BOINC Manager on Free Cloud Server

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chriscambridge
Active UBT Contributor 1+ yr
Posts: 2178
Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2016 1:56 pm
Location: UK

BOINC Manager on Free Cloud Server

Post by chriscambridge »

ABOUT

I just setup BOINC manager on a free cloud account so I thought I would share this with UBT in case anyone else wants to do this also.

The "normal way" to run BOINC on cloud servers is without the manager, so basically you have very little idea of what is going on, or how to manage projects, or change projects settings etc.

This method however installs BOINC manager so you can use it exactly how you normally do on your home computers (etc). See picture at end of post for info.

RESOURCES

This guide uses this hardware/software:
  • Digital Ocean Cloud Server
  • BOINC Manager (lunatics)
  • Ubuntu Server (Linux)
  • Ubuntu Desktop (Gnome)
  • Zoho Assist (Desktop access)
This guide uses Digital Ocean's cloud server, but I a fairly confident you could use the same method to install BOINC Manager on MS Azure, Google Cloud, Amazon AWS, and any other cloud provider or dedicated/bare metal server that gives you Ubuntu 18.04 LTS; which is pretty much all of them.

NOTE

As a new customer you can get $100 of free credit (3 months worth) at DigitalOcean *if you use the link below. Please note this is NOT my affiliate link or anything like that. Also you will need to add a valid payment card. Just cancel before you $100 runs out. Account clearly shows credit left.

Image

CLOUD ACCOUNT SPEC

I selected the "Compute Droplet" with the spec of: 4 vCPUs, 8GB RAM, 5TB Transfer, 160GB SSD. This works out at $40 /month.

LINKS

https://try.digitalocean.com/performanc ... =CopyPaste ($100 free credit link)

http://www.arkayn.us/lunatics/BOINC.7z

https://www.zoho.com/assist/

STEPS

0) Create an account at Digital Ocean using the link given (make sure it says: $100 free credit)


1) Install Ubuntu 18.04 Server LTS using Droplet "wizard"


2) Open Droplet Access Console (AC), and Install Ubuntu desktop

- Use the exact steps given in this article:
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/ho ... ver-18-04/


3) Use AC, and Install Zoho Assist Remote Access (ZARA)

- You will need to go to Zoho Assist (using the link) and sign up for their free account.
- Once logged into ZARA website, look for the deployment link. Paste this URL into your servers browser.
- Then use your servers Terminal to run both the commands.


4) Close AC, and use ZARA to connect to your server

- After installing ZARA on your server, when you login to ZARA website (using your home computer), you will see your new server listed; just click connect.
- Zoho Remote Assistant runs in a Browser, and works as normal with your mouse and cursor.


5) Using ZARA, Download and unpack BOINC.7z to your server desktop or home

- Its important to use this version of BOINC, and not try to install BOINC from any repositories etc as they will install files all over the place. This version unpacks *all files into one folder, and runs from that directory.

- You will find your downloaded .7z file in the downloads folder. Probably best to move it to /home or /desktop, and then unpack it.


6) Using ZARA, Run boincmgr (found within the BOINC folder unpacked)

WHAT YOU GET

You will now see BOINC manager running, ready for you to add projects etc.

* Please note that the servers don't have GPUs hence screen resolution is less than normal.

Image
Last edited by chriscambridge on Mon Mar 23, 2020 2:45 pm, edited 29 times in total.
UBT - Timbo
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Re: BOINC Manager on Free Cloud Server

Post by UBT - Timbo »

:text-goodpost: :text-thankyouyellow:
chriscambridge
Active UBT Contributor 1+ yr
Posts: 2178
Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2016 1:56 pm
Location: UK

Re: BOINC Manager on Free Cloud Server

Post by chriscambridge »

Upgrade Ubuntu into Desktop

(copied from https://www.techrepublic.com/article/ho ... ver-18-04/)


Update/upgrade

Before we take on this task, the first thing you'll want to do is update and upgrade your server. Because the server kernel could get upgrades, it is best to run this process when a reboot is possible. Also, after the desktop GUI installs, you'll need to reboot the server anyway. So if the kernel is upgraded, you'll wind up rebooting twice.

To run the update/upgrade process, log into your server and issue the following two commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade -y

Once those commands complete, reboot the server (if necessary) and continue.

The installation

We're going to use a special tool for the installation of the GNOME desktop (because it's generally a safer route). That tool is tasksel. Tasksel is a Ubuntu--and Debian-specific tool, which helps to install multiple related packages as a coordinated task. Tasksel makes it incredibly easy to install related packages that make up the likes of:

LAMP Server
Mail Server
Print Server
Database servers
Samba file server
And more

In order to install Tasksel, log into your server and issue the command:

sudo apt-get install tasksel -y

Once the above command completes, issue the command:

sudo tasksel

A curses-based GUI will open. Using the keyboard arrow keys, scroll down to select Ubuntu desktop

Once you've selected Ubuntu desktop, click the spacebar to select it, tab down to Ok, and hit Enter on your keyboard. This will install everything necessary for a successful GNOME desktop on Ubuntu Server. When the process completes, reboot the server.
chriscambridge
Active UBT Contributor 1+ yr
Posts: 2178
Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2016 1:56 pm
Location: UK

Re: BOINC Manager on Free Cloud Server

Post by chriscambridge »

I added the previous post and below (for my benefit) in case the original website(s) go offline. [mintstuff] [NCODED]

