File Menu - Up To Version 4.7x

From Unofficial BOINC Wiki

Contents 1 General 2 Menu Overview 2.1 "Hide"/Close Section 2.1.1 Hide 2.2 Run State Section 2.2.1 Run Always 2.2.2 Run based on preferences 2.2.3 Suspend 2.3 Network Access Control Section 2.3.1 Disable BOINC Network Access 2.4 Benchmark Control Section 2.4.1 Run Benchmarks 2.5 Select Computer Section 2.5.1 Select Computer … 2.6 "Exit" Section 2.6.1 Exit 3 Summary

[edit] General

The first menu we will discuss is the File Menu. This menu contains the options that allow you to do high level management of the BOINC Client Software. These settings control issues such as when and how to run, or if the BOINC Client Software should be completely shut-down for whatever reason.

This menu has eight entries, grouped into several categories. The categories are:

• "Hide" - Minimize the BOINC Manager to the Notification Area
• Run state - A setting that can only be in only one of the three states at any given moment in time
• Network Access control
• Benchmark control
• Computer Select
• Exit - Close the BOINC Manager

The specific menu items on the "File" Menu are as follows:

[edit] Menu Overview

[edit] "Hide"/Close Section

[edit] Hide

   A depiction of the BOINC Icon in the Taskbar
   The BOINC Icon

The "Hide" option on the File Menu is used to hide the window of the BOINC Manager and to then to make the icon in the Taskbar the only visible item of the BOINC Client Software (see the example icon to the right). On my computer you can see that the icon of BOINC is right there waiting for me within the "Notification Area" of the Microsoft Windows® Taskbar. It is possible that, if you have not used the BOINC Manager window to look at what is going on there you may not have the BOINC icon visible in the Taskbar.

Because Microsoft Windows® will hide the icons of the programs that are not used that often, it is possible that this icon will be underneath the "hidden" part of the Taskbar.

   A depiction of the BOINC Icon in the Taskbar's "Notification Area".
   The "Notification Area"

All you have to do is to click on the "<" symbol and you will be shown all of the icons that are available within the Notification Area of the Taskbar. To cover up the icons again the ">" symbol can be clicked. In the mean time, if you have clicked on the uncovered icon of BOINC you should start to see it within the Notification Area all of the time now. At any rate, it will show until Microsoft Windows® decide to hide it again.

If you want to open the window for the BOINC Manager, you can double-click on the icon, or select the menu with a right-click on the icon and then select the "Show" menu item.

[edit] Run State Section

BOINC Manager "File" Menu

[edit] Run Always

When this status is selected the BOINC Software and the Science Application will run at all times and will not be suspended even if other applications are running on the computer. The priority of the BOINC Software will not be as high as the other tasks, but will run at a priority that is higher than the default Idle Priority.

[edit] Run based on preferences

This is the normally selected option of the three possibilities.

When this option is selected the BOINC Software will run based upon the settings contained within your Preferences (see the "General Preferences" Page { Icon, Link to Documentation page. } in the Web Site Owner's Manual for details). The application will have to be stopped and restarted, or an update triggered to force the BOINC Software to connect to a Scheduling Server so that the changed preferences are downloaded before the changed settings will take effect. Once the new preferences have been down-loaded the BOINC Software will begin to perform based on your new settings.

[edit] Suspend

This stops the operation of the BOINC Software. This menu option is normally used if you simply wish to stop the operation of the BOINC Software while you do some other activity on your PC. This allows a fast restart of processing after that task is completed. In essence it allows you to stop the operation of the BOINC Software without having to completely exit the program and then restart it.

[edit] Network Access Control Section

[edit] Disable BOINC Network Access

   BOINC Manager "File" Menu with Disabled Network Access
   BOINC Manager "File" Menu
   with Disabled Network Access

This menu item allows you to control the ability of the BOINC Client Software to access the Internet. For those that do not want BOINC to be making phone calls to access the Internet this control allows them to prevent BOINC from accessing the network.

The first example of the "File" menu (above) showed BOINC having network access. That means that BOINC is free to connect to the Internet at any time and have unlimited access to the Internet. This example of the "File" menu shows BOINC having network access disabled. This means, of course, that BOINC cannot report results and cannot get more Work Units. But this also allows the Participant to control when and how BOINC will make connections to the network.

[edit] Benchmark Control Section

[edit] Run Benchmarks

This is the way that you Calibrate your computer's capabilities as compared to the "Reference Computer" so that as you complete Work Units you can be granted the appropriate amount of Credit (which will be measured in Cobblestones).

In BOINC, the Benchmark numbers are saved as Double Precision Numbers (this allows the system to store very large numbers with a high degree of accuracy) and the value is rounded when displayed. In practical terms what this means is that that there may be small variations in the displayed values if the benchmark is run several times in succession. The internal value is more precise and you will not be cheated, it just means that your current performance level is at one of those points where it may seem to be going up and down.

