BOINC FAQ: Running BOINC On Other Platforms

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[edit] General

In this section of the FAQ we answer questions about other platforms (Operating System and hardware) that may run the BOINC Client Software.

[edit] What other platforms might run the BOINC Software?

In general the target for the BOINC Client Software and Science Applications will target the standard PCs based on the Intel and AMD processor cores. Next will be the Linux and Macintosh systems. Though there are other processor platforms out there that are candidates (like the Sony PlayStation and the like) the issues will be that:

  1. they are specialized, purpose built systems, and
  2. though many are Internet capable, other are not, and
  3. the participant base may be even less computer savvy than participants of a typical PC, and
  4. they have to know of BOINC System and the Projects, and
  5. they have to be willing to install the program on the targeted system.

There may be other points, but, in effect, we have a problems enough with the sub-set of computers that can be effectively targeted and that we can have a reasonable expectation that the number of results makes the investment of resources to enabling a platform worthwhile. Whew! Bottom line, it is unlikely, at this time, that the return cannot be justified by the effort required. In the future these factors may change and that more host can be targeted for inclusion in the projects.

On the other hand, the source code for the BOINC Client Software is available and it is possible, even likely, that in the future there will be more BOINC capable platrorms added to the current list. Because the system is still in development and is nowhere near being "feature-complete", we still have a long way to go before there is much effort in this direction.

Encouraging signs include the fact that we do have a significant number of Projects that are using the BOINC Client Software (as of this writing there were 7 Projects announced and publically available, with as many as another 6 in early and closed "Alpha Test").

[edit] Are there versions of the BOINC Software for parallel systems such as Beowulf or multiprocessors?

Yes and No. The current plans for the BOINC Software and the Science Applications will be to release and maintain them on the most popular systems such as Microsoft Windows®, Macintosh, and Linux (Intel and AMD processors). Since the BOINC Client Software and many of the Science Applications are expected to be open source you will have the opportunity to compile (and hopefully will not have to debug) a version for your own specialized computer.

Really old computers (for example those based on the 386, 486, Pentium, Pentium Pro or early Macintosh processors) will probably not have a version that is available for them. And this makes sense, the older processors are not as suitable and will be slow in processing work that their use is not economical. Again, however, if you have one of those older machines and wish to use it to do work for a project, by all means make an executable, share it with others too. Just remember, you have to do all the work. There is just not enough staff for most of these projects to generate a Science Application for every conceivable platform and processor combination.


[edit] NOTES

There seems to be a small number of people willing to make the effort for other machines, I have seen discussion about the migration to:

  • HU-UX
  • DEC Alpha running Windows NT
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