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World Community Grid Forums
Category: Support
Forum: Android Support Forum
Thread: Android on Odroid - multiple questions |
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Thread Status: Active Total posts in this thread: 29
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AMuthig
Advanced Cruncher USA Joined: Nov 30, 2013 Post Count: 59 Status: Offline Project Badges: 
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Recently I decided to experiment with low-wattage development boards crunching on WCG. After a bit of research and reading through the forums, I decided on a Hardkernel Odroid XU4. With eight ARM cores, 2 GB of RAM, and a card with Android 4.4.4 pre-installed, I was excited to spend the weekend experimenting… and so far it has taken all weekend to get going. After multiple problems/concerns and many hours reading through Odroid and WCG forums, I am seeking some specific WCG input.
----------------------------------------First, the specs: Odroid XU4 device – Android 4.4.4 OS – Native Boinc client – wired network connection 1) NETWORK CONNECTION – This morning I awoke to my first eight completed work units on this device, and none of the results uploaded. Upon further testing, Ethernet LAN was disconnected and did not return until a full device reboot was performed. Research suggests others have had issues with Odroid wired networking. Does anyone have any experience with Odroid network connectivity issues and solutions? [SOLVED - run the Odroid Updater] 2) CPU TEMPERATURE – Having very limited experience with ARM-based CPUs, I am not sure what the comfortable temperature range is. Crunching at 90% CPU utilization has the Odroid CPU reporting at up to 87 degrees Celsius, which is alarmingly hot to me. Is this acceptable for ARM CPUs? Other than throttling down the BOINC CPU usage, are there any recommended technical solutions? (I may end up swapping the tiny heat sink for something more robust.) 3) REMOTE CONNECTION – On all of my Linux systems I am running tightVNC server so that I can manage the entire systems from my primary Windows desktop. I would like to do the same thing with the Odroid, but it seems that there are very few VNC server options available for Android. I tried Droid VNC Server, but the services will not start without error. Most suggest VMLite VNC Server, though I am wary of spending $10 for a solution that may not work (since everything else on the Odroid seems to be a challenge so far.) Has anyone tried VMLite VNC Server on a similar device? Any other suggestions? I apologize for so many questions, but I have spent the entire weekend working on this project and am just about out of time that I can spend on it. Thanks for any input! ~Alec [Edit 1 times, last edit by AMuthig at Sep 10, 2015 2:18:16 AM] |
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Eric_Kaiser
Veteran Cruncher Germany (Hessen) Joined: May 7, 2013 Post Count: 1047 Status: Offline Project Badges: 
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I'm going to (hopefully) answer some of your questions.
----------------------------------------ad 1) Network connection: As you can see in my signature I have 4 odroids (2x u3 and 2x xu3 lite) running wcg. Three of them are connected via lan cable and one uses wlan (no more ports on my switch sic). I have them running many month 24/7 and had no network problems until now. ad 2) cpu temperature: The arm cpu throttles automatically when temperature is too high. So I don't care about temperature too much. I'm running them with open case. ad 3) remote connection: Within native boinc you can define a ip address that is allowed to connect to your xu4 and you can set a password for access. On your windows host I recommend boinctask. It can connect to your xu4 and you can remote control boinc with it.  |
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AMuthig
Advanced Cruncher USA Joined: Nov 30, 2013 Post Count: 59 Status: Offline Project Badges:
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Eric - thank you for your assistance.
----------------------------------------Bonictasks is an excellent solution. Installed and connected easily to the odroid. As for the network issues, last night I tested a wild idea. Powering my monitor off is what drops the IP address! The cable that I am using is HDMI with ethernet capabilities, so even though my network cable is providing network connectivity, the signal loss on HDMI must be triggering a response in the odroid to release the IP address. First time I have actually experienced such a thing. I will assign static IP settings and test. So far the odroid is crunching OET and FAAH better than I expected! [EDIT] Tried a static IP address. It seems that the only way I can obtain network connectivity is if HDMI is plugged in with a live monitor, then it uses the Ethernet cable to get the IP address. I have a help post on the Odroid forums, and maybe will purchase and try an HDMI dummy plug, but I suspect that it will not work. At this point the odroid is not functional for me and is quite disappointing. [Edit 1 times, last edit by AMuthig at Sep 9, 2015 3:14:49 AM] |
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AMuthig
Advanced Cruncher USA Joined: Nov 30, 2013 Post Count: 59 Status: Offline Project Badges:
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Further testing, also posted to the Odroid support forum (which makes it sound like i am an Odroid addict):
[Odroid XU4, running Android 4.4.4, connected to monitor via HDMI, connected to network via Ethernet cable] From my desktop, I ran a continuous ping to monitor connectivity to the odroid. (I tried this both with the odroid set to dynamic (DHCP) and static IP addresses, with no differences in the following results.) --When I powered the monitor off, odroid network connectivity persisted. Once the monitor was powered on, connectivity was lost. --When the HDMI cable was physically unplugged, connectivity was lost. --Powering the odroid off, unplugging the HDMI cable, then powering on the odroid – no network connectivity. Strange that the Ethernet IP address seems directly tied to HDMI activity. |
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KLiK
Master Cruncher Croatia Joined: Nov 13, 2006 Post Count: 3108 Status: Offline Project Badges: 
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leave d monitor ON & make it turn down by software...
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AMuthig
Advanced Cruncher USA Joined: Nov 30, 2013 Post Count: 59 Status: Offline Project Badges:
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leave d monitor ON & make it turn down by software... Well, maybe, but that is no fun!  Or maybe use an HDMI dummy plug as a workaround. Hmmm. That is not a bad idea! |
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Eric_Kaiser
Veteran Cruncher Germany (Hessen) Joined: May 7, 2013 Post Count: 1047 Status: Offline Project Badges:
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Hmm, strange.
----------------------------------------My odroids running headless, means no hdmi cable plugged. |
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KLiK
Master Cruncher Croatia Joined: Nov 13, 2006 Post Count: 3108 Status: Offline Project Badges:
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leave d monitor ON & make it turn down by software... Well, maybe, but that is no fun! Or maybe use an HDMI dummy plug as a workaround. Hmmm. That is not a bad idea! I'm just wondering, why do u turn off monitor? monitor with HDMI is a newer, energy efficient type...why turn it OFF on switch? |
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Eric_Kaiser
Veteran Cruncher Germany (Hessen) Joined: May 7, 2013 Post Count: 1047 Status: Offline Project Badges:
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Have you tried a hdmi cable without ethernet capabillities?
----------------------------------------[Edit 1 times, last edit by Eric_Kaiser at Sep 9, 2015 6:51:19 AM] |
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AMuthig
Advanced Cruncher USA Joined: Nov 30, 2013 Post Count: 59 Status: Offline Project Badges:
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Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. Odroid forums provided the solution. I am embarrassed to say, but I always run updates after I obtain/build a new system, except maybe this time... :) Odroid Updater fixed the network issue and the device is now running headless.
----------------------------------------I'll report back on its progress as I gather data over time. [Edit 1 times, last edit by AMuthig at Sep 10, 2015 2:20:14 AM] |
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