The outcome of the benchmark is displayed in the "Messages Tab" page of the BOINC Software Owner's Manual { Icon, BOINC Manager documents. } and can be saved or copied for use in messages.

An example of the results of a benchmark looks like this:

--- - 2005-01-14 05:03:26 - Running CPU benchmarks
--- - 2005-01-14 05:03:26 - Suspending computation and network activity - running CPU benchmarks
--- - 2005-01-14 05:04:28 - Benchmark results:
--- - 2005-01-14 05:04:28 -    Number of CPUs: 2
--- - 2005-01-14 05:04:28 -    1332 double precision MIPS (Whetstone) per CPU
--- - 2005-01-14 05:04:28 -    1944 integer MIPS (Dhrystone) per CPU
--- - 2005-01-14 05:04:28 - Finished CPU benchmarks
--- - 2005-01-14 05:04:29 - Resuming computation and network activity

Note:

The reasons that the benchmarks might be run include (but necessarily limited to) the following reasons:

1. The first time the BOINC Daemon is started.
2. A periodic interval, usually 5 days.
3. A change in the version of the BOINC Daemon.
4. A request for the benchmarks to be run sent by a Project Scheduler.
5. Selection of the "Run Benchmarks" menu option on the "File Menu" by the Participant.

[edit] Select Computer Section

[edit] Select Computer …

   Select Computer … Window
   "Select Computer …" Window

This is an added feature in the latest generation versions of the BOINC Client Software. With this option, the Participant can select a computer other than the one that they are currently on, which is also running the BOINC Software, and monitor and control the BOINC Daemon on that computer.

What this means in practical terms is that if I have two computers one named EQ-1 and the other named EQ-2, I can be sitting at computer EQ-1 and be using the BOINC Manager to monitor and control the BOINC Daemon on computer EQ-2 (and by the way, I do have two computers named just this way).

   Select Computer … Window
   "Select Computer …" Window

If I select this menu option I can enter in the IP Address of another computer and I will see the connection made to that computer in the title bar of the BOINC Manager, and in the "Status Area" in the lower right corner of the BOINC Manager Window.

   Select Computer … Window
   Non-Local BOINC Daemon Selected, Title Bar

As shown in the examples here, I entered the IP Address 192.168.1.102, pressed "Ok" and was connected to the computer with that IP Address.

As can be seen in these examples, the BOINC Manager is now monitoring a computer with the IP address I entered into the "Select Computer …" window.

This is the only indication that you will have that you are not monitoring and controlling the BOINC Daemon on the computer that you are sitting at.

   Select Computer … Window
   Non-Local BOINC Daemon Selected, "Status Area"

With this new capability, the Participant can monitor and control all of the BOINC Daemons on all of the computers they are installed on, from one computer's BOINC Manager.

Note:

The computer to be monitored has to be enabled through the use of a file named "remote_hosts.cfg" in the base directory of BOINC on the computer that will be monitored.

The file must be in plain text (use "Notepad" to create).

The file must name the remote computer that will be allowed to access this computer's BOINC Daemon.

See the examples of the plain text file and the directory where one of these files is installed.

The computers that can contact and control the BOINC Daemon can be listed by IP Address or "Host Name". The IP Address will always work, where the "Host Name" will only work if your local name server is working (at times, my windows machines can't seem to see each other by name, why this happens I have not been able to discover, in those cases I use the IP Address).

An example file looks like:

EQ-2

192.168.1.100

192.168.1.101

192.168.1.102

192.168.1.103

192.168.1.104

192.168.1.105

192.168.1.106

192.168.1.107

192.168.1.109

192.168.1.109

With one computer being listed by name, the remainder by IP Address.

Note:

For the file to become "active" the BOINC Daemon must be stopped and restarted. If you have a "service" type installation that will require that the BOINC Daemon using the "services" control (see BOINC "How-To" Guide: "Stopping and Restarting The BOINC Daemon, Microsoft Windows® "Service-Type" Install"); or by rebooting your computer.

If you enter the name of the remote computer wrong, the remote computer is off-line, or other connection error; you will see the error message as shown.

To protect the BOINC Daemon from unauthorized access you can use the BOINC Daemon Password to require a password to be used for external access to the BOINC Daemon.

[edit] "Exit" Section

This section is used to close the BOINC Manager.

[edit] Exit

Selecting the "Exit" menu option in the "File" Menu will close the BOINC Manager but this action will not also stop the execution of the BOINC Daemon or halt processing performed by the Science Application(s), unless the BOINC Daemon was started by this BOINC Manager.

This is a change from the old system where the BOINC Manager and the BOINC Daemon were essentially the same program. With the new BOINC Client Software (version 4.25 and up), the BOINC Manager and the BOINC Daemon are not so tightly tied together. If the BOINC Daemon was installed as a service, exiting the BOINC Manager will not halt the running BOINC Daemon.

[edit] Summary

The File Menu is the main control of the operational state of the BOINC Manager and BOINC Daemon.