Installing F@H on a Linux machine?
Just got Smoothwall up and running on my old K6/2 550 'cause I got sick of rebooting the old router (D-Link DI-704) every day. Seeing as how Smoothwall is designed to be run on early Pentium/486 machines, there should be a lot of headroom which could be used for folding.
So does anyone know how to install F@H to a Linux machine? I'm a total Linux n00b, so any help would be appreciated.
So does anyone know how to install F@H to a Linux machine? I'm a total Linux n00b, so any help would be appreciated.
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Basicly, download it, and put where you can find it again.
Move it to a folder you make, my box had a home tree that for me was /home/john (I will use that, substitute your user name for john)
So, with file on machine (I put mine in /home/john/Downloads/FAH and made FAH, although I used Opera to grab as it let me make new folders as part of choosing the place to save), you do this:
su - root
(OR sudo root)
(then enter root password)
cd /home/john #changes directory for you
mkdir (or md) FAH #makes the folder for you
cd /home/john/Downloads/FAH
(path where you put file when you downloaded it, I used my place)
cp /home/john/Downloads/FAH/* /home/john/FAH/
(this copies all of what is in the first directory specified to the second path specified, and since I do not keep more than the most current client archive in this there is only one file to copy. cp means CoPy.)
cd /home/john/FAH
(Now, you should have the name of what you downloaded easily found, with ls which is a directory LiSt command, if you did not write down the file name then do an ls and type in the whole file name and the extension (which should be .exe).)
Next comes the setup:
chmod +x FAH4Linux-Console.exe
(this just made file executable in Linux's POV, next client gets run)
FAH4Linux-Console.exe -config (you might have to use --config, try what I gave first, distros can be set up so they need -- instead of -)
At that point, it will ask you for a Folding@Home ID, and you can type that in (your user name for folding), then team number, and as you go on down answering things, it will ask you if you want to configure advanced options-- I would say yes (Y or y will work), as that lets you tell it to communicate auto or not, lets you set machine ID (like 2 if you have a machine 1 folding in Windows, for example), and a few other options you can default with enter if you do not want to change them.
At this time, do not let it grab a WU, instead use Control-C to exit once it gets to the beginning of teh downloading part, or your first WU is likely to be a Tinker.
If the Linux box is fast enough, you can run Gromacs WUs. The same switch that works in Windows will get you Gromacs from Linux client. The same tuning switches will gvie you the forcing of sse or asm as you used in Windows.
So, I would run it as root, from a text console, and leave the GUI free for you. On my P4 box, I run mine like this:
FAH4Linux-Console.exe -forcesse -advmethods
If I have to stop it and want it to exit, in Linux the CTRL-C sequence tells client to exit, and it saves its place nicely when doing so.
You have six text consoles to use, I use console 2 for client and 3-6 for other things. To get to console 2, I use CTRL-ALT-F2 and then I login. To get back to GUI I use CTRL-ALT-F7. Console 1 is a special purpose console, while you can use it I would leave it alone until you begin to understand what it does.
NOTES:
CTRL-F2 is done by pressing and holding CTRL key down while pressing F2 key, and CTRL-ALT-F7 wants all three keys pressed at once. Release all three, Linux knows what to do. Use ENTER key to get linux to do something when you are finished typing a line. In Linux, using & in a filename can cause what a n00b would think of as funny or STRANGE things to happen, ditto directory names-- so I would not use Folding&Home instead of FAH for the client's folder name. I suggest you print this whole reply.
John D.
BRB!
mkdir directoryname
to copy files from a floppy you first have to know the location of the floppy. Unfortunately there's no agreement between distributions as to where to mount the floppy. If you do:
vim /etc/fstab
you will be able to view the mount points (/dev/fd0 is the floppy). Its probably either /floppy or /mnt/floppy. Now to copy files to the current directory do:
cp /mnt/floppy/* . <- the dot means current directory
If you're not sure how to use a command you can always do
man commandhere
and the manual page for that particular command will be displayed. However these manual pages are often ugly and not friendly to new users.
Good luck and post any other questions you've got!
EDIT: If you would want to try to overclock that 550 a little, set the multi jumpers to a "2" setting. The "2" setting is internally remapped on the K6-2 procs to run as a "6" multiplier.
BTW, check out the post I made requesting someone to write a guide for "Installing F@H on Smoothwall (for the Linux n00b)" here!
Should I stop it?
Just an FYI: I'm running it thusfar w/o any switches. Being as it's version of 3DNow! is too old, should I just leave it this way (no -advmethods switch)?
Now I just have to figure out how to get it to start F@H after booting automaticly, and I'm golden. Anyone have any idea how?
Read more . . .
mkdir ~/fah
download client directly to ~/fah
cd ~/fah
chmod +x FAH4Linux-Console.exe
./FAH4Linux-Console.exe #-config is not needed unless there is already a config