Setup BoincTasks to monitor Boinc PC & Tasks (56K) warning

BoincTasks is a Windows application to monitor multiple machines running Boinc. It will monitor Windows and Linux crunchers running any Boinc project. BoincTasks can issue commands to the Boinc PCs it is monitoring. One menu choice and all crunchers will report finished work units, or another single menu choice and all machines will pause, run, run benchmarks and more. BoincTasks is still under development with frequent updates, online manual and forums.

The steps for enabling BoincTasks to see your remote hosts is the same needed to use BoincView and the BoincManager. The BoincManager can show a remote host by clicking on Advanced > Select Computer and entering the IP number of the remote host.

http://img.techpowerup.org/101101/BoincTasks.jpg

Also available from same author is TThrottle

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Measure the Processor & Gpu (CUDA) temperature.
Regulate the run time of the program, so that the Processor temperature and or Gpu Processor temperature doesn't exceeds a set temperature.
Automatically includes all BOINC projects.

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TThrottle intigrates with BoincTasks.

After BoincTasks is installed go to the Control Panel and open Folder Options


Click on Show hidden files and folders and below that uncheck Hide extensions for known file types
http://img.techpowerup.org/101101/showhidden.jpg
Close the Folder Options and Control Panel
Open Boinc Manager and go to Messages tab. Look for the Data Directory. On Vista the default is c:\ProgramData\Boinc. If you do not see it shut down BoincManager and stop all work and restart. It should now be on the top line or first few lines.

Default Data Directory for
Vista C:\ProgramData\Boinc
Windows 7 C:\ProgramData\Boinc
Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\BOINC if installed for all users. C:\Documents and Settings\[Username]\Application Data\BOINC\ if installed for single user. C:\Documents and Settings\LocalService\Application Data\BOINC\ if installed as a Service. <needs verifying>

Open Notepad, as it is pure text and has no formating. Other editors may inbed formating so use Notepad in Accessories. Go to the Data Directory and open gui_rpc_auth.cfg. Blank this file out, removing all text or numbers and Save as using the All Files (*) option in the Save as type: box. THIS IS IMPORTANT. Notepad by default will add a .txt extention to the end of the file and Boinc will ignore it.

Now Open remote_hosts.cfg. If it is not there then create a new file called remote_hosts.cfg. Enter the IP number of the machine that BoincTasks is installed on. You can also enter the hostname of the machine Boinctasks is installed on on another line.

Save this file and reboot.

Ubuntu Linux setup. Other distros may be different.

Applications > Accessories > Terminal When terminal opens type the following then hit enter: sudo /usr/bin/gedit Enter your password. gedit should now be open.

For Boinc installed from the command line using apt-get:
Click on Open then in the left column click on File System on right column double click on etc scroll down to boinc-client and double click.

For Boinc installed from download:
Click on Open then in the left column click on File System on right column double click on home scroll down to your login name and double click and double click on BOINC.

For Dotsch Boinc/Linux installs:
Click on Open then in the left column click on File System on right column double click on home scroll down to boinc and double click and double click on BOINC.

If Boinc was installed another way just replace the directory names above with the location your config files are in.

If you are in the correct directory now, depending on the way Boinc was installed, you should see gui_rpc_auth.cfg in the right column. Double click on gui_rpc_auth.cfg. On my install the file is empty. If there is anything shown in the window delete it all using the Backspace or Delete keys. Now click on Save. Now File > Close.

Now click on File > Open or the Open Icon. Double click on remote_hosts.cfg. If remote_hosts.cfg is not listed then click on Cancel at bottom right corner. Then click on File > New. Go to the end of the file and type in the IP number of the machine that BoincTasks is running on. After entering the information click on save and enter the file name. In this case remote_hosts.cfg. Make sure the correct directory is in the box under the filename, else choose the correct directory by selecting File System which will open a directory browser. You can restart Boinc or reboot the machine. BoincTask should see your Linux cruncher now.

