Work Tab

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[edit] General

The BOINC Manager's Work Tab, Microsoft Windows®
The BOINC Manager's Work Tab, Microsoft Windows®
The BOINC Manager's Work Tab, OS-X
The BOINC Manager's Work Tab, OS-X

The Work Tab shows the Work Units that have been downloaded by the BOINC Client Software, and are in one stage or another in processing.

The status of the Work Unit is one of the more interesting items shown in the Work Tab but we also have the Work Unit's Name, how much time has been expended processing the Work Unit, and how much more time will be needed to complete the Work Unit and to generate a Result, and the Result Data Files.

Remember, Work Units can take a vastly different amount of time depending on the Project.

Note: The processing time for Work Units, on average, is about one to four hours on 3.0 GHz machines up to 30 to 40 days for the models for the the Climateprediction.net Project.

For more details on this, including my database data see this FAQ Topic. For the raw data and a database that will be updated over time you can look at my compilation of Average Processing Time where I extract the data both as an overall average and as specific platform averages. 


** This Tab is in later BOINC Manager versions named "Tasks"

[edit] Content Overview

This tab, when selected will display in the main pane the Work Units that have been downloaded to the Work Buffer (Queue). With this tab view, the Participant should be able to monitor the basic operation of the system as it grinds through the Work Units. This is most likely one of the two tabs that you will be using most often with your interaction with the BOINC Manager.

The information shown is:

[edit] Project Column

This column lists the name of the Project that created the Work Unit. Only those Projects for which you have work will be listed here. If there is no work from one of the Projects for which you are a Participant, you will have to look in the "Messages Tab" to see what the reason might be for the lack of work.

[edit] Application Column

This column will show the name and the version number of the Science Application that will be used to process the Work Unit. If, and when, a Project updates the Science Application Version, the BOINC Manager will download and install the correct Science Application to process any specific Work Unit. For example, the Science Application might be revised and the change does not invalidate or make less useful the information obtained; in that case the new Science Application will only be used on subsequently down-loaded Work Units.

However, if the Science Application has a modification that makes the science much more useful, the version will be up dated and all of the Work Units will be processed with the updated Science Application after the completion of the Work Unit currently being processed.

[edit] Name Column

This column displays the "name" of the Work Unit. Now, this is going to be a name that only a mother could love, so don't get too attached to any one particular name. Just kidding, the Work Unit Name (it is usually a string of gobble-de-gook that only means something to the computers) and that is all that this column is displaying is the identifier that will uniquely identify a specific Work Unit.

[edit] CPU Time

This column lists the total amount of CPU Time that has been spent processing that Work Unit.

[edit] Progress Column

This column shows the fraction of processing that has been completed. The two Work Units that are shown are at 96% and 75% completion respectfully. The one question in your mind might be how can I have two Work Units in work at the same time. Well, it is simple, I have a dual processor system running, and the BOINC Client Software will use both of those to perform work when hey have nothing else to do. One of the reasons that there is a time difference is that as I use the computer of one thing or another, well, I waste all those CPU cycles doing worthless work for my selfish self and do nothing for the project (shame on me!).

Just kidding. The point is that we do want to use the computer to do useful work for us, but when it is bored, well, it can contribute to the advancement of science.

[edit] To Completion Column

This column shows the estimated time until completion. These times are only approximate, and you will see cases where the time here climbs even though the CPU Time expended in processing the Work Unit is also growing. So, this is a moment to moment estimate of the CPU Time needed to process the Work Unit. Especially in the beginning, when the processing is just beginning on the Work Unit, you will most likely see that the time to complete climbing even as the CPU Time is climbing.

The initial setting for the Work Unit is derived from the performance predicted by the Benchmark. The estimate of performance is passed to the Scheduling Server then the Scheduler makes the initial estimate of time to complete and passes it back to your computer. After the BOINC Client Software starts processing the Work Unit the "To Completion" time is estimated using the time used and percent complete.

One of the points to keep in mind is that there is literally no way that the systems can accurately predict the amount of time it is going to take to process any specific Work Unit. If there is an abnormally large amount of noise in the Work Unit (in the case of SETI@Home; in the case of LHC@Home it may occur when the "beam" hits the wall), it may be abandoned. A Work Unit that is abandoned early will of course have a high number in the time to completion and then ... Wham! The time is up! Also, it is just as likely that certain Work Units are going to require extra time in processing because there is a need to repeat sections of the processing more than in a "normal" (if there is such a thing) Work Unit. So the time "To Completion" will fluctuate.

Obviously the dashes, for those Work Units completed, are just there to remind us that there is no longer any remaining time until completion.