MINIMISE TIME-OUT TIMER ON WINDOWS

Open "cmd" and cd to "c:\Program Files\BOINC\"

then run:

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FOR /L %N IN () DO @date /t & time /t & boinccmd --project  "http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/" update & timeout 300 > NUL
MINIMISE TIME-OUT ON LINUX

go to "/var/lib/boinc"

and run:

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while (true); do sudo -u boinc boinccmd --project  "http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/" update; echo "Update triggered $(date)"; sleep 300; done
OR

Run from the directory with boinccmd

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watch -n 300 ./boinccmd --project http://www.worldcommunitygrid.com update
DELETE PARTITION + FORCE PROTECTED PARAMETER SET

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disk part

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list disk

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select disk N

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list partition

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select partition X

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delete partition override

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exit
TURN OFF WINDOWS LOGIN

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netplwiz
PUT COMPUTER NAME ON TASK BAR

- TASKBAR -> NEW TOOLBAR

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\\%computername%\
CORRECT DRIVERS FOR RADEON VII

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https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/release-notes/rn-pro-win-20-q4
MILKYWAY CONFIG FILE FOR RADEON VII

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app_config.xml

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<app_config>
<app>
<name>milkyway</name>
<gpu_versions>
<gpu_usage>0.25</gpu_usage>
<cpu_usage>1.0</cpu_usage>
</gpu_versions>
</app>
</app_config>

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C:\ProgramData\BOINC\projects
UPDATE/UPGRADE UBUNTU:

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sudo apt-get update

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sudo apt-get upgrade -y
ONLINE CLIPBOARD:

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www.cl1p.net
LINK TO GET ZA SSH INSTALL COMMANDS:

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https://assist.zoho.com/unattended?encapiKey=wSsVRa1%2BrxTyDPsvnTOoJug4nVVcUlv0QRh1jFWh4iX8T6vB88c9lkCfVw%2BiGfhOFWE7FDdHrLh4mh5RgGBfjogqw1sBDSiF9mqRe1U4J3x1pL%2FoljLCXG1dkxOILIoLxgxtng%3D%3D
UPGRADE UBUNTU TO DESKTOP:

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sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop
INSTALL OPENCL ON MINT/UBUNTU FOR NVIDIA GPUS:

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sudo apt-get install ocl-icd-libopencl1
INSTALL GLANCES ON MINT/UBUNTU:

- FULL INSTALL GUIDE

https://github.com/nicolargo/glances/bl ... README.rst

- INSTALL LM-SENSORS

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sudo apt install lm-sensors
- DETECT SENSORS

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sudo sensors-detect
- GET REQUIRED HEADERS

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sudo apt-get install python-dev
- INSTALL PYTHON SETUPTOOLS

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sudo apt-get install python-setuptools
- INSTALL PIP

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sudo apt update

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sudo apt install python-pip
- INSTALL PIP WHEEL

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pip install wheel
- INSTALL GLANCES

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curl -L https://bit.ly/glances | /bin/bash
F FOR SENSORS VIEW
2 FOR SIDE BAR

INSTALL LM-SENSORS:

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sudo apt install lm-sensors
SETUP LM-SENSORS (FOR OTHER APPS LIKE PSENOR, GLANCES):

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sudo sensors-detect
INCREASE TERMINAL FONT SIZE:

TERMINAL MENU: VIEW/ZOOM IN

INSTALL PSENSOR ON MINT/UBUNTU:

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sudo apt-get install lm-sensors hddtemp psensor
RUN NVIDIA SMI (REQUIRES NVIDIA DRIVER INSTALLED):

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watch nvidia-smi
RUN NVIDIA CONTROL PANEL

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nvidia-settings
BOINC FOR UBUNTU: <BOINC DEV>

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sudo add-apt-repository ppa:costamagnagianfranco/boinc
sudo apt update

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
If client fails to connect, run:

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sudo systemctl start boinc-client
Check status to confirm:

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sudo systemctl status boinc-client

BOINC FOR UBUNTU: <OLD>

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sudo apt-get install boinc-client boinc-manager
BOINC ANON FOR MINT:

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http://arkayn.us/lunatics/
FIX CAPS LOCK STUCK:

HOLD DOWN CAPS LOCK FOR A COUPLE OF SECONDS

GEDIT:

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sudo apt install gedit
>> GEDIT PATH/FILENAME

UNINSTALL PREV SUDO INSTALL'D:

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sudo apt-get purge program-name
DETERMINE MINT AND LINUX VERSION:

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hostnamectl
BRING UP TERMINAL:

CTRL + ALT + T

FORCE MINT TO CHECK FOR UPDATES IN UPDATE MANAGER:

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sudo apt-get update
- REBOOT

INSTALL CPDN 32BIT LIBRARIES FOR UBUNTU 18.04/19.04, AND MINT 19 (Cinnamon):

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sudo  apt-get  install  lib32ncurses5  lib32z1  lib32stdc++-6-dev
INSTALL CPDN 32BIT LIBRARIES FOR UBUNTU 19.10/20.04 + MINT 20 (Ulyana):

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sudo  apt-get  install  lib32ncurses6  lib32z1  lib32stdc++-7-dev
INSTALL CPDN 32BIT LIBRARIES FOR OTHER OS:

https://www.cpdn.org/forum_thread.php?id=8916

SHOW CURRENT LINUX KERNEL VERSION:

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uname -r
VIEW FULL SYSTEM/HARDWARE INFO:

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inxi -Fxz
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