D2OL Update

[sentient_life]

I can't believe no one has mentioned that a new version of the D2OL client has been released:

What's New in Version 3.0 of D2OL™

After a year of development and testing, Version 3.0 of the D2OL client is available for Windows platforms. The upgrades in this version include:

Client Changes

* The ability to control task expiration from the client
* Automatic task monitoring to ensure that D2OL won't affect your computer's interactive performance
* Multiprocessor support
o Automatic detection of the number of processors on your computer
o The ability to run multiple agents automatically with the same node number and only one installation
o The ability to make configuration changes to each agent or have changes propagate across all running agents
o Separate task queues for each agent

[Lagu]

Thanks sentient_life.

I didn´t know that. Am is surprised. That is good news.

How will I do when upgrade? Should I abort my agent or should I dovnload the new version and install it on D20L:s map I.E overun it?

Lagu:)

[Ototero]

I've downloaded to my laptop. It's running now. Thanks Sentient.

[Bender10]

Hi Lagu,

I'm going out on a limb here as I could not find the answers to your questions on the D2OL site.

1. It looks like the 'default' install directory is different from previous versions.

2. You should (mmmm..) be able to change the 'default' install directory for ver 3 (haven't tried yet, maybe tonight) to avoid over-writing the older install.

3. I was running the ver 3 beta for a while. I don't think the old client wu's are compatible with the new client (see note 4)

4. Run your wu's out of the old client if you have any second thought's about the 'new' (ver 3) client.



Yes, nice catch Sentient. I ran the beta for a while, then got busy and did not follow the progress of the new client. Thanks!

[sentient_life]

Now that they finally implemented multi-core support, they need to convert to BOINC!

I'M KIDDING! :qleft7::blob3::qright5:

[Bender10]

I guess the new client works the same as the old client. And yes, there is a new (multi-core) client for D2OL and TSC. You can even use your old 'node.prp' files with the new client (this helps cut down on having a ga-zillion orphan 'nodes' on your account).

My comment about the new client wu's was mis-phrased. During the beta testing, the new client was reporting the results to a different server for testing purposes only.

This is as good a time as any for everyone to download the new client and do your own test drive....:icon_mrgreen:

[vaughan]

I agree with Bender10 - the new client works well.

[Steve Lux]

Does it work better than the old one?

I'm not a fan of the concept that newer is better, or that change is always good.

[spikey_richie]

The only constant in life is change.

[Bender10]

I'm not sure if there is a difference in speed or throughput. The new client is an 'improvement'. It allows for multiple cpu's, using only 1 client install.

You can still do all the same stuff as the old client. But the install folder changed (so as not to over-write old clients I guess). And you can run easier on quad and octo :icon_twisted: machines.

Another change is that there is built-in wu time limits (max 30 days or less, your choice). This is a project developer change. I guess there were people running wu's that would shut down a client for months. And would then crank it back up again. In the meantime, the server was waiting for the wu's to come in....and that was a problem. Like any other project, a timely return of completed wu's kept operations running smooth. When the wu's would disappear for months at a time, this tended to leave important gaps in the reasearch. So, if your wu's exceed the time limit you have in the client, your wu's will be sent out again to someone else for completion.

I'm not sure if your expired wu's will still count (I would guess they should still count...) if they expire before completion. I'll look around.

[Bender10]

Project post from Adam...

Version 3.0 of the D2OL client software is now available for Windows operating systems.
The updates to the software for Version 3.0 include:

* Client-side task expiration
* Automatic monitoring and throttling of D2OL processes to maintain your computer's responsiveness
* Multiprocessor support

You can download the new version of the client at:

http://www.d2ol.com/dOL/download_instructions.html


Thanks to all of our testers for helping us work through various issues over the last
year. Your work and feedback has made all the difference!


Adam

[Bender10]

I asked a couple of questions on the project forum to clear up my understanding of how the NEW (ver 3.0) Client handles the 30 day (max) deadline. I knew the answer to one of the questions.



1. If my completed wu's expire (if my computer is turned off for 32 days), will I get credit when I upload them on day 33?

Answer: The server doesn't count WUs after they have expired, altough the results are still accepted.


2. If I have unprocessed wu's in cache for 32 days (computer off again), will they flush and be replaced with new wu's when I turn on the computer on day 33?

Answer: Expired WUs are removed from your queue by the client, so, yes, new work units would be downloaded.


So, the good news is, the server will still accecpt your completed wu's after they expire (But, no credit for you..:-(..).

I hope this helps. :)