What is Distributed Computing? Distributed computing is a process which solves a large problem by giving small parts of the problem to many computers to calculate, and then combining the solutions for the parts into a solution for the problem. Typically, these kinds of problems would take extensive supercomputer time to process. Instead of competing for that limited resource, distributed computing (DC) projects use the idle time of personal computers or servers at homes, schools and businesses volunteered by people all over the world. This sub-set of distributed computing is also called “volunteer computing”. Grid computing is another sub-set referring to DC within an organization such as a university or corporation, usually run on an internal network rather than the Internet.
How do DC projects work? You select a project, download some software (the client or application), and it runs in the background on your computer. When you are not using any computing resources, the project will use 100% of your processing power (cycles). If you are doing something on your computer, it will adjust to take any cycles not being used, and runs at a priority to get out of the way of other software. Some projects have very specific hardware requirements in order to effectively handle the computations. The vast majority of projects use the CPU (computer chip, i.e. Intel or AMD), but some are branching out to use high-end graphics cards or the new Cell chip in the Playstation 3. The projects communicate with their installed clients via the Internet. Most do not require an “always on” connection to the Internet.
The projects will assign your computer a work unit (wu) to process, varying in length from 5 minutes to 1 month or more. They will also set a deadline for getting the result back, usually about 2 weeks, but it can vary by project and whether the project uses returned results to focus the next set of calculations. Once your wu is nearing completion, the project will send you more work. You can store (cache) some work units in advance so that your computer is always using its idle processing power. Now you are “crunching” for your favorite projects.
What about the results? Many projects are run by major universities and make their results publicly available. Some are commercially oriented, some projects are in support of graduate-level theses, and some are just for fun. The projects recognize that you are donating your computer resources and the related power consumption for the computer and possible cooling costs, and they do their best to keep participants informed of the latest developments with their project and in their field via the project’s message boards (on-line forums) and blogs.
The projects grant their volunteers points for the CPU time they donate, and often cite the specific contributors (when possible and with the contributor’s permission) in their papers published in peer-reviewed journals. These papers and other presentations are typically linked from the project’s website. Projects also provide other researchers or the public with access to the underlying data for the results, and some provide feedback on your specific contributions. A few allow you to develop your own tests to run under their project, or have developed other interactive games or projects to supplement their main project. We have tried to identify this information when available in our alphabetic project lists.
What is BOINC? BOINC is a platform which enables the user to run multiple DC projects through one interface. BOINC provides the information on how to set up a DC project, while the project creators provide the software (client/application) to calculate their project and the raw data they need to have processed. BOINC is open source and supported by the National Science Foundation. BOINC was created by the University of California at Berkeley, the folks who brought the original SETI@Home DC project to the world in 1999.
BOINC main page
http://boinc.berkeley.edu/ - download BOINC software, list of major BOINC projects, message boards, user stats, news, etc.
For additional information, see the BOINC Wiki
http://www.boinc-wiki.info/index.php?title=Main_PagePersonalizing BOINC The first thing you will need to decide is what user name to use within BOINC. While this can be different for each project, typically people use one user name in all of their DC projects and related forums. You are joining over 1.3 million people using BOINC, but don’t worry if your user name isn’t unique – the projects can tell you apart by your e-mail addresses. You can also tell BOINC what country you live in, and you can join or create a team. Naturally, we recommend Team-SciFi.
Then you decide what computer resources BOINC can use, and how to share those resources for each project you join.
Please see the description of Account Managers below if you want an easy way to manage multiple projects across multiple computers.
Try BOINC Skins The newest versions of the BOINC software (aka BOINC Manager) include a graphic window (aka simple view) of the project(s) you are working as well as the standard table window (advanced view). The graphic view can also be personalized by using skins created by users throughout the BOINC community. Here is an example of a BOINC skin
You can download more skins here:
http://www.altes-beckhaus.com/cf/dlc/index.phpYou can learn how to make your own skins here:
http://boinc.berkeley.edu/manager_skin.php#SkinTracking Your Progress Points are a great way to track your progress, or compete with others. Want to know how many points (officially known as BOINC cobblestones) you’ve accumulated across all your projects? Check out these sites. You can also show your progress on Team-SciFi’s message boards and spread the word in other forums with a stats counter in your signature block.
DC Stats SitesBOINCStats
http://www.boincstats.com/index.php BOINC Statistics for the World
http://www.boincsynergy.com/stats/index.phpBOINC Combined Stats
http://boinc.netsoft-online.com/e107_plugins/boinc/bp_home.phpSETIatWork
http://www.setiatwork.com/DC-Vault (teams stats only)
http://www.dc-vault.com/index.phpFormula BOINC
http://www.myboinc.com/FormulaBoinc/ (A Formula-1 style team competition)
DC Stats CountersNeil Munday’s Stats Counter
http://boinc.mundayweb.com/one/index.php BOINCStats
http://www.boincstats.com/index.phpAutomatically generated from a search on your username
BOINC UK
http://www.boincuk.com/show3.phpBOINC Account Managers An account manager is a web-based interface that simplifies participating in BOINC, especially if you are new to BOINC, or if you have several computers, or participate in several projects, or like to learn about new projects. The account manager will allow you to
- See all BOINC projects, old and new, listed and described at the account manager.
- Attach to a project with one mouse click. If you have multiple computers, all of them will be attached.
- Change your account details (name, email address, password) in one web page, at the account manager.
- Set resource shares for all projects in one web page, at the account manager.
- Create/join/quit teams in one web page, at the account manager.
For an account manager to be effective, you must use the same user name and email address for the account manager and for each BOINC project.
BAM!
http://www.boincstats.com/bam/ - BOINC Account Manager from BOINCStats
Grid Republic
http://gridrepublic.org/ OK, What’s the first step? Choose the projects that appeal to you, but recognize the limits of your computer system(s) and your internet connection. A Pentium 4 – class (2.0 GHz or better) computer can usually run 4-5 projects effectively under BOINC, where you select the percentage of computer time assigned to each project. BOINC can also run effectively in combination with a stand-alone project if you have separate cores you can allocate to each (Pentium D-class, AMD X2-class or better). Some projects also have specific minimum hardware requirements. Check the project’s website for any requirements.
You might want to start with the more established projects until you feel comfortable with your computer and BOINC before trying projects still in the developmental stage (early developmental = Alpha, pre-production developmental = Beta). When participating in a developmental project, be prepared for long periods without work, problems with credit or project performance. Where possible, help the project developers to improve their project by providing specific feedback on the project’s message boards.
For a detailed list of all active (and planned) distributed computing (DC) projects, see
http://distributedcomputing.info/projects.html.
