How-To: Ubuntu cruncher! Install and forget

[Movieman]

Ahh, Oldchap, your in good hands with D_A!

[OldChap]

I must agree with you there MM

So D_A, why do think it would be that when I download from the repository I can run Manager but when I "wget and then sh" even though I see the "use /home/*username*/BOINC/run_manager to start BOINC" trying to do so results in ...nothing at all?? The client will run though but I don't know how to do all the attach and configure in a text only environment.

It feels like a simple step I have missed but I don't see it.

[D_A]

When you install from the repo the manager and everything else gets installed in locations that are in your path. There's a hidden file in your home folder that defines several paths to where stuff might be installed. /usr/bin is the default place for programs that you as a regular user are allowed access to so that's where the boinc, boinccmd and boincmgr files are put. THe script /etc/init.d/boinc-client not only starts the client but defines where the data directories are.
The script run_manager does exactly what it says. It runs the manager, not the client. The catch is that the manager requires an X environment to run. It's a graphical application, so without a graphical interface (in Unix terms an "X server") it won't run. That's also assuming you have all the required libraries and such on the system.
If you have a GUI environment, go to the BOINC folder, open a terminal and enter

ldd boincmgr

This will output what libraries are required by the program "boincmgr", what versions it has found on your system and if any are missing or the wrong version. Copy and post the output here if you want any explanation of the output.

[D_A]

If this is going to be a headless machine you could just alter the remote_hosts.cfg file to allow the IP address on your local network of the machine you want to use to manage it and do it all from the BOINC Manager on your main rig (Windows/Linux/Mac/Android doesn't matter for this, and yes I did mean to put Android in that list).

Another alternative is to install from the repositories and then use the files extracted from the Berkley download to update it. It's not hard and I can give you copy/paste code line by line.

[D_A]

In case anyone wants the commands:
I'll assume you're starting with a fresh system.
Download the installer file to your home directory and run it.
Open the newly created BOINC folder and open a terminal there.
If the terminal opens in your home folder just cd BOINC to get to the right one.

sudo su
apt-get update
apt-get install boinc
/etc/init.d/boinc-client stop
cp boinc boinccmd boincmgr /usr/bin/
/etc/init.d/boinc-client start
exit

If there are any major issues just post 'em up.

[BlindShot]

With Linux mint everything was very simple to setup. My ppd went up after moving to Linux from W7 64.

[D_A]

Mint is pretty much Ubuntu without that disasterous Unity interface. I'm running Mint 13 with the XFCE desktop right now.

[OldChap]

Cinnamon Mint Maya (the no codecs version) is what is on the 2600K

Now have the same on a 3770K but the MIVG has an issue with not allowing dual channel ram (broken pin). It remains to be seen how ram impacts this one but bandwidth is down by almost 50%

Thanks D_A

[OldChap]

I am losing it for sure.

I have just completely re-installed the latest version of Mint Cinnamon on my crawling box and thought I should take a look at running gpu on it.

intalled ia32-libs, installed 7.0.42 from BOINC using the routine outlined by D_A in post 105

Now I find this:

m@EX58-UD5pa ~/BOINC $ sudo /etc/init.d/boinc-client start
sudo: /etc/init.d/boinc-client: command not found
m@EX58-UD5pa ~/BOINC $

So I am asking you linux adepts.... What did I miss?

[yojimbo197]

Hey Old Chap,
Did you install the 64 bit version of Linux 14 Mint Cinnamon? I tried that on my Q9550 rig and I couldn't get past the initial install menu before everything went black on my monitor.

[OldChap]

Yep, the actual install seemed to go fine but I think I missed something for BOINC

Did you check the md5 for your download?

[yojimbo197]

I actually bought a DVD copy from On-Link during a Black Friday type sale.

The only thing I can think of is that for some reason the basic install doesn't have the right drivers for my graphics card(Nvidia 9600GT).

[D_A]

I am losing it for sure.

I have just completely re-installed the latest version of Mint Cinnamon on my crawling box and thought I should take a look at running gpu on it.

intalled ia32-libs, installed 7.0.42 from BOINC using the routine outlined by D_A in post 105

Now I find this:



So I am asking you linux adepts.... What did I miss?

That command will only work if you install from the repositories. If you install from a Berkley download then you either need to create that script yourself or add it to the startup programs using the session manager (or equivalent). It should be in the Settings menu under Session and Startup ... but I'm using XFCE not Cinnamon, so it might be worded slightly differently.

