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Message 848 - Posted: 22 Feb 2008 | 17:36:27 UTC

In the past I have noticed that PS3Grid workunits take about 140% CPU (as seen from the TOP command.) Occasionally this drops down to 100% or less but never reaches the typical 140% mark again unless I completely uninstall the entire BOINC program and then reinstall BOINC all over again.

There is one commonality in all of this (and the same occurred in the past when I used the pen drive) yoyo@home. For some reason YoYo@home workunits are very unstable on my PS3. To me it seems that BOINC does not release all of the CPU back to PS3Grid when it restarts. YoYo@home is my backup project when PS3Grid goes down. But nearly always, BOINC Manager or PS3Grid is corrupt after a yoyo@home WU starts (and eventually fails).

So my question is this, does anyone else see this particular problem happen to them? and, is this a BOINC Manager problem or a PS3GRID/YOYO problem?

Tim

Also, I\'m going to try and let the current PS3Grid WU finish but it is already at 28 hours and running between 90-100% CPU, if it appears that it will not make it I\'ll probably abort and then reinstall *again*.

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Message 849 - Posted: 23 Feb 2008 | 1:17:18 UTC

Hi,

I have 2 units. I performed the same YDL install (patches etc) on both boxes.

UNIT #1 has run PS3GRID, YoYo and Folding. Right now it is crunching a \"Gramicidin\" Wu at ~148%

UNIT #2 has only run PS3GRID. Right now it is running a \"Full Atom\" Wu at ~118%.

Maybe the CPU usage is tied to the new Wu\'s??? Or you have another problem.

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Message 851 - Posted: 23 Feb 2008 | 5:35:44 UTC - in response to Message 849.

Hi,
Maybe the CPU usage is tied to the new Wu\'s??? Or you have another problem.


I was thinking the same thing, but this has happened numerous times in the past as well. At some point the CPU usage drops to below 100 and never goes back up again. It usually takes a very drastic move such as a complete reinstall of BOINC. It became so bad with the pen drive that I actually had to reinstall YDL from scratch. Thanks for the reply. Anyone else have any info?

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Message 855 - Posted: 23 Feb 2008 | 18:50:50 UTC

Here is an update: my current PS3GRID WU has been crunching at ~100% CPU for 42 hours now. I have no idea if any work is actually being done or if the CPU is simply spinning in circles. There is something going on here. Does anyone from the project (ie. someone who *should* take this project seriously) know why this has happened?

This is clearly a problem but nothing has changed over the last few months. This project is seriously lacking a leader and that\'s really too bad because there is so much potential here to do some good. Try not to give me the standby response of \"sorry for the problems, this is a BETA project you know!\" That\'s BS, if this were a BETA project then perhaps our fearless leader would be interested in the problems that this project has. Instead, problems with WU\'s occur often without a fix in sight or as often is the case, work is lacking in the first place (see the server, again!)

The bottom line is this: the contributors to this project deserve a voice in this but too often there is no one around to listen and if there is I get the feeling that that certain someone wouldn\'t give a second thought to it in the first place. Sir, there is something wrong with either the BOINC build or your program, it\'s time to figure out what that is.

Timothy

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Message 858 - Posted: 24 Feb 2008 | 1:40:20 UTC

Another update:

At the 48 hour mark I rebooted my PS3. Upon restart a couple of things occurred, first; PS3Grid \"lost\" 30 hours of work, meaning it fell back to its last checkpoint (obviously this was a bad WU and probably a bad app and even probably a bad BOINC build)

Second, even when the PS3Grid WU was running it was taking no CPU resources, meaning it is now dead. I suspended this WU and the second PS3Grid WU started. This too said it was running but again, it was taking zero CPU resources. I then tried a YoYo WU, this one has begun and is taking 100% CPU currently and I should know in a couple of hours if it completes.

FWIW, in the past, once a PS3Grid WU failed for any reason the entire BOINC Manager and all of the applications become corrupt and the only way to fix this is to completely reinstall BOINC and attach to each application again.

Major Problem here...I can\'t wait for the day GDF (aka. the head guy) actually fixes his app or at the very least offers some sign of encouragement. I\'m truly saddened by the serious lack of leadership around here...Perhaps its time to move on.

Timothy

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Message 859 - Posted: 24 Feb 2008 | 2:28:08 UTC

I\'m currently in this state too, I have one WU that is at 1 day 16:12:41 work done and now it won\'t process any further. I tried suspending it, it kicked into the second WU, but that one won\'t process at all either. Not sure what I should do at this point, maybe a reinstall of Boinc? But then I\'ll lose the over 1.5 days of work that\'s been done already... Anyone? In case it matters, I\'m running with an installed version of YDL, not off a USB drive.