[edit] Report Deadline Column

This column shows the date and time when the Data Server must have the Result returned. Returning the Result after the Deadline will probably not generate any Credit for completion of that Work Unit. The Deadline, as a date and time after which the Data Server will consider that Work Unit as abandoned if a Result Data File is not returned by that stipulated moment.

[edit] Status Column

This column shows the status of each of the Work Units listed in the Work Buffer (queue).

[edit] Aborted By User

This status is shown for any Work Unit that has been "killed" by the Participant selecting the Work Unit and pressing the "Abort" Button in the Tasks pane. This Work Unit will not be processed and will be returned to the Project and recorded as a "Client Error" Outcome.

The aborted Work Unit will not upload any Result Data Files and will only be "reported" to the Project's Scheduling Server.

Note:
In some cases a Work Unit can become "stuck" and not cleared from the Work Tab. In these cases you can try to remove the Work Unit by:
  1. Suspending all projects except the project with the aborted Work Unit in the Projects Tab.
  2. Go to the Work Tab and then manually suspend every Work Unit for the project with the aborted Work Unit.
  3. Click on the aborted Work Unit and then on the resume button so that it will attempt to process the Work Unit and change from "aborted" to "computational error".
  4. On the Projects Tab, use the "Update" button with the project selected and the Work Unit will report and dissappear.
  5. Resume all suspended Work Unit's in the Work Tab and all projects on the Projects Tab.

[edit] Activities Suspended

This status is listed when the Participant elects to halt the processing of the BOINC Client Software using the File Menu "Suspend" option to halt processing or when activities are supsended because of Preference Settings.

This state will also occur when the Benchmarks are run. In this case, all work will be halted for several minutes.

[edit] Computation Error

A Work Unit with this status was being processed and the Science Application that was doing the work on this Work Unit had something bad happen and the results of the computation are invalid. This can occur because of aggressive over-clocking, a bad Central Processing Unit (CPU), bad memory, bad motherboard (it may not be up to the task of transferring data to and from the CPU to the memory, programming error in the Science Application, evil fairies, pulp fiction, etc.; therefor the BOINC Manager is going to halt processing and return a failure status to the Project's Scheduling Server.

Note:
Depending on the Project's Rules and Policies, you may, or you may not, get Credit for any of the processing completed prior to the error. Keep in mind, that the probability is that the error is going to happen fairly quickly. Except on my computers where the error will take place just before a possible successful completion of the Work Unit.
A evidence of this, I offer this example. You can clearly see that I have more that completed processing by gaining an stellar 4,400% completion percentage on the one, and a good, if not impressive 641.25% (and I do want you to note that 0.25%, it is important to keep the record straight) on the other Work Unit. You should also note that I am doing these kinds of things for more than one Project.

[edit] Download Failed

This status is shown if the BOINC Daemon is not successful in downloading the Work Unit Data File from the Project's Data Server.

[edit] Downloading

This status is shown when the Work Unit Data File is being downloaded from the Project's Data Server.

[edit] Paused

A Work Unit with this status is being processed, but work has been temporarily halted while another Work Unit is being run. Because the version 4 and later of the BOINC Client Software have an increased ability to schedule work because of an enhanced Work Scheduler, now the Work Units to be processed is selected using a more dynamic process. This allows the BOINC Client Software to change from running a Work Unit from, say, Climateprediction.net, which can take a month to process (400-500 hours), to a shorter Work Unit from SETI@Home or LHC@Home. A better balance of work allocation occurs with this as a mechanism.

[edit] Ready to Report

A Work Unit with this status has been processed and is awaiting for a connection to be established and for the Project's Data Server becoming available to accept the Result.

Note:
The process to return Results is a two stage process with the first stage being the return to the Project of the Result Data File which contains the actual information that has been derived from the processing of the Work Unit on the Participant's Computer.
The second stage occurs when the BOINC Client Software contacts the Scheduling Server to "report" the Result. At this point the Work Unit is removed from the Work Tab.

[edit] Ready to Run

Work Units with this status are in the Work Buffer and will be processed when there is a CPU available to begin processing that Work Unit. These are the Work Units that are queued for processing.

Note:
We caution against having a very large work queue. Holding lots of work in the Work Buffer should not exceed the shortest Result Deadline / Number of Projects. So, with a Result Deadline of 14 days (one of the most common lengths) and the BOINC Client Software is "attached" to 4 Projects, the Work Buffer size should not exceed 3 days.

