8th Annual BOINC Pentathlon by SETI.Germany

Gilthanis

Gilthanis

[H]ard|DCer of the Year - 2014
Joined
Jan 29, 2006
Messages
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8th Annual BOINC Pentathlon - https://www.seti-germany.de/boinc_pentathlon/start.php
Hosted by Seti-Germany
05/05/2016, 0:00 UTC to 05/19/2016, 0:00 UTC
5 disciplines, 1 winner
Place Holder for official projects once they are announced
How does the Marathon work?
The Marathon is running during the whole Pentathlon. The team with the most credits earned at the specified project during the 14 days wins.

How does the Sprint work?
Running for only three days, the Sprint is the shortest discipline. It will be run at a project that provides work units with a quorum of 1 to make sure that credits are granted as fast as possible. The project might be either a CPU-only project or a project with GPU applications. The team with the most credits earned at the specified project during the specified period wins.

How does the City Run work?
The City Run is a discipline with the well-known duration of five days and will take place at a World Community Grid subproject this year. The team that earns the most WCG points (BOINC credits x7) wins.

How does the Cross Country work?
The Cross Country will also run for five days, but the project might be CPU-only or also support graphics cards. The team, that earns the most credits, wins

What is Swimming?
Swimming is a discipline with a duration of seven days at a CPU-only project. The team, that earns the most credits, wins.

Statistics - Team stats for Pentathlon found here - https://www.seti-germany.de/boinc_pentathlon/statistiken/teamstats_en_23_[H]ard|OCP.html
How are the overall stats calculated?
In each discipline, overall points are awarded for the first 30 teams with credits according to this table. The team with the most overall points from all five disciplines wins the Pentathlon.

What happens in case of a tie in the overall stats?
Tied teams are ranked by their head-to-head comparison. Example: Team A finishes the five disciplines ranked 4th, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 1st, while Team B finishes ranked 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 1st, 2nd. Hence, both teams reach 450 points. However, Team A wins, as it was ahead of Team B in more disciplines than vice versa.

When are the stats updated?
The overall stats and the stats for all running disciplines are updated on the hour.

Do work units downloaded prior to the start of the discipline count? How about pending credits?
Credits granted while the discipline is running are counted. It does not matter when the work unit was downloaded. Also, pending credits cannot be taken into account.

What happens if a project's server breaks down and stats cannot be updated?
This can be a problem if it happens at the start or end of a discipline. Only credits granted after the first successful update after start and before the last successful update before end of the discipline can be counted. So, if you want to make sure that your credits are counted, you should return them after the first successful stats update (check the time of the last update on the respective discipline stats page) but well in advance of the end.

Are there individual user stats?
No, the Pentathlon is a team competition. Hence, there are only team stats.




Where and when are the projects announced?
5 days (Marathon, Swimming, City Run, Cross Country) or 3 days (Sprint) before the start of each discipline on the main page, via Blog, RSS feed, Twitter, and Facebook. While the Marathon project is announced exactly five days in advance at 0.00 UTC, the announcement of the other projects are possible at 0.00 UTC, 6.00 UTC, 12.00 UTC, or 18:00 UTC to compensate for geographical advantages. Regardless of the time of the announcement, all disciplines start and end at 0.00 UTC.

Last year we placed 15th and the year before that we placed 8th.

Guides and references:
How to install BOINC on CENTOS 7 - https://hardforum.com/threads/centos-7-boinc-install-guides.1854569/
How to install BOINC on Windows and Ubuntu (go to post 11) - https://hardforum.com/threads/centos-7-boinc-install-guides.1854569/
How to set up BOINCStats BAM! account manager - https://hardforum.com/threads/how-to-setup-up-boincstats-bam.1930993/
Tool for managing multiple hosts in one location - What is BOINCTasks and how to use it: http://efmer.com/b/?q=boinctasks_manual
What is bunkering - https://hardforum.com/threads/bunkering-why-you-should-or-should-not-do-it.1829159/
Useful tools for BOINC - https://hardforum.com/threads/boinc-useful-tools-and-download-locations.1768577/
2016's thread - https://hardforum.com/threads/7th-annual-boinc-pentathlon-2016.1896285/
2015's thread - https://hardforum.com/threads/boinc-pentathlon-2015.1858766/
 
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Individuals do not need to sign up. I will sign the team up after we have had a little time to get any feedback from other team members. Essentially what I need to know is preference on projects to "vote" for as the selected projects. This year is a little different as they are limiting WCG to just a specific sub project. Not sure why that is, but we will see.
 
