distributed.net

 

Welcome to the distributed.net client for Mac 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://faq.distributed.net/ 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 need to enter your email address as your distributed.net ID. Other options can usually remain unchanged, and can be modified 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 quiet 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 by default, or temporarily.

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

Then open the configuration menu:
./dnetc -config

Select the General Client Options menu, and choose the option labeled:
Run detached/disable all screen output (quiet mode)

Enable this option. Note that if you are running the client in quiet mode, you may wish to enable logging, so that you can check dnetc's activity. You may enable this from the main menu under 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 quiet 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: Is there a 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/addon.php

Q: How do I check if a silent (quiet mode) client is running ?
A: Open a Terminal window and type: ps -acwx | 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 may be prompted for your password (note that you must be a member of the 'admin' group in order to do this). The client will then install a so called Startup Item in /Library/StartupItems. If you later move the client to another folder, you will have to -install the client again.
Once done, make sure the client has been configured (./dnetc -config) and that your distributed.net ID is properly defined. You might also want to enable logging (option 4) and activate an automatic restart when the configuration file is changed (option 1, then 6).
You can also -uninstall the client at a later date.

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. 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, including the Finder.

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
You can also pause and restart the client from the command line by typing ./dnetc -pause and ./dnetc -unpause, respectively.

Q: I want to run the client as a screen saver. How do I do this ?
A: You can use the third-party tool Agfun to do this. It is available on the Add-Ons page.

Q: Can I share my client's buffers with other (non-Mac OS) 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.php

Q: How do I completely remove the client from my system ?
A: If you used the -install switch to run the client each time you boot up your machine, use the -uninstall switch to remove the startup item. Then, quit any running instances of the client (./dnetc -shutdown), and then simply delete the folder containing the client.

Q: My computer runs too hot. What can I do ?
A: Recent Macs contain hardware temperature sensors, which dnetc can use for temperature monitoring. To activate it, open the configuration menu (./dnetc -config) and go to General Client Options. Select the option labeled: Pause if processor temperature thresholds are exceeded. Say yes to activate the monitoring, and a new option will appear for defining the temperature thresholds. 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.
If the monitoring is enabled, clients in version 2.9008.491 or better will display the current CPU temperature upon startup to help you determine the temperature thresholds. If no sensor can be found, a message will tell you this feature is not available.

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.php
  2. Run Software Update to ensure you have the latest updates for Mac OS X.
  3. See if you can find steps to reproduce the problem. How does the bug occur? What happens when it does? If you receive a crash log, save it, as this may be useful info.
  4. 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://bugs.distributed.net/
  5. 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 10.9, build 13A603
    • What is the full version descriptor of the client you are running?
      e.g. dnetc v2.9111-520-CTR-13101400 for Mac OS X (Darwin 13.0.0)
    • What sort of Mac are you running this on? You can find this info in the Apple menu in About This Mac (click More Info).
      e.g. iMac 27" Mid-2010, or MacBook Pro Retina 15" Mid-2012, 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 (or the ruler!) using this client.