-Dave
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Message 860 - Posted: 24 Feb 2008 | 2:37:01 UTC
Last modified: 24 Feb 2008 | 2:42:01 UTC

Sorry to hear that your problem sounds terminal Timothy. But, it seems like it can be solved in the short term by re-installing the client. But with no new WU\'s, that is not much of a solution. Unfortunately, not every project admin checks their server before going home for the weekend....

A long term solution may prove to be a bit elusive.

Hopefully, \"The Head Guy\" (Heh heh) will address your problem, to everyone\'s benefit.

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Message 861 - Posted: 24 Feb 2008 | 3:30:31 UTC - in response to Message 859.

I\'m currently in this state too, I have one WU that is at 1 day 16:12:41 work done and now it won\'t process any further. I tried suspending it, it kicked into the second WU, but that one won\'t process at all either. Not sure what I should do at this point, maybe a reinstall of Boinc? But then I\'ll lose the over 1.5 days of work that\'s been done already... Anyone? In case it matters, I\'m running with an installed version of YDL, not off a USB drive.

-Dave


Unfortunately, I do believe the only answer in this case is to completely reinstall BOINC and then reattach. I have done this 3 times in the past (maybe more?) and will most likely do it again soon. I have had this exact problem with both the USB drive and YDL so I think we are a bit out of luck. We\'re out of work right now anyhow so don\'t do anything until work is flowing again. Instead might I suggest attaching to YoYo@home to see if there WU will work on this build. Best of luck and thank you for posting.

Timothy

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Message 862 - Posted: 24 Feb 2008 | 3:33:59 UTC - in response to Message 860.

Sorry to hear that your problem sounds terminal Timothy. But, it seems like it can be solved in the short term by re-installing the client. But with no new WU\'s, that is not much of a solution. Unfortunately, not every project admin checks their server before going home for the weekend....

A long term solution may prove to be a bit elusive.

Hopefully, \"The Head Guy\" (Heh heh) will address your problem, to everyone\'s benefit.


Thanks for the words of encouragement :) I did process one YoYo@home WU that validated just minutes ago. I can\'t decide if it is this BOINC build or the PS3Grid app that is causing such problems but either way the frustration is mounting. Thanks for the reply, hopefully someone will be listening in soon.

Timothy

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Message 863 - Posted: 24 Feb 2008 | 4:24:27 UTC - in response to Message 861.


Unfortunately, I do believe the only answer in this case is to completely reinstall BOINC and then reattach. I have done this 3 times in the past (maybe more?) and will most likely do it again soon. I have had this exact problem with both the USB drive and YDL so I think we are a bit out of luck. We\'re out of work right now anyhow so don\'t do anything until work is flowing again. Instead might I suggest attaching to YoYo@home to see if there WU will work on this build. Best of luck and thank you for posting.

Timothy


I\'ve attached to Yoyo, I have a WU that seems to be processing right now.

-Dave
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Message 865 - Posted: 24 Feb 2008 | 10:17:18 UTC

Hey Timothy!

I have three PS3s all with YDL installed, and I never had to reinstall BOINC since they are running...
For me it looks like the PS3GRID app, or maybe only certain workunits are faulty, but not the BOINC client.
I too had some workunits that got stuck after 15+ hours and then were sitting idle for hours until I noticed it, or had workunits claiming the normal 3000+ credits but got only 50 credits granted (and never got an explanation or only a simple \"sorry I don´t know why that happened\"), but after a reset and a fresh download of the app. and a new workunit (if there was one) everything worked again... I never had to reinstall BOINC, and actually I don´t really understand it why you have to - BOINC is only the framework and doesn´t do any computations.

I also have Yoyo as a backup project running, and there are no problems if PS3GRID has work again, with switching back to it... Are you sure you have your PS3 in another venue (like work) than your normal computers? And are you really sure that you have unchecked the \"leave apps in memory\" for that location? Is your YDL install up to date? This are the only things I can think of...

As for GDF and the no work issue - I have sent him an email once again yesterday, but got no reply... So it seems like we have to wait until monday to get new work...

Well... it seems that´s the downside of crunching with the PS3... There are not enough projects which support it...
But Einstein@home is working on a app for the PS3 (until now they have only one that uses only the PPE), and Seti is looking for a someone who ports their app to the Cell BE, so we might be more lucky with choosing our projects for the PS3 in the future!

Cheers,
Stefan
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Message 870 - Posted: 24 Feb 2008 | 17:21:54 UTC - in response to Message 865.

Hey Timothy!

I have three PS3s all with YDL installed, and I never had to reinstall BOINC since they are running...
For me it looks like the PS3GRID app, or maybe only certain workunits are faulty, but not the BOINC client.
I too had some workunits that got stuck after 15+ hours and then were sitting idle for hours until I noticed it, or had workunits claiming the normal 3000+ credits but got only 50 credits granted (and never got an explanation or only a simple \"sorry I don´t know why that happened\"), but after a reset and a fresh download of the app. and a new workunit (if there was one) everything worked again... I never had to reinstall BOINC, and actually I don´t really understand it why you have to - BOINC is only the framework and doesn´t do any computations.

