Hi all, I'm hoping someone can provide me with a little insight about which project would run well on my machine.

I have a HP ML570 G2 server -

4x 2.0GHz Xeon MP Processors
8x 512MB PC1600 ECC DDR RAM
2x15k RPM 36GB HD's in RAID 1 - OS (Everything currently running on this array)
2x10 RPM 74GB HD's in RAID 0 - Storage

Anyway, I've tried out a few different projects and noticed some interesting results. I have a friend with a Core2Duo machine, and in PrimeGrid, my machine outperformed his, and in the World Community Grid, his machine greatly outperforms mine.

So I take it that different projects utilize the CPU's in different ways. BOINC by default runs 8 threads at once since there are four hyperthreading processors. This seems to work well. I'm guessing that in some instances such as PrimeGrid, my machine was more effective even with slower processors, because it was able to run many more threads at once, and in other instances my friends C2D machine was faster (even though he only runs 2 threads) because of a different type of processing.

Anyway, what is a good project to run on a (compared to todays new machines) slower machine that can run a lot of threads at once?

Thanks for any advice!

Operating System?

---

Kathryn :o)

Sorry, forgot to mention that.

CentOS 5.2 Linux

32-bit CPU's, I should add.

The biggest problem is your OS, CentOS 5.2 ... as not many projects may recognize it automatically as a Linux version. So then you'd have to install an anonymous platform application, which means that the project has to give out its source code for people to make an application for such an OS.

I'm not sure which version of BOINC you can install through the package manager, checking around it's quite difficult to find what's the latest version available.

But when you finally do have BOINC installed, I think your best next port of call is the Lunatics site (search its forums), for more information.

---

what?? CentOS is basically Redhat Enterprise Linux with the branding stripped. Like I said in about 3/4 of my first post, BOINC is already running fine.... lol. Theres no need to install BOINC through the package manager...

If your OS is showing as "Centos something", then you'll have to find a project that has science applications for "Centos something".
Most projects will only have apps for "Linux something".

Sorry, but I feel CAPSLOCK is required here

CENTOS 5.2 = REDHAT ENTERPRISE LINUX WITH THE BRANDING STRIPPED = LINUX

THEREFORE

CENTOS 5.2 = LINUX DISTRIBUTION

Here is their website:

http://www.centos.org/

BOINC is up and running just fine. I'm part of the World Community Grid project right now.

No need to shout. When your machine declares itself as CENTOS, why should any project handle it as LINUX?

When it's linux, it should say so or YOU have to tell the project via app_info.xml, if that's possible (I don't have the faintest idea).

Gruß,
Gundolf

---

Computer sind nicht alles im Leben. (Kleiner Scherz)

Hmmm... I really don't get it...
Why should one need the anonymous platform to get work for Centos? It's just the same like with Fedora (also derived from RedHat), Ubuntu, SUSE, Mandriva and every other Linux! I also used CentOS for a while and it just reports itself as Linux x86 or Linux x86_64 like every other distro. Why should it be different??

---

THANK YOU. Someone that understands. CentOS is just a linux distribution. Just like Gentoo, Ubuntu, Debian, etc.

It can run the BOINC client just like any other linux machine.

Maybe some of you misunderstood my original question:

Does anyone have experience with running different projects on hardware such as mine, which consists of multiple 32-bit hyperthreading processors. It seems that some hardware variations can excel in one project, but fall behind in another, and.

You guys that are "WTFing" over the fact that the machine is running CentOS, do you have experience with running a Linux operating system, or at least know what it is? If not, that could explain the confusion thats going on here.

As long as it reports itself as Linux of some kind, it shouldn't be a problem. The problem only starts when it reports itself as CentOS.

I'd say, dieselfuelonly, install BOINC through the package manager or with a Linux version from Berkeley and post the start up messages. It'll tell at the first line what version it is and what OS it's for. Then we'll know soon enough.

---

Ok, I'm at a bit of loss for words here. I will try to calmly restate what I have already stated.

1. BOINC is INSTALLED, and WORKING, and is running the World Community Grid project right now. I am earning points, its all working completely fine. It works fine with other projects such as PrimeGrid, etc. as well.

2. Completely forget that I ever mentioned that it is running on CentOS

3. I want to know what project would be the best match for my machine.

4. My machine has the following:

Four (4) thirty(30)-two(2) bit processors, running at two(2)-point(.)-zero(0) gigahertz.

It has four (4) gigabytes of random access memory.

The processors can hyperthread, meaning that BOINC recognizes eight (8) processors, and therefore runs eight (8) threads at once (1...nce).

The operating system is thirty-two (32) bit CentOS five(5)-point(.)-two(2) Linux.

Thank you for your advice. I'm not trying to be rude here, I just don't understand why everyone is having a fit over the fact that the machine is running CentOS Linux - BOINC is already running RIGHT NOW and its working JUST FINE - I just need help choosing the correct project for my machine.

Thanks!! :)

ROFL Thanks for the laugh dieselfuelonly! ;-)

I'd say with those CPUs a project with an app which needs only very little L2 cache would be fine to get the most out of the machine. But I really have no idea which projects that would be... I only have Xeon DP E5345 and Core 2 Quad PCs right now...

But I think the most important is that you are interested in the project's science. So I'd say just try whatever project seems interesting to you, and you'll see if it works good or not on your computer... ;)


[edited some typos]

---

Thanks for the helpful response! Thats what I've been looking for. The processors have a 512Kb L2 cache, and a 2MB L3 cache.

Join Pirates@Home. The next round of apps will be a test related to Linux, and you can show everyone that CentOS is Linux ;-)

(One way to convey a lot about your machine is to give the `uname -a` command and post the result.)

---

-- Eric Myers

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." -- William Butler Yeats

I would like to revive this thread.

Has anyone run across an informative thread anywhere (BOINC, boincstats, individual project fora...) that helps to identify which projects are better suited for one platform over another? It sure would take a lot of trial-and-error to figure this out on one's own.

My personal BOINC farm has an eclectic mix of machines (not all operational at the moment):

Intel Pentium, Pentium Pro, PII, PIII, P4, Nehalem Xeon
AMD K6-2+, Sempron, Athlon XP, Athlon 64
UltraSparc III
RS/6000
Power Mac G4 & G5
DEC AlphaStation
SGI Indy, Octane
Sony NEWS
etc.

Intel Pentium, Pentium Pro, PII, PIII, P4, Nehalem Xeon
AMD K6-2+, Sempron, Athlon XP, Athlon 64
UltraSparc III
RS/6000
Power Mac G4 & G5
DEC AlphaStation
SGI Indy, Octane
Sony NEWS
etc.

Hm, with the non x86/x64 you have not much projects to choose. SIMAP and SETI has the most advanced plafrom support. But, depends also which OS you are running on the systems...

At the BOINC third party site are the download locations for BOINC Clients and SETI@home applications listed : http://boinc.berkeley.edu/download_other.php.
And also at the SIMAP download page : http://boinc.bio.wzw.tum.de/boincsimap/appdownloads.php

At the unoffical BOINC Wiki are also some lists about the platform support and hardware recommendations : [url]http://www.boinc-wiki.info/Catalog_of_BOINC_Powered_Projects [/url] and http://www.boinc-wiki.info/The_Current_List_of_Alpha_Test/Beta_Test_Projects

Hm, with the non x86/x64 you have not much projects to choose. SIMAP and SETI has the most advanced plafrom support.

Good point. I guess we just have to wait for you to write the port, eh? :)

Porting can only be done for projects that make their source code public.