... if I remeber correctly, when one starts BOINC for the first time, there are two "important" options when running the "BOINC Manager". One can find these under "Options" then "Computing preferences". They are then found under "Other" and named "Store at least ..." and "Store up to an additional ...".
Both of these values are set perfectly for "newbies" -- namely to 0.01 !
That will prevent an over-cashing (usually).
So actually everything is fine, unless the USER changes them.
Please correct me, if I am wrong - it has been a long day for me ...
Please correct me, if I am wrong - it has been a long day for me ...
Unless a newbie visits the Manager Options >> Computing Preferences page, Saves it to use Local Preferences, the preferences set globally on all projects is 10 days of cache. That is what is set up when a person first attaches to a project as a newbie would do installing BOINC for the first time. Those are the BOINC defaults.
If a person has already attached to a project and modified the Undefined or General Computing preferences page and set that as the default profile for any new host, then attaching further projects would get you your modified General settings since the last profile you set on any project is globally dispersed to all other projects on the next connection. If you don't do that, you get the standard BOINC 10 day profile.
That is what needs changing. But since there is no more BOINC development by DA, what we have now is what we have to live with and adjust for.
[Edit] What the Manager should do is default to Local Preferences set on the host that BOINC is installed to instead of Global Project based computing preferences.
My oldest task is from 27 October and has been through the rounds of 3 task hoarders that never started before deadline. Currently out as a _04 to a wingman with a reasonable .75 day turnaround. That one should fall off the list in a day.
Currently pending tasks are 1/3 the count of my validated tasks. But since I carry a very low 30 task cache, my turnaround for all my PC hosts is only 1.5 hours.
You can't do anything about newbies that don't understand how BOINC works and just run a host with defaults, but I agree that BOINC has not kept up with the evolution of PC hardware. No need for a 10 day cache anymore.
Since you can't do anything about that, why worry about it?
. . Hi Keith,
. . That is one of the things I respect about you. On my two faster machines I maintain a 3 hour cache and on the slower machine an 8 hour cache. Both faster machines have a valid to pending ratio of about 3:1 and the slower machine is just under 3.3:1. Caches on the first two are about 35 tasks with 25 on the slow clunker.
. . True, there is nothing I (or you) can do directly, but petitioning the boffins can sometimes produce results. :)
Does the Einstein team have a page dedicated to optimized settings for each common hardware/OS arrangement, listed by CPU/GPU/OS? This would not be an infinite list:
. . One of the first things I learnt once I had found the forums was that asking questions in the right place can save a lot of time and eliminate many mistakes.
. . If you are confused about settings on a particular machine just ask, and there will probably be multiple replies, all different of course, but they should give you a better understanding of what settings would be viable and why.
. . Simple things like don't just presume the defaults are currently reasonable values. ALWAYS setting your work fetch values to LESS than the project deadlines and trying to not over-commit your hardware are good places to start. Oh and a nice form of etiquette is if you are planning to shut down a machine temporarily or permanently, turn off work fetch (i.e. set to No New Tasks) sufficiently early for your current work to be completed before shutting down, or if it is a rush job then simply abort all not completed tasks. That will save a a lot of delays.
This is a very stable project that always has work available and probably 99.5% uptime on its servers. There is absolutely no reason to bank large amounts of work since new work is always available. You should strive for a 1 for 1 situation, complete a task, turn it in, and receive its replacement.
. . I would qualify that slightly, one running, one waiting. So that as each task completes the next starts and the 1st task is reported and a new 'waiting' task downloaded. Bear in mind that if you have a blitzing SuperComputer the run times may be less than the reporting interval and you might need more than one task queued. Otherwise on the fastest machines I know of the minimum fetch value of 0.01 (approx 14 mins of work) should achieve that, and ramp the value up for slower machines. If the average runtime is about 1 hour (not many that slow or slower unless you are crunching on integrated Intel GPUs which I do not recommend) then the value Keith and I are using of 0.1 is quite adequate. For total newbs with no idea of how their hardware will perform I believe a value no higher than 0.99 would be more than adequate. But there will be some that might disagree and multiple opinions can help to gain even more insight. The greatest variation would be for people without a suitable GPU and only a slow CPU to do the work. But even they will complete a task in only a few hours and the 0.99 value should still accommodate them.
Unless a newbie visits the Manager Options >> Computing Preferences page, Saves it to use Local Preferences, the preferences set globally on all projects is 10 days of cache. That is what is set up when a person first attaches to a project as a newbie would do installing BOINC for the first time. Those are the BOINC defaults.
...
Thanks for the info.
But when I set the prefs (or when they are automatically set) to 0.01 all I get is one or two WUs, regardless of the rig.
I am very hesitant to ask questions on ANY forum full of computing experts, because often the response is from a person with ZERO patience for computing ignorance ... so my habit is to search for a single page with all the answers to the most common questions that newbies ask. This, of course, is why the FAQs page exists, but it seems like that page for Einstein@home could use periodic updates and expansion. One thing that would help are screen caps of optimal settings for the various common CPU/GPU/OS combinations, so that we ignorant newbies not have to try the patience of the 'oldbies'. ;---)
Does it help to set up a RAMdisk dedicated to BOINC?
Thanks again
(PS ~ I am trying to piece together the process for setting up a signature graphic .... searching for 'signature' does not bring me to a single page with all the steps ....)
True, there is nothing I (or you) can do directly, but petitioning the boffins can sometimes produce results.