I also have Yoyo as a backup project running, and there are no problems if PS3GRID has work again, with switching back to it... Are you sure you have your PS3 in another venue (like work) than your normal computers? And are you really sure that you have unchecked the \"leave apps in memory\" for that location? Is your YDL install up to date? This are the only things I can think of...


Cheers,
Stefan


Hi Stefan,

I\'ve checked my venue for the PS3 and all seems ok and the app does not stay in memory when switched to a YoYo WU. I did grab one WU last night that just started about 10 minutes ago and has CPU around 120% (this is pretty normal) the kicker though, I reinstalled BOINC last night too. I am nearly certain that had I not done so the WU would not be running over 100% CPU right now.

I can\'t say whether this is an app issue or a BOINC issue and I agree that BOINC itself does not do the crunching but I do believe BOINC allocates the resources in the first place. If I were a betting man I would simply state that there is an issue with the allocation of CPU cycles after another app (yoyo) has finished a WU. At this point it could be a PS3 Grid problem, a BOINC problem and possibly a YoYo problem as well. I don\'t know but also its not my job to figure it out.

At times my PS3 works perfectly but the instant PS3Grid switches to YoYo all hell breaks loose. There is definitely a bug here and it must be fixed. Don\'t get me wrong, I appreciate your advice and take it very seriously but the man who should be looking into this is simply not (and it seems never has nor will he ever). I hope you can understand my frustration. Look at the boards recently, this is happening to many people not just me. This is not simply a local issue, this is system wide, therefore a very serious problem.

Timothy

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Message 871 - Posted: 24 Feb 2008 | 17:31:45 UTC - in response to Message 863.
Last modified: 24 Feb 2008 | 17:32:51 UTC



I\'ve attached to Yoyo, I have a WU that seems to be processing right now.

-Dave


An update on my system. I let it run all night with PS3Grid suspended, it did about 1175 credits of Yoyo, I then un-suspended PS3Grid, it started the over-1 day unit again, but made no process on it for several hours, so I aborted that WU. It then started on the other PS3Grid unit I have in my cache, but it\'s now made no progress on that one for some time, so in a little while, if it\'s still showing no progress, I\'ll be aborting that one, too.

-Dave

[edit] the second PS3Grid unit is currently showing some progress, so maybe the other unit was just bad?
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Message 872 - Posted: 24 Feb 2008 | 18:26:59 UTC
Last modified: 24 Feb 2008 | 18:27:19 UTC

Timothy,

Maybe I shouldn´t say that as a moderator, but I agree with you about the lack of comunication on this project... I´m not sure if our work and the money we put into the hardware and electricity bills, is really appreciated by the project staff...
Also it is a little bit frustrating to get no answers to our questions. Bug reports are beeing ignored, or you get a \"I don´t know what´s going wrong\" as an answer... That´s probably not the best way to lead a BOINC project!

The server is going crazy again - there were a few workunits available today, but now it is out of work again, but it seems nobody feels that we users should also know what´s going on.

Well... to come back to your issue with switching projects on the PS3 - if you would like to do a test if the PS3GRID BOINC client causes these problems, you could try another one! On this site you can download BOINC Clients for many Operating Systems and architectures. There is also a 5.10.17 BOINC Client for Linux on the PS3 available, maybe that helps to track down where the problem lies...

I haven´t tried this Client myself yet, therefore I would recomend to not try it with a PS3GRID WU that already ran for several hours!

Stefan
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Message 873 - Posted: 24 Feb 2008 | 20:00:59 UTC - in response to Message 872.

Timothy,

Maybe I shouldn´t say that as a moderator, but I agree with you about the lack of comunication on this project... I´m not sure if our work and the money we put into the hardware and electricity bills, is really appreciated by the project staff...
Also it is a little bit frustrating to get no answers to our questions. Bug reports are beeing ignored, or you get a \"I don´t know what´s going wrong\" as an answer... That´s probably not the best way to lead a BOINC project!

The server is going crazy again - there were a few workunits available today, but now it is out of work again, but it seems nobody feels that we users should also know what´s going on.

Well... to come back to your issue with switching projects on the PS3 - if you would like to do a test if the PS3GRID BOINC client causes these problems, you could try another one! On this site you can download BOINC Clients for many Operating Systems and architectures. There is also a 5.10.17 BOINC Client for Linux on the PS3 available, maybe that helps to track down where the problem lies...

I haven´t tried this Client myself yet, therefore I would recomend to not try it with a PS3GRID WU that already ran for several hours!

