Windows SMP Open Beta Release!

[MDC]

Announcement at: http://forum.folding-community.org/

Direct link to Client: http://www.stanford.edu/~kasson/folding/[email protected]%20Windows%20SMP%20Client.EXE
Be sure to run the install.bat! (use your administrator account and password when prompted)

MODEDIT: Be sure to read the included ReadMe before trying to install as well!

DETAILED WINDOWS INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

Installation instructions are also included with the client download in a readme.rtf file.

NOTE: The account under which the client runs MUST have a password. Blank passwords will cause the FAH cores to fail.

1. Required component for XP & 2000 (not Vista, as it is built in): The Windows SMP client requires the Microsoft .NET framework v2.0; please install this prior to installing the client. The version 2.0 framework is required; it can co-exist with other versions, but this version must be installed. It can be obtained from Microsoft at the following URL: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en. Administrator privileges are required for install.

2. Unpack files. Run the self-extracting installer to unpack the SMP client files.

3. Client installation. Run install.bat from within the SMP install directory to complete the installation. This will install MPI services that the client needs. If you have Windows Firewall enabled, you may get a pop-up window asking if you should give access to the smpd and mpiexec programs. Grant access. If you use an alternate firewall product, you will likely have to make a similar exception for smpd.

**NOTE** The username and password you provide for mpiexec should be your Windows login that you will run the client under. This is used for authentication on your local machine. It is cached in encrypted form in your Registry and is not transmitted to FAH servers.

At the end of the install process, you should see two lines of output:

If you see this twice, MPI is working
If you see this twice, MPI is working

If you do not see these lines, do not start the client. MPI is not successfully installed, and the client will not run successfully.

4. Run the client:

Run fah.exe to start the SMP client. You will get another pop-up firewall window. Note: We do not currently support running the SMP client as a service.


5. Troubleshooting:

If the client reports an error code -1, it is likely due to an mpi problem. Try re-registering mpiexec by running mpiexec –register or install.bat.

http://folding.stanford.edu/FAQ-SMP.html

EDIT2: Remember, this is beta software. Here is the list of known issues (updated w/ resolutions and/or workarounds as they happen): http://forum.folding-community.org/ftopic18210.html

[Rad2owns]

Sweet.
Im on it.

[Rad2owns]

Problem service wont work nothing gets written in the log file.
But if I manually run the fah.exe it works fine.

I have uninstalled and reinstalled numerous times with reboots in between.

Anyone else having problems.
Ill see how it goes over night.

[monkeydust]

Did you read the readme file that gets put in your install folder? It says:

Running the client:
Run fah.exe to start the SMP client. You will get another pop-up firewall
window. Note: SMP does not currently allow running FAH as a service.

I got everything installed on it and it seems to be working. I was hoping for a GUI interface because I want to be able to pause it easily when needed.


So, what kind of GUI programs are there that can tie into this install and give me info and control?

[Greasy]

Wow, it's written in .Net. Installed and running. Thanks MDC!

[Greasy]

Looks like the PPD will be much lower on this client that the linux smp running in a VM.

My main rig pulled a 2610, and is taking on avg 50min/step. The machine is much more responsive than when I was running the VM though.

Currently we have dedicated win SMP work units. Three projects are being assigned at this time:
Project 2610: 1523 points, deadline 4 days
Project 2651: 1760 points, deadline 4 days
Project 2652: 1148 points, deadline 3 days

Particularly as this is a beta client, we reserve the possibility to adjust point values and/or deadlines in the future.

[monkeydust]

I can confirm that my machine is more responsive with it running than the Linux client via VM. I don't get lag when running it, WoW and browsing the web at the same time where I did on the Linux VM client.

[Rad2owns]

Originally Posted by monkeydust

Did you read the readme file that gets put in your install folder? It says:



I got everything installed on it and it seems to be working. I was hoping for a GUI interface because I want to be able to pause it easily when needed.


So, what kind of GUI programs are there that can tie into this install and give me info and control?

OK thanks.
732 ppd seems low to thats what Im at.
OH well better than 400 ppd on regular folding.
At 12:00 -1:00 am no I didnt see that.

