Choosing a BOINC Powered Project
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[edit] General
The BOINC System was originally developed to support SETI@Home. However, other Distributed Computing projects may use the BOINC System. The BOINC Client Software allows you to be a Participant in multiple BOINC Powered Projects, and to control how your resources are divided among these Projects (see Resource Share).
All BOINC Powered Projects are independent of all other BOINC Powered Projects, and each maintains its own Servers. The BOINC Developers and the University of California have no control over the creation of other BOINC Powered Projects, and in general do not endorse them.
But, to use the BOINC Client Software you must chose one or more BOINC Powered Projects.
- Note:
- For the average Participant we strongly advise you to not attempt to participate in a BOINC Powered Project that is in one of the test phases. These projects can cause unexpected problems on your computers.
[edit] Selection of a BOINC Powered Project
When you become a Participant in a BOINC Powered Project, you entrust that Project with the health of your computer and the privacy of its data. In deciding whether to be a Participant in a BOINC Powered Project, you should consider the following questions:
- Do you trust the project to ensure that their applications are free of bugs that could damage your computer or cause security problems?
- Do you trust the Project to use proper security practices on their Servers?
- For what purposes will the Project use your computer? Does the Project clearly state a limited range of purposes?
- Who owns the results of the computation? If the results are valuable, will they be freely available to the public or will they belong to a for-profit business?
- What type of research is being performed? Currently, we have BOINC Powered Projects in production status for the following general science fields:
- Biology:
- Mathematics:
- Physics:
- Particle Physics:
- SETI:
- Weather:
Some BOINC Powered Projects may make their application's source code available. For these Open Source Projects, the BOINC Anonymous Platform Mechanism lets you be a Participant without running downloaded executables: you can examine and compile the Source Code yourself, for both the BOINC Client Software, and, if the Project is also Open Source the Science Application.
- Note:
- At this time only the SETI@Home Project is Open Source.
The criteria you use to select a BOINC Powered Project is something that you will have to develop. We suggest that you do a little research and decide on what project is right for you. We do strongly suggest that you join at least two BOINC Powered Projects so that if one goes Off-Line, you computer will never run out of work. One or more may be set up as BOINC Powered Backup Projects if desired.
Use the links in the table below to review the active BOINC Powered Projects and make a selection of one or more. If you are just starting, pick just one right now. You can add more after you get used to the BOINC Client Software.
[edit] Active BOINC Projects
These BOINC Powered Projects are in the production phase. They are considered reasonably stable and are doing valid science. Alpha and Beta Projects are less stable and not recommended for general Participation.
| Wiki Project Page | Project Web Site | Project Goal or Comments |
|---|---|---|
| ABC@Home | ABC@Home Web Site | This project will try to find abc triples related to the ABC conjecture. |
| BBC Climate Change Experiment | BBC Climate Change Experiment Web Site | Study of transient climate change model predictions.
As of 10.12.2006, this project is closed for new users. New users should join the main Climateprediction.net (CPDN) project instead. |
| Climateprediction.net (CPDN) | Climateprediction.net Web Site | Study of Climate Models to answer some of the important Climate Change Questions.
Note: Only works with Version 5.x.x or later of the BOINC Client Software. |
| Seasonal Attribution Project | Seasonal Attribution Project Web Site | High resolution variant of CPDN, taking a more in depth look at certain regional areas. As of December 2007, out of work again with no current plans of a 3rd. extension. |
| Einstein@Home | Einstein@Home Web Site | Search for gravitational waves to reveal the presence of neutron stars (pulsars). |
| Leiden Classical | Leiden Classical Web Site | Desktop Computer Grid dedicated to general Classical Dynamics for any scientist or science student. |
| LHC@Home | LHC@Home Web Site | Model and improve the design of the CERN, LHC particle accelerator. Has work infrequently. |
| MalariaControl.net | MalariaControl.net Project Web Site | The MalariaControl.net project is an application that makes use of network computing for stochastic modelling of the clinical epidemiology and natural history of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Also see: Africa@Home |
| Predictor@Home | Predictor@Home Web Site | Investigate protein behavior. As of February 2007 is beta-testing a new application. |
| Rosetta@Home | Rosetta@Home Web Site | Predict and design protein structures, and protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions using the Rosetta program. |
| SETI@Home | SETI@Home Web Site | Look for radio evidence of extraterrestrial life. |
| SIMAP@Home | SIMAP@Home Web Site | Study of protein similarities. Has work infrequently, check home page for more info. |
| SZTAKI Desktop Grid | SZTAKI Web Site | Hungarian project. This project is exploring a mathematical domain looking for solutions to a particular problem space. |
| The Lattice Project | The Lattice Project Web Site | Life sciences research. Has work sporadically, check home page for more info. |
| World Community Grid | World Community Grid Web Site | Runs multiple sub-projects, users can choose which project(s) to run.