Stefan


Thanks for the response Stefan, I appreciate it (and just because you moderate these forums does not mean you cannot voice an opinion, especially an opinion we all pay attention to!).

I\'m not too Linux savvy, how does one install the 5.10.17 BOINC Client? I tried last night but was stuck pretty much after downloading it (its not an .exe like windows :) How do I unpack it and where do I install it at? Will I need to uninstall the current BOINC client and if so, how do I do that? Thanks for the help!

Timothy

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Message 875 - Posted: 24 Feb 2008 | 21:25:07 UTC - in response to Message 873.
Last modified: 24 Feb 2008 | 21:26:03 UTC

[
I\'m not too Linux savvy, how does one install the 5.10.17 BOINC Client? I tried last night but was stuck pretty much after downloading it (its not an .exe like windows :) How do I unpack it and where do I install it at? Will I need to uninstall the current BOINC client and if so, how do I do that? Thanks for the help!

Timothy


Timothy,
First do:
gunzip boinc51017_11.linux-ppc.tar.gz
That should leave you with
boinc51017_11.linux-ppc.tar
in the directory you downloaded to, then do:
tar -xvf boinc51017_11.linux-ppc.tar
That should extract all the files, in verbose, so you can see
what\'s being extracted.

HTH,
-Dave

[edit]
Oh, and if the files that get unpacked aren\'t put where you run Boinc from, you\'ll have to move them there, that\'s why the \"v\" arg, so you can see if
they\'re going to the same place...
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Message 876 - Posted: 24 Feb 2008 | 21:36:45 UTC - in response to Message 875.

[
I\'m not too Linux savvy, how does one install the 5.10.17 BOINC Client? I tried last night but was stuck pretty much after downloading it (its not an .exe like windows :) How do I unpack it and where do I install it at? Will I need to uninstall the current BOINC client and if so, how do I do that? Thanks for the help!

Timothy


Timothy,
First do:
gunzip boinc51017_11.linux-ppc.tar.gz
That should leave you with
boinc51017_11.linux-ppc.tar
in the directory you downloaded to, then do:
tar -xvf boinc51017_11.linux-ppc.tar
That should extract all the files, in verbose, so you can see
what\'s being extracted.

HTH,
-Dave

[edit]
Oh, and if the files that get unpacked aren\'t put where you run Boinc from, you\'ll have to move them there, that\'s why the \"v\" arg, so you can see if
they\'re going to the same place...


Thanks Dave. And this is all from the console right?

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Message 877 - Posted: 24 Feb 2008 | 22:11:14 UTC
Last modified: 24 Feb 2008 | 22:12:12 UTC

Hi Tim and Dave!

Does it really work with your instructions Dave?
Unfortunately I don´t have the time now to try it for myself, I only downloaded the .tar.gz on my Windows computer and found this readme in it...


boinc binary for Linux PPC

This is binary was compiled from the orignial sources from boinc.berkeley.edu.

The original sources from Berkely where not been modified.

Compiled on OS : Debian 4.0 (GLIBC 2.3)
Compiled from : Lars Bausch (lars at dotsch dot de)
Compiled on : 29.12.2007
Boinc Version : 5.10.17
Required patches : Have a look at /opt/boinc/doc/install
Required libs : The required libs are included in this package.
Please set the LD_LIBRARY_PATH before you start the BOINC
client : \"LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/boinc/lib ; export LD_LIBRARY_PATH\"

Should run on : Linux PPC with GLIBC >= 2.3
Last change : 29.12.07
Release : 1.1
Source Code Changes : None
Changes : V.1.1 : Fixed some library related problems
Special thanks to : David Anderson, Eric Korpela, Stefan Urbat, Ursmed

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Message 878 - Posted: 24 Feb 2008 | 23:23:30 UTC - in response to Message 877.

Hi Tim and Dave!

Does it really work with your instructions Dave?



Sorry, I don\'t know if the install works, I just know how to unpack the archive, I haven\'t tried the install myself. Once you do the gunzip and tar commands, you should be able to look at what\'s in the archive and maybe tell what to do based on that? If you do install it, and get it working, maybe post so others know...

-Dave

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Message 880 - Posted: 26 Feb 2008 | 14:08:42 UTC - in response to Message 871.

the second PS3Grid unit is currently showing some progress, so maybe the other unit was just bad?


Well, an update on the above unit, it\'s now over deadline, and 40 hours in, so between that and the last one, I\'m now at over 80 hours of wasted electrons... and it\'s still going. I guess I should just abort it at this point.

-Dave
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Message 885 - Posted: 27 Feb 2008 | 0:08:02 UTC - in response to Message 880.

the second PS3Grid unit is currently showing some progress, so maybe the other unit was just bad?


