headless GPU crunching box?

[VirtualLarry]

Is it possible to set up a headless GPU crunching box, using either XP or WHS?
I would want it to auto-start crunching, without having to log on with my password, and allow me remote access.

The only problem is, RDP requires me to supply a password for the account, and that prevents windows from auto-logon that account.

How to fix this, and can you RDP without interfering from the GPU crunching?

 

[masteryoda34]

You made two threads within 4 minutes?

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...id=34&threadid=2256454

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well, I created a password, and RDPed in, and RivaTuner kept running, although the GPU temp for GPU1 and GPU2 went down to zero. GPU0 is still reading temps. So something is interfering with the drivers. I'm checking FahMon to see if the GPU crunchers hung.

Hmm, GPU1 showed up with a yellow square, and seems to have downloaded a new work unit, even though it was showing 76% complete before. Strange. Hmm, not good.

[05:19:04] Completed 76%
[05:20:45] Run: exception thrown during GuardedRun
[05:20:45] Run: exception thrown in GuardedRun -- Gromacs cannot continue further.
[05:20:45] Going to send back what have done -- stepsTotalG=10000000
[05:20:45] Work fraction=0.7697 steps=10000000.
[05:20:49] logfile size=23410 infoLength=23410 edr=0 trr=23
[05:20:49] - Writing 23946 bytes of core data to disk...
[05:20:49] Done: 23434 -> 5339 (compressed to 22.7 percent)
[05:20:49] ... Done.

[05:20:49] Folding@home Core Shutdown: UNSTABLE_MACHINE
[05:20:54] CoreStatus = 7A (122)
[05:20:54] Sending work to server
[05:20:54] Project: 5757 (Run 8, Clone 28, Gen 26)
[05:20:54] - Read packet limit of 540015616... Set to 524286976.



So I guess my next question is, why does RDP screw up access to the underlying hardware video drivers. Stupid Microsoft. 🙁

 

[masteryoda34]

I would try UltraVNC.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well, I installed Ultra VNC 1.0.5, and it doesn't work. When I run the Viewer and try to connect to my folding box ("folding01"), it complains that the server doesn't have a password set. But I set a password in the server options when I configured it.

Hmm, I went to reboot the machine, and I got a dialog claiming that the WinVNC password has not been set.

Oh well, it appears that VNC is just br0k3.

Hmm, apparently, it's not ok to just hit OK at the server properties page, you need to manually click "apply", and then on the dialog that comes up afterwards, you need to uncheck the "protect XXX" option.
Now I got it working, but there is like a 10s lag to everything I do. That shouldn't be, I'm on a gigabit LAN. Even if it were streaming the entire screen, I shouldn't have that LAG.

I manually chose not to install the "mirror" driver, as I heard it interferes with teh video driver, ala RDP.

Riddle me this. FRAPS can compress and save a movie of your screen, without causing major lag, and I'm on a LAN with greater bandwidth than a local HD can provide, and yet UltraVNC can't do the same? I should be getting 30FPS, not one frame every ten seconds. It's using 57% of my CPU time, on an AMD dual-core 2.3Ghz CPU.

Playing with the options, I got the lag down to about 1-2 seconds, and the CPU usage down to about 30%. Almost acceptable speeds.

 

[Foxery]

There is also a known issue with most forms of remote desktop apps for Windows where they corrupt the display and cause Folding@Home to error out. There's a warning somewhere in the FAQs that basically amounts to, "never do this." :-/

 

[dajeepster]

Originally posted by: Foxery
There is also a known issue with most forms of remote desktop apps for Windows where they corrupt the display and cause Folding@Home to error out. There's a warning somewhere in the FAQs that basically amounts to, "never do this." :-/

And i've verified this... can't remote log in with any of my CUDA/nvidia based computers because it corrupts my packets... doesn't matter the platform logging in from either

 

[plonk420]

if you're using XP, try an older version of RealVNC?

edit: ah, it appears UltraVNC is "[FOSS]" and "similar to" RealVNC. if Ultra gives you issues, then it's hard to say if Real will work. YMMV. RealVNC has worked for me since forever, so i see no reason to change.

if RDP didn't change the number of monitors active, i'd stick with that, but it doesn't. at least *i* haven't found a way to change it...