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Tarx
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The easy Linux SMP Install guide (including for Windows XP!)

Thu Feb 08, 2007 6:07 pm

The easy Linux SMP client Install guide for both Linux and Windows XP

The carrot: The SMP client rules in points per day and is a major boost in the speed of the research! On average the PPD for a system more than doubles when using this client! This is in part due to the efficient optimized 64bit multi-tasking client working in an OS that is well suited for this work. This results in the work completed a lot faster than the standard client, and a fair bit faster than the Windows SMP client!

This SMP client requires a 64bit capable CPUs with 2 cores (or more) or 2 CPUs (or more). For dual core systems that can't run this client, consider the Windows SMP client - download & instructions at http://folding.stanford.edu/download.html

The Linux SMP client can be run under Windows XP (any) using VMware Server (free) or directly with a 64 bit version of Linux.

Windows XP or Vista (and perhaps W2K): If using Windows, will need to install VMware Server (available for free) so to run a virtual OS within Windows as the SMP client requires 64bit Linux. Due to VMware limitations, this works only with AMD X2s, Opterons (dual core) and with Intel CPUs that have 64bit & VT (unlike AMD CPUs that don't need VT) - what works are the C2D 6300 and higher (not C2D 4xxx series or lower), C2D T5600 and higher (not the T5500 and lower). Pentium D and 4 are not recommended as for some WUs it won't be able to complete some projects (e.g. 2605). Some multi CPU configuration will work (e.g. dual Opteron CPUs Revision E or later). To verify if the CPU will work, run the VMware "Processor Check for 64-Bit Compatibility" available at http://www.vmware.com/download/ws/drivers_tools.html
Note running a virtual OS causes the SMP client to run about 20% slower (much worse for Pentium 4/D). It will also take about 500MB of RAM and 5GB of hard disk space.

For those running 64 bit Linux natively, skip the instructions relating to the VMware. Note that Pentium D and very fast Pentium 4s (HT enabled) (those with 64bit and VT) CAN run this client fairly quickly using Linux natively. It is suspected there is a bug with VMware that they perform so poorly under vmware, so if using Windows with those CPUs, then the Windows SMP client is the only SMP choice (don't need 64bit nor VT for that client).

1. Download VMware Server for Windows
http://www.vmware.com/download/server/ (just need the .exe file) and get a serial number (after filling out the registration)
Currently it is version 1.04

2. Install VMware Server
Go with the default options (if you want). Ignore the warnings regarding that not using Windows Server and that don't have IIS installed.

3. Download Ubuntu Linux
Click the following link and then select "Other installation options" and take the "64-bit PC (AMD64) desktop CD" both 6.10 and 7.04 tested as working (might as well use the latest) http://www.ubuntu.com/products/GetUbuntu/download#currentrelease
Note that this version also works with Intel CPUs with 64bit and VT.
For Intel CPU, enable virtualisation/64bit in the BIOS if those option is available.

4. Burn the Ubuntu ISO image to a CD. If running under VMware, this step can be skipped if don't want to burn a CD.

5. Start VMware. Select "New Virtual Machine". Pick custom virtual machine configuration, then for Guest OS, select "Linux" option and pick "Ubuntu 64 bit" from the list. In general select default options, but make sure that select 2 processors, at least 400MB of RAM (500MB suggest in case the WUs get larger) and either Bridged (suggested) or NAT (if bridged doesn't work) for network type. For HD space, 4GB is minimum suggested with all space allocated but if plan to play with Linux, make it larger (and if want, can select to not allocate all space now). HD space isn't changeable, but RAM, network, CD (among other settings) are changeable.

6. If running VMware, and have burned the CD then put the Ubuntu CD in, wait until the CD light goes off.
If didn't burn the CD, then go to "Edit virtual machine settings" -> Hardware tab -> select CD-ROM -> Connection group -> Use ISO image and browse to where the ISO image was downloaded (in step 3).
In either case, then select "Start Virtual Machine" - and it should boot Ubuntu.
Note that when in a Virtual OS, to get out at any time, just press Ctrl-Alt

7. Install Ubuntu - can use the default settings. It will reboot when finished so make sure you take out the CD. With Ubuntu ver 7 and later (e.g. 7.04) it will pause and ask to remove the disk then press enter. In VMware, select VM->Removable Devices->CD ROM->Edit and unclick "Connected" and "Connect at power on". Otherwise if it is set to use upon bootup (default) - it will ask if you want to install packages from it (answer no).

