Redbacks: emu's Budget Cruncher Farm Build

[emuexport]

LEGENDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

D_A that was what it was I reckon as I turn off all intel CPU extras in the bios as per usual but hadnt turned off CPU Frequency Manager and I also turned off Power Managemet in the services.

Now Boinc gives me

Whets: 3232
Dhrys: 9091

Q6600@3.2GHz (It was at 3.6GHz but was having issues and I'd had too many beers by then! lol)

so with CPU frequency manager on I get:
Whets: 2691
Dhrys: 7574

[D_A]

That's an easy one to get tripped up on. Fell for it more than once myself.

I went through and did installs of Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Xubuntu (all 8.10 64bit) to gauge the benchmarks on my Opty 185 to get a comparison and check for any weirdness.

Ubuntu - 2389/5503
Xubuntu - 2383/5535
Kubuntu - 2401/5617

(all at 2.86 with 6.2.15 64bit and completely fresh installs)

[[XC] mysticmerlin]

And dont think I didnt notice the collective nudging me out of 9th place rofl

[64dragon]

emu, good to hear you got it fixed

That's an easy one to get tripped up on. Fell for it more than once myself.

I went through and did installs of Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Xubuntu (all 8.10 64bit) to gauge the benchmarks on my Opty 185 to get a comparison and check for any weirdness.

Ubuntu - 2389/5503
Xubuntu - 2383/5535
Kubuntu - 2401/5617

(all at 2.86 with 6.2.15 64bit and completely fresh installs)

i'm a lil surprised at those results, expected Xubuntu to be a lil better, thought it was a lil more stripped down.

i think i fubar my Kubuntu install the other day and may try out puppy linux, super small footprint size wise (100mb) so it should be pretty fast http://www.puppylinux.org/home or http://www.puppylinux.com/

[D_A]

All of those benches were done on "out_of_the_box" systems ie no tweaks of any kind, every default service running.

[emuexport]

cool.

So why is the Dhrys so low?

It seems that my 4Gig of high spec ram gives a lower Dhrys than the standard 6400 corasir stuff I have any ideas?

[64dragon]

cool.

So why is the Dhrys so low?

It seems that my 4Gig of high spec ram gives a lower Dhrys than the standard 6400 corasir stuff I have any ideas?

Dhry is low because its an AMD rig

from what i understood, WCG isn't dependent on ram so you shouldn't really see much difference between ram speeds

[D_A]

The only time I get any difference in performance that I can positively trace back to RAM speed/configuration is when I use the rig for other things while it's crunching. The headless machines under my desk only ever sit there and crunch, so it makes no difference to them at all.

If anyone wants to pare back an Ubuntu based system (remove unwanted services etc) there's useful app call sysvconfig. You start it from the command line. It lets you pick which services (daemons) that your system will run ... BUT ... WARNING, will Robinson, WARNING! ... it lets you disable EVERY daemon in your system including the ones you NEED, so research each one BEFORE turning them off!

Yes I learnt the hard way.

Careful use WILL bring your benchmarks up a bit though, as well as making your system a little more responsive at the expense of losing some functions.

[emuexport]

I have to go into work today (Sunday) to catch up before the week starts! So not much work will happen on the build. Maybe when I get back tonight.

Thanks for the help guys hopefully I'll have them all crunching like mofos shortly. Fifth quad (Redback-5) inbound.

emu

[MomijiTMO]

Please take a final photo of your crunching area after your done. I wanna see!

[power is increasing by 14% next year. This is our 3rd increase in just as many years]

[emuexport]

Oh there will be pics momo!

keep in mind I dont have a mass watercooler setup like fallwind but maybe one day!

I'll post pics tonight if I get the chance. They are not all running atm and the KVM I was using to help me set them up was messed up last night and the Ethernet over Power seems a bit flaky so I'll have to try summfin else.

Over Christmas I plan to put two of them on water with a PA120.3 do you reckon it will be able to handle the heat dump (obviously I'll search later).

emu

P.s. BTW the rack is now 2.0m tall lol

[D_A]

My Q6600 at 3.6 Ghz on Server 2k8 64-bit gets:
Whetstone: 3372
Dhrystone: 10019

Even assuming Linux 64-bit scores a little bit lower than Vista/Server2k8, you still should be getting higher than what you got...

Eller

Karl, which version of BOINC are you using for these?

[karl_eller]

6.2.19

Also, found out why my score was a little lower than usual lately. Turns out my server has something like 3 days worth of WU's that it was refusing to upload Had to re-start BOINC (server is still running 5.10.45) to get them to upload.