[OldChap]

Ok, caught the first error myself (I remember now it is apt-get install ia32-libs) so now I have the client running and it sees the card

The next issue is that run_manager does not work. I have only ever used the manager before and until I fix my network with an upgrade it needs to stay that way

[D_A]

If you're using a Berkley install then you have to use the run_manager script in the BOINC directory. That script is auto-generated when you run the install script so if you've moved the BOINC directory from where it was originally created the run_manager script will be wrong. You can edit the path in it with whatever text editor you prefer and just save it.
If, on the other hand you're using the repository install then the run_manager script won't work. Period. You need to use boincmgr from the command line.
Please note that I'm assuming you have a graphical environment on this machine. If it's a server install then the manager won't work since there's no X server for it to run in. In that case you need to use terminal commands to administer BOINC.

[OldChap]

Let me try to clarify:

I did the following after getting Mint 14 cinnamon running. and getting the fglrx driver from the repository...... It should look familiar

apt-get ia32-libs This was a mistake ...more on this later

wget http://boinc.berkeley.edu/dl/boinc_7...c-linux-gnu.sh

replace the version numbers with whatever version you're after. If you're not sure go here and look: http://boinc.berkeley.edu/dl
This will download the file directly from Berkley to the current directory, which should be your home directory.
Next set the file as executable

sudo chmod +x boinc_7.0.42_x86_64-pc-linux-gnu.sh

and then run it

./boinc_7.0.42_x86_64-pc-linux-gnu.sh

That will create a directory called BOINC in your home folder. Change into it.

cd BOINC

now we'll copy the relevant binaries

sudo cp boinc* /usr/bin/

and we restart the client

sudo /etc/init.d/boinc-client start

Client did not run...asked the question above then re-read what I had asked and realised that it should have been apt-get install ia32-libs

Now the client would run but I could not start manager so I asked again then went searching for others with this problem too.

Result! Found mention of this and looked to see if 2 files were loaded one called libwxgtk and another called libssl. libwxgtk was missing so I got it from the repository.

Now, from inside the BOINC folder hitting the start_manager worked as it should.

With manager working I have now attached to wcg and have downloaded GPU workunits...only running a single thread for tonight ...it is late enough. I will look at app-config tomorrow.


Thanks for your input D_A. I can always depend on you to make me think about what I am doing.

[D_A]

Let's start with a little something that you should have done BEFORE all that:

sudo apt-get install boinc*

Those instructions are for upgrading a repository install to the current client from Berkley.

[OldChap]

< oh look they made a smiley just for me.

Incidentally, where does the app_config go in Linux?

[D_A]

Depends. In a pure Berkley install I'd expect to see it in the BOINC directory (/home/<username>/BOINC). In a repository install it'd go in the data directory, though I'm not sure what the correct path is for that off the top of my head.

[NKrader]

good thread, ive decided a while ago that dedicated future builds will only run linux
thanks

[D_A]

< oh look they made a smiley just for me.

Not quite. There's not nearly enough silver hair on the smiley.

So did you get it working or am I talking in short-hand again and just making things worse? (I've been known to do that so don't take it as sarcasm or anything)

[OldChap]

Those are the three strands of hair remaining after any me vs Linux session. What makes it worse is the fact that once I see the light and start understanding things a little I really do like the way Linux works

Yep, I now have my crawling rig back up and running and it is currently crunching GPU with a single 5870 which I have overclocked using AMDOverdriveCtrl. I currently has 4 concurrent wu's using app_config.

The bothersome thing is that, were it not for a couple of issues I had with my previous install, re-reading this thread I get the impression I could have done everything I needed to do just by a command you described as "full upgrade" but hey this way I have a clean install to mess up again when trying stuff out.

D_A, I may not say so every time but I do appreciate the time you take to explain stuff to me

Next is the update of my main PfSense router..... How are you with networking

[D_A]

Next is the update of my main PfSense router..... How are you with networking

I have a major project to do to decide if my major will be in network engineering (Cisco CCNA) or Unix systems administration. I've covered every required and optional subject in both majors aside from the project for which I have to decide which is my major and minor. (in other words, I know enough to know just how much I don't know )

[Evantaur]

Depends. In a pure Berkley install I'd expect to see it in the BOINC directory (/home/<username>/BOINC). In a repository install it'd go in the data directory, though I'm not sure what the correct path is for that off the top of my head.

/var/lib/boinc-client

[D_A]

Thanks. I only have my Slackware machine running these days and it's a pure Berkley install so I couldn't check.