8. After it rebooted, verify with Firefox browser that it can access the network. Then open a Terminal (click on Applications on top and go into Accessories and click on Terminal - note, if right click on Terminal, it offers the option to add it to the top menu panel).
Then type the following:
sudo apt-get install ia32-libs
(answer yes to it's request for disk space)

9. Install the SMP folding client by typing the following:
mkdir -p ~/folding/FAH
cd ~/folding/FAH
wget http://www.stanford.edu/group/pandegrou ... -Linux.tgz
tar xzvf FAH6.02-Linux.tgz

BTW, the forum does not display the full text of the link, i.e. stanford.edu/group/pandegroup/folding/release/FAH6.02-Linux.tgz

10. Configure it. Note that this client works fairly similar to the console client.
cd ~/folding/FAH
./fah6 -configonly

This is similar to the standard console configuration (the team is 2630)
http://www.techreport.com/etc/folding/. However answer big for "Acceptable size of work units". I don't suggest to accept advanced work units unless monitoring it carefully. And if run into timing problems with an AMD CPU, can set ignore deadline information.

11. Run it by typing
cd ~/folding/FAH
./fah6 -forceasm -smp -verbosity 9
(and any other parameters desired)
It should download the SMP Gromacs core and then a work unit (WU).
Note to stop it, just hit Ctrl-C. It will take up to a minute before all 4 threads are shut down, so don't restart the client before then!

12. To create an easy script to start this, type the following
cd ~
nano startfah

This opens a simple edit program. Type the following
cd ~/folding/FAH
./fah6 -forceasm -smp -verbosity 9

Save the script by pressing CTRL-X, answering Y to the editor's prompt, and then hitting enter to save.
Finally, at the command prompt type
chmod +x startfah
Now when open the terminal, just type ./startfah and it will start SMP folding with the usual parameters.
Note if want different parameters (e.g. for -oneunit or reconfigure the client), then the original method applies (see step 11).

13. In VMware, the X2s and Opterons have an issue with clock timings that can cause the SMP client to run slower than it should (due to sync problems). AMD has a patch for that called AMD Dual-Core Optimizer http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_13118,00.html

14. When planning to reboot or want the client to shutdown quickly (e.g. need the memory), can use Power->Suspend. When want it back running, just select Power->Resume. This is very fast!

15. Once folding is launched, there is no need to keep the VMware Server console running (it takes 24MB). If close the VMware Server console, the guest OS will keep running. Nice stealth mode! And when reopening the console - there it is - still running!

Notes
- The computer needs to be on most of the time to be able to make the tight deadlines. It is the preferred deadlines that must be considered as although will still get points for completing within the final deadline, the WU will be reissued if can't complete before the final deadline. For deadlines, see the project list at http://fah-web.stanford.edu/psummary.html
- The SMP client currently often doesn't use 100% of the CPU (can see as low as 80% use). Some people also run a regular folding client (or two) to take advantage of remaining idle CPU cycles. However with recent projects (e.g. 2608/2609) that often use 95%, this will have a noticeable impact on the SMP client.
-As the SMP client is still in beta, keep an eye on the log file and expect to update the client every few months until officially released. Also there are times that there is no work to do (get assigned to 0.0.0.0 for a few hours).
- The SMP client can run with up to 4 cores. However if running under VMware Server, only 2 cores are available per guest OS. Not sure with a VT capable CPU that can run two 64bit guest OSes (untested) If it does, can run 2 VMware guest OSes, otherwise can run the Windows SMP client )or GPU client or regular client, etc.).
- If want to play with Linux, consider installing the VMware tools (VM->Install VMware Tools)
- If experiencing lags in other apps, then in VMware server select Host->Setting->Priority->Input Ungrabbed to Low priority. Also in taskmgr, change the vmware-vmx.exe to below normal priority (and if necessary, set it to low).
- Can change the resolution to 800x600 if it takes too much space (or don't like the scroll bars) System (from toolbar at top)-> Preferences -> Screen Resolution
- Can change the Linux screen saver to none if desired (System->Preferences->ScreenSaver)
Last edited by Tarx on Tue Sep 02, 2008 10:55 pm, edited 23 times in total.
 