Well, an update on the above unit, it\'s now over deadline, and 40 hours in, so between that and the last one, I\'m now at over 80 hours of wasted electrons... and it\'s still going. I guess I should just abort it at this point.

-Dave


Hi Dave,

As you know I had this problem as well. I aborted the WU and reinstalled BOINC (after unsuccesfully trying to restart my PS3, detaching, reattaching, etc). I have not heard anything from the \"Official Person in CHARGE\" but it seems that the only way to get your WU to proces correctly is a complete, fresh install of BOINC. I have not tried a new BOINC version yet, I will need to try this probably during this weekend or so. Good luck and continue to post here.

This goes for anyone else too. Please be certain to post all problems in the forums. At some point I will probably be asking for others to participate with me in a week long boycott of this project. It seems that those in charge are only interested in CPU cycles not the actual participants and the problems we are having. Perhaps when work done=zero, we can start to get some help around here. (I\'m not scolding the forum mods, Stefan has been doing a great job of course).

Take care,

Timothy

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Message 887 - Posted: 27 Feb 2008 | 6:33:40 UTC - in response to Message 885.

Interesting to read this thread. I just use the usb stick install and the PS3 churns out results with monotonous regularity. Surely this would indicate that the client is consistently using the same percentage of the CPU i.e. all of it. I do note that my last task took double the usual time (perhaps it\'s one of the new units), but I still got the credit for the hours crunched. If this problem was universal them surely we would be seeing a gradual drop in the RAC?

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Message 888 - Posted: 27 Feb 2008 | 13:56:43 UTC - in response to Message 887.

Interesting to read this thread. I just use the usb stick install and the PS3 churns out results with monotonous regularity. Surely this would indicate that the client is consistently using the same percentage of the CPU i.e. all of it. I do note that my last task took double the usual time (perhaps it\'s one of the new units), but I still got the credit for the hours crunched. If this problem was universal them surely we would be seeing a gradual drop in the RAC?


Hi Ian,

Are you attached to any other project on your PS3, especially YoYo? All I had were problems when I used the USB stick so I switched to the full YDL Build thinking this would solve my problems, it did not. I have crunched through at least 1 PS3Grid WU since I reinstalled BOINC but I have not done any YoYo WU. There might be something there...

Tim

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Message 889 - Posted: 27 Feb 2008 | 17:23:03 UTC

Tim, maybe it is a problem with Yoyo? Have you asked about your problem on their message boards too?

As for your boycott - well... Of course you can ask anyone to join in your boycott, if you really think this might help? But this forum sure isn´t the right place for that...

GDF sent me a mail and he told me that he hasn´t had very much time lately because they are working on something completely new, which would also be something new for BOINC! I can´t tell you more about what they are working on, but stay here and you´ll probably be very interested in that new stuff and will really enjoy it! ;-)

Also before you speak about boycotts, maybe first try another BOINC client and tell your problems also in the Yoyo Forums... Like I said before, I never had that problems you are talking about, it could also be a hardware problem!
Out of a few hundret WUs. I had five or so which had an error and got stuck, you can see such errors on other projects too...
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Message 894 - Posted: 27 Feb 2008 | 21:47:53 UTC

Stefan,
As I\'m also having issues now, can you point me to where I can get another Boinc client that will work under YDL?

Thanks,
-Dave
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Message 895 - Posted: 27 Feb 2008 | 23:44:15 UTC

Tim, no I\'m not attached to any other project on the PS3. I did have some problems initially with the USB stick, but these were more to do with PS3 firmware updates getting ahead of the current stick YDL install. I very nearly gave up and installed the full YDL but the stick install was updated just in time. Absolutely no complains here.

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Message 896 - Posted: 28 Feb 2008 | 4:42:30 UTC

Hey Dave!

You can get one from www.dotsch.de ! But I still had not the time to try it...
Would be nice if you could tell us if that client works with PS3GRID if you install it! :)
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Message 897 - Posted: 28 Feb 2008 | 5:13:48 UTC - in response to Message 896.
Last modified: 28 Feb 2008 | 5:44:02 UTC

Hey Dave!

You can get one from www.dotsch.de ! But I still had not the time to try it...
Would be nice if you could tell us if that client works with PS3GRID if you install it! :)


Ok, I grabbed the archive from that site, installed it, and I\'m getting a message in the messages area when I run it:
localhost.localdomain PS3GRID 2/28/2008 12:07:51 AM Message from server: platform \'powerpc-unknown-linux-gnu\' not found

It\'s also generating a new host CPID each time it does this. So is there some way to get the client to report the proper platform?

-Dave
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Message 900 - Posted: 28 Feb 2008 | 12:17:18 UTC - in response to Message 897.

Hey Dave!

