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World Community Grid Forums
Category: Support
Forum: Suggestions / Feedback
Thread: Minimum WCG hardware configuration and Quality Control |
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Thread Status: Active Total posts in this thread: 13
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
I would think like any computer program there should be minimum hardware specifications needed. Just doing some programming in visual studio I know its possible to get information on such things as RAM, CPU and other hardware easily. As more and more people join the grid would it make sense to become more picky about what hardware should be allowed to run on the grid? Maybe, the program could auto detect or do a benchmark and determine if the hardware is reliable, fast enough, stable enough for this type of work?
I guess I'm saying that why even bother with 500mhz CPU if we can recruit people with 1 ghz or better? Wondering if that would increase the overall efficiency? Or maybe the program could determine floating point operations and decide whether the system is suitable or not? Maybe, do a quick trial run to test for errors in the CPU and memory before full installation? I'm seeing a point in the future where maybe the grid should be more careful about which computers it allows on it for quality control purposes if nothing else and to insure the integrity of the grid. Also, I've run BOINC and seen a couple odd problems and irregularities which nobody could properly explain. |
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davidhobbs
Senior Cruncher England Joined: Dec 30, 2004 Post Count: 152 Status: Offline Project Badges: 
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Following my posts on a related topic in the UD Windows Agent forum I can't let this pass without comment.
It's all very nice to want only shiny fast new computers. But surely it's better for those older machines to spend their twighlight years doing useful work for the good of humankind than being consigned to an early landfill-site grave? |
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Sekerob
Ace Cruncher Joined: Jul 24, 2005 Post Count: 20043 Status: Offline |
rbolo28....there's quite a bit of existing discussion on this to include part of the new HPF2 discussion.....WCG knows your benchmarks/cpu/ram data, thus identifies which WU's you or anybody connecting machine can handle.....suggest to take your comments there.
----------------------------------------for HPF2, the bar was put higher, so a 500mhz might not get any..... see Computers Usable on HPF2 project ciao
WCG
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Dirk Gently
Senior Cruncher England Joined: Mar 1, 2005 Post Count: 153 Status: Offline Project Badges: 
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I would echo the sentiments of the replies above.
----------------------------------------The whole idea of Grid computing was meant to be power in numbers, not power in individual machines. |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
When you want to move a mountain you don't call up 10,000 guys each with a spade and a half ton truck. You bring in dynamite and some big iron and get the job done.
The goal here is to crunch some big bad ass WUs, not to pussyfoot around and give 30 doorstops something to do in their twilight years. If you're too old to run with the young dogs then ya gotta sit on the porch, that's life. Expecting the scientists to dummy down the WUs to serve the crunchers is totally backwards thinking. Expecting the techs to spend time fielding complaints and comments from people wondering why their 500 MHz 256 Meg RAM machine runs slow is stoopid. |
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Dirk Gently
Senior Cruncher England Joined: Mar 1, 2005 Post Count: 153 Status: Offline Project Badges:
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When you want to move a mountain you don't call up 10,000 guys each with a spade and a half ton truck. You bring in dynamite and some big iron and get the job done. The goal here is to crunch some big bad ass WUs, not to pussyfoot around and give 30 doorstops something to do in their twilight years. If you're too old to run with the young dogs then ya gotta sit on the porch, that's life. Expecting the scientists to dummy down the WUs to serve the crunchers is totally backwards thinking. Expecting the techs to spend time fielding complaints and comments from people wondering why their 500 MHz 256 Meg RAM machine runs slow is stoopid. 10000 guys and spades did some of the most amazing things in History - and without the truck! Grid computing is the modern equivalent of this. Lets not mess around then - lets use Supercomputers! Imagine what we could do if we all got one! And for best efficiency, specify that no one actually uses the computer for anything else, and that it must never be switched off! ---------------------------------------- [Edit 2 times, last edit by Dirk Gently at Jun 25, 2006 12:28:38 PM] |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
rbolo28, the grid agents already enforce the minimum requirements. This is purely for the safety of the user, so that their machine isn't bogged down with work units it can't handle.
The minimum requirements take into account the characteristics of each project, but don't exclude anyone unnecessarily. |
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Sekerob
Ace Cruncher Joined: Jul 24, 2005 Post Count: 20043 Status: Offline |
I think the best argument i found was, that each checkpoint for the HPF2 discrete blocks within these WU's was of such a length already on a fast machine, (mine was close to 15 minutes for each 2% skip), that on a slower box, they'd take a very long time with potential very noticable substantial memory to disc swapping. Consequently, any interruption could loose alot of crunch time....create less happy members. I think the philosophy is to split WU's into the smallest discrete steps possible to be able to maximise and engage the largest group of grid members possible, old or young. Some are fortuitous to have lower spec machines dedicated exclusively to WCG, but those really using them would be severely impaired.....that generates again alot of bad press driving crunchers away, so support the decision.
----------------------------------------Enough said on the matter....i'm going to watch Olanda beating Portugallo and the Argentinians sideswiping the Germans 
WCG
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
10000 guys and spades did some of the most amazing things in History - and without the truck! Grid computing is the modern equivalent of this. Lets not mess around then - lets use Supercomputers! Imagine what we could do if we all got one! And for best efficiency, specify that no one actually uses the computer for anything else, and that it must never be switched off! Amazing as those things were they're no match for the big iron we have today. And when we can all afford supercomputers in our homes then WCG will do the right thing and kick out the dual core 3.2 GHz CPUs if they can't handle the job that needs to be done. As far as specifying hosts can't be turned off, well, if they can get enough hosts to agree to that and the system works better that way then I would imagine that's what they would do. But I think that proposition would be as ridiculous then as it is now. |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
This is potentially a very emotional issue. Right now the WCG is running 2 projects that are all-atom models of molecules. This leaves us with a size problem because we cannot drop any atoms off these large organic molecules.
But we will soon start another project that is different. It should be able to use computers with less memory. Just ignore the icon in the systray until it starts to pick up new work. Alternatively, switch to BOINC and look over the other projects available to BOINC users at http://boinc.berkeley.edu/ Lawrence |
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