LHC@home

Hi there,

I am getting errors running the theory simulation task.
Here is the output:
11:56:56 (2212): wrapper: running ../../projects/lhcathome.cern.ch_lhcathome/cranky-0.1.4 ()
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] Detected Theory App
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] This application must have permanent access to
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] online repositories via a local CVMFS service.
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] It supports suspend/resume if a couple of
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] requirements are fulfilled.
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] Most important:
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] - init process is systemd
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] - cgroups v2 is enabled and 'freezer' is available
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] - the user running this application is a member of the 'boinc' group
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] - sudo is at least version 1.9.10
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] - sudoer file provided by LHC@home is installed
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] Checking local requirements.
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] Init process is not 'systemd'.
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] Can't find 'systemd-run'.
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] Can't find 'cgroups v2'.
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] User 'sun' is missing in group 'boinc'.
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] To add 'sun' to 'boinc' run 'sudo usermod -aG boinc sun'.
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] Found Sudo-Version .
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] Can't compare sudo version number.
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [ERROR] Can't find 'cvmfs_config'.
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [ERROR] This usually means a local CVMFS client is not installed
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [ERROR] although it is a MUST to get data from online repositories.
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] Can't find 'runc'.
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [ERROR] Major requirements are missing. Can't run this task.
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] Early shutdown initiated due to previous errors.
11:56:56 CST +08:00 2024-04-08: cranky-0.1.4: [INFO] Cleanup will take a few minutes...

Unfortunately it is a bit technical for me.
I tried to check cvmfs. It seems to run fine:
ThinkPad-R480:~$ sudo cvmfs_config probe
[sudo] password for sun:
Probing /cvmfs/atlas.cern.ch... OK
Probing /cvmfs/atlas-condb.cern.ch... OK
Probing /cvmfs/grid.cern.ch... OK
What is wrong here?

Ubuntu 22 LTS installed, Flatpak version of Boinc 7.22.1 installed, computer model Thinkpad R480, CPU Intel core i5 8250U

Thanks.

Flatpak version of Boinc 7.22.1 installed

This runs in a container/sandbox right?
Then it has no access to commands like systemd-run.

You need to install a BOINC version that runs directly on your Linux OS.

Beside that:
Theory native tasks run up to 10 days and during this period the computer and the BOINC client must not be shut down or restarted.
If you can't ensure this you may better run the vbox versions of ATLAS/Theory.

Thanks for the help.

I thought that Flatpak versions of Boinc were not sandboxed because the Mangaer app detected my old version of APT Boinc client before I purged it.

I will try turning off the native tasks instead.

Is there a way that I can get a non-sandboxed Boinc which is stable (not alpha testing etc)?

Apt gives me an old 2020 version which says it is only for testing and unstable.

Ubuntu 22 LTS installed

This comes with BOINC 7.18.1 which is (was) known to have issues as it was an Android only version.
Don't know if the Ubuntu maintainers published a corrected packet under the unchanged version number.

Since you try to run Theory native you would run into other problems like sudo not being recent enough (1.9.9) to support regular expressions.
Hence, the suggestion would be to upgrade your Ubuntu, e.g. to 23.10.
That one comes with BOINC 7.20.5 and sudo 1.9.14.

You can look at Ubuntu 24 LTS and see if it has the requirements for the package versions you need. It is supposed to be releases about April 25th.

Link to daily build if you wanted to try it before April 25th.
https://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/

Thanks for all your help!
I just upgraded to 22 LTS from 20 LTS back in December last year. And my GPU drivers only provide support for LTS releases. Personally, I also prefer LTS builds since I moved to Ubuntu due to Windows Update annoyances. I think upgrading again would be overkill.
I also disabled native tasks as it seems Virtualbox versions would be more stable in my case.
I was wondering if there is another way to install a stable version of Boinc...
I did find this thread https://lhcathome.cern.ch/lhcathome/forum_thread.php?id=4840#36880 teaching how to build from source, however it seems a bit outdated and I am not sure if anything has changed.
I could also just steal the deb packages from the Ubuntu 23 apt sources, but I am not sure if this would introduce compatibility issues etc. I am a linux noob after all.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

I could also just steal the deb packages from the Ubuntu 23 apt sources

You can try this with a precompiled packet, but there's a risk that the new packet is build against libraries that are not up to date on your running system.
In most cases this affects BOINC Manager which is build against wxWidgets.