You can get one from www.dotsch.de ! But I still had not the time to try it...
Would be nice if you could tell us if that client works with PS3GRID if you install it! :)


Ok, I grabbed the archive from that site, installed it, and I\'m getting a message in the messages area when I run it:
localhost.localdomain PS3GRID 2/28/2008 12:07:51 AM Message from server: platform \'powerpc-unknown-linux-gnu\' not found

It\'s also generating a new host CPID each time it does this. So is there some way to get the client to report the proper platform?

-Dave

To override the platform, you need to create a project override.xml file. I havn\'t done this in quite a while and do not remember exact details. The best source for an example I can think of is on the SIMAP site. Look for the section on downloading the manual installs. There might be details in the boinc wiki, but I never looked there. The thread on the SETI@home board about running on the PS3 may have instructons also.

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Message 904 - Posted: 28 Feb 2008 | 16:39:44 UTC - in response to Message 900.


To override the platform, you need to create a project override.xml file. I havn\'t done this in quite a while and do not remember exact details. The best source for an example I can think of is on the SIMAP site. Look for the section on downloading the manual installs. There might be details in the boinc wiki, but I never looked there. The thread on the SETI@home board about running on the PS3 may have instructons also.


The only thing I\'ve been able to find is a tag in cc_client.xml, but the tag I need to use, <alt_platform> is only supported in version 5.10.26 and up, the one I downloaded from Dotsch is 5.10.17 and it does not seem to work, any other ideas on what I could try?

-Dave
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Message 914 - Posted: 29 Feb 2008 | 16:52:40 UTC


Update: I\'ve given up and re-installed the 5.10.6 version, I\'ll post again if I\'m still having issues after a few WUs (assuming I can get any to run correctly at this point!)

-Dave
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Message 943 - Posted: 8 Mar 2008 | 5:02:29 UTC

Well It has been awhile since I updated this thread. As I wrote earlier there still seems to be issues with CPU Usage/PS3Grid/YoYo@home. I posted a message to the YoYo forums awhile back about the issues I and others have been having and I received a very prompt answer from the \"head guy in charge\" there and the standard response went something like this--there is nothing wrong with this application, what were you thinking even bringing this up, please be quiet now. (I\'m being sarcastic, no really I am)

After \"updating\" Boinc towards the end of last month (I mean completely uninstalling BOINC and starting from scratch yet again, and FWIW that was the fifth time) things were going good until yesterday. As I write this CPU usage has peaked yet again at 95-100% not the typical 130% GDF claims is the norm for this project. My current WU has run more than 35 hours (also, this is not the \"Broken\" version, the one running currently is the \"fixed\" version) with no end in sight. Again it appears that either the YoYo app or the PS3GRID app is not working correctly. My Ps3 is not being utilized as it should be and that is a problem.

I am stating this problem yet again so GDF has the opportunity to respond with something constructive. If he were to actually look at these forums he would notice at least 5-10 different threads posted over the last few months regarding this very exact problem. I\'m getting sick of this.

Now, being that it is yet again FRIDAY, I\'m certain the servers have been set to auto and someone is off having a Corona, therefore I won\'t get a reply anytime soon. But please sir, if you at least glance at this over the next month or two could you respond with maybe a check mark, or possibly a \"gone fishin\'\" poster or perhaps a message that goes something like this--

I\'m sorry, you\'ve reached GDF, I\'m off for the weekend and this project will probably blow up between now and then but I\'m literally gone, I\'m not here. I realize I should be here but really whats the point anyhow...

Until next post,

Timothy

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Message 944 - Posted: 8 Mar 2008 | 6:10:00 UTC

I am having the same problem without running any yoyo. Just today found an app running for 20 hours with no progress. Quitting/restarting BOINC did nothing. required a reboot to resolve.
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Message 945 - Posted: 8 Mar 2008 | 11:33:29 UTC - in response to Message 943.

After \"updating\" Boinc towards the end of last month (I mean completely uninstalling BOINC and starting from scratch yet again, and FWIW that was the fifth time) things were going good until yesterday. As I write this CPU usage has peaked yet again at 95-100% not the typical 130% GDF claims is the norm for this project. My current WU has run more than 35 hours (also, this is not the \"Broken\" version, the one running currently is the \"fixed\" version) with no end in sight. Again it appears that either the YoYo app or the PS3GRID app is not working correctly. My Ps3 is not being utilized as it should be and that is a problem.

I bought my PS3 solely to run PS3Grid and it ran quite happily, initially on ydl and lately on fedora7.
When PS3Grid had some downtime 2-3 weeks ago I attached to Yoyo and then switched back to PS3Grid as soon as they came back up.

After restarting ps3grid I noticed the same as you ie cpu usage down around 80-100% rather than the ~130% it used to run.

