Folding Forum

Hey, I just downloaded the client and even though I also checked in the "advanced" control panel I can't seem to find the link to my account page, which I guess contains the stats of my contributions. Also, am I any useful even if I fold only on the CPU of my laptop or am I just slowing things down? (even if the CPU is not that great, I think I can return the WUs in time)

If you are completing all your WUs on time, you are contributing!

With FAH client running, go in your browser to:
client.foldingathome.org

If the page changes to one with progress bars, you will be able to see your name or team,
If not you'll have to set it up first, by also requesting a key:
apps.foldingathome.org/getpasskey

Ok, thank you guys! Anyways, I'm now also trying to make my GPU fold but I came across a strange problem, when I set the checkpointing frequency to a specific value the client doesen't seem to care and does not checkpoint with that frequency. This only happens with GPU slots.

Checkpoints for the GPU folding cores are set by the researchers running the projects. Different GPU projects may have different settings for the checkpoint, they are in terms of percent of completion of the WU. The setting in FAHControl only affects the interval used by the CPU cores. In most cases we recommend leaving the setting at the default of 15 minutes.

Thank you for your answer, is there a way then to see what the checkpointing frequency is for each project?
EDIT: I just found where to look for the checkpointing frequency, if anyone else is intersted: C:\Users\BLANK\AppData\Roaming\FAHClient\work\YourSlotNumber\YourSlotNumber, there, look for the core.xml file, under the parameter xtcFreq you can see the steps done in the simulation between each checkpoint. Now look at the log, even from the advanced control panel, and calculate how much it takes to your core to perform one step.

.../work/YourSlotNumber/YourSlotNumber/...

Technically, that's ..../work/YourWuNumber/01/...
Note: (Windows uses \ and Linux uses / but they mean the same thing)

In the log, you'll see something like:
> 23:22:07:WU02:FS01:0x21
> 23:22:21:WU00:FS00:0xa7

Where, in this case, Unit 02 happens to be assigned to slot 01 and Unit 00 happens to be assigned to slot 00. After a WU is completed and a new one is assigned, the unit number will change. In the current FAHCore_21, the second directory name is always 01.

If you look in core.xml you'll easily find
> <numSteps v="5000000"/>
> <xtcFreq>250000</xtcFreq>
> <precision v="mixed"/>

but if you look in the science log, it reports the percentage that Joe_H was talking about
> Reading core settings...
> Total number of steps: 5000000
> XTC write frequency: 250000
> Checkpoint write frequency: 250000 (5%)

Thank you for the corrections bruce! I would also like to know where I can find my stats, since I tried there -> https://stats.foldingathome.org/donors but if I look up my ID (c.davide) it gives no results. I already returned 1 WU ( https://apps.foldingathome.org/wu#proje ... 51&gen=285 ), but it appears I've returned none from the results in the first link.

In the first 3 days, I was able to see my team only, but username points will probably come in, in a day or two.
At least that's what it was for me.

Sometimes the server is catching up, and until it gets a reboot, stats aren't displayed.

You also need to be in position higher than the top 1.2M users registered, which you seem to be with 11k PPD.

Give it a day or two.

Also,
On a laptop it might be better to just run the browser client, at:
http://nacl.foldingathome.org/

Especially if you're only going to do CPU folding.
I've noted that PPDs are higher on NaCl than on the desktop client.
One of the reasons might be that you need a faster than reference system, to get any bonus points for returning WUs early.
NaCl doesn't have bonus points, but it does seem to give slightly higher PPDs, mostly on lower spec hardware; like laptops or desktop PCs with a quad core, Corei5 CPU or smaller.
It also doesn't accept GPU folding.

The disadvantage with the NaCl server is that it sometimes hangs, when you are running many with the same username and key.
It appears that when WUs are being uploaded at the same time, from the same user with the same key, NaCl occasionally hangs, and a page refresh needs to be done.

I haven't tested out if NaCl can reliably run on a system 24/7, when using a different, unique key and username.
So if you're running multiple pcs, it's best to have the desktop client running.