You may follow these steps:
1. Download the new BOINC client packet to a temporary directory but do NOT install it
2. cd to that directory
3. extract the files boinc, boinccmd and boincmgr
4. run "ldd boinc", "ldd boinccmd", "ldd boincmgr"

If any of the commands (mostly "ldd boincmgr") prints errors like "foobar.x.yz => not found" that library is missing.
Either install it (exactly the requested version) or do not use that BOINC version.

If "ldd ..." doesn't print an error you have a really good chance that it works.
Try the manager first.
1. make a backup of the old "boincmgr" file
2. replace the old file with the new one
3. Run the new BOINC manager

If this succeeds it should be save to also replace boinc/boinccmd and restart BOINC.

I built BOINC from source, these instructions are working, I made some comments that were updated in the documentation.

https://github.com/BOINC/boinc/wiki/BuildSystem

I could not build a release version with static linking however, I didn't see any issues with 7.24.1

If you want to go bleeding edge, you can get the 8.0.1 alpha, I'm using on 23.10, I also didn't see any issues but ymmv

Hi, sorry for the late reply.

I ran sudo apt upgrade and AMDGPU ran into installation problems.
APT now shows Brokencount>0 and I can do nothing with apt now. Trying to install anything would just return:

But that is not going to be installed

That (might) include compiling with APT.
The official website of Boinc also does not have up-to-date versions of Boinc for Linux.

I never knew getting an up-to-date version of Boinc was that complicated. Taking from the Ubuntu 23 sources does not seem easier either.
Guess I ran into the very problem that flatpak was designed to solve-yet flatpak somehow cannot be used? I am not familiar with the flatpak concept. I only know it is designed to be a bundle with all the dependencies. If I could get Atlas/theory to run in Virtualbox only, would that solve the problem?
Is there some way I could get Flatpak to ignore the container/direct it to virtualbox? The process is not a sandbox so it should not be that hard.

I could also try using an appimage of Boinc. Not sure if that would somehow work.

I might try the Boinc forum and see if they have any way to deal with this issue.

I would also like to note that there is no warning/notice that additional software needs to be installed to run LHC tasks (except sixtrack) I do not know why. The detection should happen before tasks get downloaded (maybe a dummy task that detects the dependencies). CVMFS only comes up after a log check and another forum post. Newbies like me would keep asking questions and keep downloading ~300MB of files only for the programs to throw up an error. Unnecessary trouble for both sides.

Anyway, thanks for the cues and I will try to learn more about (GNU?) Linux in the meantime.

I would also like to note that there is no warning/notice that additional software needs to be installed to run LHC tasks

It is mentioned at the homepage as well as a couple of times at the FAQ page:

https://lhcathome.cern.ch/lhcathome/
"Please note that some of the applications on LHC@home requre Virtual Box to be installed."

https://lhcathome.web.cern.ch/faq


As for CVMFS there's a pinned thread in "Number crunching":
Recommended CVMFS Configuration for Native Apps - HowTo v2

I accept that new volunteers might think this project works like "attach and forget", but I don't agree with those who immediately complain but obviously don't check the requirements, the forum and their logfiles when they get nothing but errors.

I would also like to note that there is no warning/notice that additional software needs to be installed to run LHC tasks

It is mentioned at the homepage as well as a couple of times at the FAQ page:

https://lhcathome.cern.ch/lhcathome/
"Please note that some of the applications on LHC@home requre Virtual Box to be installed."

