How to Install Dual 6.22 mpich on a Quad-Windows

[MikeB12]

This is just how I set my dual smps up in Vista 64 if it helps anyone with theirs...


HOW I DUAL SMP IN WINDOWS (Vista in this example): (6 steps)
1.
Download affinity changer, either 32 bit or 64 bit depending on your os. http://distributed.org.ua/forum/inde...showtopic=1149
and install it. the service will start at the end, and will start with windows from now on. DONE.
note: if xp, make sure you have net framework 2 like the link instructions state...



2.
dl 6.23 mpich in a temp dir http://www.stanford.edu/group/pandeg...-SMP-mpich.exe
and install it in 2 different directories (it's best not to put it in C:\Programs because of Vista's security, so pick another dir)
like:
C:\smp1
C:\smp2



3.
Copy shortcuts of "install.bat" and "Folding@home-Win32-x86.exe" to your desktop and rename them...
for my example I used

shortcut name = Loginx for install.bat
shortcut name = smpx for Win32-x86.exe

then right click-properties of both smpx shortcuts and add the flags (-smp -local) to them. as illustrated.





4.
Before launching smpx shortcuts, launch both install.bats (loginx) to get "mpi is working" twice for both directories..
You must use a windows admin with a password for this, if you don't have one with a password, create it now...
Turn UAC off in Vista.
in my example here, I created a windows admin user X with password X. it makes it easy to login to mpi (install.bat), just tap x-enter x-enter x-enter, and you get "mpi is working".
a short username and password for this admin windows user that does nothing but login to mpi is a little shortcut to help making launching smp easier.





5.
now you can launch the clients with the smpx shortcuts, the first time you launch it will ask you too config.
fill in your username and team.
answer YES to advanced config, and make the first client machine id=1, and the second client machine id=2...
the rest are your call, I just use the default on all except machine id...

The client should start working and processing it's first work unit now.
(if you need to reconfigure at a future date, just delete the client.cfg file from your install directory, and the next time you launch the client it will run through these questions again).



6. I always restart windows to close the client to ensure it saves the work progress. You can use ctrl-C to close the client, but I've found it sometimes loses the work on client restart. so for me, rebooting windows with the start button is a safer way of stopping the client to save work if I need to stop them. smp is finicky in this way, go figure..

anyway, from now on you can just launch the smpx shortcuts and the client will authenticate mpi on it's own and start on it's own. there is no need to run the install.bat/login shortcuts anymore. the client will start mpi on it's own as long as you ran install.bat that first time. and immediately start working on a wu.




7. you may now put these 2 smpx shortcuts in your START MENU -STARTUP folder if you would like to auto launch the clients at windows start.

[Sparky]

Curious, how much memory total do all the fahcore_a1 processes take up?

[MikeB12]

I guess it varies with the wu. but my guess is average about 100mb per thread. so 8 thread=800mb....

here's a Q6600@3420mhz w/4gb ram in vista64 right now on 2 2665wu's...

Project : 2665
Core : SMP Gromacs
Frames : 100
Credit : 1920


-- X4-smp1-Vista-Q6600-3420mhz-6.22R3 --

Min. Time / Frame : 15mn 32s - 1779.91 ppd
Avg. Time / Frame : 15mn 40s - 1764.77 ppd
Cur. Time / Frame : 15mn 42s - 1761.02 ppd
R3F. Time / Frame : 15mn 42s - 1761.02 ppd
Eff. Time / Frame : 17mn 01s - 1624.76 ppd


-- X4-smp2-Vista-Q6600-3420mhz-6.22R3 --

Min. Time / Frame : 15mn 50s - 1746.19 ppd
Avg. Time / Frame : 15mn 57s - 1733.42 ppd
Cur. Time / Frame : 16mn 02s - 1724.41 ppd
R3F. Time / Frame : 16mn 02s - 1724.41 ppd
Eff. Time / Frame : 17mn 22s - 1592.02 ppd

[Sparky]

OK, any benefit doing this on an AMD quad or only intel quads?

[MikeB12]

when this whole affinity changer thing was testing last year, people said AC only optimized on intel. but you can still try running 2 clients on your phenom. just benchmark it on one client.. then install a second client with machine id 2, add the -local flags.. and benchmark it with 2 clients. see which turns more ppd for the machine total. I've never had a phenom, so that ques is out of my scope.

also some have said the -local flags aren't needed anymore, but I still use them on mine and they still work. I've never tried without them... that's the dual flag that was used in the beginning of this last year when dual smp on quads in windows was introduced.

