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PrimeGrid's Dog Days of Summer Challenge August 20-22

Ken g6

Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
Moderator
Welcome to the PrimeGrid Dog Days of Summer Challenge. 🙂 This is another sieve challenge. It's a lot like the Summer Solstice Challenge, but the challenge is shorter (just two days starting August 20) and the weather's hotter. Despite its initials, this project should be easier on their servers than last month's. ^_^

What you need to participate:
  • One or more fast x86 processors. (Even slow ones will do!)
  • Windows, Linux, or MacOS 10.4+.
  • BOINC, attached to PrimeGrid (http://www.primegrid.com/).
  • Your PrimeGrid Preferences with only "321 Prime Search (Sieve)" selected in the Projects section. (It's the one marked as this month's Challenge project.)

What would help, but isn't absolutely necessary:
  • A 64-bit OS on a 64-bit processor will run 70% faster than a 32-bit OS.
  • Downloading a WU or two early. This project has a somewhat large (6.7MB) one-time sieve file to download.
  • Overclocking a little. This project produces less heat than the LLR challenge from last month, and it's more tolerant of errors too.

What won't help (but won't hurt either):
  • A large amount of RAM.
  • Any video cards.

If you're running a 32-bit OS on a 64-bit processor, there are three ways you can run a 64-bit OS for this challenge.
  1. Install a 64-bit OS as your primary OS.
  2. Install a 64-bit OS as a secondary OS. Wubi is the easiest way to install 64-bit Ubuntu Linux alongside 32-bit Windows.
  3. Install a 64-bit OS on a virtual machine in VMWare. This may not work, depending on your processor, and even if it does work it may be slower than the other two methods. However, it's less intrusive than the other two methods.

This challenge starts on August 20, at 18:00 UTC and runs for just two days. Only WUs downloaded after the start of the challenge and completed before the end of the challenge will be counted. Should you not be able to be in front of one or more computers at the start time, either set their queue level to zero (0) days or try one of the scheduled start method from the strategy thread (for Linux or Windows). Network connection time options may also be useful - though they depend on your computer's clock being correct, so set the start time a few minutes late.

Welcome and good luck to all! :thumbsup:
 
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I'll participate but I don't know how to get it to run at the start and to preload the WUs any info on that?
 
Welcome, zokudu!

Sorry, I forgot to mention in the OP: You can't preload WUs for the race. If you do, they won't be counted. I added that just now, and added links to the specific posts where I show how to get it to run at the start.
 
Alright well I setup the Linux script on my laptop with no problems. Maybe I'm stupid but what do I do with the Windows scripts?
 
zokudu said:
Maybe I'm stupid but what do I do with the Windows scripts?
Click to expand...

Hm, I was just trying to figure that out myself. (What to do with the Windows scripts, not the other thing!) It looks like they're only for flushing results at the end, not for starting at a specific time.

It looks like the network connection time thing may be your best bet on Windows. In the Advanced -> Preferences dialog, on the Network Usage tab, you can set Network Usage allowed only between "14:02-23:59" on Friday. Then you can undo that sometime later (if you want to continue running PrimeGrid.)

If you have multiple machines, you can set a preference like this in your PrimeGrid Computing Preferences instead, but you can't specify just one day of the week, so you'd have to get back to turn it off the same day.
 
Well I mean I want to crunch SIMAP up until the Primegrid challenge begins. Is there a way to get Primegrid to take precedence during that time and return to SIMAP at the end of the specified timeframe?
 
For Linux, that's easy. Just uncomment the last three lines of my script (remove the #'s at the start of each line), and add this line after them:

Code: 
boinccmd --project http://www.primegrid.com/ suspend

For Windows, it's harder to make a script this general. How about some lines, to be entered at a command line, specifically for you?

Code: 
at 14:01 /next:Friday c:\progra~1\boinc\boinccmd.exe --project http://boinc.bio.wzw.tum.de/boincsimap/ suspend
at 14:02 /next:Friday c:\progra~1\boinc\boinccmd.exe --project http://www.primegrid.com/ allowmorework
at 14:03 /next:Friday c:\progra~1\boinc\boinccmd.exe --project http://www.primegrid.com/ resume
echo That should do it!

Copy all those lines together, and paste them into a command prompt window. Hopefully, that should kick things off. But I haven't tested it, and I really can't. That's the downside to one-shot code.

Technically, I can't give you code to finish the race and return to SIMAP until this Sunday, because I'm not that familiar with the at command in Windows.
 
I'm debating just installing Debian in a VM to use the easier script 😛 meh If I miss a few hours I wont cry about it anyway
 
I'm in this time! Just changed my settings and they should take effect in a while. Then, when the race starts, I'll be ready.

