Controlling BOINC remotely ¶

The BOINC core client typically is controlled by the BOINC Manager? running on the same machine:

The two programs communicate over a local connection, using 'GUI RPC' (Graphical User Interface Remote Procedure Call). It's also possible to use the BOINC Manager to control a core client on a different host:

You can use add-on programs such as BOINCView to control many BOINC clients at once:

Access control for GUI RPC ¶

Since GUI RPCs can control the BOINC client (e.g. attaching/detaching projects) it is important to protect your BOINC client from unauthorized control. There are two levels of protection:

• GUI RPCs are authenticated with a GUI RPC password. This is stored with the client in the file gui_rpc_auth.cfg. When BOINC first runs, it generates a long, random password. You can change it if you like.
• You can specify a set of hosts from which RPCs are allowed. By default, RPCs are allowed only from the same host.

A GUI RPC is handled only if it passes both levels of protection.

Allowing RPCs from remote hosts ¶

By default the core client accepts GUI RPCs only from the same host. You can allow remote hosts to control a core client in two ways:

• If you run the client with the --allow_remote_gui_rpc command line option, it will accept connections from any host (subject to password authentication).
• You can create a file remote_hosts.cfg in your BOINC Data directory containing a list of allowed DNS host names or IP addresses (one per line). Only these hosts will be able to connect. The remote_hosts.cfg file can also have comment lines that start with either a # or a ; character.

If you have a remote_hosts.cfg file but also start the client with --allow_remote_gui_rpc, the file will be ignored, and any host will be allowed to connect.