Eller

[emuexport]

So here are some pics for now. I still have a fair bit of tidying up to do and add some WC goodness to it but it'll do for now till I get some more time.
Here is the default rack setup before the upgrade.

Heres the upgrade....




I think I probably could fit at least 8 crunchers on this rack with the current spacing but I dont think I'll hit 8 anytime soon so this setup should last me for a while!



All 4 are running at about 3.3GHz and need some more fine tuning but they'll do for the moment and hopefully they wont overheat as we had a 38DegC (100DegF for most of you) day yesterday!

And since swapping power plugs in the house the Ethernet over Power is working a treat.

I also found out that one of my rigs wasnt uploading its results! So I should get a fair whack today or tomorrow!

And yes I will tidy up a bit but too much fun riding the bike even if it is a 250 and check out my great guard dog lol

[emuexport]

So I am just about to put the 4th Redback back in after giving it a S1283 for Christmas and add the 5th Redback to the Cluster (supposedly thats a group of spiders - lol go figure)

I have a question for you all though (no I havent googled yet but I will)...............

How come my installs all seem to have a problem with uploading to the net? Network Communication error. I thought maybe it was the ethernet over power but my Server has the same problem? Any ideas?

Update: Turns out one of the 2nd hand Gigabyte Mobos I bought is DEAD! and the other wont post but I cant find a speaker to plug in to find out what the problem is!
My guess is that it needs a bios upgrade and I only have quads available! Hopefully shortly there will be a E4400 in my paws soon for me to upgrade the BIOS.

Might have to grab a motherboard for the christmas break! Any suggestions? As I'll swing by and pick one up tomorrow.

[123bob]

Wow, don't know how I've missed this thread for so long.....

Go Emu, Go!!!

Always nice to see a new "permanent resident" in the cruncher asylum....Don't worry though, SiG has us covered. Just keep taking two quads in the morning and you'll be up to adding two more shelf units before you know it.

In hindsight, the shelf approach with open boards is very good. I have switched to that with my new machines. I had done two racks with server cases, but find I really don't need them and they make maintenance more of a PITA.

One suggestion is to secure the shelf to the garage wall so it can't fall down. This is not just for seismic issues. It also helps when you try to pull the shelf down because you're trying to service the top shelf when you've had one (or six) too many beers. I know, I've done it. If it weren't for the seismic braces I put on my racks, I'd have something to cry about.....

EDIT: I'd also suggest you get a few 120mm fans and put at least one on each machine. Just blow the air across the critical parts like the NB, SB and RAM. Set the fan up on edge and just blow the air across. You can secure them with zip ties or even tape if they want to "walk" around the shelf. It is cheap insurance to avoid overheating parts. Try to cover your HDs as well. I recently lost a HD in an open rig, I think it was due to heat. I didn't have any air going over it.

Regards,
Bob

[SiGfever]

I got BIG plans for this one Bob.

[Movieman]

I got BIG plans for this one Bob.

Oh Emu... Be afraid, be VERY Afraid!..

This Sig guy is dangerous..
Next he'll fly to your house, steal your credit cards, sell your dog and bike and buy all those expensive PC parts..
And the worst part?
He won't steal them!
He'll leave them there so you have to pay the electric for them.
The Man is a monster I tell you.. A Monster!

[SiGfever]

Oh Emu... Be afraid, be VERY Afraid!..

This Sig guy is dangerous..
Next he'll fly to your house, steal your credit cards, sell your dog and bike and buy all those expensive PC parts..
And the worst part?
He won't steal them!
He'll leave them there so you have to pay the electric for them.
The Man is a monster I tell you.. A Monster!

Who me?

[Movieman]

Who me?

YEA!...........YOU!

[123bob]

I got BIG plans for this one Bob.

Thank you Dr. SiG. I know in your capable hands, everything will be alright....

Emu will be up to three shelf units in no time....

Bob

[SiGfever]

Thank you Dr. SiG. I know in your capable hands, everything will be alright....

Emu will be up to three shelf units in no time....

Bob

Only three?

[Mr_Slinky]

Only three?

Yeah only 3? Really you don't look poor. I think its time for you to sell that bike thingy that is taking up precious cruncher space maybe you should get a foot-mobile?

[SiGfever]

Yeah only 3? Really you don't look poor. I think its time for you to sell that bike thingy that is taking up precious cruncher space maybe you should get a foot-mobile?

Ah it does my heart good to see such a caring team member.

[Lu523]

Nice looking setup so far. I need to get my second quad up and running. I know I want catch you in points. But I will do what I can.