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转自：http://teamprimerib.com/sob/faq.php （英文）
感谢 Team Prime Rib 编写！
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Client
Q:
What operating systems are the Seventeen or Bust client compatible with?
A:
The client is primarily compatible with the Windows and Linux operating systems. Specifically, Windows 98, 98se, ME, NT, 2K and XP are known to work well. Generally Windows 95 has not had problems, but extensive testing has not been done. Several Linux distributions are known to work, and have been used for clustering of barebones nodes with OpenMosix.
Clients and support are also offered on FreeBSD and BeOS though these clients do not seem to receive the same level of attention as the Windows and Linux clients.
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Q:
What processor architectures are supported by the Seventeen or Bust client?
A:
Only x86 CPUs are supported by the Seventeen or Bust client software. Intel compatible CPUs (i.e. Intel, AMD and Cyrix processors) should run properly (seeing as how they support the x86 instruction set) and there are no specific known errors that exist on Intel x86 compatible CPUs but not on Intel x86 CPUs. We have successfully used Intel 486, Pentium, Pentium II, Pentium III and Pentium IV processors, plus AMD K6-2, K6-3, Athlons of all flavors, Opteron and AMD64.
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Q:
Is my (insert non x86 CPU here) processor supported?
A:
Non x86 processors, such as G3s and G4s (Macs), UltraSPARCs (Sun), PowerPCs (IBM), Itaniums and others are NOT supported by the Seventeen or Bust client. The project coordinator would be delighted if you are willing and able to code a client for another platform.
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Q:
Why does the Seventeen or Bust client support only x86 CPUs?
A:
The Seventeen or Bust client supports only x86 CPUs because the code at the core of the Seventeen or Bust client software is highly optimized for the x86 instruction set and the CPUs that use it. Porting the code to another CPU architecture results in a client that performs up to 30 TIMES slower than the x86 client. In order to achieve performance levels on par with x86 CPUs someone would have to hand code the core routines of the Seventeen or Bust client. This requires a high level of skill and patience as well as a large time investment. Any volunteers?
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Q:
Can the SoB client be run as a service?
A:
Yes! The 1.10 and later Windows clients have bundled with it MathGuy's service handler for NT/2K/XP together with a Readme file. The service handler also can monitor and restart the client, and optimise the number of clients for SMP systems - up to 32 CPUs. There is also a pseudo-service handler included for Windows 9X/ME which includes the monitor/restart functions. You must install and configure the service handler after installing the basic client.
For a mass installation, you may want to consider PizzaKing's Installation Generator .
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Q:
If I am behind a firewall, can I get the client to connect to the Seventeen or Bust server?
A:
Yes.
"If you are behind a firewall that filters the port the server uses, change the server to be sbp.pns.net and the port to be either 22 or 80, since those are commonly unfiltered (ssh and http, respectivly)." (credit Alien88 [Mike Garrison])
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Q:
Can I 'sneaker-net' with the Seventeen or Bust client?
A:
The Seventeen or Bust client currently lacks the ability to allow 'sneaker-netting.' You can manually move assigned exponents from one computer to another, but it is a difficult and time consuming process. For all intents and purposes, 'sneaker-netting' is not feasible with the Seventeen or Bust client. This will hopefully change in future versions of the client.
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Q:
Can I download more than one exponent at a time?
A:
Downloading more than one exponent at a time (on a single install of the client) is not currently feasible. The most common reasons cited for desiring to download more than one work unit at a time are to allow 'sneaker-netting' of the client and to 'cache' work for computers which are not online for longer periods of time. Neither 'sneaker-netting' nor caching of exponents are currently feasible. As of the 1.10 Windows client release, there has been a "hook" added to the client for possible future support of caching through the service handler, and MathGuy has indicated that he will work on adding this feature to the service handler..
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Q:
Is there is a 'proxy' for the Seventeen or Bust client similar to something like SETIQueue?
A:
There are currently no proxy programs for the Seventeen or Bust project and client. With a future version of the client, these may become possible, but the current client design does not make these a realistic option.
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Q:
I know that 'sneaker-netting' is not supported and is difficult, but if I want to attempt it anyways, what should I do?
