Changes between Initial Version and Version 1 of BoincOverview

Timestamp:

Sep 15, 2018, 8:30:04 PM (7 years ago)

Author:

davea

Comment:

--

BoincOverview

@@ +1 @@
+ = Computing with BOINC =
+
+BOINC is a platform for distributed "high throughput computing",
+i.e. large numbers of independent compute-intensive jobs,
+where there performance goal is high rate of job completion
+rather than low turnaround time of individual jobs.
+It also offers low-level mechanisms for distributed data storage.
+
+BOINC has a client/server architecture.
+The server distributes jobs.
+The client runs on worker nodes, which execute jobs.
+
+BOINC was originally designed for "volunteer computing",
+where the worker nodes are consumer devices (desktop and laptop computers,
+tables, smartphones) volunteered by their owners.
+It addresses the various challenges inherent in this environment
+(heterogeneity, host churn and unreliability, scale, security, and so on).
+
+In this arena, there are many servers, operated by various "BOINC projects"
+such as SETI@home, LHC@home, IBM World Community Grid, and so on.
+The BOINC client can be "attached" to one or many of these;
+it processes jobs for the projects to which it is attached.
+
+BOINC can also be used for in-house computing within an organization (e.g. a company).
+In this case case the worker nodes would be
+are cluster nodes or other organizational computers,
+and they would be attached to the organization's server.
+
+BOINC is distributed under the LGPL v3 open-source license.
+It can be used for any purpose (academic, commercial, or private)
+and can be used with applications that are not open-source.
+
+== Getting started ==
+
+To compute using BOINC, you will need to set up a BOINC server
+and configure your applications to run under BOINC.
+Instructions for doing this are [ProjectMain here].
+
+If you're doing in-house computing,
+install the BOINC client on your computers, and you're done.
+We won't discuss this case further.
+
+Next, you'll need to get clients to attach to your server.
+There are several ways to do this:
+
+1. Create a public-facing web site for your project.
+Announce it and publicize it in whatever channels are available to you:
+mass media, social media, newletters, paid advertising, etc.
+
+1. Contact [ProjectPersonnel David Anderson] and ask to have your project listed by BOINC.
+You'll need to convince me that a) your project is doing
+what you claim it is, and b) you're following a set of security practices.
+Your project will then a) be announced on the BOINC web site news column,
+b) listed on the BOINC web site, and
+c) appear in the list of projects shown in the BOINC client GUI.
+
+1. Contact [ProjectPersonnel David Anderson] and ask to have your project
+listed in [https://scienceunited.org Science United].
+You'll need to tell me what type of research your project is doing,
+and then you'll automatically get computing power from volunteers
+who have registered an interest in that area.
+This has the advantage that you don't have to create a public-facing web site or do any publicity.
+In addition, you can ask to be listed in Science United even before you've created your project.
+At that point I can tell roughly how much computer power you'll get,
+and you can decide whether this justified the investment in creating a project.
+
+These approaches are not mutually exclusive; you can do any or all of them.
+
+== Organizational structures ==
+
+
+
+
+If you want to use volunteer computing, you have two options:
+
+ # C
+
+
+k .'<p></p>'.
+                tra("%1 Universities%2: use BOINC to create a %3Virtual Campus Supercomputing Center%4.",
+                    "<b>", "</b>",
+                    "<a href=\"trac/wiki/VirtualCampusSupercomputerCenter\">", "</a>"
+                )
+                .'<p></p>'.
+                tra("%1Companies%2: use BOINC for %3desktop Grid computing%4.",
+                    "<b>", "</b>", "<a href=https://boinc.berkeley.edu/trac/wiki/DesktopGrid>", "</a>"
+                )
+                .'<p></p>
+
+
+ <a class="btn btn-xs btn-primary" href=trac/wiki/BoincDocker>'.tra("BOINC and Docker").'</a>