I am aware of that notice and (just like any other newbie that follows guidance) I installed Virtualbox when installing Boinc.
It should be more specific. Something like "LHC@home requires Virtualbox and CVMFS to be installed for most tasks to run properly. This is how to install CVMFS: https://lhcathome.cern.ch/lhcathome/forum_thread.php?id=5594#44232"

Otherwise the task would not run, a search on bing would provide useless, the Boinc event logs would only report a failure and the newbie would (if they even know how to use the forums) ask the same question I did.

I would also like to note that there is no warning/notice that additional software needs to be installed to run LHC tasks

It is mentioned at the homepage as well as a couple of times at the FAQ page:

https://lhcathome.cern.ch/lhcathome/
"Please note that some of the applications on LHC@home requre Virtual Box to be installed."

I am aware of that notice and (just like any other newbie that follows guidance) I installed Virtualbox when installing Boinc.
It should be more specific. Something like "LHC@home requires Virtualbox and CVMFS to be installed for most tasks to run properly. This is how to install CVMFS: https://lhcathome.cern.ch/lhcathome/forum_thread.php?id=5594#44232"

Otherwise the task would not run, a search on bing would provide useless, the Boinc event logs would only report a failure and the newbie would (if they even know how to use the forums) ask the same question I did.

You don't need CVMFS AND Virtualbox for things to run. You only need CVMFS if you plant to run Linux Native tasks. If you do not select that specific option then you can run CMS, Theory, and Atlas tasks with Virtualbox alone.

Hi,
Linux Debian 12 - VPS - VirtualBox (7.0.18r162988) is installed, the processor supports hardware virtualization and it is enabled

stderr:

<core_client_version>7.20.5</core_client_version>
<![CDATA[
<message>
process exited with code 1 (0x1, -255)</message>
<stderr_txt>
2024-06-22 08:46:30 (1312): vboxwrapper version 26207
2024-06-22 08:46:30 (1312): BOINC client version: 7.20.5
2024-06-22 08:46:35 (1312): Error in guest additions for VM: -182
Command:
VBoxManage -q list systemproperties
Output:
VBoxManage: error: Failed to create the VirtualBox object!
VBoxManage: error: Code NS_ERROR_SOCKET_FAIL (0xC1F30200) - IPC daemon socket error (extended info not available)
VBoxManage: error: Most likely, the VirtualBox COM server is not running or failed to start.

2024-06-22 08:46:35 (1312): Detected: VirtualBox VboxManage Interface (Version: 7.0.18)
2024-06-22 08:46:40 (1312): Error in host info for VM: -182
Command:
VBoxManage -q list hostinfo 
Output:
VBoxManage: error: Failed to create the VirtualBox object!
VBoxManage: error: Code NS_ERROR_SOCKET_FAIL (0xC1F30200) - IPC daemon socket error (extended info not available)
VBoxManage: error: Most likely, the VirtualBox COM server is not running or failed to start.

2024-06-22 08:46:40 (1312): WARNING: Communication with VM Hypervisor failed.
2024-06-22 08:46:40 (1312): ERROR: VBoxManage list hostinfo failed
2024-06-22 08:46:40 (1312): called boinc_finish(1)

</stderr_txt>
]]>

"Error in guest additions for VM: -182"

Any suggestion in this matter?

---

General hint

The computer reports <4GB RAM.
The recommended minimum is 16GB.
It may run with less but the value should not be less than 8GB.


As for the error message

"Error in guest additions for VM: -182" is misleading and should be ignored.
The real issue is "IPC daemon socket error".

BOINC and VirtualBox require a common writable communication directory below /tmp.
Some Linux distributions ship a "boinc-client.service" file that sets "ProtectSystem=strict".
This option prohibits BOINC's write access to /tmp.

Either keep "ProtectSystem=strict" and add the following options to the service file:
ReadWritePaths=-/your/BOINC/clients/base/directory/path
ReadWritePaths=-/tmp

Or
Replace "ProtectSystem=strict" with "ProtectSystem=full".