To enter a computer running Boinc to the list to be monitored click on the Computers tab.
http://img.techpowerup.org/101101/computers.jpg

Then click on Computer on the task bar and click on Add computer.
Enter the hostname under Computers and the IP of the machine to be monitored or localhost if it is the machine BoincTasks is installed on.
Then click outside the box and wait a few minutes for the PC to be found.
http://img.techpowerup.org/101101/findcomputers.jpg

If the PC is not found click on Computer on task bar and click on Find Computer. It is best to narrow down the range of IPs to be searched
keeping the IP number of any PCs to be monitored within the range to be searched. Leave password blank. Scan Address Range and Find
are not the same and use different ways of locating machines running Boinc. Try each until your PC is listed. Click on the PC that was found
and click Add selected.
http://img.techpowerup.org/101101/scan.jpg


If after rebooting all machines or exiting Boinc, see below, that you edited the files on and doing the above scan address range and find
they still do not show up recheck all the files,
file names and IP of the BoincTasks host. Most of the time when a machine does not show up a file is mis-named or the IP is wrong.
Check firewall settings on any of the machines and open port 31416.

Boinc Manager and Boinc are NOT the same program!

In the pic below you can see Boincmgr.exe and above that boinc.exe are both running. Boinc.exe manages your work units,
downloading new ones, uploading and reporting completed ones according to configuration files. The configuration files are managed by Boincmgr.exe
or Boinc Manager. Boinc Manager is the visual interface that allows you to see the work units being worked on and the ones in queue. BoincTasks and BoincView
are alternative Boinc Managers. The files we create and alter for BoincTasks and BoincView are Boinc configuration files that are also used and managed by Boinc Manager.

http://img.techpowerup.org/101103/boinc.jpg

In order for changes to gui_rpc_auth.cfg and remote_hosts.cfg to be recongized by Boinc.exe it has to be shut down. You can close Boinc Manager
and not Boinc. The changes will not be read. Boinc has to be closed.

To do so on Windows click on File > Exit and put a check mark in the box Stop running science applications when exiting the Manager.
Starting Boinc Manager will restart Boinc and configuration changes will be in force.

http://img.techpowerup.org/101103/boinc_exit.jpg

To do the same in Linux click on File > Exit and then OK To restart the boinc client enter at the command line sudo /etc/init.d/boinc-client restart
If you click on the X in the top left hand corner or another button on the gui window you will close Boinc Manager but NOT Boinc. Changes will not be read.

http://img.techpowerup.org/101103/boinc_linux.jpg

how about a similar app for os x? is there anything?

Please advise of any errors or additional info that needs to be added.

Thanks!

Thanks for the tutorial PG! :toast:
I do prefer BoincView's looks though. Or maybe I've just gotten used to it :shrug:

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Originally Posted by jcool

Thanks for the tutorial PG! :toast:
I do prefer BoincView's looks though. Or maybe I've just gotten used to it :shrug:

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I too have used BoincView for a long time and are very comfortable with it. I was wondering what the advantages of BoincTasks are over BoincView.

Thanks for the how-to. I've been meaning to set this up (or BoincView) for quite some time but, I just never made the time to find out how to do it.

I need to try out boinc task again; I remember it had some good features like it compressed WU's waiting in que into a minimizable tree. That was handy because now my task tabe in BV is outa control.

*edit, you can see this in the first screenshot in PG's post #1.

boinctasks has a nice graphing tool built in. it's that button right beneath the File menu

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Originally Posted by PoppaGeek

Please advise of any errors or additional info that needs to be added.

Thanks!

