distributed.net

 

Welcome to the distributed.net client for OS X

This document covers information specific to the client for Mac OS X. For non-platform specific information, refer to other enclosed documentation or browse the online FAQ at http://www.distributed.net/FAQ or http://www.distributed.net/docs/.

Getting Started

The first step is to download the client and unpack the archive. Presumably, if you are reading this, you have done so. Once that is complete, you may place the dnetc folder anywhere you wish on the hard drive.

This client is a command line client. To run it, you will need to open a Terminal window using Terminal.app. Navigate to the dnetc folder (you can do this by typing "cd" and then dragging the dnetc folder to the Terminal window, and hitting Return).

Once there, you can start the client's configuration by typing :
./dnetc -config

The "./" indicates that you are running a command from the current directory. The "-config" is a switch which tells dnetc to start configuration mode. It will do this automatically if you have never configured it before, but using the switch will always start config mode.

You will be introduced to a text-driven menu with fairly self-explanatory options. Primarily, you will want to configure your distributed.net ID. Again, any of these options can be changed later by starting dnetc with the -config switch.

When you are finished, save and quit from the menu system. The client will exit. To begin processing, type :
./dnetc

You can then hide Terminal, minimize the window to the Dock, or just leave it there. You can see other command line options for the client by starting it with the -help switch.

Additional guides to the various configuration options are available online. http://www.distributed.net/docs

Running the client in silent mode

It may be desirable to run the client in the background; that is, to close the Terminal window that it is running in, but have it continue processing. There are two ways of doing this : either temporarily, or by default.

1. To always run in silent mode, first stop any running clients :
./dnetc -shutdown

Then open the configuration menu :
./dnetc -config

Select the General Client Options menu, and go to option number 11 (Run detached/disable all screen output). Enable this option. Note that if you are running the client in silent mode, you may wish to enable logging, so that you can check its activity. This is option 4 on the main menu (Logging Options). When you are finished, save and quit.

Finally start the client using the command :
./dnetc

This will start the now-silent client into the background. You may then close Terminal if you wish.

2. To run in silent mode just once, first stop any running clients :
./dnetc -shutdown

Then start the client again with the following switch :
./dnetc -quiet

This will start the now-silent client into the background. You may then close Terminal if you wish. Similarly, if you have configured the client to always run quiet as above, you can prevent it from doing so with the -noquiet switch.

Frequently Asked Questions on Mac OS X

Q: What are the changes in this version of the client?
A: Check the CHANGES.txt document included in this distribution.

Q: Where is the (what-used-to-be-) GUI version of the client?
A: Any GUI features not included in this client will be released as portable, open source add-on utilities. However, since distributed.net is a volunteer organization, we rely on users to contribute code. Please contact us if you're interested. See also http://www.distributed.net/download/addons.php

Q: How do I check if a silent client is running?
A: Open a Terminal window and type : ps -aux | grep dnetc If you see any processes named dnetc then it is running. Alternatively, you can check your logfile to see if it is being updated. (You might type tail <logfile> where <logfile> is the name of your log file.)

Q: How do I quit the client if it is running?
A: Just type : ./dnetc -shutdown The client will report how many clients were found and stopped. If it fails, you can always use the "kill" command to stop it.

Q: How can I setup the client that it starts up automatically when I boot up my computer?
A: Use the -install switch on dnetc. You will be prompted for your password. Note that you must be a member of the 'admin' group in order to do this. You can also -uninstall at a later date. Note: If you move the directory, you will have to -uninstall then -install again.

Q: This version of the client seems much slower than XYZ previous version of the client. What gives?
A: Probably what you are noticing is that sometime around build 464, we made the client "nicer" to other programs; that is, we made it a lower priority process. This was to make sure that it did not interfere with the use of the computer in any way. If you want to experiment with higher priority settings, use these steps to change the priority:

But be warned ! This may slow down other applications.

Q: I want to run the client and XYZ simultaneously, but XYZ destroys my crunch rate. What can I do ?
A: Probably not much. Most of the problems that are suited to distributed computing are heavily CPU-intensive. Remember, dnetc is intended to only use up idle time on your computer. Ideally, your use of the computer should not be affected by its presence. This is why it is set to a very low priority by default. See the previous answer, "this version seems slower" for details on changing priority.

Q: The client seems to slow down my application XYZ. What can I do?
A: Open the configuration menu (./dnetc -config) and go to General Client Options. Select "Pause if running". Type in the name of your application (e.g. XYZ, as shown by ps -acwx) and then exit the client. This will cause the client to pause if it detects that application is running. Make sure you don't leave it open all the time, or dnetc will never run

Q: I want to run the client as a screen saver. How do I do this ?
A: At this time, there is no screen saver module for the client under Mac OS X, however this should not be difficult to implement. If you get around to it before we do, let us know.

Q: Can I share my client's buffers with other (non-macos) clients ? ["sharing" is simultaneous access via file-sharing, but also manual transfer of the buffer files from one machine to another]
A: In general, this is not recommended. However, you can use the -import switch to accomplish this task. See the -help for more info. If you need to share buffers between many clients, you may wish to consider setting up a personal proxy. For more info on perproxies, visit : http://www.distributed.net/download/proxies.html

Q: How do I completely remove the client from my system?
A: If you used the -install switch, use the -uninstall switch. Then, quit any running instances of the client, and then simply delete the folder containing the client.

Q: My computer runs too hot. What can I do?
A: If you have a G3, an old G4 or one of the new Macs with specific temperature sensors, you can activate temperature monitoring. Open the configuration menu (./dnetc -config) and go to General Client Options. Define the temperature thresholds (option 9), then activate the monitoring (option 8). Please note this function relies upon dedicated hardware (either the Thermal Assist Unit embedded into some PowerPC processors, or machine-specific sensors). As such, it may or may not work as expected.

Problems and bugs

If you suspect you have found a bug in the client, here are the steps you should take to help us diagnose and fix the problem.

  1. Visit the client download page and verify that you have the latest release of the client for Mac OS X. http://www.distributed.net/download/clients.html
  2. See if you can reproduce the problem. How does the bug occur ? What happens when it does ?
    If it is a crash, try enabling Crash Reporter. You can do this by starting the Mac OS X Console, which is located in /Applications/Utilities/Console.app. Open it and go to Preferences, and select the Crashes tab. Check both boxes. If you receive a crash log, save it, as this may be useful info.
  3. Visit distributed.net's Bugzilla system, our bug reporting and tracking site. Here, you can report your bug and stay in contact with distributed.net QA and developers as we try to fix your bug. http://www.distributed.net/bugs/
  4. When reporting a bug, please give us as many details as possible.
    • What version of Mac OS X are you running ?
      (e.g. Mac OS X 10.3, build 7B85)
    • What is the full version descriptor of the client you are running ?
      (e.g. dnetc v2.9007-486-CTR-03110414 for Mac OS X (Darwin 7.0.0))
    • What sort of Mac are you running this on ? (e.g. Power Mac G5/1.8, iBook G4/933 14" , etc)

The more details you can give us, the easier it will be for us to fix your bug. Thank you for helping us improve the client !

Credits and Thanks

Thanks to everybody involved in the development of the client for Mac OS X and the beta testing process, who have helped make it what it is, including (in no particular order) :

And finally, thanks to everyone who runs dnetc on their computers. Without you there wouldn't be much of a point in doing the client, so keep on cracking ! Maybe YOU can find the key using this client.