Tarx
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Thu Feb 08, 2007 6:12 pm

Some other links related to the SMP client:
SMP client
Hotdog's Experiences

The official SMP client FAQ
Keep folding!
 
Hotdog
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Thu Feb 08, 2007 6:16 pm

Very good guide. My experiences are just that; no actual "here is how you do it" kind of thing.
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Ragnar Dan
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Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:26 pm

Good work.

The only thing I'd add is that you don't actually have to burn a CD. I didn't. I downloaded the ISO to my Desktop, and then installed VMware and went through all the configuration stuff, mostly as you described. Then I put the ISO on the same drive I put VMware's installation, and browsed to it as my guest OS, and off it went when I clicked on the Start icon (which looks like the Play icon in media player software).

I don't recall whether I had to restart the machine, but whatever the case, it ran and is still running fine, and I've never had to use a CD with it, and it starts back up very quickly on those occasions when I've had to stop the VMware machine.
 
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Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:31 pm

This gets me wondering, VMWare server is free but may be a bit heavy on system resources. How small can you trim a Linux distro so may be those with access to VMWare workstation or server can create a VM image, and make it available on team2630.com or someone else's site with gobs of bandwidth available, and let others grab it like those "appliance VM images" hosted on vmware.com? And people can just use VMWare Player which is completely free and resource usage is lighter. If it can be trimmed to <20megs (10 is better), may be it is a viable next step to really spread this?
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Ragnar Dan
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Thu Feb 08, 2007 10:18 pm

That gets back to the problem of laziness. It requires reading. Reading both VMware's documentation, and then learning about squeezing space out of a Linux distribution, which probably requires a fairly large amount of reading.

If I need the extra RAM for something, I stop the VMware machine and do whatever I need to do, and then let it run again when I'm done. I could probably also just let it be swapped out, but whatever.
 
Tarx
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Thu Feb 08, 2007 11:04 pm

Thanks for the comments!
The idea was a simple install procedure for the SMP client for both Windows XP and Linux. It can be considered as a starting point if anyone wants to work at improving it.
With some SMP WUs getting close to 250MB, there is only so much RAM that can be squeezed. But I think we could get it closer to 350MB instead of 500MB of RAM. e.g. get rid of the GUI interface.
And I'm sure we can squeeze the whole OS down by 75% or more as there are so many unused apps.
VMware Player seems to be a good idea if it isn't as resource hungry as VMware Server (does it support dual core?). We would need a virtual machine to be hosted somewhere however.
Ragnar Dan, I'm a bit unclear how you browsed to the ISO as your guest OS?
Keep folding!
 
Flying Fox
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Thu Feb 08, 2007 11:13 pm

Tarx wrote:
VMware Player seems to be a good idea if it isn't as resource hungry as VMware Server (does it support dual core?). We would need a virtual machine to be hosted somewhere however.
Crap, forget VMware Player then, it does not have support for assigning SMP to one VM. :oops:

But we can still build a VM image with a stripped down Linux distro. Then all they have to do is to grab the image, install the SMP client and run.

Tarx wrote:
Ragnar Dan, I'm a bit unclear how you browsed to the ISO as your guest OS?
From VMware you can use the .iso file as the CD drive that it emulates. Then it is just like the disk being put into the optical drive of the virtual machine.

Edit: go to "Edit virtual machine settings" -> Hardware tab -> select CD-ROM -> Connection group -> Use ISO image.
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Tarx
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Thu Feb 08, 2007 11:28 pm

Flying Fox wrote:
But we can still build a VM image with a stripped down Linux distro. Then all they have to do is to grab the image, install the SMP client and run.

Yup, that would good - we would need someone to do that, and find a place to host it.