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Hey Poppa, I've wasted about 4 hours trying to get this program to work without success. :mad:Most befor your guide went up. I noticed in your guide that you said to put the host computers IP address in the remote_hosts.cfg. on the local machine. The instructions on the website say specifically not to do that. They say the host computer IP should be 192.168.10.1/Localhost. You don't mention how your remote computer files read or were modified. I feel like I've tried every combination and nothing is working. :confused:

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Originally Posted by WFO

Hey Poppa, I've wasted about 4 hours trying to get this program to work without success. :mad:Most befor your guide went up. I noticed in your guide that you said to put the host computers IP address in the remote_hosts.cfg. on the local machine. The instructions on the website say specifically not to do that. They say the host computer IP should be 192.168.10.1/Localhost. You don't mention how your remote computer files read or were modified. I feel like I've tried every combination and nothing is working. :confused:

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Can you use the stock boincmanager to connect to a remote computer? Go to Advanced > Select Computer then enter the remote computer IP and the password that you put in the machines gui_rpc_auth.cfg. If that works then your remote boinc is setup to accept incomming connections. If not then back to editing those files and checking firewalls. And also after you edit remote_host.cfg and gui_rpc_auth.cfg you have to restart boinc on that machine because boinc reads those files when it starts. Once you can connect with the stock boincmanager then move onto setting up boincview or boinctask.

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Originally Posted by WFO

Hey Poppa, I've wasted about 4 hours trying to get this program to work without success. :mad:Most befor your guide went up. I noticed in your guide that you said to put the host computers IP address in the remote_hosts.cfg. on the local machine. The instructions on the website say specifically not to do that. They say the host computer IP should be 192.168.10.1/Localhost. You don't mention how your remote computer files read or were modified. I feel like I've tried every combination and nothing is working. :confused:

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If you would link to what you read that said to use 192.168.10.1/Localhost. No way that will work if that is not your network. Maybe that was an example he was giving?

BoincTasks communicates with the Boinc that is running on the remote machines. For clarity the IP number that goes in the remote_hosts.cfg file is the IP number of the machine running BoincTasks. I run BoincTasks on my Vista machine 1055x6, it's IP is 192.168.1.119. That is what I put in all the remote_hosts.cfg file of the other machines that run Boinc that I want to monitor. Not the IP of the machine being monitored. This is not BoincTasks specific it is Boinc specific as the same thing is required to monitor a remote machine with BoincManager or BoincView.


I had problems with BoincView on a new Vista install and could not fix it. I did not like BoincTasks at first but have since found it to have more features and it is still supported as BoincView is no longer supported.

I just set this up earlier today, WFO.

PG is correct. Use the host machine IP in the remote_hosts.cfg file on the local machines.
The IP you cited from the instructions is just an example.
I was a bit confused by the language there myself.

As TRN said, you MUST restart BOINC manager on the local machines after creating and editing the remote_host.cfg file. (I didn't have to reboot the machines-just exited and restarted BOINC.)
In my case, relaunching BOINC manager on the local machines immediately gives a firewall prompt which I accepted.
After that, the Boinc Tasks search function on the host machine picked up the locals and all I had to do was provide the password from the gui_rpc_auth.cfg file on the local machines.

If you're running a different OS (I'm on W7ProX64) you may have to handle the firewall thing manually, IDK.

I handled the whole thing via RDC from the host machine.

Keep asking, we'll get it. :up:

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Originally Posted by mezcal

I just set this up earlier today, WFO.

PG is correct. Use the host machine IP in the remote_hosts.cfg file on the local machines.
The IP you cited from the instructions is just an example.
I was a bit confused by the language there myself.

As TRN said, you MUST restart BOINC manager on the local machines after creating and editing the remote_host.cfg file. (I didn't have to reboot the machines-just exited and restarted BOINC.)
In my case, relaunching BOINC manager on the local machines immediately gives a firewall prompt which I accepted.
After that, the Boinc Tasks search function on the host machine picked up the locals and all I had to do was provide the password from the gui_rpc_auth.cfg file on the local machines.

If you're running a different OS (I'm on W7ProX64) you may have to handle the firewall thing manually, IDK.

I handled the whole thing via RDC from the host machine.