A:
You can move move a number from one computer to the other by copying registry keys and other files (Windows) or by copying the cache and zXXXX files (Linux). Some more information on this process is provided below:
"People have been asking me about sneaker netting. it could be done in theory right now. linux and windows use slightly different caching methods.
w/ linux you can copy files directly. the "cache" file and the "zXXXXXXX" file can be moved from an online computer and put on another computer for processing. they will easily fit on a disk and all you have to do is copy the two files back to a directory with the sb binary in it on an online computer and run the file to have it upload results. if someone writes a script to help do this process, i'll post it on the website.
w/ windows you would have to copy the reg keys around with the "zXXXXXXX" file. in fact, you only really need to copy the reg keys to another computer to transfer it to the offline computer. when the block was done, it would need to be have the "zXXXXXXX" file copied back into the install directory of SB and then have the reg keys restored on the original PC before running the client to submit the work."
(quote Louie)
Similarly, if you have the "zXXXXXXX" file for a partially completed, recently-abandoned work unit, you can recover that partially-completed work unit by reviewing sb.log for the k/n pair then manually editing the registry.
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Q:
How hard is it to port the Seventeen or Bust client to another CPU architecture and what would I have to do in order to attempt a port?
A:
It would be difficult as the core routines used in the Seventeen or Bust client are written in heavily hand-optimized assembly langauge. Creating a high performance port would be an extremely time consuming and demanding task.
"Porting the assembly routines of SB is no easy task... if it were, i would have done it already . I estimate that it would take an expert at least a few months to do it correctly. If you are interested in trying, grab the code from www.mersenne.org/gimps/source22.zip and port the asm files to whatever platform you can. If you port those routines (correctly), I'll release a non-x86 client. Good luck."
(quote Louie)
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Performance
Q:
How much RAM does the Seventeen or Bust client use?
A:
The Seventeen or Bust client does not use a large amount of RAM. The exact amount can fluctuate, but the normal usage is approximately 10-15 megs of RAM being used by the client.
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Q:
How much bandwidth does the Seventeen or Bust client use?
A:
Very little bandwidth is used by the client to return results and fetch a new number to work on. The bandwidth usage is likely measured in kilobytes per day.
"There is actually much more overhead due to Windows network layer transmitted than real data. If you run the client on a fast enough computer, you may burn a few kbs/day."
(quote Louie)
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Q:
If I have a large amount of RAM in my computer can Seventeen or Bust benefit from using this additional RAM?
A:
"More memory will currently not benefit SB. If this changes in the future I'll make it clear in the config"
(quote, Louie)
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Q:
What processor optimizations are present in the client and which CPU runs SoB the fastest?
A:
The Seventeen or Bust is highly optimized for the various x86 architectures and additional instructions (SIMD, pre-fetch, etc.).
"All archs are optimized. AMDs run faster than P3s because their FSB is higher and their memory arch is better. P4s smoke even Athlons because their bus is faster yet and there are SSE2 optimizations. There are optimizations for all instructions though (3dnow, mmx, sse, sse2). If your proc supports it... it uses it."
(quote Louie)
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Q:
Which operating system provides more performance with the Seventeen or Bust client, Windows or Linux?
A:
Due to the difficulty in getting accurate benchmarks, this isn't known for certain.
"As far as OS goes, I would be surprised if the windows client was faster. I've always assumed the linux client would be slightly faster.
(quote Louie)
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Q:
Is there a built-in benchmarking feature in the Seventeen or Bust client?
A:
No, there is not. There is a built-in progress tracker, which uses cEMs (corrected exponent mods) but this number is not accurate across a wide range of n values. Support for standardized benchmarking and other benchmarking related features are planned in the a future version of the Seventeen or Bust client. A new, more accurate measurement unit (FLOPS) is currrently being evaluated for future usage by the project.
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Q:
In GIMPS, different size exponents can require different FFT sizes (Fast-Fourier Transforms, which are where most of the calculations are done) and thus require more computation time compared to smaller numbers (with smaller FFT sizes). Is this true in Seventeen or Bust as well and at what point are the FFT cross-overs?
A:
Yes, FFT size can be an issue like in GIMPS. It is estimated that at around n=2.6 million that a larger FFT size is required for the calculations. This is only an estimate and further FFT size thresh-holds could be calculated by someone with sufficient math skills and motivation.
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Q:
Which value (the k value or the n value) more rapidly increases the computation time as it grows in size?
A:
"The size of k is basically irrelevant when compared to the size of 2^n, so - yes the time taken is completely dependent on the total value, but this is just about independent of k.
The size of k would only become important if the size got too close to the FFT limb size, because then optimisations that allow modular reduction to be done faster for the special form k.2^n+1 would become less efficient (as k gets larger, the number becomes "less special"). This doesn't happen til at least k = 1000000 though so won't effect us at all."
(credit Hawk)
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Installation Options
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Stats
Q:
I am used to participating in the GIMPS project (Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search). How do I convert my work on the Seventeen or Bust project into P-90 years (the unit used by GIMPS to measure the amount of computational power contributed)?