This is true. I was just surprised by a petitioner request on one of my projects for more work by changing limits and the admin responded he would look into it this weekend.
But the issue here is with BOINC and with DA basically washing his hands of any further BOINC development, all we can hope for is Vitalli to pick up the burden. Which he has for the most part being the author of the latest Android and security commits. DA is just a button pusher now for merges submitted.
... if I remeber correctly,
)
... if I remeber correctly, when one starts BOINC for the first time, there are two "important" options when running the "BOINC Manager". One can find these under "Options" then "Computing preferences". They are then found under "Other" and named "Store at least ..." and "Store up to an additional ...".
Both of these values are set perfectly for "newbies" -- namely to 0.01 !
That will prevent an over-cashing (usually).
So actually everything is fine, unless the USER changes them.
Please correct me, if I am wrong - it has been a long day for me ...
TOMAHAWK4196, It is okay
)
TOMAHAWK4196,
It is okay to be a newbie, and we welcome newbies to Einstein, and BOINC for that matter.
If you can't find something on your own (and try first), it is okay to ask here. That is what we are for.
Proud member of the Old Farts Association
San-Fernando-Valley
)
Unless a newbie visits the Manager Options >> Computing Preferences page, Saves it to use Local Preferences, the preferences set globally on all projects is 10 days of cache. That is what is set up when a person first attaches to a project as a newbie would do installing BOINC for the first time. Those are the BOINC defaults.
If a person has already attached to a project and modified the Undefined or General Computing preferences page and set that as the default profile for any new host, then attaching further projects would get you your modified General settings since the last profile you set on any project is globally dispersed to all other projects on the next connection. If you don't do that, you get the standard BOINC 10 day profile.
That is what needs changing. But since there is no more BOINC development by DA, what we have now is what we have to live with and adjust for.
[Edit] What the Manager should do is default to Local Preferences set on the host that BOINC is installed to instead of Global Project based computing preferences.
Keith Myers wrote: My oldest
)
. . Hi Keith,
. . That is one of the things I respect about you. On my two faster machines I maintain a 3 hour cache and on the slower machine an 8 hour cache. Both faster machines have a valid to pending ratio of about 3:1 and the slower machine is just under 3.3:1. Caches on the first two are about 35 tasks with 25 on the slow clunker.
. . True, there is nothing I (or you) can do directly, but petitioning the boffins can sometimes produce results. :)
. . What me worry?
{imagine a picture of Alfred E Neuman}
Stephen
Quote:Does the Einstein team
)
. . One of the first things I learnt once I had found the forums was that asking questions in the right place can save a lot of time and eliminate many mistakes.
. . If you are confused about settings on a particular machine just ask, and there will probably be multiple replies, all different of course, but they should give you a better understanding of what settings would be viable and why.
. . Simple things like don't just presume the defaults are currently reasonable values. ALWAYS setting your work fetch values to LESS than the project deadlines and trying to not over-commit your hardware are good places to start. Oh and a nice form of etiquette is if you are planning to shut down a machine temporarily or permanently, turn off work fetch (i.e. set to No New Tasks) sufficiently early for your current work to be completed before shutting down, or if it is a rush job then simply abort all not completed tasks. That will save a a lot of delays.
Stephen
Keith Myers wrote:This is a
)
. . I would qualify that slightly, one running, one waiting. So that as each task completes the next starts and the 1st task is reported and a new 'waiting' task downloaded. Bear in mind that if you have a blitzing SuperComputer the run times may be less than the reporting interval and you might need more than one task queued. Otherwise on the fastest machines I know of the minimum fetch value of 0.01 (approx 14 mins of work) should achieve that, and ramp the value up for slower machines. If the average runtime is about 1 hour (not many that slow or slower unless you are crunching on integrated Intel GPUs which I do not recommend) then the value Keith and I are using of 0.1 is quite adequate. For total newbs with no idea of how their hardware will perform I believe a value no higher than 0.99 would be more than adequate. But there will be some that might disagree and multiple opinions can help to gain even more insight. The greatest variation would be for people without a suitable GPU and only a slow CPU to do the work. But even they will complete a task in only a few hours and the 0.99 value should still accommodate them.
Stephen
Keith Myers
)
Thanks for the info.
But when I set the prefs (or when they are automatically set) to 0.01 all I get is one or two WUs, regardless of the rig.
Why or how is this?
S.H.:This is good
)
S.H.:
This is good information, so thank you for it.
I am very hesitant to ask questions on ANY forum full of computing experts, because often the response is from a person with ZERO patience for computing ignorance ... so my habit is to search for a single page with all the answers to the most common questions that newbies ask. This, of course, is why the FAQs page exists, but it seems like that page for Einstein@home could use periodic updates and expansion. One thing that would help are screen caps of optimal settings for the various common CPU/GPU/OS combinations, so that we ignorant newbies not have to try the patience of the 'oldbies'. ;---)
Thanks again
[img]Also: Does it help to set
)
Also:
Does it help to set up a RAMdisk dedicated to BOINC?
Thanks again
(PS ~ I am trying to piece together the process for setting up a signature graphic .... searching for 'signature' does not bring me to a single page with all the steps ....)
[img]Quote:True, there is nothing
)
This is true. I was just surprised by a petitioner request on one of my projects for more work by changing limits and the admin responded he would look into it this weekend.
But the issue here is with BOINC and with DA basically washing his hands of any further BOINC development, all we can hope for is Vitalli to pick up the burden. Which he has for the most part being the author of the latest Android and security commits. DA is just a button pusher now for merges submitted.