Message boards : Number crunching : controlling a linux client
Message board moderation

To post messages, you must log in.

AuthorMessage
River~~

Send message
Joined: 13 Jul 05
Posts: 456
Credit: 75,142
RAC: 0
Message 16350 - Posted: 15 Feb 2007, 7:55:31 UTC
Last modified: 15 Feb 2007, 8:10:48 UTC

There is a misconception, which I suffered from at one time that linux BOINC commits you to working in command line mode. If doesn't, though you do need a little command line Unix to get things running when you download the official distro. But after that it can be just as 'graphical' as on Windoze.

For example, Alex recently said:

besides, their pc is a linux box, so they'd have to run command line stuff instead of clicking buttons in a gui.


I was glad to discover some time ago that I was wrong in this, and am making this posting to help anyone else who is wondering about this. There are a number of options

1. Run the official BoincManager from KDE or Gnome. The official download of the client includes a BM that works with both those desktops. My suggestion if you use this approach is to put a link ('shortcut') to the BM on your desktop.

2. Run BoincView under Wine as Alex suggested

3. Run BoincView from a nearby Windows box (my own solution) (eg if you are already running a mixed network)

4. Run the windows BoincManager on a nearby windows box and connect remotely. (ever wonder why you can load multiple instances of the BM? It is for the very few users who have one BM running for each of their other machines. I used to do this myself till I discovered option 3)

5. Run the linux BoincManager on a nearby graphics-enabled linux box.

6. Run BoincView under Wine on a nearby linux box.

Solutions 3 - 6 all work even with a command-line only linux box - you don't even need an X-server on the box running BOINC as all the gfx happens on the 'viewing' box.

'Nearby' means that the box running BM or BV has to be able to address the box running the client. The viewer can be inside a firewall compared to the client, but not the other way round. In principle a BOINC client on a box with a public IP address (or with port forwarding) could be controlled from the other side of the world.

Solutions 1, 3, and 4 have been used by me on a long term basis and work well. Alex uses option 2.

Finally, suggestions 3-6 will all control windoze boxes as well.

BV is available from http://boincview.amanheis.de/. For some people the fact that it is not open source is an issue, and certainly means there will never be a native Linux BV :(

The BV binaries for windows are freeware and in my opinion if you have more than one box you'd be better off with BV than BM. I have no idea if BV is Vista-ready.

Hope that helps.


River~~

ID: 16350 · Report as offensive     Reply Quote
Paul Sands

Send message
Joined: 28 Sep 04
Posts: 6
Credit: 14,658,966
RAC: 11,025
Message 16358 - Posted: 15 Feb 2007, 16:07:21 UTC

There is a nice manager fo Linux called KBoincSpy. I like it better than the manager that comes with Boinc.

http://kboincspy.sourceforge.net/
ID: 16358 · Report as offensive     Reply Quote
River~~

Send message
Joined: 13 Jul 05
Posts: 456
Credit: 75,142
RAC: 0
Message 16366 - Posted: 17 Feb 2007, 0:28:43 UTC - in response to Message 16358.  

There is a nice manager fo Linux called KBoincSpy. I like it better than the manager that comes with Boinc.

http://kboincspy.sourceforge.net/


and FluffyChicken on Rosetta points out that

There are also quite a few other options, one of them being KBoinc Manager, so no need to use another Windows box or WINE (or similar WINE clones) to get BOincView capabilities

http://kde-apps.org/content/show.php?content=44237

AND it is under the GPL license unlike BoincView which is closed source, so that keep the linux open source people happy.

ID: 16366 · Report as offensive     Reply Quote
River~~

Send message
Joined: 13 Jul 05
Posts: 456
Credit: 75,142
RAC: 0
Message 16374 - Posted: 20 Feb 2007, 12:40:14 UTC
Last modified: 20 Feb 2007, 12:40:42 UTC

I have started a separate thread for a related topic, controlling the whole Linux machine (rather than just BOINC) from a windows box.

This thread to control just BOINC, the other thread to control an entire Linux desktop.

R~~
ID: 16374 · Report as offensive     Reply Quote

Message boards : Number crunching : controlling a linux client


©2024 CERN