May find this useful for those wanting to know what we did in previous BOINC Pentathlon, go to 2016 and 2015 threads. We finished 15th in 2016 and 8th in 2015.

This challenge is where the big boys are participating (look at the traffic in respective team forums) and determine who will be the king of DC competition. It requires strategy, team co-operation, managing hardware/borgs/rigs among team members, and frequent monitoring and communication. There are serious fire-power here with some folks running large data centers.

My preferences (any of these is fine with me):
GPU - collatz, PG, Amicable Numbers
WCG sub-project - FightAids@home
CPU - TN-Grid, Denis@home
 
It is also important to note that bunkering is a huge part of these competitions. Whether one likes the idea or concept or not, it is what it is and isn't going away. With the largest teams employing the technique heavily, even a data center in your pocket may not be enough to make up the difference. So, if anyone has hopes of making a real appearance really needs to consider what all it takes to get there.

https://hardforum.com/threads/bunkering-why-you-should-or-should-not-do-it.1829159/
 
Does anyone else have preference on which projects I sign us up for?
 
Bump this thread. About 11 days to the start of the challenge. Bunkering is allowed as ChristianVirtual has mentioned.

So far 18 teams have registered. Results are updated hourly once the competition starts.

Does [H] has the five skills set it takes to be at the top ten? Will [H] play [H]ard and give [H]ell to the rest of the competitions? Who knows unless you are in it!



upload_2017-4-23_13-57-29.png
 
Ok; but how can I bunker ? What is not working is increase cache and pull network cable because I don't have physical access to the hardware (some 12 flights hours away).
As the enemies are reading let's move to a private conspirative communication channel: PM or conversation :cool:
Or if it public knowledge and just I don't know then just point me in th right direction.
But first I need to get my next SCC badge.
 
Bunkering is not a secret. If you are looking for bunkering "ethics" see here.

There are lots of sites, one of them here.

I used a combination of app_config.xml to increase the perceived number of CPUs and/or together with virtual machines. Others may have different methods but most important is to disable network activity during bunkering (via BOINC manager or by IP blocking) and only dump the completed tasks during the challenge or sometimes some folks do this almost the end of the challenge to surprise the competitions. Points are counted when they are uploaded during the challenge period.

Yeah, let's take this conversation in the PM channel. First, need to know who are really interested in BOINC Pentathlon.
 
I had minimal time on the PC yesterday but I did go ahead and sign us up. Since pututu was the only one that gave feedback on preferences, I put down FAAH for WCG, Amicable Numbers (because it has both GPU and multi-threaded apps), TN-Grid, and Dennis. I wanted to keep most of it Bio/Medical as that tends to excite the team more. And before anyone asks, the only reason I didn't choose GPUGrid is because they can't supply enough work now for users let alone for a large competition like this. They may have something prepared, but I prefer to side with historical data.
 
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I really wish I could be competitive with this, but I simply don't have the free time at my computer to devote to it.

So unless I can just leave my rigs running to contribute I wont be able to do anything.
 
Yes, there is a marathon run which last for 14 days and it is CPU only. The BOINC project name will be announced 5 days before the challenge starts. You set your rigs once or twice (if you decide to bunker) and forget about it for the next 14 - 19 days. This is the most suitable event (test of endurance and patience) for those who don't want to actively participate. We accept big or small contribution.