Note: Only works with Version 5.x.x or later of the BOINC Client Software. |
[edit] Projects, Science Applications, and Platforms
Below is a table of the known BOINC Powered Projects, their Science Applications vs. support by Platform.
| Project | Science Application | Operating System | Installed Memory-requirement (MB) | Disk Space Required (MB) | Process time (CPU dependant) | Download Size (MB) | Upload Size (MB) | Deadline (days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC@Home | abc-finder | Windows, Linux, MacOS Intel | 104.91 | 48 | 0.5 h | 0.01 | 0.01 | 7 |
| BBC Climate Change Experiment | hadcm3l | Windows, Linux | 96.00 | 600 | 5 months | 0.02 | 5-6 (16x) | 347 |
| ClimatePrediction.net | hadam3 | Windows, Linux | 1464.85 | 1024 | 4 weeks | 13 | 30 | 180 |
| hadcm3l | Windows, Linux, MacOS Intel | 96.00 | 600 | 5 months | 0.02 | 5-6 (x16) | 347 | |
| hadsm3 | Windows, Linux, MacOS Intel | 61.1 | 573 | 3 weeks | 0.02 | 5-10 (x3) | 345 | |
| Seasonal Attribution Project | hadam3 | Windows, Linux | 256 (uses 430, recommended 1024) | 1024 | 4 weeks | 13 | 30 | 180 |
| Einstein@Home | einstein-S5R3 | Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Other(*3) | 57.22 | 96 | 24 h | 4-30 | 0.16 | 14-21 |
| Leiden Classical | Classical | Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 7 |
| trajtou-cu111 | Windows, Linux | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| trajtou-pd110paw | Windows, Linux | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| trajtou-pt111 | Windows, Linux | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| LHC@Home | garfield | Windows, Linux | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| sixtrack | Windows, Linux | 57.22 | 29 | 1-10 h | 0.024 | 0.034 | 4-8 | |
| MalariaControl.net | malariacontrol | Windows, Linux, MacOS Intel | 85.84 | 191 | 2h | 0.07 | ? | 3.5 |
| Prediction of Malaria Prevalence | Windows | ? | ? | 0,5 h | ? | ? | ? | |
| malariacontrol test version | Windows, Linux, MacOS Intel | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Estimation of parameters of infection dynamics | Windows | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Rosetta@Home | rosetta | Windows, Linux, Mac OS X | 95.37 (recommended 256) | 96 | 3 h (by default, but configurable) | 2.8-4 | 0.02 | 10 |
| SETI@Home | astropulse | Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Other(*4) | 256 | 128 | 5? days | 8 | ? | 14 |
| setiathome-enhanced | Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris, Other(*1) | 31.00 | 32 | 1.5-36 h | 0.36 | 0.02 | 4.3-55.1 | |
| SIMAP@Home | Hmmer | Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Other (*2) | 28.62 (peak 60+) | 48 | 3 h | 5.5 | 0.1 | 8 |
| simap | Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Other(*2) | 95.37 | 96 | 1.5 h | 2 | 0.7-1.8 | 8 | |
| SZTAKI Desktop Grid | search | Windows, Linux, Mac OS X | 9.54 | 0.95 | 0.9 h | 0.01 | 0.01 | 10 |
| The Lattice Project | HMMPfam | Windows, Linux, MacOS | negligible | ? | 1-2 h | 2.5 | 0.06 | 3 |
| GARLI | Windows, Linux, MacOS | 300-1200 | ? | 1-200 h | ? | ? | ? | |
| MARXAN | Windows | negligible | ? | 1-10 h | ? | ? | ? | |
| World Community Grid
(uses 'on the fly' up & download compression in BOINC v5.8.xx) | African-Climate@ Home | Windows, Linux | 512 ? | 1024 | 9 h | 77 | ? | 5 d |
| dddt (Discovering Dengue Drugs – Together) | Windows, Linux, Mac OS X | 250 | 600 total, 50 available | 4-13 h | ? | ? | 14 | |
| faah (aids) | Windows, Linux, Mac OS X | 119.21 (recommended 250) | 72 | 5-12 h | 0.1-0.2 | 0.3 | 9 | |
| hcc (cancer) | Windows, Linux, Mac OS X | 95.37 (recommended 250) | 48 | 5-12 h | 0.1-0.2 | 0.3 | 9 | |
| HPF2 (Rosetta) | Windows, Linux, Mac OS X | 190.74 (recommended 250) | 96 | 2-24 h | 1.4 | 1.9 | 11 | |
| Project | Science Application | Operating System | Installed Memory-requirement (MB) | Disk Space Required (MB) | Process time (CPU dependant) | Download Size (MB) | Upload Size (MB) | Deadline (days) |
- Note on memory, this is computers total installed memory, but remember a little bit is always "lost" in bios so a computer needs more memory than noted in the table to get any work.
