
 
Originally posted by: BoomAM
Heres what i`ve done.
Ive DLed and installed SetiDriver like the AT Guide says, and joined TeamAT.
Ive set cached processes to 30 bty, cos it says 20 for a 1ghz, 40 for a 2ghz, so as my rig is 1.5ghz, i set it to 30. Is that OK?

Now, what exactely is the CLI Client?
Cos the fancy graph thing that gets displayed, makes a great replacement screensaver.
Click to expand...

The CLI client does exactly the same science, but it doesn't show the graphics. This makes it a lot more efficient. While the screensaver is nice, unfortunately, it does cut down on the useful processing time. You won't be able to use SetiDriver with the GUI, to use SetiDriver, you'll need the CLI. Be sure to uninstall the GUI if you want to use SD and the CLI.

Here are my settings in the SetiDriver bty.
Max Processes = 1
Cache Size = 30
Hide Processing = off (whats this setting mean?)
Auto Transmit = on (whats this setting as well)
Display Transmit = on (and this!)
Client Priority = low
Use SetiDriver = on
Create SetiLog.csv = on
Click to expand...

Hide processing - Check this option, and it will hide the CLI client, meaning it won't show on the taskbar. Leave it unchecked, and you'll see the DOS window on your taskbar.
Auto Transmit - when it's finished a Work Unit (WU), then it will automatically connect to the Seti servers, upload the result, and download a new WU into the cache. If you don't check this box, you will have to tell SD to transmit when you've finished some WUs. Leave it on Auto Transmit if you have an always on connection, else click on the transmit button when you go online 🙂
Display Tranmit - do you want it to show the DOS window when you send a WU? Normally leave this unchecked, only check it if you need to look at the error message if it won't transmit

All the other options look alright 🙂


Garry
 
Is there a way to buffer work units without the CLI?
Is it possible to have both the CLI and GUI on one machine? I was thinking of having the GUI running on my area, and the CLI on a seperate area, that i`d log onto when i go out.

On the SetiDriver sys tray icon, it says that there are "30 to fill" does this mean that 30Work Units need to be DLed, if so, how do i do that?
It also says "current 0.00%" But the main seti windows says 5.929% done. Why?
The TeamAT Seti member list, by my name, it says nothing. Will this change once a Work Unit has been completed?

Thanks again everyone for the help.
 
Originally posted by: BoomAM
On the SetiDriver sys tray icon, it says that there are "30 to fill" does this mean that 30Work Units need to be DLed, if so, how do i do that?
It also says "current 0.00%" But the main seti windows says 5.929% done. Why?
The TeamAT Seti member list, by my name, it says nothing. Will this change once a Work Unit has been completed?

Thanks again everyone for the help.
Click to expand...

SetiDriver does not work along with the screensaver version of the client 🙂 Just to get that out of the way 🙂

To use SetiDriver, you will need to make sure that the CLI version is in the same directory that you put SetiDriver into, and you will need to uninstall the screensaver version 🙂

Once you have done that, if you have Auto Transmit selected, then once you open SetiDriver, then it will go away and start to download the Work Units, until it's filled up the 30 WU cache. If you haven't selected Auto Transmit, then you will need to click on the Transmit button. This will then go and download the WUs.

Once you have downloaded the first WU with SetiDriver, then it should start processing that work unit, and the percentage shown in SetiDriver will be the completed total 🙂 If you select "Use SetiSpy", then it will automatically update that progress meter, otherwise you will have to click on Update Now to get the latest 🙂


Garry
 
You`ve been a big help Confused, but two last things.
Where can i get the CLI from/how do i access&use it.
Can i make it so one login on my computer uses the GUI, and another uses the CLI ?

Thanks
 
Download the CLI here

Just put it in the same directory as SetiDriver, and follow instructions on this page or in my posts above 🙂

I haven't tried to get different users to use different versions, but I'd guess it probably won't work.

No worries, I'm glad I can help out 🙂


Garry
 
I`ve managed to get the CLI running, and its DLing the Work Units. When its processing stuff, is the dos window invisable? Or it it always on the taskbar.
Does it function like the GUI, ie, stops what its doing when another program is run?
 
If you check the "Hide processing" box, then it won't show on the taskbar. Yeah, it gives up CPU time to any other program that wants it 🙂


Garry
 
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