Flying Fox wrote:
From VMware you can use the .iso file as the CD drive that it emulates. Then it is just like the disk being put into the optical drive of the virtual machine.
Edit: go to "Edit virtual machine settings" -> Hardware tab -> select CD-ROM -> Connection group -> Use ISO image.

Thanks! I've updated step 4 and 6 of the install guide.
Keep folding!
 
Flying Fox
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Thu Feb 08, 2007 11:39 pm

Actually, it seems to be already done.

http://isv-image.ubuntu.com/vmware/

Can someone test to see if it is as easy as download image, start from VMWare, install SMP client, then wait for the PPD to show up?
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Ragnar Dan
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Fri Feb 09, 2007 12:18 am

You could do all the parts of it except downloading/extracting/installing and running the Linux SMP client. I'm willing to read what others have done and if they find an improvement adjust my setup accordingly, but for now I'm not going to play with it. Not just on account of laziness, though it's mostly that, but also because I'd have to stop my SMP client, then change its parameters to stop at the end of the current WU, restart it, and then at some point try to install the other version (which one is best is not certain to me, though it seems the server AMD64 version is smallest of the 6.10 Ubuntu's at 227 MB). Which would mean I'd lose points until I got it running again. Can't have that, especially with sativa's the.sauce charging at me like a crack-addled bull. :wink:

Edit: Oh yeah, Tarx: I also used the default VMware ethernet setting of bridged instead of NAT. Seems to work fine, though I haven't really read what the differences are.

I also noticed that the total disk usage of my install was well under 3 GB. I gave the image 8 GB because I thought I might like to experiment with various Linux things, but soon that became obviously unlikely, so I've got more than 5.5 GB of space used that I could have kept.

I always stick with defaults unless I know why I want to change something. It appears my video drivers are some sort of generic and slow type, and my sound doesn't work in the Ubuntu install I'm using, but I don't really care about that stuff, either. I would if I were going to do a real Linux install, of course.
 
Flying Fox
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Fri Feb 09, 2007 8:26 am

Ragnar Dan wrote:
Which would mean I'd lose points until I got it running again. Can't have that, especially with sativa's the.sauce charging at me like a crack-addled bull. :wink:
You can always join UGN after you have fallen to da sauce. :lol: :lol:

Ragnar Dan wrote:
Edit: Oh yeah, Tarx: I also used the default VMware ethernet setting of bridged instead of NAT. Seems to work fine, though I haven't really read what the differences are.
For most people it doesn't really make any difference.

For the curious, basically bridged means the VM acquires an IP pretty much like the host machine. So if you are behind your own router already and have 2 machines on the LAN, the VM behaves like a 3rd and will get a different IP in the same subnet (example: your router is 192.168.0.1/24 with 2 other machines 192.168.0.2/24 and 192.168.0.3/24, the VM may become 192.168.0.4/24).

In NAT mode, your host machine behaves like a router and the VM(s) that you have set to this mode will be behind it. That's why VMware installs at least 2 more network connections by default. (from last example: router + 2 other machines, let's say 192.168.0.2/24 is the host machine, if you do ipconfig on that host, you would see at least another one with something like 192.168.10.1/24 [a new subnet because of the 24-bit netmask], and your VM will have an IP like 192.168.10.2/24)

It doesn't matter because the VM in either configuration can access the net, where the NAT mode will be one more hop, so it may be a tiny bit slower. NAT mode is usually for people who want to test a network setup of VMs in its own subnet. I suggest the default of bridged, especially if you have an internal DHCP server (usually a router).

Ragnar Dan wrote:
I always stick with defaults unless I know why I want to change something. It appears my video drivers are some sort of generic and slow type, and my sound doesn't work in the Ubuntu install I'm using, but I don't really care about that stuff, either. I would if I were going to do a real Linux install, of course.
I bet most people now hopping on the VM+Linux+SMP client will be in the same situation as you. However, generic hardware in the VM is good also for the newbies because they don't have to worry about drivers. So it can be a good thing. :wink:
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notfred
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Fri Feb 09, 2007 11:17 am

Tarx wrote:
Flying Fox wrote:
But we can still build a VM image with a stripped down Linux distro. Then all they have to do is to grab the image, install the SMP client and run.

