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Linux users, what Distro do you use for folding?

D

DR_K13

2[H]4U
Joined
Apr 21, 2004
Messages
3,491
What Distro are you running? or Did run in the past,
What did you like/dislike about them and how did they effect folding ( if any)

I am using red hat as of right now, I think it is kind of slow. I used Suse for a while and that was a little lighter on the system.
I am thinking going with DSL ( Damn Small Linux ) next just to try out.
 
Folding performance on a Linux machine is not dependent on distro, it is dependent on services running and optimizations used in compiling the kernel and apps. Start hacking your redhat system to see what the dilly with running services and disable them if you don't need them, also recompile your kernel.
 
I mainly run Gentoo on my systems.. My last slackware box died last week. So I'm just about all gentoo now.
 
i have one of my boxen folding away on suse 9.1 pro and it is working well.

fold on!
 
All of my boxen run SuSE 8.2, except this one which is 9.1 . I like the 8.2 as it will let you use a minimum install and find all your hardware very quickly. sets itself up as simple on me as could be, which is a good thing. it finds the network connection and will update quickly. it only uses +/-.3% when running, which leaves 99+% folding, very little CPU loss to the distro. Most of the time it is above 97% even on this box, which is used for everything else. The 9.1 is just as easy only the download version is not as scalable as the 8.2 at install. You can do it later with very little effort, but for a folding box I like to set it up and let it go.

I do have a couple of knoppix cd's in case of problems, but have only had to use one once as most of the boxes are rock solid stable. (except one which I think the CPU is trying to die, the only one I don't have OC'd)

You can down load the ISO images for about all the current flavors at LinuxISo_Org. Even though they are not the full packages on some distro's, you will find they all will do everything you will probably need.

I also use the Mozilla browser as the download manager allows you to put the files where you want them, which makes it easier to find six months later when you have to restart the box because the powers been off for a day.

Have fun,


 
I use Morphix, which is a variant of Knoppix, which is a variant of Debian.

The things I like about Morphix:
  1. It has three flavors - Gnome, KDE, and a light GUI flavor that I don't recall the name of the GUI. It will install on about 1.2 GB, and the Light GUI only needs about 900 MB.
  2. It uses Debian, which I prefer for package magaement. No real reason for Debian over another except that's what I prefer dammit.
  3. It comes as a Live CD, which means it will boot off the CD and recognize and configure for just about any arrangement of hardware. I'm sure there are systems that will need manual configuration, but I've never had any problem using any folding system - particularly those with onboard video and LAN. Edit: You then can run the 'Install to HDD' script to install it on the hard drive.

I have used Redhat, Suse, and Gentoo, and none of them met my needs like Morphix. It enables me to install KDE on most systems and still use a low end HDD. I like it, and suggest you give it a try.
 
I built my own distro specifically for folding, look at the guide to installing a server/client setup here. It only requires one hard disk for as many computers as you have, and if the motherboards support PXE, they won't need any disks at all.

Please try it and let me know how it turns out.
 
unhappy_mage said:
I built my own distro specifically for folding, look at the guide to installing a server/client setup here. It only requires one hard disk for as many computers as you have, and if the motherboards support PXE, they won't need any disks at all.

Please try it and let me know how it turns out.
Click to expand...

i have a server just about ready for it. need to add a second nic to it though (then convince my dad to dig out one of his switches for me). but i can't access the site right now to check it out again :(
 
the site is still up, problems on your end? the turorial has now got a section on how to do this with one nic. It's still recommended to use two, but one will work.
 
unhappy_mage said:
the site is still up, problems on your end? the turorial has now got a section on how to do this with one nic. It's still recommended to use two, but one will work.
Click to expand...

its working again. have you added my mirror for the file downloads yet?
 
Gentoo- pros very optimized (to specific CPU), easy package management; cons long install process

FreeBSD- pros excellent server OS, good package management, very stable; cons folding seems a tad slower than in Linux

Yoper- easy sub-10 minute install, good package manager, good optimization (i686),; cons some broken packages, distro has a few growing pains

Overclockix- pros based on Knoppix/Debian, nice package management, tweaked from the get-go, folding pre-installed, runs as live CD or HDD-installable or as LTSP server, not a lot of junk services running, know it inside and out since I built it; cons not very optimized (i386)


Here's some superkaramba folding monitor themes. They don't work quite as well as say EM3, but they're better than nothing.

superkaramba folding monitor themes


yoper7.jpg
 
runt said:
google broken tonight?
Click to expand...
no call for that...i wasn't sure if it was hosted or not...ideally i'd want a torrent for it...thought i'd ask the guy who's the most likely to know...
 