Ooops, I just reveal a strategy to other teams.:whistle:
 
Where and when are the projects announced?
5 days (Marathon, Swimming, City Run, Cross Country) or 3 days (Sprint) before the start of each discipline on the main page, via Blog, RSS feed, Twitter, and Facebook. While the Marathon project is announced exactly five days in advance at 0.00 UTC, the announcement of the other projects are possible at 0.00 UTC, 6.00 UTC, 12.00 UTC, or 18:00 UTC to compensate for geographical advantages. Regardless of the time of the announcement, all disciplines start and end at 0.00 UTC.

https://www.seti-germany.de/boinc_pentathlon/27_en_FAQ.html

I will also try and update the first post as we add info through the challenge.
 
As promised, I have updated info as things are progressing. I will try and keep a lot of info in the first post for easy reference as well as posting in new threads as the competition proceeds. That way people don't have to search all over for the information they need. If there is a how-to involved due to a project that requires a little more tweaking, I will try to link to those in the first post to so that it isn't a huge novel to get through for those not needing them.
 
I am also working on a How-to for using BAM! (BOINC account manager through BOINCStats.com) for those who've never set it up and for the new guys coming in. It won't cover everything but will have pictures with each step and cover the basics to get you going. Stay tuned.
 
Which project are you attaching to? WCG sometimes is problematic since they don't use the stock BOINC server software...

I will also say, that sometimes it will put a number instead of the team name as if it couldn't retrieve the team name. I know the Gilthanis account I set up for the guide only shows a 40 for BitcoinUtopia. But my main account under Coleslaw has [H]ard|OCP. I do not know if it has to do with joining the team from the project page or not nor do I know if it takes a bit for the client to do some work before it kicks in. I typically create my accounts directly from the project page and attach the team from there as I am also the one that typically creates our team at projects.
 
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I got it to work and it just says 1411 now but in the Detailed Stats page it shows Member of team HardOCP.

It still shows Host List is empty
 
Have you attached the account manager within the BOINC client yet? That portion has not yet been added to the how to yet, but it is covered in the BOINC installation thread that is temporarily linked on the last post. You have to attach to an account manager within the BOINC manager on your PC. I am still at work, but plan on finishing that out tonight or sometime tomorrow.
 
Ok... glad it worked. For anyone else, I do plan on getting pics for the how to and process added to the BAM! account manager how to soonish
 
OK..the Guide for BAM! should be complete. Let me know if something is missing or unclear.
 
I am also adding a few faqs at the end of the BAM! guide. Please PM me if there are specific questions you had or experienced that you think should be added.
 
Gilthanis said:
I am also adding a few faqs at the end of the BAM! guide. Please PM me if there are specific questions you had or experienced that you think should be added.
Click to expand...

The only issue is that if I just install Boinc without thinking about BAM then that could lead to issues when they tried to get paired up.

All of the latest installation guides need to be pinned and at the end of those posts a link to BAM or even a separate post about account management
 
In my installation guide for BOINC one of the posts points you to how to set up BAM!. The problem is that people don't want to have to read several posts to find it. And going forward new threads behave different than old threads due to new forum software and rules. The old threads could hold more content per post. The new ones have to sometimes be broke up into multiple posts. We do have a stickied post that could actually use a v.6 updating here:
[H]orde|Central 5.0 - Everything DC (FAQ's, Guides, Tips and Tricks)

It's content is out of date and could be a bit better organized. Especially for new users. However, even the content in there is rarely read even by current members.
 
Ok folks. In the next few minutes, the marathon BOINC project (CPU only - 14 days duration) will be announced. Points will only be counted when the completed tasks is submitted on May 5, 00:00:00 UTC. You can however bunker.

For those who just want to help the team and passively participate in the pentathlon, I think this is one suitable event that you just need to set it up once and let the rigs run until event completion.
 
Cosmology for Marathon and Zika for City. Both start at the same time. Cosmology is a multi threaded app running in vbox so VT is required with vbox installed.
 