Yup, that would good - we would need someone to do that, and find a place to host it.

I'm working on getting my folding utilities going in a 64bit environment, once I succeed that could provide about the most minimal image possible for running the SMP client.

My problem at the moment is that the client is 32-bit and dynamically linked, so I need to provide 32bit glibc libraries, and I'm having fun slowly working through all the cross-compilation issues. Hope to get there eventually but it's not there yet.
 
gyrfalcon1
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Fri Feb 09, 2007 12:15 pm

So I'm trying to do this on my Core 2 Duo box and I'm having problems.
I get Ubuntu installed and the SMP client downloaded but nothing happens when I try to run the client. It just sits there. I'm guessing its because I'm missing some libraries or something but this step

sudo apt-get install ia32-libs

doesn't work for me. It says it can't find ia32-libs. Can anyone help me out with this? Thanks.
 
notfred
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Fri Feb 09, 2007 12:24 pm

Are you sure you are running the 64-bit version of Ubuntu? Try "uname -a" and see what it reports.
 
-Druid-
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Fri Feb 09, 2007 4:53 pm

Good post Tarx, it summarizes the information I had to leach from several users here.
I give up trying to get my fricken signature working.... damn tags. I'm a folder not a HTML/PHPBB programer JIM!
 
gyrfalcon1
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Fri Feb 09, 2007 7:32 pm

notfred wrote:
Are you sure you are running the 64-bit version of Ubuntu? Try "uname -a" and see what it reports.


Definitely 64bit. Here is what it says:

keith@RAIDER3:~$ uname -a
Linux RAIDER3 2.6.17-10-generic #2 SMP Fri Oct 13 15:34:39 UTC 2006 x86_64 GNU/Linux
keith@RAIDER3:~$ sudo apt-get install ia32-libs
Password:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
E: Couldn't find package ia32-libs
keith@RAIDER3:~$

Any ideas?
 
eitje
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Fri Feb 09, 2007 11:00 pm

you need to download & install the ia32-libs package.
try:

sudo apt-get install ia32-libs

type in your admin password, and see what that gets ya.
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gyrfalcon1
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Fri Feb 09, 2007 11:35 pm

Umm did you even read my post... This is what I'm trying to do...
 
Tarx
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Sat Feb 10, 2007 7:06 am

Flying Fox wrote:
Ragnar Dan wrote:
Edit: Oh yeah, Tarx: I also used the default VMware ethernet setting of bridged instead of NAT. Seems to work fine, though I haven't really read what the differences are.

For most people it doesn't really make any difference.
For the curious, basically bridged means the VM acquires an IP pretty much like the host machine. So if you are behind your own router already and have 2 machines on the LAN, the VM behaves like a 3rd and will get a different IP in the same subnet (example: your router is 192.168.0.1/24 with 2 other machines 192.168.0.2/24 and 192.168.0.3/24, the VM may become 192.168.0.4/24).

In NAT mode, your host machine behaves like a router and the VM(s) that you have set to this mode will be behind it. That's why VMware installs at least 2 more network connections by default. (from last example: router + 2 other machines, let's say 192.168.0.2/24 is the host machine, if you do ipconfig on that host, you would see at least another one with something like 192.168.10.1/24 [a new subnet because of the 24-bit netmask], and your VM will have an IP like 192.168.10.2/24)

It doesn't matter because the VM in either configuration can access the net, where the NAT mode will be one more hop, so it may be a tiny bit slower. NAT mode is usually for people who want to test a network setup of VMs in its own subnet. I suggest the default of bridged, especially if you have an internal DHCP server (usually a router).

For the security conscious, is one method better than the other? What about people that are not behind a router? And what is the impact for those using wireless routers?
(BTW for me bridged doesn't work as my wireless router refuses it - I guess I could reconfigure the router...)
Keep folding!
 
Tarx
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Sat Feb 10, 2007 7:10 am

notfred wrote:
Tarx wrote:
Flying Fox wrote:
But we can still build a VM image with a stripped down Linux distro. Then all they have to do is to grab the image, install the SMP client and run.

