Moving SETI@home to BOINC

[thelmores]

FROM THE SETI@HOME WEBSITE

We will soon release a new version of SETI@home, based on BOINC, a general-purpose platform for distributed computing projects like SETI@home. Switching to SETI@home/BOINC will be easy:

Create an account using the SETI@home web site. This will give you an account ID, sent by email. Note: accounts will created automatically for all current SETI@home users (see below).
Download and install the BOINC client program when it becomes available.
Uninstall SETI@home.
When you first run the BOINC client, enter your SETI@home account ID.
If there are problems, you can reinstall "SETI@home Classic" and continue running it.

Stages of the transition
We don't have an exact timetable yet, but the transition will be staged as follows:
We will make a snapshot of SETI@home user information (accounts, teams, profiles) and will use it to initialize the SETI@home/BOINC database. We will then launch the SETI@home/BOINC project.
Over the next month or so we will send email to all SETI@home users, giving them their new account IDs and recommending that they switch to BOINC. During this period you can continue to run the current SETI@home, and your results will be recorded and used. New SETI@home accounts and team changes can be made, but will not be carried over to BOINC.
Once SETI@home/BOINC is stable, and versions are available for most platforms, we will turn off the data server for SETI@home Classic. At this point you will need to switch to SETI@home/BOINC.

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Questions and answers
Why is SETI@home switching to BOINC?
Several reasons:
BOINC transparently and securely downloads new application versions. This lets us upgrade and extend SETI@home without requiring you to download and install new software. It will make it easy for us to integrate new algorithms, such as analyzing our 8 bit/sample reobservation data, or looking for other types of radio signals such as short pulses from evaporating black holes.
BOINC has a more flexible data architecture than SETI@home Classic. Data can be transferred to and from multiple servers, and can remain resident on PC disks. In the future, we'll use these capabilities to search for ET signals in a much larger radio frequency range.
BOINC distributes work based on host parameters. Work units requiring 512 MB of RAM, for example, will only be sent to hosts having at least that much RAM. This lets us use BOINC for a wider range of computations than the "one size fits all" SETI@home Classic.
Eventually other distributed computing projects (like Folding@home and ClimatePrediction.net) will also use BOINC, and you'll be able to share your computer time among projects of your choosing.
What will happen to my workunit totals?
BOINC projects may have workunits of many different "sizes", so BOINC keeps track of your computer's work in terms of actual computation performed rather than number of workunits.

Because of this change, SETI@home/BOINC accounts will have separate "old" and "new" work totals. The "old" total is the workunit total from the current SETI@home; it won't change. A section of our web site will show the final leaderboards based on old work totals.

What will happen with SETI@home teams?
All current SETI@home teams, and their membership, will be copied over to SETI@home/BOINC.

What SETIQueue (and related programs) still work?
These programs (which have been very useful with SETI@home Classic) won't work with BOINC. But some of their functions can be performed by other means:

The buffering of multiple work units is provided by the BOINC client itself - you can specify how much work your computer should get each time it contacts the server.
Hosts that are not directly connected to the Internet, but share a LAN with one that is, can participate in BOINC using an HTTP 1.0 proxy such as Squid for Unix or FreeProxy for Windows.
Hosts that have no network connection currently cannot participate in BOINC. A solution may be developed in the future.
What platforms will be supported?
Initially, Windows/X86, Linux/X86, Solaris/SPARC, and Mac OS X will be supported (these are the platforms to which we have access). We will continue our current source code distribution policy, and eventually we will hopefully support all platforms on which SETI@home currently runs.

Initially, the Windows version will have a graphical interface and the others will have a command-line interface. Eventually most platforms will have both interfaces available.

Can I run multiple instances on a multiprocessor?
Yes, but it's not necessary; BOINC automatically uses all the host's processors (unless you ask it not to).

Will the format of input and output files change?
Yes. Programs which display information about the signals found in SETI@home work units will need to be modified to support the new (XML) data formats used by SETI@home/BOINC. Information about file formats and network communication is here.

Work unit and result files will be about the same size as now. The black-hole detection project will use somewhat larger work units, on the order of 1 MB.

OMG!!!

1MB WU'S!!!!

glad i got dsl at work!

boy.... looks like all the waiting for seti2 is about over!

tune them rigs up froggies..... cause when the time is right, we want to get a runnin start outta the gate!

we may even have to clear out the bar to get the lazy drunk crunchers (like myself) kickin some boinc arse!

[Tkon]

I can't stop Seti@home classic - I haven't stomped Fluff , or hit 10000 WU yet!!!!!

So much to do, and so little time.....

[neopolaris]

no, No NO NO!!!! I have got to hit 10,000. approx 2 weeks to go.

Tkon I have seen your SETI progress. You are a force to be reckoned with. I can't believe it's almost over.

neopolaris

[Christop54]

Dang! I'll never get the next wu certificate... At least I'll get 3,800 before they pull the plug.

[Hubris]

I'll hit my goal of being in the top 10 on the team, and the next big number. Unfortunately, I'm now steadily dropping in the world rankings, and I won't hit my goal there...

[neopolaris]

Can't say I wasn't eyeballing top 50 myself.

[Sire Ulli]

from the BOINC Mailing List

On Monday 20 October 2003 08:21 pm, Karl Chen wrote:
> We've released BOINC 2.05; you can download at:
> http://setiboinc.ssl.berkeley.edu/ap/download.php
>
> Astropulse 2.05 will be released soon (you won't have to do
> anything to upgrade Astropulse)
>
> SETI@home/BOINC will be released soon (you won't have to do
> anything to start crunching SETI@Home)
>
> Karl

Sire Ulli

[Tkon]

Well, there go my dreams of the top 50

At least I get to start the next round tied for first

[sebvanaaken]

OMG!!!

1MB WU'S!!!!

glad i got dsl at work!

boy.... looks like all the waiting for seti2 is about over!

tune them rigs up froggies..... cause when the time is right, we want to get a runnin start outta the gate!

we may even have to clear out the bar to get the lazy drunk crunchers (like myself) kickin some boinc arse! [/B]

were all behind the new project but just DONT CLOSE THE BAR

[chuck_starchase]

Found the hompage directory:
http://setiboinc.ssl.berkeley.edu/sah/
but it's empty as of yet...

[thelmores]

patience froggies......

standby for pounce mode!

[dusty33]

Ahhhhhh Maaannnn!!!!!

Just after I down load my next 1000 wu, it figures they have to go switch things around before I'm done.

Oh well I guess my new box will get a workout before changing over to those 1mb wu. Thank God for Cable!!!

Anybody need some wu?

Dusty

[Mugwump Dillard]

If they build it, we will crunch. Sounds like a good line for a movie. Just hope I hit 8k first

[Fluff n Stuff]

Are we there yet?

[Sire Ulli]

finally BOINC SAH is working



but the Beta Gates are always still closed, but i think in a few Days, weeks it will open for everyone.

Sire Ulli