[MDC]

Originally Posted by Greasy

Looks like the PPD will be much lower on this client that the linux smp running in a VM.

My main rig pulled a 2610, and is taking on avg 50min/step. The machine is much more responsive than when I was running the VM though.

I ran a few frames before continuing the Linux VM, since it was 75% through a 1760 pointer. With the 2651, I was getting 12:35/frame, vs 10:50/frame for the 1760 pointers in the VM.

The windows client is definitely much nicer about sharing the CPU. I did see that after stopping the client, that the fahcore_a1 was still running several instances in the task manager and using all the CPU it could get.

Too bad about the service not running, or I'd have a few more computers up and running it tomorrow. For now, I guess I'll try it on my dual xeon Dell 2650 file server.

[caveman-jim]

don't confuse fah cpu priority with vmware vm priority...

[superbotje]

I'm also still running the "VMware version". Gets me more points too.
And I've had some trouble rebooting with the windows client. It was never starting the unit where it left off ... "no workfiles found".

But I think this has been ajusted in this open beta version.

[Lupine]

Awesome! Glad to see we can finally talk about the winsmp client. Its been tough staying quiet!

There certainly is some points variation, even with winsmp. For example, P2651 gives me over 1700PPD on my [email protected] vs maybe 1200ppd w/ a P2652. I've never run Linux SMP on this box so I can't do a direct compare, but PPD/GHz appears to put Linux SMP ahead of winsmp overall. Be nice to see some direct comparison numbers.

superbotje, I stopped having those problems w/ the first major client update. Are you still running the original release?

EDIT: added SMP instructions to OP

[Lupine]

For benchmarking purposes, afaik these are the current WUs available:

2610 - 1523 point - 100 frames - 4 day deadline - GRO-SMP
2651 - 1760 point - 100 frames - 4 day deadline - GRO-SMP
2652 - 1148 point - 100 frames - 3 day deadline - GRO-SMP

[KJ]

I'm in. FYI, when it says you NEED a password on your Windows user account, it means you NEED a password...at least in Vista

[VW_Factor]

Originally Posted by KJ

I'm in. FYI, when it says you NEED a password on your Windows user account, it means you NEED a password...at least in Vista

I cant even get that to work. Running the install.bat file, or manually, it doesnt accept it. WinXP.

[KJ]

Originally Posted by VW_Factor

I cant even get that to work. Running the install.bat file, or manually, it doesnt accept it. WinXP.

What's it doing?

[VW_Factor]

Originally Posted by KJ

What's it doing?

Credentials for GRANTURISMO\Dave rejected connecting to granturismo
Aborting: Unable to connect to granturismo

[KJ]

Are you running a firewall that's blocking it?

[caveman-jim]

Originally Posted by VW_Factor

Credentials for GRANTURISMO\Dave rejected connecting to granturismo
Aborting: Unable to connect to granturismo

two things - either you have a firewall blocking the smpd and mpiexec processes, or the user name and credentials you entered in setup are incorrect.

[Uber_Tiny]

Setup perfectly fine on 2003 server. The only thing I am getting now is "failed to get work unit" errors.

[Lupine]

Originally Posted by Uber_Tiny

Setup perfectly fine on 2003 server. The only thing I am getting now is "failed to get work unit" errors.

Post your logfile? What assignment server is it trying to negotiate with?

Everyone, please add the -verbosity 9 flag to your config if you haven't already. This will provide a lot more information that may be critical to figuring out what is and isn't working.

[VW_Factor]

Originally Posted by caveman-jim

two things - either you have a firewall blocking the smpd and mpiexec processes, or the user name and credentials you entered in setup are incorrect.

I login to my machine every morning just fine.

Windows firewall/application thinger is disabled.

[Lupine]

Originally Posted by VW_Factor

I login to my machine every morning just fine.

Windows firewall/application thinger is disabled.

Try using the administrator login/pwd instead of your own. If that doesn't work, try physically logging in with the administrator account and try it from there.