Yup, that would good - we would need someone to do that, and find a place to host it.

I'm working on getting my folding utilities going in a 64bit environment, once I succeed that could provide about the most minimal image possible for running the SMP client.
My problem at the moment is that the client is 32-bit and dynamically linked, so I need to provide 32bit glibc libraries, and I'm having fun slowly working through all the cross-compilation issues. Hope to get there eventually but it's not there yet.

If you could get something like that (especially if keep the security and automatic update intact), that would be wonderful addition to your already great set of folding tools!
Keep folding!
 
Tarx
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Sat Feb 10, 2007 7:16 am

gyrfalcon1 wrote:
So I'm trying to do this on my Core 2 Duo box and I'm having problems.
I get Ubuntu installed and the SMP client downloaded but nothing happens when I try to run the client. It just sits there. I'm guessing its because I'm missing some libraries or something but this step

sudo apt-get install ia32-libs

doesn't work for me. It says it can't find ia32-libs. Can anyone help me out with this? Thanks.

I've seen this problem before if the wrong version of Ubuntu (or an older version) is used. Make sure that it was the ubuntu-6.10-desktop-amd64.iso
If it is, and did a default install, well then I'm stumped...
Keep folding!
 
Tarx
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Sat Feb 10, 2007 7:39 am

When creating a guest OS under VMware, under Guest OS can select Linux and then choose ubuntu 64bit.
The advantage for that is primarily that VMware tools can be installed.

I'm looking into this further, but from what I can tell, unless someone wants to play around with Linux, not sure if worth bothering as it just adds to the instructions without helping the SMP client.

On thing though is that I saw:
"The virtual machine is configured to run only within your current Windows session. When you log off of the Windows session, the virtual machine will be powered off.
To keep this virtual machine running when you log off of the session, do one of the following:
* Choose VM > Settings > Options > Startup/Shutdown, and configure the virtual machine to run as a specific user account.
* Connect to the virtual machine from the VMware Server Console. Select Remote host, then specify this host and your logon information.
If you click OK, the virtual machine will be powered off when you log off of the session."
So perhaps there is a way to automate this fully. The goal would be to have VMware server automatically start when boots up, auto start this virtual OS that auto starts the SMP folding client, and nicely shutdown the virtual OS when powering down the main system. Some steps seem to be straight forward (e.g. auto start the folding client without having to log on). Again this would increase the amount of instructions of course... (e.g. how to reconfigure the SMP client). For a system that is often turned off & on, this could be quite useful!
Keep folding!
 
Tarx
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Sat Feb 10, 2007 9:09 am

With the CD set to ISO, it refuses to reboot until I take it out.
When I shutdown the virtual OS I had to delete the CD drive (or change it to a physical one) otherwise it seems like it boots up again using the CD.
Am I doing something wrong here? I'll need to update the instructions.
edit: I think I've figured it out and added it to the instructions.
Last edited by Tarx on Sat Feb 10, 2007 11:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
Keep folding!
 
eitje
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Sat Feb 10, 2007 11:05 am

gyrfalcon1 wrote:
Umm did you even read my post... This is what I'm trying to do...

nope, i was drunk. :)
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Locke
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Sat Feb 10, 2007 7:46 pm

I tried this out and it worked like a charm.

I do have one question, how does task manager distribute cpu time between windows apps and vmware?
 
Ragnar Dan
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Sun Feb 11, 2007 12:49 am

I'm sure someone who has used VMware in a work environment may have more information, but it looks like it's just a normal priority application, and the Windows clients, being low priority, get very few cycles compared to VMware and whatever it's doing.
 
