I've recently started crunching SETI@Home units again, so forgive me if this is a stupid question.

I have seen my computer complete and upload 2 SETI@Home work units and 1 Astropulse work unit over the past week or so, but my credit hasn't changed from 4570.07, and I am pretty sure that is from my classic work units. How long does it take for your credits to update?

Shortly after they switched to BOINC, I stopped processing SETI@Home because BOINC didn't handle dial-up very well (back then) and I had dial-up back then, and it turned out to be quite the pain in the butt. I also think that I wasn't getting any credit for them back then either, but I am not certain.

Now I have always on broadband and it doesn't matter that BOINC chats without asking permission, I thought I'd give the project another try, but I'm still not getting credit for the work and it would be nice to have. Especially if something interesting is actually found, it'd be nice to know.

---

You get credits issued once the result has been returned by another machine (Wingman). As long as results match then you get credit.

How long it takes depends on your wingman. Maybe they return the result first, and you get the credits in a few seconds. Maybe they dont return it untillnext week, or even next month. Maybe their machine fails and doesnt return the result. Then it times out, gets sent to another host, and you wait for that one to return a result.

But 99.99% of the time you will get the credits, eventually.

Right now the replica database is broken so you cant look out your work units, pending credits and wingmen. Matt indicated it may be back online tomorrow.

Ian

Classic tasks never translated into BOINC credit for anyone.

Credit is granted after your work is validated against the result of a task that from the same WU that was sent to another computer. This can take anything from a few seconds to a couple of months - depending on the queue size, speed, and project count on the other machine. Rarely a third task will have to be sent out because either one of the two tasks was never returned, or the two tasks did not match in the validator.

---

BOINC WIKI

Oh, ok, thanks for answering my stupid question so quickly, but now I have another related one.

Ironically, this morning I wake up and find that my credit has gone up, but only in the advanced view. The pretty 3D spinning graphic that shows the current work unit in progress (which is where I usually check in on BOINC quickly) still shows the the old credit value from last night. I take it that part of the graphic only updates between work units then?

---

Oh, ok, thanks for answering my stupid question so quickly, but now I have another related one.

Ironically, this morning I wake up and find that my credit has gone up, but only in the advanced view. The pretty 3D spinning graphic that shows the current work unit in progress (which is where I usually check in on BOINC quickly) still shows the the old credit value from last night. I take it that part of the graphic only updates between work units then?

It will update when the client contacts the server and requests an update.

---

... I take it that part of the graphic only updates between work units then?

It will update when the client contacts the server and requests an update.

I think that credit info on the graphic is updated only after restart of BOINC.

---

 


- ALF - "Find out what you don't do well ..... then don't do it!" :)
 

I wasn't watching REALLY closely, but the 3D graphic appears to update when I guessed: when it starts a new work unit.

Thanks for answering my questions, I am going to push the button to close the question as soon as I post this.

---

when a WU finishes it contacts the server so yes it will change at that point

---

In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

when a WU finishes it contacts the server so yes it will change at that point

Not always - only if the WU is reported or new WUs requested.

But still - if you use the Update button in BOINC Manager
the credit info will be updated - it will increase if e.g.
some pending become validated or another of your computers reported completed WUs.

If you then look at the graphic the credit info will be the same unchanged old value.

---

 


- ALF - "Find out what you don't do well ..... then don't do it!" :)
 

if the info is different it changes. I won't see the current WU as being valid so it wont update that result

---

In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

I'm just starting up after a hiatus. New machine is an intel atom n270.

I downloaded ten work units, my machine started processing them 2 at a time. It uploaded the first 2 units completed & downloaded 2 replacement units. Then I got credit for only 1 of the 2 units.

I finished 2 more units, uploaded them, downloaded 2 replacements. Then I got credit for the next 2 units.

I'm almost finished with the next 2 units, and I still haven't gotten credit for the 2nd unit.

Now I can understand the business of waiting for verification, but how come the verifications don't occur in order? I noted that system status said there was a server problem a few days ago. Did my work unit get lost in shuffle?

---

yiC


steve

I noted that system status said there was a server problem a few days ago. Did my work unit get lost in shuffle?

Nope.

... but how come the verifications don't occur in order?

You have to wait for someone else to process the same Work Unit so they can be compared to see if they match. If they match, they're verified & you get credit. If not, it's sent out to another machine to see what result it gives.
Also someone may download some work, but not process it for some reason. Once the deadline has been reached, that Work Unit will be sent out again to someone else. With the length of the deadlines & the size of some people's caches, it could be anything up to 3 months before a result gets verified, although in most cases it's well within a week.

---

Grant
Darwin NT

I'm just starting up after a hiatus. New machine is an intel atom n270.

I downloaded ten work units, my machine started processing them 2 at a time. It uploaded the first 2 units completed & downloaded 2 replacement units. Then I got credit for only 1 of the 2 units.

I finished 2 more units, uploaded them, downloaded 2 replacements. Then I got credit for the next 2 units.

I'm almost finished with the next 2 units, and I still haven't gotten credit for the 2nd unit.

Now I can understand the business of waiting for verification, but how come the verifications don't occur in order? I noted that system status said there was a server problem a few days ago. Did my work unit get lost in shuffle?

They are processed in order - of the last received result, not the first or of any computer or user in particular.