If you keep your laptop online 24/7 for folding, I would say you need a faster than reference system (i5 CPU 750 @ 2.67GHz) to get bonus points.
If yours is slower, go NaCl; or also when you plan on only doing occasional folding (preferably wait until each WU is finished before closing the PC)
On average, WUs on NaCl take between 10 to 40 minutes to complete, depending on your CPU speed.
Some people test it out on Atom processors, and it works, but is enormously slow.

ProDigit wrote:The disadvantage with the NaCl server is that it sometimes hangs, when you are running many with the same username and key.
It appears that when WUs are being uploaded at the same time, from the same user with the same key, NaCl occasionally hangs, and a page refresh needs to be done.

This is unlikely to be fixed.

The Native Client was designed to be a transition system, encouraging new donors to install the full client. The bonus system was also designed to encourage upgrades and also to encourage the prompt return of completed WUs. The designers didn't expect anybody to run more than one NaCl client. The full FAHClient is well protected against the sort of "hang" you're reporting.

Yes, the full client occasionally errors, but reconnects quickly after again.
The NaCl does the same, but still regularly hangs. I guess it tries to connect to the server again, but if it hits a few errors in a row, it just stops functioning, and hangs at the 'downloading new work unit' window (or waiting for new WU, or something).

I often find NaCl clients using the same key, hang, even when the desktop client and NaCl are uploading at the same time.
The only way to avoid it, I think, is to get an individual key for each PC running NaCl at a time, but I have not yet confirmed this.

I've tried changing username and team ID, but it still hangs as long as the same key is used on those multiple systems.

First I wanna thank you guys for these informations, definitely useful for a beginner like me!

On average, WUs on NaCl take between 10 to 40 minutes to complete, depending on your CPU speed.

The CPU WUs I got on the desktop client took several hours to complete, why is the completion time of WUs on NaCl different? Isn't the server that sends the work the same one?

Also, I tried to run a bunch of WUs on NaCl to see how it works, and I have a few other questions:
-Is there a way to have a graphical representation of the protein being simulated on NaCl? Basically, an analogous of the protein viewer present in the desktop client.
-Where do I find the PRCG of the current WU on NaCl? I can only see the ID of the project.
-Can I make the NaCl client run different WUs on different cores?
-Is there an analogous of NaCl for Firefox?

Davide wrote:First I wanna thank you guys for these informations, definitely useful for a beginner like me!

On average, WUs on NaCl take between 10 to 40 minutes to complete, depending on your CPU speed.

The CPU WUs I got on the desktop client took several hours to complete, why is the completion time of WUs on NaCl different? Isn't the server that sends the work the same one?

Also, I tried to run a bunch of WUs on NaCl to see how it works, and I have a few other questions:
-Is there a way to have a graphical representation of the protein being simulated on NaCl? Basically, an analogous of the protein viewer present in the desktop client.
-Where do I find the PRCG of the current WU on NaCl? I can only see the ID of the project.
-Can I make the NaCl client run different WUs on different cores?
-Is there an analogous of NaCl for Firefox?

To answer more or less in order:

The projects for the NaCl client for Chrome were specifically set up to run a small number of steps compared to projects for the regular desktop client. This was in response to requests for WU's that could be run on A. lower powered or older CPU's, or B. could be completed in a short time by occasional folders so as to lessen the chance a WU would not be completed.

In connection with that, yes the NaCl WU's come from some of the same servers as other projects, but they are only assigned to requests from the NaCl client.

No, there is not a viewer for these WU's.

The full WU information can be found in the Chrome Console where the information is shown as part of the WU download. I forget which F-key opens that.

Each project is setup to run on a specific folding core, so no you can not and should not try to run a WU on a different one.

Google only ever released NaCl support in their own browser - Chrome.

Perfect, thank you for your reply!

Even within Chrome the end is coming. From Wikipedia:

"On October 12, 2016, a comment on the Chromium issue tracker indicated that Google's Pepper and Native Client teams had been destaffed.
On May 30, 2017, Google announced deprecation of PNaCl in favor of WebAssembly.
Although initially Google planned to remove PNaCl in first quarter of 2018, the removal is currently planned in the second quarter of 2019 (except for Chrome Apps)."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Native_Client