Today I have released Dotsch/UX 1.2.

Dotsch/UX is a Linux distribution for BOINC which easily installs and boot from a USB stick, hard disk and from diskless clients and also has some interfaces to setup the diskless server and the clients automatically.

For more informations have a look at http://www.dotsch.de/Dotsch_UX

New features in 1.2 :
• Build in NVIDIA CUDA support, a additional tool to enable and check the NVIDIA CUDA support.
• Persistent Live CD mode for testing the distribution as Live CD and store the data on a USB stick/disk
• Automated and semiautomatic backup of the BOINC client data and some other OS data
• Included Ganglia for performance monitoring of the Dotsch/UX Grids
• Pre Installed BOINC client 6.10.17
• Removed a lot of unneeded packages in the x86 and x64 distribution
• A lot of bug fixes and enhancements

Special thanks to all the peoples which supported and helped to make the new distribution possible !

Great work! I'm just about to try myself! :-) One question, can it be made to run on a PS3? Lot's of PS3 users can't run on PS3GRID/GPUGRID & maybe that's why they stopped sending WU's to PS3's, since only the older PS3's could install YDL. If PS3's can be used again & it's only a USB stick running Dotch/UX for PS3 away...

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Great work! I'm just about to try myself! :-) One question, can it be made to run on a PS3? Lot's of PS3 users can't run on PS3GRID/GPUGRID & maybe that's why they stopped sending WU's to PS3's, since only the older PS3's could install YDL. If PS3's can be used again & it's only a USB stick running Dotch/UX for PS3 away...

Hm, it's a little bit complicated...

Sony has decided to remove the support to boot other OSes in the newest PS3 aka PS3 slim. So it's not possible to install any other OSes anymore.

So far I know, will the Cell CPU discontinued and Sony will implement other CPUs in the PS4 and following PlayStation generations, IBM will go to also go to a other CPU/architecture for the recent Cell Blade systems and zSeries Cell CPU boards.

The PS3 is a very special and complete different architecture than the current i386/x64. Dotsch/UX is based on the i386/x64 architecture.

Yoyo@home has a SPE application which uses all SPEs (=the full computing potential) of the PS3.
For SETI in the moment one application available, which shifts out tasks to the SPEs and the rest will computed on the PPE. But the performance is not as good as the PS3 can.
SIMAP has a PPE only application available. The perfomance is compareable with a G4/G5 PowerPC Mac.

liveonc,

can it be made to run on a PS3?

Almost certainly not. Sony disabled third-party OS support about a year ago. Not that we care anymore, the Cell is so 2007.

MJH

I've finally installed Dotsch_UX. What can I say? It's only my personal opinion, no offense, but there's too many ways for a N00B to mess up.

I tried on 2 PC's, xserver didn't start up & as a N00B I don't know how to install Linux using only the command-line interface.

My 3rd PC did start up xserver & I installed according to the guide onhttp://www.dotsch.de/boinc/DotschUX-HDD_Installation.html

The user name, language, etc used was pointless, because upon reboot, the only account there is to login from is boinc. There was also a problem with apt not being able to start up, although if ignored the rest of the installation can proceed.

Now after the first step & the pc reboots, the account created can be ignored, & login can only be done using the account name boinc.

Errors pop up, again to be ignored. ALSO the Ubuntu updates other wise the next login will be using low graphics mode. Language support can be updated though.

Again I must add that also here a N00B can mess up badly in step 2.

A N00B doesn't want to change to text console or manually configure his network.

But otherwise if it works, it works, & that's nice. Although now, I'm still a N00B, but I now can install the newest Nvidia Drivers directly from Nvidia & I also just found out how to upgrade or downgrade BOINC also directly from the BOINC site. I use Wubi & run Ubuntu Lucid Lynx from my dual boot PC & would use that too on the other Windows PC, but it doesn't like my nforce mainboard & doesn't run either if I update anything apart from the things I (sort of) understand. So no Lucid Lynx for that PC just yet...

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@dotsch: thanks for posting the news to our forums!

BTW, few weeks ago Sony disabled otheros on all PS3's.

I tried on 2 PC's, xserver didn't start up & as a N00B I don't know how to install Linux using only the command-line interface.

Does the graphical desktop does not start, also when you have booted from the CD ?
Are you interested to generate me some more debugging info to analyse the bug?
What graphic cards are installed?

The user name, language, etc used was pointless, because upon reboot, the only account there is to login from is boinc. There was also a problem with apt not being able to start up, although if ignored the rest of the installation can proceed.
Now after the first step & the pc reboots, the account created can be ignored, & login can only be done using the account name boinc.

It's a well known bug from the Ubuntu installer. The solution is to create the account after the installation.

A N00B doesn't want to change to text console or manually configure his network.

I recommend you to specify "no" to the console and network config. - The cause for the questions was, that other users need to modify this.

But otherwise if it works, it works, & that's nice. Although now, I'm still a N00B, but I now can install the newest Nvidia Drivers directly from Nvidia & I also just found out how to upgrade or downgrade BOINC also directly from the BOINC site. I use Wubi & run Ubuntu Lucid Lynx from my dual boot PC & would use that too on the other Windows PC, but it doesn't like my nforce mainboard & doesn't run either if I update anything apart from the things I (sort of) understand. So no Lucid Lynx for that PC just yet...

I don't recommend you to update the CUDA part as Linux Newbe, because the update is complicated and can cause in a hanging system or a not well function CUDA implementation.
Why you would like to update, and not use the already pre installed one, which works great with GPU Grid and all other NVIDIA CUDA projects?

Does the graphical desktop does not start, also when you have booted from the CD ?
Are you interested to generate me some more debugging info to analyse the bug?
What graphic cards are installed?

The Graphical Desktop didn't start for these two PC's, that's why I didn't go ahead with the install. The 2 PC's that didn't want to install are: http://www.gpugrid.net/show_host_detail.php?hostid=71711 & http://www.gpugrid.net/show_host_detail.php?hostid=60998

It only work for this: http://www.gpugrid.net/show_host_detail.php?hostid=71589

Computer 71711 uses an MSI Sli-Fi 750i MB, & Computer 60998 uses an XFX 780i MB, they both use GTX260 GPU's.

It's a well known bug from the Ubuntu installer. The solution is to create the account after the installation.

I haven't tried this version of Ubuntu. I've only tried 9.10 & 10.04

I recommend you to specify "no" to the console and network config. - The cause for the questions was, that other users need to modify this.

What I meant was that it was on the picture of your guide. I'm just saying that normally it's the default or easiest setting that there is a picture of & eventually a second picture or side note that informs of possible alternatives.

I don't recommend you to update the CUDA part as Linux Newbe, because the update is complicated and can cause in a hanging system or a not well function CUDA implementation.
Why you would like to update, and not use the already pre installed one, which works great with GPU Grid and all other NVIDIA CUDA projects?

I didn't mean to sound harsh, I feel that your work is great & I wish you only success. It's just that an out of the box BOINC Linux, (My Personal Opinion), might be a dream come true for a Linux N00B, but if you're a Linux Wiz, you might know how to do it yourself & also have a very personal way of going about it.

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