---

BOINC WIKI

I'm just starting up after a hiatus. New machine is an intel atom n270.

I downloaded ten work units, my machine started processing them 2 at a time. It uploaded the first 2 units completed & downloaded 2 replacement units. Then I got credit for only 1 of the 2 units.

I finished 2 more units, uploaded them, downloaded 2 replacements. Then I got credit for the next 2 units.

I'm almost finished with the next 2 units, and I still haven't gotten credit for the 2nd unit.

Now I can understand the business of waiting for verification, but how come the verifications don't occur in order? I noted that system status said there was a server problem a few days ago. Did my work unit get lost in shuffle?

Okay, the 5th & 6th wu's uploaded, & 2 new ones downloaded. But the 2nd one downloaded wasn't for SETI, it was for Astropulse, which I never asked for. It also downloaded the Astropulse app, also not asked for. So I ended up with 9 SETI wu's & 1 Astropulse wu, and now SETI is processing THREE wu's at a time (Astropulse is not running yet).

Also, of the 5th & 6th wu's uploaded, one I got immediate credit, the other says "Completed, validation inconclusive" and credit is shown as pending. What does that mean? Besides the fact that I now have a rate of non-validation of 33-1/3%? Out of only 6 wu's?

Wooks wike I'm gonna hafta hunt me some scwewy wabbits! Heheheheheheheheheh!

---

yiC


steve

I'm just starting up after a hiatus. New machine is an intel atom n270.

I downloaded ten work units, my machine started processing them 2 at a time. It uploaded the first 2 units completed & downloaded 2 replacement units. Then I got credit for only 1 of the 2 units.

I finished 2 more units, uploaded them, downloaded 2 replacements. Then I got credit for the next 2 units.

I'm almost finished with the next 2 units, and I still haven't gotten credit for the 2nd unit.

Now I can understand the business of waiting for verification, but how come the verifications don't occur in order? I noted that system status said there was a server problem a few days ago. Did my work unit get lost in shuffle?

Okay, the 5th & 6th wu's uploaded, & 2 new ones downloaded. But the 2nd one downloaded wasn't for SETI, it was for Astropulse, which I never asked for. It also downloaded the Astropulse app, also not asked for. So I ended up with 9 SETI wu's & 1 Astropulse wu, and now SETI is processing THREE wu's at a time (Astropulse is not running yet).

Also, of the 5th & 6th wu's uploaded, one I got immediate credit, the other says "Completed, validation inconclusive" and credit is shown as pending. What does that mean? Besides the fact that I now have a rate of non-validation of 33-1/3%? Out of only 6 wu's?

Wooks wike I'm gonna hafta hunt me some scwewy wabbits! Heheheheheheheheheh!

Validation inconclusive means that the two results did not match well enough to be a strong match. It is possible that a third result will match both sufficiently well for all 3 to be considered weak matches, or it could be that the third will match only one of the two well enough to be considered a match, or it could even not match either and have to generate a 4th task.

Don't worry unless you have a high rate of validation FAILED results (like 10 out of 100).

Pending means that it is now waiting for some other result to be returned.

---

BOINC WIKI

Okay, the 5th & 6th wu's uploaded, & 2 new ones downloaded. But the 2nd one downloaded wasn't for SETI, it was for Astropulse, which I never asked for. It also downloaded the Astropulse app, also not asked for.

AstroPulse tasks are SETI as well, they just look for ET in another way. They do a broadband search as opposed to MultiBeam's narrowband search. So, you don't have to ask for AstrPulse WUs in the first place but have to say if you don't want them. You can do so in your SETI@home preferences by unchecking "If no work for selected applications is available, accept work from other applications?"

So I ended up with 9 SETI wu's & 1 Astropulse wu, and now SETI is processing THREE wu's at a time (Astropulse is not running yet).

That shouldn't happen with two cores and no GPU! Did you create a cc_config.xml file in the BOINC data directory? If yes, delete the line containing <ncpus>.

Gruß,
Gundolf

---

Computer sind nicht alles im Leben. (Kleiner Scherz)

SETI@home classic workunits 3,758
SETI@home classic CPU time 66,520 hours

I jumped on this thread a little late but could someone please tell me,
Work unit: 02ap07aa.16128.3344.6.10.219 , I matched the exact same as another user and get 0 credit, at first I thought that my GPU was being overclocked to far and turning in bad results, but this unit was done by my main processor, can anyone explain to me?

---

Minor, adjustment, this was my GPU, sry but it has been slowed down and I still came up with the exact result as another user, so I'm still curious about it.

---

Your computer is hidden so we can't check your work results. Also a link to the WU is more useful than the WU id.

That said, if it validated and you both got 0 credits, the odds are you were paired up with someone using the old Boinc V4.19. They often make requests 0 credits and the lower credit request is what the project gives.

---

Boinc V7.2.42
Win7 i5 3.33G 4GB, GTX470

Minor, adjustment, this was my GPU, sry but it has been slowed down and I still came up with the exact result as another user, so I'm still curious about it.

How do you know it is the exact same result? The credit request is NOT what is being tested. The underlying data in the result that is transferred up is what is being tested. If this underlying data is different, the results are different. S@H allows some slight amount of difference because of different processors, but if it is too wide a difference, no credit is granted until a third result is returned, at which point it is possible that all three, or the new result and one of the originals gets credit.

---

BOINC WIKI