[Sparky]

I may play with it at some point. Regarding flags, I still use the -forceasm even though I've been told it is obsolete, because with it set the message "not checking prior termination" still comes up, and I never have a lost WU at a restart.

[Kingcarcas]

I'm going to try and follow this for just one install But i'd like to keep a clean desktop...i'll try putting the shortcuts somewhere else...

[[XC] 2long4u]

Where is this smp flag you are talking about?

[MikeB12]

^^ step 4 above... (in the shortcuts)

[[XC] 2long4u]

Is that just a vista thing? I never create shortcuts. Any time I turn on folding I go into the F@H program file folder.

[MikeB12]

if you don't want to use a shortcut, then you'll have to use the command line to start smp... (xp, vista, or linux)

not sure why anyone would want to do all that typing though...
(this is not the old 5.9x smp where you can just click the executable, you have to use the -smp flag in smp 6.2x)...
otherwise it just runs in single core mode, that was your problem last night...

you can put the shortcut wherever you want, it doesn't have to be on the desktop. it's only purpose is to run the flags. just drop it in next to the exe if that's where you like to see it.

[[XC] 2long4u]

THis is what I get.

[[XC] 2long4u]

I renamed the shortcut and it says the specified path doesn't exist.

[MikeB12]

it's probably the way you put the flags in... if you dont put a space after the exe in the path, then it thinks the flag is part of the path... and of course there is no ".exe-smp" filename.. it needs to be ".exe -smp". the space after the .exe in the shortcut path lets it know that the .exe is the end of the path, and not the -smp -local.

[[XC] 2long4u]

Do you keep the " between the .exe and -smp -local

[MikeB12]

lol.. you have local.exe

it should be Win32x86.exe -smp -local

somehow you managed to sitck the flags in the middle of the filename.

look at my shortcuts in step #4.... delete your current ones and redo them. I don't use the quotes in the shortcut path...

[[XC] 2long4u]

Now I get this but the one smp is maxing out all 4 cores. Isn't the affinity changer supposed to make it use 2 cores? I can't remember if one smp used 2 cores and the other smp used the other 2 cores.

[MikeB12]

the only thing affinity changer does is reorganize the threads so the ones using the most memory get the most cpu. it's not perfect though, so dont sit there and try to watch it. but does give a boost in ppd over time. both clients still use all 4 cores.. you just have 8 threads of fahcore_a1, instead of 4. which is good, because that core from fah is not very efficient at bleeding all the cycles out of the cpu... that's why we run dual clients, to give each core 2 threads. then let AC reorganize the threads so the ones doing the most work are getting the most cpu priority.

[[XC] 2long4u]

I think I got it.
It still isn't using all available memory.
Why did they have to go and change things? This is why my points have been in the crapper for the last 8 months or so. And who figures out how to do all the changes? Seriously, I have a hard enough time being told what to do, let alone figuring it out for myself.

[shadowwind]

im not sure i did it right but on vista 32 i had to run smp 2 as the administrator but its working now time will tell ..

[MikeB12]

anyone reading this thread in the future.. make sure to pay attention to the details of each step when you're following the instructions in the OP.
the problems that have been posted in the past 10 replies in this thread could have been remedied by paying close attention to the details of each numbered step instruction in the OP.
1. details of the shortcut creation is in step 4 with screeenshots of details on how to use a flag in a shortcut.
2. vista rights requirements in step 5. (must be admin and UAC off).

glad yall got it working.
here's a copy of one of my Q6600/8800gt 2GB ram rigs in Vista 64 and the ram usage on dual smp and gpu now...

[shadowwind]

im not sure mine was a problem smp 2 i started first it sent in every thing and now im waiting on smp 1 its at 67% its all looking good so far.
we should get this set up on folding at home a sticky i know im going to be looking for it again.

[MikeB12]

^^^ it's in the stickies thread, which is stickied.. in post #12. that's how I usually find it when I link it... (last sticky) http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=197050
but before I posted it there, I always had to use search to find it..

[[XC] 2long4u]

On Dec. 29 I completed 12 wu's. For some reason they were only taking a few minutes a piece.
It was only running for about 1 hour when it did that.

[MikeB12]

is it running ok now? or is it still having issues?
post the top 50-100 lines of your log in bbcode [code]if you need help....