Different hosts getting same ID

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Timothy Watson

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Joined: 5 Jan 17
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United States
Message 75113 - Posted: 5 Jan 2017, 3:03:53 UTC

I have two different computers which have the same type of CPU (Intel 3770k), amount of RAM (32GB), and operating system (Windows 7 Ultimate), but they have different hostnames, local IPs, and GPUs.

I had been using "bedroom" for a couple weeks on BOINC and then added "livingroom", the problem is that when I did this "livingroom" ended up with the same host ID as "bedroom" on everyone of the projects I was attached to. Between the two clients updating with projects, a lot of work was classified as abandoned.

I was using BAM! as an account manager when this happened, and wondering if that was the problem, I removed both computers from the account manager and deleted the client_state.xml and client_state_prev.xml from "livingroom" and restarted BOINC. That computer reinitialized all the projects and received a different host ID.

I thought that was the end of the problems until the other day when I decided to sign up for a couple new projects (DENIS@home, pogs, RNA World, and Universe@Home). I did that manually on "bedroom" first and then on "livingroom" and they ended up with the same host IDs on all four projects. I removed "livingroom" from all four projects, that way I can do work on at least one of the computers without the projects thinking I've abandoned the work when the other computer updates with the server and reports not having those workunits, etc.

Below are two screenshots of the "Your computers" page from RNA World, one after I've manually updated the project with "bedroom" and then after attaching "livingroom". Identical things happen on DENIS@home, pogs, and Universe@Home (RNA World is the easiest to demonstrate the problem since they don't have any workunits to send out right now).

Any help would be really appreciated. I would prefer to not have to delete the client state XMLs again since it would mess up the ongoing work on the computer and if I join another project in the future, what would stop the same problem from happening again?



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Profile Jord
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Message 75115 - Posted: 5 Jan 2017, 9:00:19 UTC - in response to Message 75113.  

I have two different computers which have the same type of CPU (Intel 3770k), amount of RAM (32GB), and operating system (Windows 7 Ultimate), but they have different hostnames, local IPs, and GPUs.
BOINC doesn't just use the CPU to check which computer is which, as if it did everyone everywhere would be affected in this way as everyone everywhere would be getting the same hostID for all their same CPU hardware. Which makes me want to check something local at your place: the local IP address.

The one thing that will identify the computer as being that hostID is the local IP address, so could you please double check that your hosts get unique IP addresses on your local network? Else can you PM me the contents of the sched_request_*.xml files of both those computers for any of the projects affected? Don't post that in the open forum, or on dropbox or anything like that, please, just private message the contents to me. I will delete the PMs as soon as I am done with them.
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ChristianB
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Message 75116 - Posted: 5 Jan 2017, 10:21:03 UTC

To slightly correct Ageless. BOINC generates a Host-CPID based on the MAC address (not the IP address). This Host-CPID is send to the server in the initial request. The server then uses this to see if the user already has a host with this Host-CPID. Obviously when attaching "livingroom" after "bedroom" the same Host-CPID is send thus the server thinks this is the same host.
Can you please check the MAC addresses on both computers? The usual way I did it when using Windows was run "ipconfig /a" on a commandline. But there are other ways too. You just need to post the MACs (physical address) here. Please include all network interfaces as BOINC uses the first one it can find to generate the Host-CPID which might not always be the one that gets used in the end.
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MarkJ
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Message 75117 - Posted: 5 Jan 2017, 10:57:14 UTC

I wonder if he's using internet connection sharing in windows. That might use the same MAC address, although I have never used it myself.
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Timothy Watson

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Message 75118 - Posted: 5 Jan 2017, 12:26:42 UTC - in response to Message 75116.  
Last modified: 5 Jan 2017, 12:51:58 UTC

A-ha! It was MAC addresses causing the problem.

I have PdaNet, the Windows part of an Android app which allows USB tethering so you can use phone as an Internet source, installed on both computers (which I occasionally use on one computer for gaming instead of my awful satellite Internet).

The program installs a network adapter, which has the same MAC address on both (all?) computers. It's also the first network adapter which is listed when you do "ipconfig /all". I uninstalled PdaNet from "livingroom", rebooted, went into the client_state XMLs and removed just the field for host_cpid and started BOINC. I checked and a new and different host_cpid was generated, I added the new projects to that computer and a new host is being displayed on the "Your computers" pages of the projects I was having problems with.

Thanks a bunch!
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Message boards : Questions and problems : Different hosts getting same ID

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