Keep asking, we'll get it. :up:

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Yep keep posting and we'll get there! :up:
My first time I spent several jours trying to get BoincView to work and it was a mis-named remote_hosts.cfg file. Very frustrating.

I say to reboot the machine after changing the files because closing BoincManager does not nessacarily stop Boinc. If you are not used to Linux you will think you stopped it by closing the windows and you did not and the new settings will not be read.

If you are sure you restarted it correctly then that will work fine.

Cheers for the guide!!

Is boinctasks something that could be run on a machine without WCG? (blasphemy!!) say, just on a machine to monitor others?

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Originally Posted by Origin_Unknown

Cheers for the guide!!

Is boinctasks something that could be run on a machine without WCG? (blasphemy!!) say, just on a machine to monitor others?

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Do not see why not. As long as it is a Windows PC.

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Originally Posted by PoppaGeek

Do not see why not. As long as it is a Windows PC.

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Attachment 109079

<gigglesmirk>

If i squint really hard, i can just about make out the text :rofl:

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Originally Posted by Origin_Unknown

If i squint really hard, i can just about make out the text :rofl:

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Fine then

Attachment 109080

I am going to assume that D_A is saying you can run it on a Linux box under wine. :shrug:

I do not use wine so he can help ya with that one.

Thanks for the guide! :up:

I should give this or BOINCView a shot on the school farm, that would make monitoring them all a lot easier

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Originally Posted by PoppaGeek

I am going to assume that D_A is saying you can run it on a Linux box under wine. :shrug:

I do not use wine so he can help ya with that one.

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Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Works very nicely, too, though not everything does.

Thought I'd sat thanks for this thread PG...It's the first time I tried using this and once I read ALL of your guide it worked just fine...just should have re started boinc on the other machines ....but did I pay attention to that little gem on first read???....:shakes:

EDIT:Question....Do the guys who get pie turn their widescreens vertical to get all their cores on screen?

gui_rpc_auth.cfg is the password file....right?

Yep, that's the one.

Yep, it seems whatever you put in here must match with the entry for that machine in boincmanager whether it be blank or contain a password

Added additional info to first post and link to TThrottle, addin to monitor PC temps and control usage according to temps.

Well, I finally got it working. I see all 6 cores up & running. It took a bit of convincing on the BoincTasks end to find and add computers.

Thanks for the replies guys! :up: I'm going to wait till supercomputer week is over to mess with it some more. I'm tired of interrupting clients, rebooting etc. Max points are what counts right now. :yepp:

http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/6219/boinctasks.png

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

I think I've got the two .cfg files set up right and boinctasks data entered properly but, I still can't connect to the other computers.

I went through this once before and gave up....I remember now....I never could, and still can't even get BOINC manager to connect to other computers on my network.

So, I think it's a firewall thing. How do I "poke a hole" in my firewall correctly, without opening up to the rest of the world?

I'm using an xp x64 machine to connect to 7 ultimate x64 machines. I can see and share with them in windows explorer.

Edit: NOT 7 (quantity) machines, windows 7 machines....a couple of 'em./Edit

You need to open the windows firewall to allow access to the boinc service.

I have an XP SP3 machine here I'm ... testing ... yeah that's it, testing ... all SC week it should take.

Attachment 109105

I'm an idiot. I kept trying to allow boincmgr.exe

Worked like a charm D_A. Thanks.:up:

Edit: #1 - You guys are awesome. Thanks so much. Finally got this working correctly for monitoring a very small handful of rigs.
#2 - O M G. This is so much easier.
#3 - So, to run headless, just turn off "halt on ______ errors" to "never" or disabled, or whatever in BIOS?

Other people's definition of "headless" may differ from mine, but to me it just means no monitor, keyboard or mouse attached locally, with all admin being done by remote access. At the very least you need to turn off the keyboard error in BIOS.

http://img.techpowerup.org/101103/boinctasks.png

He is just using 192.168.10.x as an example network.