[edit] Running

A Work Unit with this status will be completed with the current version of the Science Application even if it has changed. Other Work Units will not be started until this one has been fully processed. In other words, once started, the Work Unit is completed before another one is started. In systems with multiple CPUs available to be used by the BOINC Client Software, each CPU may start a Work Unit, but once enough Work Units are in process to give each CPU one, no new [[Work Unit]s will be started until at least one of the Work Units in the "Running" state goes into the "Ready to Report" state.

[edit] Suspended By User

A Work Unit with this status has been "Suspended" and will not be processed any further until it is taken out of the "Suspended" state. The main reason that a Work Unit might be "Suspended" is because of potential issues with another Work Unit's Deadline.

In an attempt to prevent the BOINC Software from not completing a Work Unit before the deadline, the Participant may "Suspend" other Projects or other Work Units until the Work Unit that is nearing its deadline has been completed. This is a mechanical operation by the Participant and if not wisely used may cause other Work Units to fail to meet their Deadlines.

[edit] Uploading

A Work Unit with this status was completed and is awaiting a connection to the Data Server to upload the Result Data File. Once that has been accomplished, the status will change to "Ready to Report". Once a connection has been made to the Scheduling Server the Work Unit will then be removed from the Work Tab.

[edit] Tasks Overview

Tasks, Work Tab Tasks, Work Tab, Nothing Selected

There are three ways you can see the Tasks for the Work Tab. In the first example shown, there are no Work Units selected. Because of this, there are no tasks available.

Tasks, Work Tab Tasks, Work Tab, Work Unit Selected

In the second case, a Work Unit has been selected, but the Science Application that is processing that Work Unit does not have the ability to create a graphical output.

The BOINC Client Software does support the option to create graphical displays of the Work Unit or Work Units in progress. However, since the creation of the display is part of the Science Application, the capabilities for making these displays is Project dependent. In other words, if they did not add this feature to the Project, well, you won't get any display. And in the cases of some projects, it is highly likely that there is nothing to be displayed.

Note:
The installation type also will affect the availability of the graphical outputs. Installing the BOINC Client Software as a Daemon (or "service" in Microsoft Windows®) may disallow the graphics output.

With that firmly in mind, lets talk about what you might see.

Tasks, Work Tab Tasks, Work Tab, Work Unit Selected

In this example, a Work Unit was selected where the Science Application does have the ability to generate a graphical output. This is an option that is available on Work Units that are in the "Running" status. Any of the Work Units that are in the "Running" status can be selected for a graphical display. This means of course, that you can watch the progress of the Science Application as it processes a Work Unit. Since you could potentially have a dual processor (or if you are real lucky more than two processors) system, you can open up multiple windows and watch the processing of each individual Work Unit's progress independently of all of the other Work Units being processed.

If the Work Unit is in the "Paused", "Suspended", "Ready to Report" or the "Ready to Run" status this option will not work.

One additional note, it is possible that the Project will have additional menu options to select other features that are specific to that particular Science Application. To find out about those options you will have to refer to the Project's Web Site to find out what features are available and how to use them.

Graphics display of a Work Unit in progress. A Graphical Display of a Work Unit being Processed

If you do select the display to be active for a particular Work Unit, the display that you will get will look something like this:

We have a couple things to say, so here they are, in no particular order:

  • This display is kind of a miniature Screensaver.
  • The creation and maintenance of this image will consume some of the processor's time, which means that you will get less work done for the same wall clock time spent on the project. But if you are not a fanatical " Cruncher" then this is not going to be a huge concern for you.
  • If you do a "Left-Click" and hold the button down you may be able manipulate the image. This is another project specific feature, so you will have to consult the project's documentation to see if this feature is available for the project you are participating in and have Work Units in progress. Currently the following BOINC Powered Projects have implemented this feature:
  • The constant rotation of this darn thing gives me a headache.


You can set the parameters to control the various aspects of some of the screen savers. The controls are located on the web site and you can use the links below to access these settings.


Climate prediction.net Preferences SETI@Home Preference SETI@Home Classic (Emulation)

Note:
The LHC@Home project has a screen saver available, but there are currently no controls that will change any aspect of that screen saver.
The screen saver for the Climateprediction.net has one setting that can be changed, but I was unable to see any difference in the displayed graphics (maybe I am blind?). There is a new "W" option that displays a flat map of the world instead of the globe. This makes it easier to print the map, capture an image, etc. so that it can be more useful for trouble shooting.

[edit] Summary

The Work Tab is probably the tab I spend the most time looking at of all of the tabs. Usually to look at the percentage complete of the Work Units being processed.

Retrieved from "http://www.boinc-wiki.info/Work_Tab"
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