If anyone decides to run Cosmology@home, you need to be aware of a few things. mmonnin mentioned a little portion but there is more to this.

1. They offer both legacy app that runs like traditional BOINC work units and they offer a new application that requires Virtualbox software to be installed (you should also install extension pack).
1a. If you do not want to run the multi-threaded virtualbox work units, you can make the changes from within your preferences as Cosmology@home website from your account.
1b. If you want to run the virtualbox work units, don't get confused. BOINC will download the work units and the BOINC Manager will launch virtualbox in headless instances. You do not actually create the virtual machines yourself. These will be downloaded by your client.
1c. Make sure if you have GPU's running in the same box that you change your BOINC Manger settings to reserve a thread per GPU. Even if a full one isn't needed. Otherwise the multi-threaded apps might take over the thread and your GPU's may go idle.
1d. If you haven't already, make sure that Virtualization support for your CPU is turned on in the BIOS. Virtualbox work units will most likely all fail if you do not do this.
1e. IIRC the legacy application wanted somewhere around 512MB of RAM per work units. Make sure your boxes have enough memory to support the number of work units you plan on running. The legacy application was not multi-threaded.

2. WCG is our teams strongest project on a day to day basis. However, with the limited sub project selection it may be tough just to get work units for this challenge. Very frustrating.
2a. Teams will begin to bunker their work units. This means they will be loading up their cache with as many OpenZika work units as they can. You may start to find it difficult to get work units at all times as teams begin to hoover them up. WCG will continue to release more throughout the day as they refill the hoppers.
2b. You will notice that WCG typically gives a 10 day deadline so, bunkering now means you should be able to get most of your work done by then. The problem is that since you can only download up to 34 work units per core/thread, you will not be able to actually get 10 days buffer.
2c. For tips and tricks on how to maximize your bunker, please PM me and I will guide you to where I will be explaining it. I will also point out a few tips and tricks a few teams use as a shady way of getting more work loaded up.
2d. Even if you don't care about the challenge, please take a moment to support the team by simply just selecting OpenZika work units. You can change it back in a couple of weeks.
2e. OpenZika does not require a wingman.
2f. The WCG stats page only updates 2 times a day but they export stats multiple times a day. Stats pages will be more up to date.

Both of these projects are CPU only. I will try to update this as things come to mind and will reference the updates when I make them so others know to look at the post.

3. Einstein@home has both CPU and GPU work units. They require a wingman and only the work units that validate will count.
3a. It would be better to load up on a large cache of these work units early (aka now) and work through them. The reason being is that it will have a higher likelihood of someone else finishing it during the challenge deadline. Otherwise, your work may still be pending after the challenge is over.
3b. For those that want to maximize their output and put forth the extra legwork, consider using an app_config.xml file. What it is for, is to run more than one work unit on your GPU(s) at a time. So, if you have 1 GPU, you could run 2 or more work units on it. People do this when they see that their GPU utilization is less than 90% consistently. Here is an example of an app_config.xml that will run two GPU work units per card.

<app_config>
<app>
<name>hsgamma_FGRPB1G</name>
<gpu_versions>
<gpu_usage>0.5</gpu_usage>
<cpu_usage>0.1</cpu_usage>
</gpu_versions>
</app>
</app_config>

You just need to create the file using Notepad and save it in your BOINC data directory under Projects under Einsteins folder. In Windows it is located at: C:\ProgramData\BOINC\projects\einstein.phys.uwm.edu\
3c. You may see using the app_config.xml not only running multiple work units but you will probably also see individual run times go up. However, as long as you are completing more work units over a given period of time, you are increasing you production.

4. LHC@home is all CPU based.
4a. The virtualbox applications may be multi-threaded. The six track application is single threaded.