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Originally Posted by D_A

Other people's definition of "headless" may differ from mine, but to me it just means no monitor, keyboard or mouse attached locally, with all admin being done by remote access. At the very least you need to turn off the keyboard error in BIOS.

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From what I've seen, you can't always disable Halt On Keyboard. :( The Intel D101GGC won't; it demands a keyboard. :(

Which would be one of the reasons I keep at least one old keyboard around all the time. ;)

I personally need to find a cheap USB keyboard. I left my extra keyboards & mice at home (which was a mistake, of course).

I'm curious as to how my systems will react running without graphics cards.

I make sure I always have a PS2 keyboard on hand. Got me out of trouble more than once!

Additions to post on trouble shooting, how to stop and restart boinc and changes in formating to make easier to read.

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Originally Posted by Bobsama

I personally need to find a cheap USB keyboard. I left my extra keyboards & mice at home (which was a mistake, of course).

I'm curious as to how my systems will react running without graphics cards.

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Me too. I thought that is what "headless" meant.....along with no keyboard and mouse, no graphics card and obviously no monitor because of no graphics card.

Some motherboards simply won't boot without a graphics adaptor of some sort, others will (with the right settings in BIOS).

sorry to go OT but D A what is that OS/desktop you got there in post #33? I ask as i am curious, and does resemble Ubuntu slightly

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Originally Posted by CaptMorgan

sorry to go OT but D A what is that OS/desktop you got there in post #33? I ask as i am curious, and does resemble Ubuntu slightly

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I run Ubuntu 10.04 with a custom kernel ( 6.2.35.5 based for now ). In that image I've used a remote terminal to access a WinXP SP3 machine as well. I have in the past run 4 different OSs in virtual machines just to show it could be done (my lecturer at the time called me a smart arse for my trouble).

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Originally Posted by D_A

(my lecturer at the time called me a smart arse for my trouble).

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you keep showing them how it is done D A:up:

This is the picture I included in the assignment:
Attachment 109126

It has Ubuntu, WinXP and Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop all running in a 3D multiple desktop environment.

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Originally Posted by D_A

It has Ubuntu, WinXP and Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop all running in a 3D multiple desktop environment.

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Nice work. It's badly in need of some Anti-Aliasing though :rofl:

:sofa:

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Originally Posted by jcool

Nice work. It's badly in need of some Anti-Aliasing though :rofl:

:sofa:

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True, but then it was done on a 7600GT card and I did have to compress the image to squeeze it into the 200K upload limit. :shakes:

:rolleyes:
Looks good to me. :up:

WTF is that-That is Trontastic

Ok now I've been at this for hrs and I can't get it to connect :mad:
Please help:yawn:

BoincTasks keeps trying but can not connect:shakes:

Your network, how is it all connected? I ask because mine took ages to connect when using a hub not a switch.

Did you do this bit right?.....

Open Notepad, as it is pure text and has no formating. Other editors may embed formating so use Notepad in Accessories. Go to the Data Directory and open gui_rpc_auth.cfg. Blank this file out, removing all text or numbers and Save as using the All Files (*) option in the Save as type: box. THIS IS IMPORTANT. Notepad by default will add a .txt extention to the end of the file and Boinc will ignore it.

Now Open remote_hosts.cfg. If it is not there then create a new file called remote_hosts.cfg. Enter the IP number of the machine that BoincTasks is installed on. You can also enter the hostname of the machine Boinctasks is installed on on another line.

Save this file and reboot.

I don't know if you need the remote_hosts.cfg file for Boinctasks to work but you might.

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Originally Posted by OldChap

Your network, how is it all connected? I ask because mine took ages to connect when using a hub not a switch.

Did you do this bit right?.....

Open Notepad, as it is pure text and has no formating. Other editors may embed formating so use Notepad in Accessories. Go to the Data Directory and open gui_rpc_auth.cfg. Blank this file out, removing all text or numbers and Save as using the All Files (*) option in the Save as type: box. THIS IS IMPORTANT. Notepad by default will add a .txt extention to the end of the file and Boinc will ignore it.

