Changes between Version 6 and Version 7 of BoincOverview


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Timestamp:
Sep 16, 2018, 9:12:33 PM (6 years ago)
Author:
davea
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  • BoincOverview

    v6 v7  
    1212BOINC can be used in two ways, depending on where the worker nodes come from:
    1313
    14  * In '''volunteer computing''',
     14 * In [VolunteerComputing volunteer computing],
    1515  the worker nodes are consumer devices (desktop and laptop computers,
    1616  tablets, smartphones) volunteered by their owners.
    17   BOINC addresses the various challenges inherent in this environment
     17  BOINC [BoincIntro addresses the various challenges] inherent in this environment
    1818  (heterogeneity, host churn and unreliability, scale, security, and so on).
    1919 There are a number of volunteer-computing '''BOINC projects'''
     
    2222 it processes jobs for the projects to which it is attached.
    2323
    24  * BOINC can also be used for '''in-house computing''' within an organization (e.g. a company).
     24 * BOINC can also be used for [DesktopGrid in-house computing] within an organization (e.g. a company).
    2525  In this case case the worker nodes are
    2626  cluster nodes or other organizational computers,
     
    3838It can be used for any purpose (academic, commercial, or private)
    3939and can be used with applications that are not open-source.
     40
     41== Cost comparison ==
     42
     43BOINC was created to provide scientists with big computing power at a small cost.
     44Suppose you need, say, 100 TeraFLOPS for 1 year.
     45Here are some ways you can get it:
     46
     47 '''Use Amazon's Elastic Computing Cloud: $175 Million'''  :: Based on $0.10 per node/hour.
     48 '''Build a cluster: $12.4 Million''' :: This includes power and air-conditioning infrastructure, network hardware, computing hardware, storage, electricity, and sysadmin personnel.
     49 '''Use BOINC: $125,000''' :: Based on the average throughput and budget of the 6 largest volunteer computing projects.
     50
     51It takes (very roughly) three man-months to create a BOINC project:
     52one month of an experienced sys admin, one month of a programmer, and one month of a web developer.
     53Once the project is running, budget a 50% FTE (mostly system admin) to maintain it.
     54In terms of hardware, you'll need a mid-range server computer and a fast connection to the commercial Internet.
    4055
    4156== Getting started ==
     
    87102 Examples include SETI@home, Rosetta@home, and Einstein@home.
    88103
    89 * Research community.
     104* Application-centered research community.
    90105 The project is operated by a single research group,
    91106 but serves a broader community in that science area.
    92  An example is Climateprediction.net,
     107 Examples: Climateprediction.net,
    93108 which is based at Oxford but collaborates with
    94109 projects around the world.
     110 Mindmodeling.org serves researchers from about 20 universities who use the same application (the ACT-R cognitive modeling system).
    95111
    96112* Science Gateway.
     
    100116 An example (in progress) is nanoHUB.
    101117
    102 * University-wide umbrella project.
    103  The project is operated by a university,
    104  and serves the researchers at that university.
    105  An example (no longer operating) is the University of Westminster in London.
     118* Institutional umbrella project.
     119 The project is operated by an organization (university or research lab),
     120 and serves the researchers in that organization.
     121 For example, LHC@home servers multiple groups at CERN.
     122 An academic example (no longer operating) is the University of Westminster in London.
    106123 This idea is elaborated on [VirtualCampusSupercomputerCenter here].
    107124