A:
For stats purposes, a P90 is assumed to have a rate of 4500cEM/s. Therefore, your P90-years would be approx = total cEMs / (4500*365*24*3600). Note: This is not an exact measurement or an exact formula and should be treated as a rough approximation.
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Math
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History
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Help
Q:
I forgot the password for my Seventeen or Bust user account. What do I do?
A:
There is a "reset my password and email it to me" option on the login page. This will send an email to the email account you listed when signing up which will include your password.
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Q:
I set the 'Team Name' field in the client to the name of the team I want to join but I have not joined that team. What is wrong?
A:
The 'Team Name' field in the client configuration menu is no longer recognized, nor required. You can only join or change teams via your user login on the Seventeen or Bust web site.
"Team affiliation is no longer set in the client. In fact, the server completely ignores the "Team" field the client sends. Instead, you'll need to use the same "Preferences" link on the web site to join a team."
(quote Kugano/Dave Norris)
Newer version of the client have had this option removed.
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Q:
How do I join a team or change my team?
A:
Team affiliation is set in your user profile under the "Preferences" link on the Seventeen or Bust website. Access this via the login page.
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Q:
Why won't the Seventeen or Bust client accept my name, when the web page sign up (or a previous client version) did?
A:
The Seventeen or Bust client allows alpha-numeric characters only while the account creation page on the web site allows a wider range of characters. This discrepancy will be addressed in future versions of the client.
To be safe, limit yourself to 12 characters, including spaces (says the user formerly known as TomMelaniephile.)
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Q:
If I no longer plan to run the client on a specific computer, is there a way to 'return' or 'release' the exponent that I am currently working on?
A:
Yes! The Windows 1.10 and later releases support this feature. Under "config" check off "On completion, exit w/o new test" This will allow you to complete the current full test without downloading a new exponent. Remember, credit for work done is only awarded upon completion of the full test, even though the server will project your work done based on interim block results reported.
However, unless you disable the monitor/restart options in the service handler, it will "helpfully" restart the client until it downloads a new work unit. Obviously, this is only a concern if you are using the service handler!
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Q:
I have a "block" of work (an assigned exponent) that is causing an error, which expired, or which I need to get rid of for some other reason. How can I do this?
A:
Sometimes, merely stopping and restarting the client (or a full reboot) will solve these problems. Alternately, to clear the work unit entirely:
Press 'Config'
1) Change your username to 'TempUser' or anything else. Press 'Save'
2) When prompted to clear your cache, press "Yes"
3) Open 'Config' again
4) Change your username back to your real username. Press 'Save'.
5) Press either Yes or No to the second cache clearing message.
6) Press 'Start' -- you'll get a new block and be all set"
'Getting rid' of a block can also be done by editing registry keys (or certain files in the Linux versions). See the information about 'sneaker-netting' for the relevant information on which files and registry keys pertain to the assigned exponent.
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General
Q:
Will the Seventeen or Bust web page/stats page show my email address to the public?
A:
No, not unless you set your preferences to display your email address.
"First of all, your stats page doesn't show your email address because that isn't public information -- we don't give out our users' email addresses. If you want others to be able to see your email addresses, you can set it in your Public Profile, using the "Preferences" link on the web site" Access this via the login page.
(quote Kugano/Dave Norris)
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Q:
Trial factoring (sieving) is faster than the proth test, right?
A:
"A lot of the numbers in the ranges we are testing have small factors. And why test if a number is prime if you already know it has a factor?
I just took K=24737 with N=1 to 3.000.000 as an example. There are 1.500.000 odd N's in this range. After sieving on a PIII 450 there are onlu 30.000 N's left after 1 minute and 26.000 after 2 minutes and i'm still removing 40 N's a second.
This rate will slow down as we try larger primes. As long as you are removing more N's in the time you can take a number of tests it makes sense to factor deeper."
(quote smh)
For more information about the public sieving effort, visit this Sieving page.
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Q:
How does sieving or factoring in the Seventeen or Bust project compare to Trial Factoring in the GIMPS project?
A:
"Trial factoring Mersenne numbers is very special case and it should not to compare to our project. (Mersennes have special structure for factors)."
(quote Nuutti)
For more information about the public sieving effort, visit this Sieving page.
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Login page：http://www.seventeenorbust.com/login/
Sieving page：http://www.seventeenorbust.com/sieve/ |
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发表于 2005-3-12 17:16:59
发表于 2005-8-24 14:17:00