Carnival Forces said:
no call for that...i wasn't sure if it was hosted or not...ideally i'd want a torrent for it...thought i'd ask the guy who's the most likely to know...
Click to expand...

i suppose i should have posted the link for it i found using google. i have yet to download it though
 
Hey, just 'cause his is prettier...

Maybe we can get a rivalry going and I'll make mine prettier still until Folding will be the talk of nine-year-old girls. :eek:

runt: yep, added mirror listing. Thanks a jillion and a half, by the way. also added information on using Etherboot.

Someday, someday I'll catch up to Arkaine23... :rolleyes: ;)
 
http://overclockix.octeams.com

All we have are torrents. ;)


Oh and the 3.4 release is starting to lag behind a bit, last update was in June, so its still using the 4.0 client. I'm tinkering on Knoppix 3.7 now and should have Overclockix 3.7 out pretty soon. The LTSP release was recently updated and uses the latest 5.02 windows folding client. I've been playing with the idea of making a Damn Small Overclockix which could run from a business card size CD or 64+mb pen drive.
 
Ok, I figured this was probably one of the only DC threads I would not post in. So just for S’s and G’s I down loaded the ISO of Suse 9.1.

Well, long story short it’s been years since I played with any of the ix systems, they were useful if you had a use. With the usual video problems, network problems and hand editing .cnf files not to mention working from a command line I strayed away.

I popped in the CD and was blown away at the ease of install, ease of use and overall speed. Auto update? Yup, tons of useful software on the disk.

The long and short of it is, if you handed this machine to a noob they would never know there was another OS. It simply works.

Call me amazed :D
 
I told you it was easy, how else could I use it :D

You should see the full package deal, it is absolutly amazing what you can do, and what it will do.

this weekend I am shutting the main box down for installation of a new CD burner, first time it will be shut down since the last time the power was off for half a day. I think it will be like 40 days, the previous run was since may, when i took it down for a maintainance cleaning, and fan mod. the other boxes are cranking out WU's and I check them every couple of weeks.

Simple to use and solid as a rock, whats not to like :D
 
racercarl said:
I told you it was easy, how else could I use it :D

You should see the full package deal, it is absolutly amazing what you can do, and what it will do.

this weekend I am shutting the main box down for installation of a new CD burner, first time it will be shut down since the last time the power was off for half a day. I think it will be like 40 days, the previous run was since may, when i took it down for a maintainance cleaning, and fan mod. the other boxes are cranking out WU's and I check them every couple of weeks.

Simple to use and solid as a rock, whats not to like :D
Click to expand...

Yup, I did dl the 700 Meg ISO, didn’t know there was a bigger one. What really blew me away was I just grabbed a hard disk off the shelf, an old motherboard, an 1800 XP and some RAM and threw a machine together. Only after installing Suse did I realize there was a full XP Pro install on that disk. After the first reboot I saw I had a choice of OS’s, and it’s a very smooth loader. I hadn’t intended dual boot but what the hell.

I plan to grab a few more distros and try them out, probably on that same machine. Linux has come a long way for sure, and solves a lot of cost issues with Windows licensing.

To be honest, as far as stability I haven’t had a Windows crash for so long I can’t remember the last one. (Had to say something nice about Windows, right?) ;)
 
Arkaine23 said:
http://overclockix.octeams.com

All we have are torrents. ;)


Oh and the 3.4 release is starting to lag behind a bit, last update was in June, so its still using the 4.0 client. I'm tinkering on Knoppix 3.7 now and should have Overclockix 3.7 out pretty soon. The LTSP release was recently updated and uses the latest 5.02 windows folding client. I've been playing with the idea of making a Damn Small Overclockix which could run from a business card size CD or 64+mb pen drive.
Click to expand...
that's good to hear :)

but, in your honest opinion, which is faster folding? Overclockix or Yopix? i couldn't tell from your pro/cons list, i'm a nub :(
 
Well here's the deal-

Yoper is a snappier system to use for other stuff out of the box since its got pre-linking and a tweaked kernel and other things done specifically to make it snappy, when comparing KDE to KDE in other distros. Overclockix gives you the choice to use fluxbox, icewm, or Gnome out of the box, which Yoper does not do (those are more lightweight than KDE), but you could install them yourself. Both are very light on services which run at startup. So the real question is what else do you do with the box besides fold?

The main issue on optimization is there's no optimized folding client available. So any distro will fold like any other so long as you make a fair comparison regarding the services which you run and the desktop environment you're using. This is why Gentoo doesn't fold any faster than Fedora.

If you want a fast folding box, don't install a GUI at all, kill uncessary services, and use wine and the windows folding client instead of the linux client.
 
k, thx. so assuming the box was just gonna fold 24/7 there would be no diff. b/w the two distros?
 
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