What I found was that the last yoyo WU was still running in the background even though I had suspended the project.
Dettaching from yoyo didn\'t help and I had to reboot & re-install boinc to sort the problem out but since then I\'ve had no problems.
I will not be attaching to yoyo again

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Message 947 - Posted: 8 Mar 2008 | 16:43:11 UTC - in response to Message 945.


I bought my PS3 solely to run PS3Grid and it ran quite happily, initially on ydl and lately on fedora7.
When PS3Grid had some downtime 2-3 weeks ago I attached to Yoyo and then switched back to PS3Grid as soon as they came back up.

After restarting ps3grid I noticed the same as you ie cpu usage down around 80-100% rather than the ~130% it used to run.

What I found was that the last yoyo WU was still running in the background even though I had suspended the project.
Dettaching from yoyo didn\'t help and I had to reboot & re-install boinc to sort the problem out but since then I\'ve had no problems.
I will not be attaching to yoyo again



Thank You for writing this, this is exactly what I noticed this morning. Unfortunately, neither the project lead here at PS3GRID or the project lead at YoYo takes these claims seriously. I cannot tell which app (or even if the BOINC Manager) is broken but one of them is. This is one of the reasons why the current set of WU are taking so many hours, a portion of the CPU (SPE?) is not being utilized fully by one project or the other. Whatever mechanism that controls the release of SPE when not needed (such as switching from one project to the other) is BROKEN.

Please GDF, I am begging you, attach to YoYO and let the WU run for awhile but make certain that PS3GRID interrupts the YoYo WU before it finishes and watch the behavior of the PS3GRID WU, I bet you a nickel you\'ll never see 130% again.

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Message 950 - Posted: 9 Mar 2008 | 7:13:16 UTC

My latest WU has run for 65 hours. I tried to restart BOINC, then restart my PS3 but none of these worked. Tomorrow I will again uninstall BOINC and then reinstall......again.......and again.......and again. I really cannot wait for a PS3 BOINC application that works. I\'m out of here the instant a new app becomes available. I hope as many people leave this project as possible, perhaps our voices will finally be heard when GDF notices that no one crunches here anymore.

Timothy

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Message 951 - Posted: 9 Mar 2008 | 13:21:57 UTC - in response to Message 950.
Last modified: 9 Mar 2008 | 13:30:40 UTC

My latest WU has run for 65 hours. I tried to restart BOINC, then restart my PS3 but none of these worked. Tomorrow I will again uninstall BOINC and then reinstall......again.......and again.......and again. I really cannot wait for a PS3 BOINC application that works. I\'m out of here the instant a new app becomes available. I hope as many people leave this project as possible, perhaps our voices will finally be heard when GDF notices that no one crunches here anymore.

Timothy


Well Tim, I don\'t know what to say.... but this problem has been around for quite a while and seems only to occur if you run Yoyo and PS3 grid together. We just run one project at a time and all seems OK. That seems to be the easiest non-violent solution. Most BOINC projects have their teething problems that require some initial workaround until the Devs have time or the knowledge to find a solution. Maybe there will be no solution here. Maybe the PS3 will never be able to run more than one BOINC project at a time. Possibly the non-BOINC project Folding@Home would make you happier?? However, we think this project has great potential and won\'t be leaving anytime soon.

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Message 952 - Posted: 9 Mar 2008 | 17:28:09 UTC - in response to Message 951.

My latest WU has run for 65 hours. I tried to restart BOINC, then restart my PS3 but none of these worked. Tomorrow I will again uninstall BOINC and then reinstall......again.......and again.......and again. I really cannot wait for a PS3 BOINC application that works. I\'m out of here the instant a new app becomes available. I hope as many people leave this project as possible, perhaps our voices will finally be heard when GDF notices that no one crunches here anymore.

Timothy


Well Tim, I don\'t know what to say.... but this problem has been around for quite a while and seems only to occur if you run Yoyo and PS3 grid together. We just run one project at a time and all seems OK. That seems to be the easiest non-violent solution. Most BOINC projects have their teething problems that require some initial workaround until the Devs have time or the knowledge to find a solution. Maybe there will be no solution here. Maybe the PS3 will never be able to run more than one BOINC project at a time. Possibly the non-BOINC project Folding@Home would make you happier?? However, we think this project has great potential and won\'t be leaving anytime soon.


I agree, this is a project with great potential but I think we need to understand that PS3GRID operates as a part of the BOINC environment. I am pretty sure BOINC was designed so that participants could run more than one project at a time due to the eventuality of a server going down, or having a bad app or any of the hundreds other things that can go wrong. We all know this project has had several of these problems (as all BOINC projects do) and I would like to be able to be certain that my PS3 DOES NOT sit idle, hence the BOINC application. If PS3Grid wants to run in this environment they really need to start playing by BOINC rules, ie share the wealth.

