When we try to run BOINC on System z, we get:

2008-10-06 13:38:30 [SETI@home] Sending scheduler request to http://setiboinc.ssl.berkeley.edu/sah_cgi/cgi
2008-10-06 13:38:30 [SETI@home] Reason: Requested by user
2008-10-06 13:38:30 [SETI@home] Requesting 8640 seconds of new work
2008-10-06 13:38:35 [SETI@home] Scheduler request succeeded
2008-10-06 13:38:35 [SETI@home] Message from server: platform 's390-ibm-linux-gnu' not found

What needs to be done?

You need to install the SETI application manualy. A SETI application for Linux on zSeries is available at my homepage http://www.dotsch.de/seti.

Edit: If you have installed the SETI application already manualy, please verify if in the subdirectory projects/setiathome.berkeley.edu/, from where the BOINC cleint is installed, the files setiathome-5... and app_info.xml is installed. If you have installed them, and you get such a error message, please stop the BOINC client and start it again with "./boinc_client --allow_remote_gui-rpc".

Hello!

I originally downloaded the entire boinc pckage from the http://www.dotsch.de/boinc/BOINC%20Clients.html web site. I believe that all of my permissions and ownerships are correct, yet I can't get the executables to run:

psilinux:/opt/boinc# ls -l
total 2584
-r-xr-xr-x 1 boinc boinc 1784464 Feb 21  2008 boinc_client
-r-xr-xr-x 1 boinc boinc  836136 Feb 21  2008 boinc_cmd
drwxr-xr-x 2 boinc boinc    4096 Feb 24  2008 doc
drwxr-xr-x 2 boinc boinc    4096 Feb 24  2008 lib
drwxr-xr-x 2 boinc boinc    4096 Feb 24  2008 projects
psilinux:/opt/boinc#
psilinux:/opt/boinc# ./boinc_cmd
-bash: ./boinc_cmd: cannot execute binary file

I have some reason to believe that the binaries are not compatible with my Debian system. One clue: embedded within the executables is a reference to "/lib64/ld64.so.1". However, other executables on my system have embedded references to "/lib/ld.so.1". Maybe I'm running in 32-bit mode and the downloaded binaries want 64-bit mode?

Anyway, my next step was to install the pre-built versions of boinc and the set application that were available via apt. Those executables worked but generated the "platform 's390-ibm-linux-gnu' not found" error.

I've now downloaded the Seti application from your link, and I'm getting a little father: data is now being downloaded to my system, but then I'm getting an application failure:

2008-10-07 09:18:57 [SETI@home] Requesting 8640 seconds of new work, and reporting 1 completed tasks
2008-10-07 09:19:02 [SETI@home] Scheduler request succeeded
2008-10-07 09:19:03 [SETI@home] Started download of file 18au08ad.426.14797.14.8.119
2008-10-07 09:19:08 [SETI@home] Finished download of file 18au08ad.426.14797.14.8.119
2008-10-07 09:19:08 [SETI@home] Throughput 118146 bytes/sec
2008-10-07 09:19:09 [---] Rescheduling CPU: files downloaded
2008-10-07 09:19:09 [SETI@home] Starting task 18au08ad.426.14797.14.8.119_0 using setiathome_enhanced version 527
2008-10-07 09:19:09 [---] Rescheduling CPU: files downloaded
2008-10-07 09:19:09 [SETI@home] Process creation (../../projects/setiathome.berkeley.edu/setiathome-5.27.s390-ibm-linux) failed: Error -1
2008-10-07 09:19:10 [SETI@home] Unrecoverable error for result 18au08ad.426.14797.14.8.119_0 (process exited with code 2 (0x2))

If I try to run the application from the command line, I get the same "cannot execute binary file" error message that was generated by trying to run the original boinc files. I suspect that the "Process creation ... failed" error is the same inability to run the binary.

I guess my next step would be to try and build the application from source.

Eric

psilinux:/opt/boinc# ./boinc_cmd
-bash: ./boinc_cmd: cannot execute binary file[/code]
I have some reason to believe that the binaries are not compatible with my Debian system. One clue: embedded within the executables is a reference to "/lib64/ld64.so.1". However, other executables on my system have embedded references to "/lib/ld.so.1". Maybe I'm running in 32-bit mode and the downloaded binaries want 64-bit mode?

What does the file boinc_cmd and boinc_client say ?
Eventualy this is also a problem between the different Linux distributions...

Anyway, my next step was to install the pre-built versions of boinc and the set application that were available via apt. Those executables worked but generated the "platform 's390-ibm-linux-gnu' not found" error.

I've now downloaded the Seti application from your link, and I'm getting a little father: data is now being downloaded to my system, but then I'm getting an application failure:
...
2008-10-07 09:19:09 [SETI@home] Starting task 18au08ad.426.14797.14.8.119_0 using setiathome_enhanced version 527
2008-10-07 09:19:09 [---] Rescheduling CPU: files downloaded
2008-10-07 09:19:09 [SETI@home] Process creation (../../projects/setiathome.berkeley.edu/setiathome-5.27.s390-ibm-linux) failed: Error -1
2008-10-07 09:19:10 [SETI@home] Unrecoverable error for result 18au08ad.426.14797.14.8.119_0 (process exited with code 2 (0x2))[/code]

If I try to run the application from the command line, I get the same "cannot execute binary file" error message that was generated by trying to run the original boinc files. I suspect that the "Process creation ... failed" error is the same inability to run the binary.

I guess my next step would be to try and build the application from source.

Can you please look into projects/setiathome.berkeley.edu and verify if the file app_info.xml and setiathome-5... is there and exectuable. A "file setiathome-5..." would help to verify if it's also the 32/64 bit problem.
So far I know is a older SETI version available from Debian. You can also try, if it work for you.
If not, I think a recompile of the BOINC client and SETI application is needed...