[VW_Factor]

Originally Posted by Lupine

Try using the administrator login/pwd instead of your own. If that doesn't work, try physically logging in with the administrator account and try it from there.

That worked. Thanks for the bump in the right direction there. I was getting confused, and didnt think about that. Sometimes, its the simple things.

[Lupine]

Originally Posted by VW_Factor

That worked. Thanks for the bump in the right direction there. I was getting confused, and didnt think about that. Sometimes, its the simple things.

Cool. Beta stuff is always entertaining, and this one was even more-so in Vista.

Thanks for the feedback. This will definitely help toward building a solid winsmp guide.

[Uber_Tiny]

Originally Posted by Lupine

Post your logfile? What assignment server is it trying to negotiate with?

Everyone, please add the -verbosity 9 flag to your config if you haven't already. This will provide a lot more information that may be critical to figuring out what is and isn't working.

--- Opening Log file [March 18 18:52:32] 


# SMP Client ##################################################################
###############################################################################

                       [email protected] Client Version 5.91beta

                          http://folding.stanford.edu

###############################################################################
###############################################################################

Launch directory: C:\Program Files\[email protected] Windows SMP Client V1.01
Executable: C:\Program Files\[email protected] Windows SMP Client V1.01\fah.exe


[18:52:32] Configuring [email protected]


The program will continue in non-service mode now, working in C:\Program Files\[email protected] Windows SMP Client V1.01.
The next time the computer is starts up, you should see work automatically
continue there. Note that when this service is running, you should not try
to manually run [email protected] from that directory at the same time.


[18:53:26] - Ask before connecting: No
[18:53:26] - User name: Uber_Tiny[ORSL] (Team 64)
[18:53:26] - User ID: 27C1D2F223F13BF2
[18:53:26] - Machine ID: 1
[18:53:26] 
[18:53:26] Work directory not found. Creating...
[18:53:26] Could not open work queue, generating new queue...
[18:53:26] - Preparing to get new work unit...
[18:53:26] + Attempting to get work packet
[18:53:26] - Connecting to assignment server
[18:53:47] - Couldn't send HTTP request to server
[18:53:47] + Could not connect to Assignment Server
[18:53:47] - Successful: assigned to (0.0.0.0).
[18:53:47] + News From [email protected]: Welcome to [email protected]
[18:53:47] Work Unit has an invalid address.
[18:53:47] - Error: Attempt #1  to get work failed, and no other work to do.
             Waiting before retry.
[18:54:07] + Attempting to get work packet
[18:54:07] - Connecting to assignment server
[18:54:28] - Couldn't send HTTP request to server
[18:54:28] + Could not connect to Assignment Server
[18:54:28] - Successful: assigned to (0.0.0.0).
[18:54:28] + News From [email protected]: Welcome to [email protected]
[18:54:28] Work Unit has an invalid address.
[18:54:28] - Error: Attempt #2  to get work failed, and no other work to do.
             Waiting before retry.
[18:54:50] + Attempting to get work packet
[18:54:50] - Connecting to assignment server
[18:55:11] - Couldn't send HTTP request to server
[18:55:11] + Could not connect to Assignment Server
[18:55:11] - Successful: assigned to (0.0.0.0).
[18:55:11] + News From [email protected]: Welcome to [email protected]
[18:55:11] Work Unit has an invalid address.
[18:55:11] - Error: Attempt #3  to get work failed, and no other work to do.
             Waiting before retry.
[18:55:42] + Attempting to get work packet
[18:55:42] - Connecting to assignment server
[18:56:03] - Couldn't send HTTP request to server
[18:56:03] + Could not connect to Assignment Server
[18:56:03] - Successful: assigned to (0.0.0.0).
[18:56:03] + News From [email protected]: Welcome to [email protected]
[18:56:03] Work Unit has an invalid address.
[18:56:03] - Error: Attempt #4  to get work failed, and no other work to do.
             Waiting before retry.
[18:56:50] + Attempting to get work packet
[18:56:50] - Connecting to assignment server
[18:57:10] - Couldn't send HTTP request to server
[18:57:10] + Could not connect to Assignment Server
[18:57:11] - Successful: assigned to (0.0.0.0).
[18:57:11] + News From [email protected]: Welcome to [email protected]
[18:57:11] Work Unit has an invalid address.
[18:57:11] - Error: Attempt #5  to get work failed, and no other work to do.
             Waiting before retry.
[18:58:32] + Attempting to get work packet
[18:58:32] - Connecting to assignment server
[18:58:52] - Couldn't send HTTP request to server
[18:58:52] + Could not connect to Assignment Server
[18:58:53] - Successful: assigned to (0.0.0.0).
[18:58:53] + News From [email protected]: Welcome to [email protected]
[18:58:53] Work Unit has an invalid address.
[18:58:53] - Error: Attempt #6  to get work failed, and no other work to do.
             Waiting before retry.
[19:01:40] + Attempting to get work packet
[19:01:40] - Connecting to assignment server
[19:02:01] - Couldn't send HTTP request to server
[19:02:01] + Could not connect to Assignment Server
[19:02:01] - Successful: assigned to (0.0.0.0).
[19:02:01] + News From [email protected]: Welcome to [email protected]
[19:02:01] Work Unit has an invalid address.
[19:02:01] - Error: Attempt #7  to get work failed, and no other work to do.
             Waiting before retry.
[19:07:33] + Attempting to get work packet
[19:07:33] - Connecting to assignment server
[19:07:54] - Couldn't send HTTP request to server
[19:07:54] + Could not connect to Assignment Server
[19:07:54] - Successful: assigned to (0.0.0.0).
[19:07:54] + News From [email protected]: Welcome to [email protected]
[19:07:54] Work Unit has an invalid address.
[19:07:54] - Error: Attempt #8  to get work failed, and no other work to do.
             Waiting before retry.
[19:18:36] + Attempting to get work packet
[19:18:36] - Connecting to assignment server
[19:18:57] - Couldn't send HTTP request to server
[19:18:57] + Could not connect to Assignment Server
[19:18:58] - Successful: assigned to (0.0.0.0).
[19:18:58] + News From [email protected]: Welcome to [email protected]
[19:18:58] Work Unit has an invalid address.
[19:18:58] - Error: Attempt #9  to get work failed, and no other work to do.
             Waiting before retry.

