Another new one to test for Linux, Mac and Windows

REMINDER TO ALL ALPHA TESTERS:
It's far easier for us to fix problems if you send message logs with the appropriate flags set. The main flags are:

<cpu_sched_debug>: problems involving the choice of applications to run.
<work_fetch_debug>: problems involving work fetch (which projects are asked for work, and how much).
<rr_simulation>: problems involving jobs being run in high-priority mode.

Use these flags from the cc_config.xml file.

Report any problems you get with it to the Alpha email list. This list needs registration.

This release contains several work fetch and CPU/GPU scheduling issues as well as two new features. The new features are as follows:

1) Suspend computation if CPU usage exceeds a certain value. Basically if the overall CPU usage of non-BOINC related processes exceed the configured value BOINC suspends computation. I think the default value right now is 25%. Right now the value can be tweaked via web based preferences.

2) The long awaited for backup project mechanism has now been implemented. Projects with a resource share of 0 are considered backup projects.

Note: Both these new features require the server software to be updated, which is dependant on the various projects

Changes since 6.10.29...

6.10.30:

- Mac Sandbox: SetupAuthorizationExecuteWithPrivileges() forks to run chmod and chown, leaving zombie processes which can exceed the system-imposed limit of processes MAXUPRC for a user. Call waitpid() to clear these zombies.

- Mac Sandbox: fix comment in Mac_SA_Secure.sh script.

- Mac Installer: update, fix bugs in script for building GridRepublic Installer.

- client: tiny code shuffle

- API: fix crashing bug. Don't memset(0) APP_INIT_DATA; it contains HOST_INFO, which now contains COPROCS, which has a vector. Define a clear() for APP_INIT_DATA.

- client: initial checkin for "don't compute if CPU usage above X"

- client: finish the above. Should add the Adv Prefs dialog as well.

- lib: Don't allow the diagnostics threads to be suspended, if a crash happens within the remaining thread the process will deadlock.

- client simulator: further fiddling around. Not done.

- client simulator: done for now

- client: brute-force attempt at eliminating domino-effect preemption:

if job A is unstarted and EDF, and there's a job B that is later in the list, is started, has the same app version, and has the same arrival time, move A after B.

- client: remove the "temp_dcf" mechanism, which had the same goal but didn't work.

- client: in computing overall debt for a project, subtract a term that reflects pending work. This should reduce repeated fetches from the same project.

- client simulator: tweaks

- client bug fixes

- client: when launching app, delete init_data.xml using switcher prior to trying to write it, in case it's owned by another user (e.g., boinc_project)

- client: fix small bug that could interfere with work fetch on hosts with both NVIDIA and ATI GPU

- client: fix work fetch bug that prevented getting work from an overworked project, even if idle instance or major shortfall.

- client: remove debug msgs

- client: if a project has zero resource share, treat it as a "backup project": fetch work from it only if there is an idle instance and no other projects have work.

- client: fix my last checkin

- client: allow zero resource share



6.10.31

- client: newer ATI drivers crash if struct_size isn't filled out before the structure is used.

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BOINC blog

6.10.33 released for the Mac only.

This is to correct an issue with the Mac installer requiring admin rights. Mac users should use this version instead.

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BOINC blog

Be aware that there is a new parameter for CPU usage and it is set at 25% ... yet on my i7 with nothing runing I am getting suspends ... Not entirely clear why, but the only project that I know of at this time taht allows you to set this parameter to a higher value is the SETI project (main and beta) because of a server side change required.

I posted a note on the alpha list but if UCB follows form it will be ignored ...

Anyway, forewarned ...