Then run
sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Then restart BOINC


Additional hint
Modifications to a service unit file should be done using an overlay.
See the systemd manual.

After changing in boinc-client.service
on ProtectSystem=full, now the message appears,
"is installed, the processor supports hardware virtualization, but it is disabled"
The installation is located in the "VPS" cloud, it does not have access to the BIOS.
Before it showed that virtualization was available.
It's probably impossible to solve this?
Preview of the contents of the boinc-client.service file

[Unit]
Description=Berkeley Open Infrastructure Network Computing Client
Documentation=man:boinc(1)
Wants=vboxdrv.service
After=vboxdrv.service network-online.target

[Service]
Type=simple
ProtectHome=true
ProtectSystem=full
ProtectControlGroups=true
ReadWritePaths=-/var/lib/boinc -/etc/boinc-client
Nice=10
User=boinc
WorkingDirectory=/var/lib/boinc
ExecStart=/usr/bin/boinc
ExecStop=/usr/bin/boinccmd --quit
ExecReload=/usr/bin/boinccmd --read_cc_config
ExecStopPost=/bin/rm -f lockfile
IOSchedulingClass=idle
# The following options prevent setuid root as they imply NoNewPrivileges=true
# Since Atlas requires setuid root, they break Atlas
# In order to improve security, if you're not using Atlas,
# Add these options to the [Service] section of an override file using
# sudo systemctl edit boinc-client.service
#NoNewPrivileges=true
#ProtectKernelModules=true
#ProtectKernelTunables=true
#RestrictRealtime=true
#RestrictAddressFamilies=AF_INET AF_INET6 AF_UNIX
#RestrictNamespaces=true
#PrivateUsers=true
#CapabilityBoundingSet=
#MemoryDenyWriteExecute=true
#PrivateTmp=true  #Block X11 idle detection

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

stderr:

<core_client_version>7.20.5</core_client_version>
<![CDATA[
<message>
process exited with code 108 (0x6c, -148)</message>
<stderr_txt>
2024-06-22 11:58:39 (2898): vboxwrapper version 26207
2024-06-22 11:58:39 (2898): BOINC client version: 7.20.5
2024-06-22 11:58:39 (2898): Detected: VirtualBox VboxManage Interface (Version: 7.0.18)
2024-06-22 11:58:39 (2898): Detected: Heartbeat check (file: 'heartbeat' every 1200.000000 seconds)
2024-06-22 11:58:39 (2898): Successfully copied 'init_data.xml' to the shared directory.
2024-06-22 11:58:39 (2898): Successfully copied 'input' to the shared directory.
2024-06-22 11:58:39 (2898): Create VM. (boinc_fdf8ec5cd288cf29, slot#3)
2024-06-22 11:58:39 (2898): Setting Memory Size for VM. (630MB)
2024-06-22 11:58:39 (2898): Setting CPU Count for VM. (1)
2024-06-22 11:58:39 (2898): Setting Chipset Options for VM.
2024-06-22 11:58:39 (2898): Setting Graphics Controller Options for VM.
2024-06-22 11:58:39 (2898): Setting Boot Options for VM.
2024-06-22 11:58:40 (2898): Setting Network Configuration for NAT.
2024-06-22 11:58:40 (2898): Enabling VM Network Access.
2024-06-22 11:58:40 (2898): Disabling USB Support for VM.
2024-06-22 11:58:40 (2898): Disabling COM Port Support for VM.
2024-06-22 11:58:40 (2898): Disabling LPT Port Support for VM.
2024-06-22 11:58:40 (2898): Disabling Audio Support for VM.
2024-06-22 11:58:40 (2898): Disabling Clipboard Support for VM.
2024-06-22 11:58:40 (2898): Disabling Drag and Drop Support for VM.
2024-06-22 11:58:40 (2898): Running under Hypervisor. Disabling VirtualBox hardware acceleration support.
2024-06-22 11:58:40 (2898): ERROR: Invalid configuration.  VM type requires acceleration but the current configuration cannot support it.
2024-06-22 11:58:40 (2898): Could not create VM
2024-06-22 11:58:40 (2898): ERROR: VM failed to start
2024-06-22 11:58:40 (2898): 
   NOTE: VirtualBox has reported an improperly configured virtual machine. It was configured to require
               hardware acceleration for virtual machines, but your processor does not support the required feature.
               Please report this issue to the project so that it can be addressed.
               Error Code: ERR_CPU_VM_EXTENSIONS_DISABLED