[VW_Factor]

Originally Posted by Lupine

Cool. Beta stuff is always entertaining, and this one was even more-so in Vista.

Thanks for the feedback. This will definitely help toward building a solid winsmp guide.

Got a brandnew C2D machine, doing a burnin, etc.

Went to install on this machine, and the install.bat and mpiexec.exe will not run on this machine. Dont have time now, but will investigate further later on.

[Lupine]

Originally Posted by Uber_Tiny

code

Okay, often being assigned to 0.0.0.0 simply means that the assignment server isn't available or is overloaded. The relevant portion of the bug thread:

7) If a server with SMP WU's is not available or is overloaded, the client will be assigned to 0.0.0.0, which tells the client to wait and try again. This is intended to keep the SMP clients crunching SMP WU's. It is a temporary fix until port 80 connections and a backup work server are made available.) An example of the information in your log:
- Connecting to assignment server
Connecting to http: //assign.stanford.edu:8080/
Initial: 0000; - Successful: assigned to (0.0.0.0).
+ News From [email protected]: Welcome to [email protected]
Work Unit has an invalid address.
If you are assigned to 0.0.0.0, there's nothing you can do except to wait for the guys at Stanford to fix the problem.

http://forum.folding-community.org/ftopic18210.html

If you think it might be caught in a loop, go ahead and kill it w/ CTRL-C and restart the client. Here is my flag recommendation:

fah.exe -verbosity 9

Also, make sure you've enabled bigWU in the client.cfg

[caveman-jim]

Originally Posted by VW_Factor

Got a brandnew C2D machine, doing a burnin, etc.

Went to install on this machine, and the install.bat and mpiexec.exe will not run on this machine. Dont have time now, but will investigate further later on.

.NET 2.0

[rob2687]

It would try to connect to the 0.0.0.0 server when I changed something in the advanced settings. I left that at default and it connected with no problems.