Transfers to Communications or something

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[ue] J. Johansson

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Message 929312 - Posted: 28 Aug 2009, 20:22:21 UTC

Call me paranoid, but I'm one of those people who do not leave their computers connected to the internet when I don't need the internet. Nothing to it, Boinc allows suspending communications, but when communicating, it would be nice to know what is happening.

Offcourse "Tranfers" tab will tell you what files are being up- or downloaded, but it will not tell you anything about scheduler requests, "Messages" tab will give you all the information, but in a very messy format. Especially when BOINC running a high-end computer 24/7, the number of transfers makes it practically imbossible to find any usefull information between all the "down-/upload start/stop" messages.

So I was thinking about a new tab, one that would display not just files being transferred, but all communications, including scheduler requests.

And buttons for suspending and allowing communications would be nice too.
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John McLeod VII
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Message 929347 - Posted: 28 Aug 2009, 22:40:44 UTC - in response to Message 929312.  

Call me paranoid, but I'm one of those people who do not leave their computers connected to the internet when I don't need the internet. Nothing to it, Boinc allows suspending communications, but when communicating, it would be nice to know what is happening.

Offcourse "Tranfers" tab will tell you what files are being up- or downloaded, but it will not tell you anything about scheduler requests, "Messages" tab will give you all the information, but in a very messy format. Especially when BOINC running a high-end computer 24/7, the number of transfers makes it practically imbossible to find any usefull information between all the "down-/upload start/stop" messages.

So I was thinking about a new tab, one that would display not just files being transferred, but all communications, including scheduler requests.

And buttons for suspending and allowing communications would be nice too.

Or you could use Wire Shark to do the communications sniffing. That way you know that BOINC cannot be cheating.


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[ue] J. Johansson

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Message 929416 - Posted: 29 Aug 2009, 5:33:38 UTC - in response to Message 929347.  

Or you could use Wire Shark to do the communications sniffing. That way you know that BOINC cannot be cheating.


Thats interesting, but I'm not that paranoid, besides, disabling all network connections should do the trick.

What I really meant was that, because I do not keep my computer connected to the internet 24/7, I need to know atleast when all communications have completed, usually the only thing I check is transfers tab, I just make sure that it begins to transfer, and then do something else while boinc is doing its communications, read emails, this forum, etc.

Usually transfers are completed really fast, and there is no reason to look any further, but sometimes there are problems, maybe nothing is getting through, maybe uploads are fine but there is nothing on the download side, server messages might provide some ansvers, but finding them while messages tab is being flooded by about a million other messages is not exactly my idea of "user friendly" way of displaying information. ADP, Automatic Data Processing, exists because people don't want to read raw data, they want to see data organized in a meaninfull and easy to read format. That is all I want. A tab that tells everything I need to know about communications, in an easy to read format.
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Message 929420 - Posted: 29 Aug 2009, 7:27:21 UTC
Last modified: 29 Aug 2009, 7:27:49 UTC

Not likely to happen. Dr. A has always been a minimalist and thrives on making Boinc as much a set and forget software as possible. Getting him to put new buttons (user friendly features) in is like pulling teeth.
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Profile Gundolf Jahn

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Message 929423 - Posted: 29 Aug 2009, 7:41:50 UTC - in response to Message 929416.  
Last modified: 29 Aug 2009, 7:43:57 UTC

...I need to know atleast when all communications have completed, usually the only thing I check is transfers tab...

I think what you are looking for (additionally) is already in the Projects tab. In the Status column, pending scheduler requests et al are shown. Make sure that it is wide enough (by double clicking the right margin of the column header when three dots are appended to the message).

Gruß,
Gundolf

[edit]The double clicking feature might no longer work with newer versions of BOINC, since it only worked in Accessible View.[/edit]
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[ue] J. Johansson

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Message 929446 - Posted: 29 Aug 2009, 12:38:31 UTC - in response to Message 929423.  

I think what you are looking for (additionally) is already in the Projects tab. In the Status column, pending scheduler requests et al are shown.


You are right about scheduler requests, but Projects tab will not tell anything about the requests, and possible server messages are found only in the Messages tab.

I'm not saying that the information isn't there, it is just sometimes quite difficult to read. When all is well and transfers and scheduler requests happen like they are supposed to its all ok, but when something is wrong, it is sometimes hard to find out what is the problem.

And as much as I appreciate "set & forget" systems, there is just no way I'm going to leave my computer connected to the internet when it doesn't have to be. I have a firewall and virusscanner, but why leave my computer exposed when it doesn't have to be?

At the end of the day user friendly features are not going to make it any less "set & forget", it just gives a little something to some of us who do not want to forget.

Anyway, its just an idea.
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Message 929451 - Posted: 29 Aug 2009, 13:58:31 UTC

If the transfers tab is empty, and you have enough work for the next disconnected period, just tell BOINC that you don't need any more communications at the moment.


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[ue] J. Johansson

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Message 929518 - Posted: 29 Aug 2009, 20:17:28 UTC - in response to Message 929451.  

If the transfers tab is empty, and you have enough work for the next disconnected period, just tell BOINC that you don't need any more communications at the moment.


And that is exactly what I have been doing since I upgraded the S@H Classic to BOINC version. All I'm saying, is the Transfers tab could provide a bit more information. Its not a big thing, its just an idea. Something I would like to have, but certainly can live without.

I have been using BOINC for a quite a long time, I know how to use it, I know what I want. Explaining my idea on a foreing language is hard and frustrating. Maybe you understand what I'm trying to say, maybe you don't. I have tried, writing any more on this topic would be just repetition.
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Questions and Answers : Wish list : Transfers to Communications or something


 
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