- Mac-support, projects marked Mac OS X (Not Intel) does not support Intel-Macs.
- Some projects do not provide Work Units for their projects continuously, but rather periodically (yellow) or in irregular intervals (red)
- Some projects have Tasks with various Process-times, these are marked yellow.
- SETI@Home Enhanced has various deadlines, depending on expected Process-times.
- LHC@Home also varies the deadline of Tasks, based on how time-critical they are.
- Einstein@Home uses Locality Scheduling, this means same large download is normally re-used for many Tasks.
- Process Times is for roughly a 2 GHz computer, and is by no means exact. Also, other things like cpu-type, cache-size and memory-speed can greatly influence Process Times, so same computer can perform better in one project while significantly worse in another. Still, the table should hopefully give a rough idea how a computer will perform in different projects.
- Other(*1) : SETI@Home Enhanced binaries are available for AIX, FreeBSD on several architectures, HPUX (PARISC+IA64), IRIX, Linux (Alpha, ARM, HP PARISC, IA64, MIPS, MIPS EL, PPC/Power, PS3,SPARC, zSeries), OpenBSD (i386, PPC/Power and x86_64), OS/2, NetBSD (i386, MIPS EL, PPC/Power), Solaris (SPARC, x86 and AMD64) via the BOINC Third Party Site.
- Other(*2) : SIMAP binaries are available at the SIMAP applications for i386 CPUs and UNIX Site. Binaries of the SIMAP app are available for AIX, FreeBSD i386, HPUX (PARISC and IA64), Linux (Alpha, HP PARISC, IA64, PPC/Power/PS3 and SPARC), NetBSD i386, OpenBSD i386, Solaris (SPARC and x86) and TRU64. The HMMER app is available for FreeBSD i386, HPUX (PARISC and IA64), Linux (HP PARISC, IA64, PPC/Power/PS3 and SPARC), Solaris (SPARC and x86).
- Other(*3) : Einstein@Home offers Windows, Linux x86, FreeBSD MacOS PPC and Intel optimized version via the Beta Testing Site. Irix, Solaris, Linux Alpha,... applications are planed.
- Other(*4) : SETI@Home Astropulse binaries are available for FreeBSD i386, HPUX (PARISC), Linux (IA64, PPC/Power, PS3), MacOS (Intel and PPC), OpenBSD (i386), NetBSD (i386), Solaris (SPARC, x86 and AMD64) via the BOINC Third Party Site.
[edit] Other BOINC Projects
These BOINC Powered Projects are also available for general participation. Because these sites may not have information in the English language, unfortunately the most universal language in use (not my fault, honest!), we must caution that it may be difficult to get good information about the project.
| Project | Project Web Site | Project Goal or Comments |
|---|
[edit] Alpha Test/Beta Test Projects
These BOINC Powered Projects are potentially high-risk to your computer. Choose to Participate only if you are confident of your ability to cope with potential problems which may occur.
[edit] Completed and Inactive Projects
[edit] BOINC "How-To" Guides Related To Installation
The list that follows contains the BOINC "How-To" Guides, in rough order of use, that are used in the installation and set-up of the BOINC Client Software.
- Note:
- Don't panic! I have pictures and everything!
- Installing the BOINC Client Software And Participating In A BOINC Powered Project (Master Guide)
- Choosing a BOINC Powered Project
- Joining a BOINC Powered Project
- Installing:
- Installing The BOINC Client Software on Microsoft Windows® (all versions).
- Installing The BOINC Client Software on Apple Macintosh OS-X (only; do not attempt to install or run the BOINC Client Software on OS-9)
- Installing The BOINC Client Software on Linux (x86 versions only)
- Installing The BOINC Client Software on SPARC/Solaris
- BOINC and SETI@Home Quick Install Guide for HPUX
- Attaching The BOINC Client Software To A BOINC Powered Project
- Updating or Repairing the BOINC Client Software:
- Detaching The BOINC Client Software From A BOINC Powered Project
- Uninstalling the BOINC Client Software:
- Miscellaneous Installation Related Tasks
- Deprecated Procedures
[edit] UCB Source
[edit] Copyright ©
- 2005 University of California
- 2005 Paul D. Buck
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.
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