suitable Linux distros for BOINC?

cecht
cecht
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Topic 217998

I want to replace Windows 7 with some version of Linux on a host that I use exclusively for running E@H tasks. Are there any distros that the Linux x64 BOINC manager 7.2.42 won't work with?  Any that it works best with? I'm considering installing the Solus or Mint distros, which use open-source Mesa drivers, but will settle for anything that a Linux newbie can handle with minimal muss and fuss. 

 

Ideas are not fixed, nor should they be; we live in model-dependent reality.

Jim1348
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I actually had more problems

I actually had more problems with Mint than with Ubuntu.  Either Ubuntu 16.04 or 18.04 (the latter if you need the latest hardware support) work very well with BOINC.  It appears that the Ubuntu software center now has version 7.14.2.

You are then stuck with setting the permissions, but I have a checklist which makes it relatively painless if you want to try.

 

mountkidd
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(K)Ubuntu 16.04 LTS works

(K)Ubuntu 16.04 LTS works quite well.  You can get boinc from https://launchpad.net/~costamagnagianfranco/+archive/ubuntu/boinc/+packages.  Drivers for your 570's are available directly from AMD - current driver page shows Ubuntu 18.04, but scroll down to the 'previous drivers' link for many more options.  Everything will work right out of the box!

mikey
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I've had no trouble with the

I've had no trouble with the Mint distros unless you are trying to run an AMD gpu, then I still haven't gotten it to work, but it works just fine with an Nvidia gpu. Just be sure to click the box to allow 3rd party drivers near the beginning of the install. I install it on a 120gb SSD drive and it's fast. Win10 has given me problems lately with some of my hardware so I've been switching to Linux Mint, I've been using the latest version 19.1 and it's fast to load and just works for me. I do have to go into the video drivers section and check the box to use the Nvidia driver and then reboot it again once it finishes loading and reboots off the harddrive instead of the cd, after that I use the Synaptic app finder to load Boinc and it just works. I also add Boinc to the auto-start section so it automatically comes up if the pc reboots.

Now I have not been able to figure out how to remote in from my other machines yet so I can sit in my recliner and check on my Linux pc's like I can with my Windows pc's, but I'm working on it. The other thing I like about Mint is that I can load it on one machine and then take that harddrive and put in a very different machine and after a reboot it automatically loads all the drivers it needs and it's off and running with no problems.

Jim1348
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mikey wrote:Now I have not

mikey wrote:
Now I have not been able to figure out how to remote in from my other machines yet so I can sit in my recliner and check on my Linux pc's like I can with my Windows pc's, but I'm working on it.

I use TightVNC for that. Just install the TightVNC viewer on the Windows PC, and then on the Ubuntu machine, install the X11Vnc server (I think it is about the same for Mint).  http://c-nergy.be/blog/?p=8984

 

Even more useful is to monitor BOINC remotely using BOINCTasks (if you have not done that already).  Again, install the viewer on the Windows machine, and then follow the instructions for how to install the necessary files on the Linux machine.  https://efmer.com/download-boinctasks/

 

 

 

 

 

mountkidd
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mikey wrote:...Now I have not

mikey wrote:
...Now I have not been able to figure out how to remote in from my other machines yet so I can sit in my recliner and check on my Linux pc's like I can with my Windows pc's, but I'm working on it. ...

You could also use PuTTY or some other ssh client to get a cli to your Linux pc's...

cecht
cecht
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Thank you all for the helpful

Thank you all for the helpful comments.

Jim1438 wrote:
I actually had more problems with Mint than with Ubuntu.

Mikey wrote:
I've had no trouble with the Mint distros unless you are trying to run an AMD gpu, then I still haven't gotten it to work...

Yeah, I have AMD 570 and 460 GPUs. Sounds like Mint is out.

MOUNTKIDD wrote:
(K)Ubuntu 16.04 LTS works quite well.  You can get boinc from https://launchpad.net/~costamagnagianfranco/+archive/ubuntu/boinc/+packages.  Drivers for your 570's are available directly from AMD - current driver page shows Ubuntu 18.04, but scroll down to the 'previous drivers' link for many more options.  Everything will work right out of the box!

Now that's what I like to hear! I have an older PC (circa 2009), so, as soon as I pick up a Linux-compatible USB WiFi adapter, I'll load up Kunbuntu 16.04 (or maybe Lunbuntu?) and be off and running. MountKidd, that link didn't let me into the page, but I easily got there from the launchpad.net home page, so thanks much for that tip.

Ideas are not fixed, nor should they be; we live in model-dependent reality.

Keith Myers
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I don't have any Windows

I don't have any Windows machines at all anymore I still use BoincTasks on Linux via WINE.  I keep on top of my farm through my daily driver from a central location with BT. Luv BT.

 

MarkJ
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I’m running Debian on my

I’m running Debian on my farm. When Win10 came out I converted them over to Linux, even a storage server that was running Server 2008. I kept my laptop on Win7 and use BOINCtasks on it to mange the farm.

I also have a bunch of Raspberry Pi’s so that kept things pretty much the same between the big machines and the Pis.

I have some Nvidia GTX 1060 cards using the standard repo drivers without any issue.

mikey
mikey
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Keith Myers wrote:I don't

Keith Myers wrote:
I don't have any Windows machines at all anymore I still use BoincTasks on Linux via WINE.  I keep on top of my farm through my daily driver from a central location with BT. Luv BT.

Can you give me a how too please, I found Select Computer under Files but am stuck there...I typed in the name of a different pc than the one I'm one, for this discussion let's say I call it Boinc7, but I don't have a password other than the log in one for each machine which is the same one for each, with the Windows pc's having one login and the Linux pc's having a different login. 99% of my pc's are Boinc only machines which is why I'm not unhappy with switching them to Linux.

I'm assuming you load Boinc first then after it's up and running load Wine but after that I don't have a clue.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Keith Myers
Keith Myers
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Hi Mikey, you should just be

Hi Mikey, you should just be able to use the Computers menu choice and the Find Computers option.  Put in the subnet for your network and select scan address range.  If you have set all the passwords the same in the gui_rpc_auth.cfg files on all your hosts, then you can input the password on that page in advance.  A list should come up with all the computers currently running BOINC with their IP addresses and one computer just listed as local host which is the one running WINE with the BoincTasks instance running.  Just toggle each of the found computers and then Add Selected will populate all the computers.  Then the Computers tab will show all the computers BT found with their IP address, the Password field, the BOINC version running, the Platform it is on, Linux or Windows and finally the Status of either Connected or not.  If any computer listed is not shown as connected, the reason why not will be shown as for example Password in the Status field means BT could not connect because the password is unknown or incorrect.  You can highlight the ****** field and it will populate and allow you to manually enter that hosts password in its gui_rpc_auth.cfg file and hit enter and the status should change to connected.  You shouldn't have to bother with the MAC address or port number if each host is using the standard 31416 port address.  Adjust accordingly if different than stock.

 

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