MC doesn't follow resource share

Message boards : Number crunching : MC doesn't follow resource share

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jay_e
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Joined: Oct 13 09
Posts: 39
Credit: 396,172
RAC: 361

Greetings.

I'm running BOINC (7.0.28 x64) on


11/19/2012 2:42:01 AM | | Processor: 4 AuthenticAMD AMD Phenom(tm) 9550 Quad-Core Processor [Family 16 Model 2 Stepping 3]

| Processor: 512.00 KB cache
Processor features: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush mmx fxsr sse sse2 htt pni cx16 syscall nx lm svm sse4a osvw ibs page1gb rdtscp 3dnowext 3dnow
OS: Microsoft Windows Vista: Home Premium x64 Edition, Service Pack 2, (06.00.6002.00)
Memory: 5.75 GB physical, 11.62 GB virtual
Disk: 583.02 GB total, 435.93 GB free


It is a quad core.
I have preferences set for three projects:
35% LHC
5% Malaria Control
60% World community grid

BUT
there are:
TWO MC WUs
One LHC WU
Two WCG WUs

MC consistently runs more WU than it should.

Is this a BOINC problem - or an MC problem?

Thank you!!!!

Jay

Thyme Lawn
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BOINC makes all of the work fetch and scheduling decisions Jay.

You have 5 tasks running because your computer also has a GPU (presumably running WCG HCC tasks):

NVIDIA GeForce 9100 (256MB) driver: 30697

Over the long term BOINC 7 should be balancing host RACs according to the relative resource shares for the projects running on a computer. With MC having a 5% relative resource share it's likely that every time you download a task BOINC decides it has to be run at the earliest opportunity to meet its deadline (with 4 CPUs MC should be averaging 4 or 5 hours run time per day assuming the projects grant credit at a similar rate).

One complication is any tasks which have to wait for validation; they could result in RAC fluctuation which is outside the control of BOINC's work fetch and scheduling. If you have a large number of MC tasks pending validation the project's RAC will be suppressed and you might get more tasks than expected. When those tasks are validated there will be a RAC boost and you might not get any MC tasks for a while.
____________
"The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

jay_e
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Joined: Oct 13 09
Posts: 39
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RAC: 361


Thank you for the response!!

Of MC completed WU,
since 11/16/2012, 7 pending validation,
since 11/14/2012, 22 completed and validated.

I have GPU disabled.
I have set additional WU to 0%.
There are 4 WU downloaded and BOINC is processing all 4.

I will post the question to the BOINC forum.

The question is not about the priority once downloaded,
but why download more than 1 MC wu at a time when the share is 5% of processors.
MC is getting 50% of the processing power.

I started with 50% for WCG, 25% for MC and 25% for LHC - and MC downloaded TWO wu.

Then I decreased MC down to 5% Resource share.

Just curious.... Are others seeing this behavior?

Thanks again,
Jay

Profile mikey
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Joined: Mar 23 07
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Thank you for the response!!

Of MC completed WU,
since 11/16/2012, 7 pending validation,
since 11/14/2012, 22 completed and validated.

I have GPU disabled.
I have set additional WU to 0%.
There are 4 WU downloaded and BOINC is processing all 4.

I will post the question to the BOINC forum.

The question is not about the priority once downloaded,
but why download more than 1 MC wu at a time when the share is 5% of processors.
MC is getting 50% of the processing power.

I started with 50% for WCG, 25% for MC and 25% for LHC - and MC downloaded TWO wu.

Then I decreased MC down to 5% Resource share.

Just curious.... Are others seeing this behavior?

Thanks again,
Jay


As Thyme said Boinc is about the LONG TERM not the short term, so YES absolutely you will see your pc crunch tons of this or that project but over the next month or so you will see your percentage ratios even out. There is a project called Climate Prediction, it has workunits that can take as long as TWO YEARS to finish, can you imagine Boinc trying to keep it at a 5% ratio, or a 25% ratio, when ONE unit can take two years to finish! Boinc is like an operating system, lots of things happen under the surface and Boinc tries to manage them all, it does some things very well, others things it could use some work on.

Personally I would like to be able to tell Boinc to use 1 cpu for this project, another for that project etc, etc. That may NEVER happen, or it could be done tomorrow. The Boinc programmers are based in Berkeley and led by a Dr. David Anderson of Seti. He created Boinc and got the first grant to run it, the rest as they say 'is history'. He is STILL the main programmer but now has a team of people helping him. There is a Boinc Mailing List that you can subscribe to, but be warned that if you criticize the software they will stop replying to you. It is best to read it for awhile before asking anything.

jay_e
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Joined: Oct 13 09
Posts: 39
Credit: 396,172
RAC: 361

Mikey,

Thanks!
after ~2 weeks of running, the tasks evened out.
Now, LHC ran out of WUs. Oh well.

Thanks again,
Jay

PS,

I did post to the Boinc Forum - but probably in the wrong place.
http://boinc.berkeley.edu/dev/forum_thread.php?id=7987&nowrap=true#46380


I was concerned on the initial downloading of WU - rather than the balance once they are running.

Profile mikey
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Mikey,

Thanks!
after ~2 weeks of running, the tasks evened out.
Now, LHC ran out of WUs. Oh well.

Thanks again,
Jay

PS,

I did post to the Boinc Forum - but probably in the wrong place.
http://boinc.berkeley.edu/dev/forum_thread.php?id=7987&nowrap=true#46380


I was concerned on the initial downloading of WU - rather than the balance once they are running.


I too have tried to run LHC but it does seem to run out of units fairly often! At first I thought it was just me, I have over 30 cpu's I can bring, but now I don't think so!

Ageless
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Personally I would like to be able to tell Boinc to use 1 cpu for this project, another for that project etc, etc. That may NEVER happen, or it could be done tomorrow.

Tomorrow it is then. ;-)

http://boinc.berkeley.edu/trac/wiki/ClientAppConfig is something that will be coming in the next 7.0 client.
____________
Jord.

BOINC FAQ Service

Profile mikey
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Joined: Mar 23 07
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Personally I would like to be able to tell Boinc to use 1 cpu for this project, another for that project etc, etc. That may NEVER happen, or it could be done tomorrow.

Tomorrow it is then. ;-)

http://boinc.berkeley.edu/trac/wiki/ClientAppConfig is something that will be coming in the next 7.0 client.


Oh NOW THAT would be sooooo cool!!!! Thanks Jord!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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