5. YoYo@homem is CPU based only.
5a. IIRC ECM is the shorter work units.

To change sub project selections in WCG. Go to www.worldcommunitygrid.org and sign in.
Click My Contribution in the top right.
Click My Projects on the left.
Make sure that only OpenZika is checked. If you want to pull work in the event OpenZika is dry, then check the check box to get work when your selected projects have no work. However, that may cause you to not pull work when OpenZika is available. Keep an eye on it.
Click Save

To change application selection in Cosmology@home. (only needed if bunkering or virtualbox is installed and you don't want certain work) Go to https://www.cosmologyathome.org/ and sign into your account.
Click Cosmology@Home preferences
Click Click Edit Preferences
Uncheck/check the applications you want to run. If you do not want to run virtualbox applications then the only one you want to check is the legacy application.
Click Update Preferences

To change application selection in Einstein@home. (only needed if you don't want to run CPU or GPU or you prefer a specific application)
Go to https://einsteinathome.org/home and sign into your account.
Click https://einsteinathome.org/account/prefs/project
Choose which options you want to run and click Save.

To change application selection in LHC@home.
Go to https://lhcathome.cern.ch/lhcathome/index.php and sign into your account.
Click https://lhcathome.cern.ch/lhcathome/prefs.php?subset=project
Click https://lhcathome.cern.ch/lhcathome...4169042&ttok=46e94a1d4dea92cbd7487b7885409920
Uncheck/check the application you want to run. If you do not want to run virtualbox application then the only one you want is to check SixTrack
Click Update Preferences

To change application selection in YoYo@home.
Go to http://www.rechenkraft.net/yoyo/ and sign into your account.
Click http://www.rechenkraft.net/yoyo/prefs.php?subset=project
Click http://www.rechenkraft.net/yoyo/pre...4440216&ttok=cbcce42546c0366281266df149c6f298
Uncheck/check the application(s) you want to run.
Click Update Preferences
 
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The vbox units require more RAM, my 1st one started with 1900mb. They also require networking to be enabled in BM for those that want to bunker. The single threaded tasks can run with networking off.
 
checking if VT is supported on linux

Intel
more /proc/cpuinfo | grep vmx

AMD
more /proc/cpuinfo | grep svm

lscpu also works ;-)
 
Looks like all the OpenZika work is being vacuumed up.

Yes the virtualization feature in the BIOS is typically disabled by default for some silly reason on most boards. AMD has a different name than Intel and earlier AMD offerings had a different name than modern offerings.
 
See the same thing too. I've enough WUs to run for a day or more till tomorrow. Looks like this is a serious competition that most teams are sucking up all the WUs.
 
You have no idea how much bunkering takes place for this....... lol
 
Team output

Cosmology
teamdaily.php


Unfortunately the WCG stats will show all sub projects and won't be accurate for the challenge
WCG
teamdaily.php


Einstein@home

teamdaily.php


LHC@home

teamdaily.php


YoYo@home

teamdaily.php
 
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In case anyone needed some additional motivation, the top 3 users and the top team in the Marathon (Cosmology@home) will also get listed in a paper.

And in addition to the new Planck jobs, C@H is the "Marathon" project for the yearly BOINC Pentathlon contest! You can find out more about the Pentathlon here.

To slightly sweeten the deal, we'd like to add a few more thank-yous to the paper, so we will again take the top 3 users and top team (excluding the winners from last time) and add your names to the paper. Although you're welcome to start crunching Planck jobs now, the contest will be only considering Planck jobs returned during the Pentathlon which runs from May 5th to May 19th (see above link for a countdown). We'll post an updated page to keep track of the leaders this week. Good luck everyone!
Click to expand...

Planck jobs are the Virtualbox work units if anyone was confused.
 
From what I'm able to find, we can only monitor our daily team output by project, alas manually:inpain:

As of 4/29/17 23:59:59 UTC, our team OZ cumulative WCG point is 307,562,928. Will see how this works out in tonite update and a few days thereafter. This might give some indication of what's happening. Big caveat, WCG ran out of OZ tasks, so the stats may be misleading for tonite's update but hopefully it will be back to normal on Monday onwards.

upload_2017-4-30_13-33-36.png
 
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