-chronodekar
 
I hope you get in this time. Are you prepared to run your computer continuously for the 48 hours of the race? Edit: Or at least some significant portion of it?
 
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I want to say yes, but I can't make promises. Still, I know I'll be able to keep it on during the 9-odd hours I sit in front of it.

-chronodekar
 
Ken g6 said:
For Linux, that's easy. Just uncomment the last three lines of my script (remove the #'s at the start of each line), and add this line after them:

Code: 
boinccmd --project http://www.primegrid.com/ suspend

For Windows, it's harder to make a script this general. How about some lines, to be entered at a command line, specifically for you?

Code: 
at 14:01 /next:Friday c:\progra~1\boinc\boinccmd.exe --project http://boinc.bio.wzw.tum.de/boincsimap/ suspend
at 14:02 /next:Friday c:\progra~1\boinc\boinccmd.exe --project http://www.primegrid.com/ allowmorework
at 14:03 /next:Friday c:\progra~1\boinc\boinccmd.exe --project http://www.primegrid.com/ resume
echo That should do it!

Copy all those lines together, and paste them into a command prompt window. Hopefully, that should kick things off. But I haven't tested it, and I really can't. That's the downside to one-shot code.

Technically, I can't give you code to finish the race and return to SIMAP until this Sunday, because I'm not that familiar with the at command in Windows.
Click to expand...

I've adapted (works so far 😛 ) your scripts to work with the task manager in Win7.

For the new task, under Properties, then Actions, I do the following:
Action: Start a Program
Under Settings, Program/Script: "C: \Program Files\BOINC\boinccmd.exe" (extra space between : and \ to prevent it from becoming :\ )
Under Add Arguments: --project http://www.primegrid.com/ update

I have it set to trigger 15 minutes before the challenge closes repeating every 5 minutes for the next hour.

With minor changes to the arguments section, I see no reason why tasks couldn't be set up to suspend other projects, resume primegrid, etc.
 
You're welcome, Peter. 🙂

It's now less than 19 hours until the race starts. Everybody have their 64-bit OSes and overclocks in place? (I'm not overclocked yet :$ ... but I will be soon.)
 
I am still using 32-bit ... so sorry ... 😉 but it is august still - I'll change in September, I hope. Changing OS is laborious when doing it on 24 computers and all of them are different - drivers you know ... 🙁
 
Can't you do it one at a time? Or are they all linked somehow?

Or can you set up an Ubuntu VM image and distribute it to all of them?
 
I will do it one at a time - even with Ubuntu I often have to get proprietary drivers - and I find them often a pain to install and set up.
I am not so good with command line interfaces when i know too little.
 
Well, if you haven't installed Ubuntu by now, it might be best not to worry about it for the rest of the year. This is our last srsieve challenge this year. The next two are LLR challenges that don't need 64 bits. The one in December uses my code, which is only 30-50% faster with 64 bits; and CUDA drivers are more important in that race anyway.

The race starts in less than two hours! (Oh, and did I mention that the PrimeGrid admins are scrambling to fix an error that sends 32-bit work to 64-bit OSes? 🙄)
 
And we're off. 🙂

Looks like for the most part, my scheduled tasks worked as that should. Good to know for upcoming challenges.
 
And we're off!
smiley-vault-misc-092.gif


Edit: RobertE beat me. He usually does. 😛
 
We are most certainly off. 16 comps crunching full time with caches full of WUs.
All other CPU-work is suspended - Sorry SIMAP!
 
4-hour stats update!

Rank___Credits____Username
51_____2795_______kimmyl
101____1315_______petrusbroder
110____1315_______Robert Everly
175____657________Ken_g6

Rank__Credits____Team
16____9043_______BOINC.Italy
17____7399_______Special: Off-Topic
18____6577_______US Navy
19____6083_______TeAm AnandTech
20____5590_______Ukraine
21____5097_______UK BOINC Team
22____4110_______Sigma Omicron Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon

By now a really fast computer could have completed two sets of WUs. Obviously, I don't have a really fast computer. 😛

One of my slower computers also decided to run tasks at high priority. This can also lead to one un-started task overriding one that's near completion. D: Anyone else having this problem?

Only four participants so far, and 19th place, but it's early yet. One of my machines hasn't completed its first WU.
 
8-hour stats update:


Rank___Credits____Username
50_____7892_______kimmyl
75_____5919_______petrusbroder
109____3946_______Robert Everly
160____2302_______Ken_g6

Rank__Credits____Team
16____24664______BOINC.Italy
17____24664______US Navy
18____22527______Special: Off-Topic
19____20060______TeAm AnandTech
20____14798______Ukraine
21____13647______Team Starfire World BOINC
22____11839______BOINC@Heidelberg

Not much change, and surprisingly few participants. Did everyone remember to run only WUs downloaded after the race started?
 
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