The bottom line is, I run apps designed to run on the BOINC platform. There is something to be said there, a history of fairness, of proper discussion and of results, getting things done. I\'m not going to sit here and stroke the backs of the \"powers that be\" and tell them that everything is going to be OK like I would for a little child. Those same powers that be chose to make a statement when taking on the challenge of running BOINC on the PS3 but without being eyewitness to their own folly they are hurting the nature of BOINC. By ignoring the problems that exist here they are harming the participants in this project and that is as anti-BOINC as anyone can get. (perhaps this isn\'t even a PS3GRID problem? We will never know as long as the PS3GRID does not take on the responsibility of looking into it)

Those of you who believe the fix to this problem is to \"just run one project at a time\" perhaps you need to go to folding@home. I run BOINC, I\'m proud to run BOINC and I support the nature of BOINC. If PS3GRID wants to run BOINC they need to get with the program, literally.



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Message 953 - Posted: 9 Mar 2008 | 19:28:16 UTC - in response to Message 952.
Last modified: 9 Mar 2008 | 19:30:26 UTC


........Those of you who believe the fix to this problem is to \"just run one project at a time\" perhaps you need to go to folding@home. I run BOINC, I\'m proud to run BOINC and I support the nature of BOINC. If PS3GRID wants to run BOINC they need to get with the program, literally.




Since you\'ve quoted me directly I guess I should respond. If you read what I said very carefully I believe I implied that this was a workaround until a solution is found. Problems occur at most BOINC projects at some point in my experience. I believe you inferred that I was suggesting that it be a permanent solution. Not so. Your passionate support of BOINC has merit but let\'s give the Devs here some time to address this problem if they can.....Cheers, Rog.

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Message 959 - Posted: 10 Mar 2008 | 11:19:06 UTC - in response to Message 952.

My latest WU has run for 65 hours. I tried to restart BOINC, then restart my PS3 but none of these worked. Tomorrow I will again uninstall BOINC and then reinstall......again.......and again.......and again. I really cannot wait for a PS3 BOINC application that works. I\'m out of here the instant a new app becomes available. I hope as many people leave this project as possible, perhaps our voices will finally be heard when GDF notices that no one crunches here anymore.

Timothy


Well Tim, I don\'t know what to say.... but this problem has been around for quite a while and seems only to occur if you run Yoyo and PS3 grid together. We just run one project at a time and all seems OK. That seems to be the easiest non-violent solution. Most BOINC projects have their teething problems that require some initial workaround until the Devs have time or the knowledge to find a solution. Maybe there will be no solution here. Maybe the PS3 will never be able to run more than one BOINC project at a time. Possibly the non-BOINC project Folding@Home would make you happier?? However, we think this project has great potential and won\'t be leaving anytime soon.


I agree, this is a project with great potential but I think we need to understand that PS3GRID operates as a part of the BOINC environment. I am pretty sure BOINC was designed so that participants could run more than one project at a time due to the eventuality of a server going down, or having a bad app or any of the hundreds other things that can go wrong. We all know this project has had several of these problems (as all BOINC projects do) and I would like to be able to be certain that my PS3 DOES NOT sit idle, hence the BOINC application. If PS3Grid wants to run in this environment they really need to start playing by BOINC rules, ie share the wealth.

The bottom line is, I run apps designed to run on the BOINC platform. There is something to be said there, a history of fairness, of proper discussion and of results, getting things done. I\'m not going to sit here and stroke the backs of the \"powers that be\" and tell them that everything is going to be OK like I would for a little child. Those same powers that be chose to make a statement when taking on the challenge of running BOINC on the PS3 but without being eyewitness to their own folly they are hurting the nature of BOINC. By ignoring the problems that exist here they are harming the participants in this project and that is as anti-BOINC as anyone can get. (perhaps this isn\'t even a PS3GRID problem? We will never know as long as the PS3GRID does not take on the responsibility of looking into it)

Those of you who believe the fix to this problem is to \"just run one project at a time\" perhaps you need to go to folding@home. I run BOINC, I\'m proud to run BOINC and I support the nature of BOINC. If PS3GRID wants to run BOINC they need to get with the program, literally.



This problem occurs only with ps3grid and Yoyo because they are the only projects running on ps3 and the cell processor works differently than a standard processor. We have been saying this many many times in this forum. The spes are not sharable, CPUs are. Furthermore, the boinc client is unable to check how many spes are used at any given time. If two applications run at the same time, only the first one will start, the other one will hang. The solution of this is not in our hands, but boinc people are looking into it.
As you see the ps3grid client is open to all other projects given than yoyo is using it. There are just few projects because it is difficult to produce efficient applications using cell.

We can see if we can change the default behavior allocating SPES, i.e. the one from the IBM dev kit to simply abort if there are no SPEs available. It will not remove the problem, but at least you know that you are not running because there is some dead process locking the spes. We can check if this works better.
GDF

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