Now Open remote_hosts.cfg. If it is not there then create a new file called remote_hosts.cfg. Enter the IP number of the machine that BoincTasks is installed on. You can also enter the hostname of the machine Boinctasks is installed on on another line.

Save this file and reboot.

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My network are connected via switches so it should not be a problem, I've got no problem acceseing shared files on all of them.

I belive I've got the Notpad thing right, I've checked several times so it should be OK. I've tried opening the ports on all of them too but still no connection.

The first time I tried this I messed up the using notepad and ended up with the .txt extension. (easy to find in the folder)

The second time I forgot to re-boot the remote machines

Then I re- read the instructions here and ...voila. so I have not had problems or had to fix ...I'm out of further ideas.

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Originally Posted by OldChap

The first time I tried this I messed up the using notepad and ended up with the .txt extension. (easy to find in the folder)

The second time I forgot to re-boot the remote machines

Then I re- read the instructions here and ...voila. so I have not had problems or had to fix ...I'm out of further ideas.

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OK rebooting all of them now just to be sure.

Edit: No it didn't make any difference:shakes:

Apart from that ...see post 35

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Originally Posted by OldChap

Apart from that ...see post 35

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I'm running all of them fully loaded with GPU's and keyboard.

I Need new specs....post 33

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Originally Posted by OldChap

I Need new specs....post 33

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I've checked the firewall settings and they seem right as far as I can see.

All my 6 crunchers are running Win7 64 bits connected through switches. You need more specs?

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Originally Posted by Mydog

You nerd more specs?

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Glasses, he needs new glasses. ;)

Are all the remote machines on the same subnet as the one running BoincTasks? eg all in the 192.168.1.xxx range?

I had a problem connecting as well. I could share stuff over my network but boinctasks would not connect. What I messed up was: I made a windows firewall exception for boincmgr.exe. Supposed to be an exception for boinc.exe.

Maybe double check your firewall exceptions.

I run boinctasks on an XP x64 machine (for now, long story), the machines I connect to are 7 x64.

Edit: I am an idiot sometimes. I think I also messed up my .cfg file by using the wrong address for the remote machine./Edit

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Originally Posted by D_A

Glasses, he needs new glasses. ;)

Are all the remote machines on the same subnet as the one running BoincTasks? eg all in the 192.168.1.xxx range?

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Don't need new glasses but a iPhone that doesn't autocorrect my typing at 1.50AM:p:

Yes all the machines are on the same subnet as the one running BoincTask.

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Originally Posted by my87csx481

I had a problem connecting as well. I could share stuff over my network but boinctasks would not connect. What I messed up was: I made a windows firewall exception for boincmgr.exe. Supposed to be an exception for boinc.exe.

Maybe double check your firewall exceptions.

I run boinctasks on an XP x64 machine (for now, long story), the machines I connect to are 7 x64.

Edit: I am an idiot sometimes. I think I also messed up my .cfg file by using the wrong address for the remote machine./Edit

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I've got an exception for all of the Boinc .exe files just to be sure:rofl:
Also rechecked all the addresses and they are correct.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mydog

Don't need new glasses but a iPhone that doesn't autocorrect my typing at 1.50AM:p:

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That was Oldchap's glasses we were referring to. ;)

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Originally Posted by D_A

That was Oldchap's glasses we were referring to. ;)

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OMG I totally missread that:ROTF:

Mydog,
Did you ever get it to work?

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Originally Posted by RAMMIE

Mydog,
Did you ever get it to work?

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Late answer but yes it's working, four crunchers online with 56 threads:D


http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7040/boinctask.jpg

Just a note:
After re-installing Vista BoincTasks would no longer see the clients that were on wireless on statrup. I had to use "Find" each time too see them. To enable my daughter to use my printer from her PC which is on wireless I had to enable "Network Discovery" on my Vista PC. The 2 wireless clients now show up on BoincTasks startup. :up: