I ran across this interesting website:

https://boinc.berkeley.edu/wiki/Client_configuration

in the sub-chapter "options" of the main chapter "Configuration file" (cc_config.xml), among other things, it says:

<allow_multiple_clients>0|1</allow_multiple_clients>
Allow multiple BOINC clients to run on a single host. Each must run in a different data directory.

What exactly does this mean?
I could simply put this cc_config.xml to the data directory of my current BOINC installation, and then I could add a second instance of BOINC?

After I had read before in several places how complicated it is to install BOINC twice, it's hard for me to believe that it could be that simple.

So, if this is not the case, what else could this then mean?

Looks like a continuation from here http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/forums/wcg/viewpostinthread?post=519719

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Coelum Non Animum Mutant, Qui Trans Mare Currunt

You don't install BOINC twice, you can run the BOINC client twice with the --run_multiple_clients attribute or with the flag through cc_config.xml

It's used in this way:

boinc --allow_multiple_clients --gui_rpc_port <port> --dir <new data folder> --detach_console

Like:

CD /D c:\Boinc1
"C:\Program Files\BOINC\boinc.exe" --detach --allow_multiple_clients --gui_rpc_port 31417 --dir c:\BOINC1
"C:\Program Files\BOINC\boincmgr.exe" /m /n localhost /g 31417 /p xxxxxxxxxx
CD /D c:\Boinc2
"C:\Program Files\BOINC\boinc.exe" --detach --allow_multiple_clients --gui_rpc_port 31419 --dir c:\BOINC2
"C:\Program Files\BOINC\boincmgr.exe" /m /n localhost /g 31419 /p xxxxxxxxxx

'xxxxxxxxxx' is the password per BOINC from the gui_rpc_auth.cfg file.

But this may not work well.
What is it you're trying to accomplish, and isn't it easier to do that with something else?

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Looks like a continuation from here http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/forums/wcg/viewpostinthread?post=519719

no, the background is a different one.

But this may not work well.

Remembering what I have read some time ago in other postings, it seems indeed to be difficult to run 2 BOINC clients on one machine.

What is it you're trying to accomplish, and isn't it easier to do that with something else?

My problem is as follows:
I run BOINC on a RAMdisk, after I had found out that crunching several instances of ATLAS@home concurrently will write up to 200GB per day on my SSD, thus causing early wear.
Besides ATLAS, I run WCG and GPUGRID. And the problem comes with the latter - GPUGRID tasks are only downloaded if there is 7.629MB free space on the disc (i.e. on the RAMDisk in my case). No one knows the reason for this huge space requirement, as in reality a GPUGRID task does not need more than some 140MB disk space. So, with my 17GB RAMDisk, I permanently need to leave some 8GB free space just for GPUGRID downloading new tasks. Valueable space which I could use for at least 2, if not 3 more ATLAS tasks.

Hence, my plan would have been to install a second BOINC not on the RAMDisk, but on the SSD, just for GPUGRID, and leave ATLAS plus WCG on the RAMDisk.
Okay, this obviously is not that easy.

Alternately I could buy a new SSD with an enormous high TBW, which either replaces the current one (with "only" 150TB) or being installed as second SSD.
Or I could buy an external USB3 HD and install BOINC on this one. Although I am aware that the drawback in speed would probably be enormous, particularly vis-a-vis the RAMDisc solution that I have currently. Or would it perhaps not be that bad?

Installing an internal HDD, in addition, would not work, as I had to remove the HDD cage for being able to put in the two huge GTX980Ti GPUs.

Any other suggestions I might not have thought of?

NM

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Coelum Non Animum Mutant, Qui Trans Mare Currunt

NM

???

Although I am aware that the drawback in speed would probably be enormous, particularly vis-a-vis the RAMDisc solution that I have currently. Or would it perhaps not be that bad?

The speed of the drive is no determining factor in how quickly BOINC runs work, that's more up to the speed of the CPU, the amount of cores it has and the GPU. Ah and the optimization of the science application, and if it runs just one thread or multiple.

That's why I asked you last time around if you didn't have a hard disk drive in that system. A 3TB external USB 3.0 HDD runs at 99 euro at the Aldi, no money if you ask me. If 3TB is too much, 1TB internal drives can start at around 50 euro.

Of course pricing could be different in Austria.

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Hence, my plan would have been to install a second BOINC not on the RAMDisk, but on the SSD, just for GPUGRID, and leave ATLAS plus WCG on the RAMDisk.
Okay, this obviously is not that easy.

It is not that difficult.

Create a new folder (i.e. c:\Boinc2) for the second client and copy the gui_rpc_auth.cfg from the first Data directory to the second Data directory. Create a .bat file on the Desktop and edit it so you can enter the following into it:
"c:\Program Files\BOINC\boinc.exe" --allow_multiple_clients --redirectio --detach_console --gui_rpc_port 31418 --dir c:\Boinc2

Create a shortcut to BOINC Manager on the Desktop and change it's properties to read:
"c:\Program Files\BOINC\boincmgr.exe" /m /n 127.0.0.1 /g 31418 /p xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It should not be necessary to change the first client and manager at all as long as you start the first client and Manager before starting the second client and Manager. The first client will start normally thinking it is the only one on the system and the Manager is setup to automatically connect on port 31416 to the first client.

It is also not necessary to change the gui_rpc_auth.cfg on the second client as both clients can use the same password as long as the port is different. Once you have confirmed that both clients are running and the second client recognizes your GPU, you can detach from GPUGrid on the first client and attach on the second client.

Notes:

1. Jord has localhost set in his command for the second Manager, but I cannot get that to work and only 127.0.0.1 works for me.
2. If you don't plan on using the GPU on the first client, you could uninstall boinc and reinstall as a service to disable the GPU and only attach to GPU projects on the second client.
3. On the client/Managers, you may need to change the "Suspend when non-Boinc CPU usage is above" to 100 as the clients see each others usage as non-Boinc.
4. If you don't want to use 2 Managers, you could use BoincTasks and set it up to control both clients from the same GUI.

Create a shortcut to BOINC Manager on the Desktop and change it's properties to read:
"c:\Program Files\BOINC\boincmgr.exe" /m /n 127.0.0.1 /g 31418 /p xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

after following all the steps as described, I could get the second BOINC manager to open, but right thereafter the message "the password you have provided is incorrect - please try again" shows up :-(

I had replaced the many xxx with exactly what was contained in the original gui_rpc_auth.cfg. So - no idea why this password is not being accepted.

So, unfortunately, the second BOINC manager does not work here :-(

I've heard many people say that they can't get the Manager to attach to the second client instance (though I'm not certain if the problem is always with running a second Manager instance: it would be worth trying to get the first Manager to attach to the second client).

The alternative BOINCTasks manager is apparently much easier to get working with a second client.

If you don't plan on using the GPU on the first client, you could uninstall boinc and reinstall as a service to disable the GPU and only attach to GPU projects on the second client.

Had not considered it possible to run the second client in a different mode, 1st service, 2nd as user, but apparently you can. Thanks for that nugget.

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Coelum Non Animum Mutant, Qui Trans Mare Currunt

Create a shortcut to BOINC Manager on the Desktop and change it's properties to read:
"c:\Program Files\BOINC\boincmgr.exe" /m /n 127.0.0.1 /g 31418 /p xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

after following all the steps as described, I could get the second BOINC manager to open, but right thereafter the message "the password you have provided is incorrect - please try again" shows up :-(

I had replaced the many xxx with exactly what was contained in the original gui_rpc_auth.cfg. So - no idea why this password is not being accepted.

So, unfortunately, the second BOINC manager does not work here :-(

Well, maybe my problem concerning the password could be solved very easily, if someone could just give me the proper hint.
I am still hoping :-)

Well, maybe my problem concerning the password could be solved very easily, if someone could just give me the proper hint.
I am still hoping :-)

The password required is whatever is contained in the gui_rpc_auth.cfg file in the second client data folder.

But that assumes that the second client is running, that it's listening on the correct port, etc. etc. etc. I think you get the same "incorrect password" error message whichever part of your configuration is wrong.

Edit - make sure that the password you want to use has been entered properly into gui_rpc_auth.cfg, without a newline character after it.

Last time I tried, BOINC Manager (BM) was unable to connect to the second running client. IIRC it was the same authentication problems - couldn't get it to recognise the second 'localhost' correctly, despite having pwd etc. set correctly.
I probably reported the problem at the time.

I ended up using BoincTasks instead...

The alternative BOINCTasks manager is apparently much easier to get working with a second client.

how would I do this in detail?
After installing BOINCTasks - doing what exactly?

I could run the first client with BOINC, as before (i.e. making no changes), and the second client with BOINCTasks?

William is the one who's actually done this, but isn't available online right now.

I believe you install BoincTasks normally, and go through the manual "add computer" process described in http://efmer.com/b/?q=boinctasks_manual.

For the second BOINC instance, use 'localhost' or '127.0.0.1' (you'll have to experiment), and use the "computername:port" format as described for the boinccmd tool.

For the second BOINC instance, use 'localhost' or '127.0.0.1' (you'll have to experiment), and use the "computername:port" format as described for the boinccmd tool.

hm, I must hope that '127.0.0.1' will work for the second BOINC instance; because using 'localhost' would attach the first instance (this was the case when 1 hour ago, in the properties of the second BOINC Manager, I changed '127.0.0.1' to read 'localhost').

Further, I guess I will not be able to prevent BOINCTasks to attach the first BOINC instance, as in the instructions it says that this will happen automatically. However, my preference would be to run the first BOINC instance on the regular BOINC manager, und the second one on BOINCTasks.

Why do it the easy way, when you can do it the hard way... You can name each client instance in BT anything you like, Localhost1 and Localhost2 e.g, to make it glaringly evident as to what one is looking at.

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Coelum Non Animum Mutant, Qui Trans Mare Currunt

You distinguish the two instances by the port number, not the IP address or name (127.0.0.1 and localhost are synonyms - they're the same machine). Once you have both instances connected, you can sort out the names to suit yourself.