Tarx
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Location: Canada

Sun Feb 11, 2007 11:07 pm

I've seen people commenting that the C2D 4300 does not support 64bit Linux under Windows XP. So it seems that any Intel CPU needs to have VT to support this configuration. So that would also mean that mobile C2Ds like the T5500 that don't have VT won't work either (note the T5600 does have VT). Neither Pentium Ds 9x5.
For AMD, although having VT means it will work, there are some CPUs that don't have it but still work as they include the needed segmentation instructions part of VT that are required for VMware. This includes all X2s and dual-core Opterons (as far as I'm aware of). If running 2 single core Opterons, make sure they are Rev E or later (or just run the program mentioned in the 1st post to test it).
Pity about the 4300s... but they still work (and faster!) if running Linux 64 bit natively (e.g. dual boot) so as a folding farm they'd be great! (especially after April 22nd) ;) http://techreport.com/ja.zz?comments=11455
Keep folding!
 
Flying Fox
Gerbil God
Posts: 25690
Joined: Mon May 24, 2004 2:19 am
Contact:

Mon Feb 12, 2007 9:45 pm

Tarx wrote:
Flying Fox wrote:
NAT vs Bridged

For the security conscious, is one method better than the other? What about people that are not behind a router? And what is the impact for those using wireless routers?
Well, if the host machine is 0wned then pretty much everything is shot. Bridged mode VMs behave like it is in the same IP class as the host, so you can think of those VMs as the same "level" of the host machine, in terms of a network diagram. So they are like additional computers connected in the same LAN, and the usual security implications apply. As for NAT, the host machine basically functions as a router for the VM(s). In a sense having the VM(s) running in its own LAN behind a NAT setup on the host should give the VM(s) a bit more security, but I really don't see the point, especially if you only run those VM(s) for points.

I guess if your host machine is naked on the net (at least you run a software firewall, right?), may be a NAT setup will give the VM(s) a tiny little bit more security. However, as said before, if your host is pwned everything is shot anyways.

Tarx wrote:
(BTW for me bridged doesn't work as my wireless router refuses it - I guess I could reconfigure the router...)
Possibly because you have MAC filtering on? It does look like NAT may be better for you in terms of a no-fuss setup.

Tarx wrote:
On thing though is that I saw:
"The virtual machine is configured to run only within your current Windows session. When you log off of the Windows session, the virtual machine will be powered off.
To keep this virtual machine running when you log off of the session, do one of the following:
* Choose VM > Settings > Options > Startup/Shutdown, and configure the virtual machine to run as a specific user account.
* Connect to the virtual machine from the VMware Server Console. Select Remote host, then specify this host and your logon information.
If you click OK, the virtual machine will be powered off when you log off of the session."
So perhaps there is a way to automate this fully. The goal would be to have VMware server automatically start when boots up, auto start this virtual OS that auto starts the SMP folding client, and nicely shutdown the virtual OS when powering down the main system. Some steps seem to be straight forward (e.g. auto start the folding client without having to log on). Again this would increase the amount of instructions of course... (e.g. how to reconfigure the SMP client). For a system that is often turned off & on, this could be quite useful!
You can thank [insert your deity here] for that you are running VMware server. Since it is a "server application" it is supposed to run even when no one is logged on (if you run VMware workstation then oops). In fact, what you have described above is where the magic setting is supposed to be.

Select either "run as local system" or as a specific account where usually you put your own account in, then the bottom group of controls will be enabled. Select:
- On host startup: Power On virtual machine
- On host power off: Shutdown guest operating system (this is the "normal" shutdown routine, the other option is to power off, the abrupt one, which should be ok too with the check-pointing)

With this setup, VMware server's own serivces will load when the system starts up, and detect that it needs to power on the VM. This will increase boot+load time remember that.

Also, VMware server accepts a COM/Scripting based API to control the VMs. I have worked with that before. Combined with the power of the Task Scheduler you can have the VMs running in the background (no need to bring up the console UI) and to shutdown at specific times (supposedly your work hours?). Let me know if you want some quick scripts done I may be able to cook some up in short (may be not so short) order.
The Model M is not for the faint of heart. You either like them or hate them.

Gerbils unite! Fold for UnitedGerbilNation, team 2630.
 
sativa
Grand Gerbil Poohbah
Posts: 3044
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2002 7:22 pm
Location: lafayette, la

Sun Feb 25, 2007 10:52 pm

I can't get Ubuntu to get passed my ISA 2004 firewall.

Can anyone help me ?
Science is forbidden. Laboratories manufacture danger!

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