2024-06-22 11:58:40 (2898): called boinc_finish(-148)

</stderr_txt>
]]>

---

After changing in boinc-client.service
on ProtectSystem=full, now the message appears,
"is installed, the processor supports hardware virtualization, but it is disabled"
The installation is located in the "VPS" cloud, it does not have access to the BIOS.
Before it showed that virtualization was available.
It's probably impossible to solve this?
Preview of the contents of the boinc-client.service file

Harware virtualization being enabled is a must to run VMs from LHC@home.
Ask your cloud manager how to forward/configure it.
If this is not possible you can't run any VirtualBox VMs from this project.

Harware virtualization being enabled is a must to run VMs from LHC@home.
Ask your cloud manager how to forward/configure it.
If this is not possible you can't run any VirtualBox VMs from this project.

300.08 (native theory) Hardware virtualization support required?

---

Harware virtualization being enabled is a must to run VMs from LHC@home.
Ask your cloud manager how to forward/configure it.
If this is not possible you can't run any VirtualBox VMs from this project.

300.08 (native theory) Hardware virtualization support required?

As already mentioned hardware virtualization is a must for VirtualBox apps.
Native apps do not require VirtualBox, hence they also do not require hardware virtualization.

Even if you run nothing but Theory native, increase the RAM size to at least 8GB and ensure the disk size is at least 20GB.

Harware virtualization being enabled is a must to run VMs from LHC@home.
Ask your cloud manager how to forward/configure it.
If this is not possible you can't run any VirtualBox VMs from this project.

300.08 (native theory) Hardware virtualization support required?

As already mentioned hardware virtualization is a must for VirtualBox apps.
Native apps do not require VirtualBox, hence they also do not require hardware virtualization.

Even if you run nothing but Theory native, increase the RAM size to at least 8GB and ensure the disk size is at least 20GB.

Hi
Tutorials related to native_theory (300.08 ), ATLAS (native mt). Can you indicate where the instructions are located? The configuration for native_theory, ATLAS 3.01 (native_mt), is the same?
What ports should be opened in the firewall?

Do applications use avx512 instructions?
What is the difficulty level for it to work smoothly?

Will this host be suitable for these tasks?
RAM 16 GB, SSD 464.29 GB
https://lhcathome.cern.ch/lhcathome/show_host_detail.php?hostid=10853952

---

Will this host be suitable for these tasks?
RAM 16 GB, SSD 464.29 GB
https://lhcathome.cern.ch/lhcathome/show_host_detail.php?hostid=10853952

Yes.

Tutorials related to native_theory (300.08 ), ATLAS (native mt). Can you indicate where the instructions are located? The configuration for native_theory, ATLAS 3.01 (native_mt), is the same?

For both (ATLAS/Theory native) a well configured local CVMFS is a must.
Hence, get it running before you try any task.
https://lhcathome.cern.ch/lhcathome/forum_thread.php?id=5594
https://lhcathome.cern.ch/lhcathome/forum_thread.php?id=5595

ATLAS requires apptainer to be installed.

As for Theory you may start here:
https://lhcathome.cern.ch/lhcathome/forum_thread.php?id=6075&postid=48978

What ports should be opened in the firewall?

Start here or use the forum search:
https://lhcathome.web.cern.ch/faq