DF Service Question/Request

[Digital Parasite]

Looking at the docs for the Service version of the DF client it says when you shutdown it will buffer the results for later upload so it doesn't timeout the service call which makes sense.

When you start the service again will it upload results at the beginning if it detects buffered files (like when you run the non-service version) or only after the next time it hits the magic 5000 mark?

I know myself and a number of people have "offline" clients on machines with multiple users so the Service Client is a must. Does the service version imitate the regular client version running with normal command line options so after 5000 structures it will try to upload and if there is no network connection the program will quit? Is there any way to tell it not to access the network (-i f) and buffer results (-df)? If not, this would be an extremely useful feature.

A possible way to do this is to have a config file which lists the options you want so the service version could read and use them. You could even combine a number of config files into one so there is less clutter.

Thanks,
Jeff.

[Stardragon]

The Service Client DOES act like the regular client version, trying to upload after 5000 structures. However, as mentioned in the instructions, it is not recommended to run the service without a permanent internet connection, as there is now way to specify options, like you could in the regular client version.

Could you briefly describe your scenario, so we could get a clearer understanding of why you need this option?

Thanks :p

[ColinT]

What's all this about Service?

This morning when I started my computer, I got an error I have never seen before. Something about the windows service failing. It happened just after DF started.

Is this something new? Did I miss a meeting?

[Digital Parasite]

Hi Elena,

I have a number of machines at work which are not connected to the Internet so they are basically "offline". In order for me to upload the results I have to copy the output files to a machine that is connected to the net and upload.

The problem is that several people use these machines (Win2000) so after someone is finished they need to log off and return to the Win2000 login prompt. If I want to run the Distributed Folding client it means I need to use the Service version because much of the time the machine is sitting at the login prompt.

Right now since the service version acts like an online client, it will stop after doing 5000 structures since there is no network connection for it to use. What I would like is a way to tell the client not to access the network and to work in offline mode so it continues to buffer results without needing a network connection.

Thanks,
Jeff.

[Stardragon]

Hi Jeff!

Well, one option you could look into (if you haven't already) is the following:

42. Can I make the software run on my Windows machine while I'm logged out?

If you are running the client on Windows NT/2000/XP, you may choose to run the software as an NT service. See the README that comes with the client for details. The service should continue to run even when you are logged out. If you are running the screensaver, you may do the following:

1. Go to the Start Menu, click on Run, then type in 'regedit' and hit enter. This will open the Registry Editor.
2. Open up the hierarchical tabs to HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop and highlight Desktop by clicking on it.
3. In the right pane you should see a list of 'keys' and their values. To change the value of a key simply double-click on its name. You are interested in three of these keys:
a) ScreenSaveActive - ensure this has a value of 1
b) ScreenSaveTimeOut - the time, in seconds, before the screen saver will start - we suggest a value of 60
c) SCRNSAVE or SCRNSAVE.EXE - set this to 'foldtraj.scr' (minus the quotes)
4. Exit the registry editor program.

Now when you are logged out, the screensaver should start up after the time you specified in step 3 b).

(This is from our website, the FAQ section). Hopefully this offers a satisfactory solution to your problem :p

[Digital Parasite]

So you are saying I should run the client as a screen saver? The client runs much slower as a screen saver, that is why I was trying to get the non-screensaver version working as it will produce much more without wasting CPU time on the screen saver graphics.

I guess the screensaver version can be set to work offline so it continues to work after 5000 structures?

Thanks,
Jeff.

[MAD-ness]

Jeff: the service installation of the CLI client AUTOMATICALLY buffers results if no net connection is detected or no connection to the server can be made.

If the machines have no net access, you can install the service and then you don't have to do anything. A day or a week or a month later you will have a whole boat-load of structure sets (5,000/set) built up which you can 'harvest.'

The only problem I can see is if the computers DO have 'net access and you want to run the service on them but never let them automatically upload results.

I am not positive, but I *think* that the service is still aware of the paramenters in the foldit.bat file? Things such as "-df" (which is redundant when using the service, but hurts nothing, I run this way) "-i f" (no-net), etc.

If this is not the case, it out to be 'fixed' very soon. For example, if you need to set the client to run non-interactively, this shouldn't prevent you from using the service.

I haven't really tested this out, as I don't need the exotic options when using the service.

However, I DO use the service install on computers with network access and they store a LOT of results before stopping. In theory it is infinite but I think I saw in the tech support forum or somewhere that there is a really high arbitrary limit that Howard inserted as a safety measure (I remember it being pretty high, more than a single machine could crunch in a month or two I think).

Service won't halt if no network connection is detected, it also will properly buffer results automatically. If you have no-net machines, the service is great.