Getting Moo! to crunch on your GPU

[Dirk Broer]

Ha! That sounds simple, let it crunch on your GPU. Just thick the hex with the appropiate GPU in your account settings.

If it were that simple, I would not start a thread, would I? If you do just that I give you 10 to 1 the WUs will download and will not start -if they download at all.

And for those who like to live on the edge: Remove Moo!, re-attach and see whether you can get a new GPU WU. I bet you you can't. And the latter is all the more strange.

In order for Moo! to start crunching it needs an app_config.xml file in its project map, along with the other Moo! files.
Make it with notepad, leafpad, gedit or another very basic editor. This one will crunch two WUs simultaniously on one GPU:


<app_config>
<app>
<name>dnetc</name>
<max_concurrent>2</max_concurrent>
<gpu_versions>
<gpu_usage>0.50</gpu_usage>
<cpu_usage>0.05</cpu_usage>
</gpu_versions>
</app>
</app_config>

Note that this will mean that in my Ubuntu box -with an APU and two HD 6670s- this will result in Moo! being crunched at six WUs together at a time.

Chances are though that BOINC will come up with messages as 'unrecognised application 'dnetc' in app_config.xml' as I lastly experienced when commiting my Lubuntu box to Moo! -with an A10 APU and a HD 7750.
Mind you: the same app_config.xml runs on machines that crunched Moo! earlier. I have changed the driver for the Lubuntu box from 13.11 to 13.4, let's see what happens.
I'll also try to make my HD 7790 active on Moo! -Win8.1 willing, which keeps trashing the 13.4 driver's CAL.

And I forgot to tell you that when I enable the setting 'Use CPU' on my account page, that the machines that do not get any GPU work suddenly get CPU work and still no GPU WUs....maddening.

[Terry1953]

Here is another work around and it worked on everything I have.

I don't know the cause, but a work-around is to make a text file called "app_info.xml" (no quotes) in the C:\ProgramData\BOINC\projects\moowrap.net folder.
In the text file put:
**********************
<app_info>
<app>
<name>dnetc</name>
<user_friendly_name>Distributed.net Client</user_friendly_name>
</app>
<file_info>
<name>dnetc_wrapper_1.3_windows_intelx86__ati14.exe</name>
<executable/>
</file_info>
<file_info>
<name>dnetc518-win32-x86-stream.exe</name>
<executable/>
</file_info>
<file_info>
<name>dnetc-gpu-1.3.ini</name>
</file_info>
<file_info>
<name>job-ati14-1.00.xml</name>
</file_info>
<app_version>
<app_name>dnetc</app_name>
<version_num>102</version_num>
<platform>windows_intelx86</platform>
<avg_ncpus>0.050000</avg_ncpus>
<max_ncpus>0.895864</max_ncpus>
<plan_class>ati14</plan_class>
<flops>1157115231469.729200</flops>
<api_version>7.0.8</api_version>
<file_ref>
<file_name>dnetc_wrapper_1.3_windows_intelx86__ati14.exe</file_name>
<main_program/>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>dnetc518-win32-x86-stream.exe</file_name>
<copy_file/>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>dnetc-gpu-1.3.ini</file_name>
<open_name>dnetc.ini</open_name>
<copy_file/>
</file_ref>
<file_ref>
<file_name>job-ati14-1.00.xml</file_name>
<open_name>job.xml</open_name>
<copy_file/>
</file_ref>
<coproc>
<type>ATI</type>
<count>1.000</count>
</coproc>
<gpu_ram>262144000.000000</gpu_ram>
</app_version>
</app_info>
**********************

put in everything BETWEEN (but not including) the **********************.

This will attempt to run 1 app PER GPU. Normally it runs 1 app at a time, using all gpu's. Not the best, but better then nothing.

[Dirk Broer]

Should work fine on 32-bit Windows and will force 64-bit Windows to run the 32-bit application (And take care that your own GPU does have 2.6 GB of RAM too, otherwise edit that value)
But what to do when one Linux Box refuses to crunch GPU WUs, using the same settings as the other that cranks them out like there's no tomorrow?

[Dirk Broer]

<coproc>
<type>ATI</type>
<count>1.000</count>
</coproc>

This will attempt to run 1 app PER GPU. Normally it runs 1 app at a time, using all gpu's. Not the best, but better then nothing.

Try this to run 2 apps at a time:
<coproc>
<type>ATI</type>
<count>0.500</count>
</coproc>

Try this to run 3 apps at a time:
<coproc>
<type>ATI</type>
<count>0.333</count>
</coproc>

Try this to run 4 apps at a time:
<coproc>
<type>ATI</type>
<count>0.250</count>
</coproc>

YMMV!