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Help me crunch in Iraq!

I

imported_Yooshaw

Junior Member
Hello fellow crunchers! - so I'm heading to Baghdad in December. I plan on taking my two computers over, and want to keep crunching over there. The problem is internet connectivity. They have wi-fi I could purchase, but at about $100 per month for dial-up speeds - eh, I'll pass.

Here's how I'll have internet access. My unit will have a bank of T1 lines that I can come up and plug my laptop in for free. Great! My laptop will be able to connect to the servers and receive and dump WUs. However, this is not feasable for my desktop rig. Anyone have any ideas on how I can keep my desktop crunching? Is there a way to "transfer" WUs to/from the laptop? Any ideas?
 
Depends on what project you are working on. But dpad is something that is great for offline systems. You can set it up to crunch away and just transfer results to your laptop for uploading. The great thing about dpad is is does not need to download work units. It creates its own so to speak as it is self optimizing.
 
Just quickly off my head - it has worked for me for BOINC-projects:

The setup:
1. On your laptop: install BOINC in e.g. the boinc-lap-directory. Use that directory for crunching with the laptop.
2. On your laptop: install BOINC in e.g. the boinc-desk-directory. This will be your down-load, upload and transfer directory for your desktop.
3. On your desktop rig install BOINC in e.g. the boinc-directory. Use that directory for crunching with the desktop.

4. When setting up BOINC on the lap-top in the BOINC-desk directory set the settings to download WUs for e.g. 4 days.
5. When setting up BOINC on the desktop do not allow network access. This will stop the desktop to try to access a non existing network.

To get WUs:
1. Shut down the boinc manager running on the laptop in the lap-directory.
2. Check - using the task manager - that all boinc-related processes are shut down.
3. Start boinc-manager on the laptop - but from the boinc-desk directory. This will download the WUs and start crunching.
4. Stop the boinc manager, make sure that all boinc-related processes are shut down.

Transfer of WUs to the desktop:
1. Copy the all the contents (including subdirectories) of the boinc-desk directory on the laptop to a memory stick (1 GByte should be more than enough).
2. Make sure that no boinc-related process are running on the desktop.
3. Copy the contents of the memory stick to the boinc-directory of the desktop. Make sure that all the files on the desktop are replaced by the files on the memory stick.
4. Start boinc-manager of the desktop and it will start crunching.

When you want to upload the finished WUs to the servers:
1. Stop boinc-manager on the desktop. Make sure that all boinc-related processes on the desktop are shut down.
2. Copy the all the contents (including subdirectories) from the desktop's boinc-directory to the memory stick. Do not start the boinc-manager at this time point.
3. Shut down boinc-manager on the laptop. Make sure that all boinc-related process are shut down on the laptop.
4. Copy the contents of the memory stick to to the laptop's boinc-desk directory.
5. Start the boinc-manager from the laptop's boinc-desk directory and upload the finished WUs.
6. With great probability the boinc-manager will also download new WUs. If not, wait a few minutes and try again to get new WUs.

Then proceed to move the content of the laptop's boinc-desk directory to the desktop:
1. Shut down the boinc manager running on the laptop in the boinc-desk-directory.
2. Check - using the task manager - that all boinc-related processes are shut down.
3. Copy the all the contents of the boinc-desk directory on the laptop to a memory stick.
4. Make sure that no BOINC-related process are running on the desktop.
5. Copy the contents of the memory stick to the boinc-directory of the desktop. Make sure that all the files on the desktop are replaced by the files on the memory stick.
6. Start boinc-manager of the desktop and it will start crunching.

I hope that this helps you.
If any member of the TeAm Anandtech finds any problem with the above procedure, please do not hesitate to post a correction here ... I may have forgotten something ... I think this could be made easier, but will it be as safe?
In my experience it is sometimes not sufficient to copy the project directories ... which is the reason why I propose to copy the whole contents (including subdirectories) from one computer to the other.
 
😎

BTW I'm running 100% SETI

Thanks! I'll have to save these instructions for when I get there! I'll run them 24/7 (no electricity bill :thumbsup🙂. Every 3-4 days I'll go through an upload/download procedure.

Happy crunching!
 
I can't even imagine the DPAD dump you'd have after your time in Iraq. If you were over there for a good number of months you'd dump this huge multi million point beast of credit.

It would be awesome.
 
Nice directions Peter :thumbsup:

Another nice thing about DPAD is that there is no deadline when results need to be back.
You could run DPAD while you transfer the BOINC client!

Anyway I would set up a DPAD client up in case you get tired of moving the BOINC client.

And thanks for serving Yooshaw :USflag;
 
Originally posted by: TallBill
I just want to know what your job/rank is where you can bring a desktop. Sounds like you are heading to VBC.
Click to expand...

Is an answer to that question really compatible with security?
Not in the Swedish armed forces ... 😉
 
Originally posted by: petrusbroder
Originally posted by: TallBill
I just want to know what your job/rank is where you can bring a desktop. Sounds like you are heading to VBC.
Click to expand...

Is an answer to that question really compatible with security?
Not in the Swedish armed forces ... 😉
Click to expand...

Not entirely, but its his call. I'm just curious.
 
Originally posted by: TallBill
I just want to know what your job/rank is where you can bring a desktop. Sounds like you are heading to VBC.
Click to expand...


I'm a Major, and I'm essentially a hospital administrator. I'll be at the hospital in the IZ. I'll have to look into DPAD, I've always been SETI focused. I may grow tired of the upload/download routine.

Thanks guys!
 
Originally posted by: Yooshaw
Originally posted by: TallBill
I just want to know what your job/rank is where you can bring a desktop. Sounds like you are heading to VBC.
Click to expand...


I'm a Major, and I'm essentially a hospital administrator. I'll be at the hospital in the IZ. I'll have to look into DPAD, I've always been SETI focused. I may grow tired of the upload/download routine.

Thanks guys!
Click to expand...

Sweet, that is a busy hospital. I've never actually gone inside, but I dropped off and picked up our medics that temporarily worked there. They had some crazy stories to tell. Good food and amenities around the IZ though.
 
Originally posted by: TallBill
Originally posted by: Yooshaw
Originally posted by: TallBill
I just want to know what your job/rank is where you can bring a desktop. Sounds like you are heading to VBC.
Click to expand...


I'm a Major, and I'm essentially a hospital administrator. I'll be at the hospital in the IZ. I'll have to look into DPAD, I've always been SETI focused. I may grow tired of the upload/download routine.

Thanks guys!
Click to expand...

Sweet, that is a busy hospital. I've never actually gone inside, but I dropped off and picked up our medics that temporarily worked there. They had some crazy stories to tell. Good food and amenities around the IZ though.
Click to expand...

Yeah - this is my second trip - previous was at VBC. I actually just got back from a site recon last week, saw my quarters, etc, which spawned this thread as I thought about how to keep crunching. I think my previous deployment was plusher, but in the IZ I'll have my own quarters where my desktop can sit and crunch.

You still in the Army?
 
My enlistment ended last year. I'm going to college right now and in about a year will be joining the ROTC program at Northern Illinois University. I cant wait to get back active duty.
 
Originally posted by: TallBill
My enlistment ended last year. I'm going to college right now and in about a year will be joining the ROTC program at Northern Illinois University. I cant wait to get back active duty.
Click to expand...


Good luck! Maybe I'll see you down the road then.
Cheers! :beer:
 
Agreed on DPAD being easier for offline rigs.

Though I will say that even though you don't download WUs as such their are optimisations that are d/led especially when you 1st setup a client, this can just be cloned to other machines. They do tend to hang around for many months, so it's not a regular d/l IIRC.
 
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