Question about AP vs MB Preferences

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Message 1632436 - Posted: 25 Jan 2015, 2:16:20 UTC

Right now, I have my SETI preferences set to AP and MB. I get relatively few APs, of course. From reading the Fora, I get the distinct impression that those who have their preferences set to AP only get a lot more APs than I do.

If I changed my prefs to AP only, no MB, BUT also said "send me anything you got if you don't have the apps (AP) I checked available"

1) would I get APs preferentially (to MB) when both are available?
2) would I still get MBs as before when no APs are available?
3) would I net more APs that way?

Thanks for any info!
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Message 1632464 - Posted: 25 Jan 2015, 4:51:20 UTC - in response to Message 1632436.  

Right now, I have my SETI preferences set to AP and MB. I get relatively few APs, of course. From reading the Fora, I get the distinct impression that those who have their preferences set to AP only get a lot more APs than I do.

If I changed my prefs to AP only, no MB, BUT also said "send me anything you got if you don't have the apps (AP) I checked available"

1) would I get APs preferentially (to MB) when both are available?
2) would I still get MBs as before when no APs are available?
3) would I net more APs that way?

Thanks for any info!


1) Yes.
2) Yes.
3) Yes, but not a lot more. Most work requests will happen when there are no AP tasks in the feeder pool, so you'll get MB's enough to fill the request.
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Message 1632466 - Posted: 25 Jan 2015, 4:54:59 UTC - in response to Message 1632436.  
Last modified: 25 Jan 2015, 4:55:27 UTC

Right now, I have my SETI preferences set to AP and MB. I get relatively few APs, of course. From reading the Fora, I get the distinct impression that those who have their preferences set to AP only get a lot more APs than I do.

If I changed my prefs to AP only, no MB, BUT also said "send me anything you got if you don't have the apps (AP) I checked available"

1) would I get APs preferentially (to MB) when both are available?
2) would I still get MBs as before when no APs are available?
3) would I net more APs that way?

Thanks for any info!

You will not really get any more AP than you do now if you do AP + other apps than you would with AP + MB enabled.
If you want to mostly do AP then you would set only AP & manually toggle MB when required. I have one venue set for MB only, one for AP only & one for MB + AP. If I see an AP only machine get down to only a few tasks remaining I switch it over to the MB + AP venue until more become available.

Given that my machines are not super speed demons I rarely have to do anything.
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Message 1632565 - Posted: 25 Jan 2015, 15:00:50 UTC
Last modified: 25 Jan 2015, 15:06:49 UTC

Well, I switched my prefs to be as described in the original post, and I have to say to Joe and HAL, you are right, but wrong:

As I understand it, the servers have a list of WUs (AP and MB) that they dispense to users when receiving requests. This used to be 100 WUs (but I think it was lengthened fairly recently to 200 IIRC). Anyway, when it is emptied, the servers have to refill it, so we get the "server has no WUs" response to a work request even though there are 300,000 WUs ready to be sent.

The way my prefs were before, if I asked for 3, I would get the first 3 in the queue (I think). Now, when I ask for 3, the queue seems to be scanned for APs, because that's all I am getting sent to me now. Presumably, if there were only 2 APs left in the queue, I would get 2 APs and an MB, though I haven't seen that case yet.

So barring slowdowns which force me to ask for large numbers of WUs in an Update, looks like I will get a LOT more APs than before.

EDIT: Just had a request for 2 WUs on one machine give me 2 MBs and no AP.
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Message 1632568 - Posted: 25 Jan 2015, 15:10:56 UTC

I have my prefs set to AP only, but accept MB if no AP is available.
I wish to do as much AP as possible, but don't want the kitties to see the crunchers idle. Or run off to get GPUGRID, which is set as runner up.

It is working well at present. All rigs are full up.
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Message 1632575 - Posted: 25 Jan 2015, 15:42:02 UTC

That's the way I am set up now, too, Mark.

My last few requests on both machines have gotten (roughly) 37 AP and 6 MB for GPU (I don't do AP on the CPU). In the past, the best I could hope for would have been a handful of AP in 40+ WUs.
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Message 1632576 - Posted: 25 Jan 2015, 15:43:13 UTC
Last modified: 25 Jan 2015, 15:45:23 UTC

With the changes to the feeder only sending out a maximum of 7 AP tasks the feeder may have AP work to send out much more frequently. However with AP + other set you will get MB work when the feeder has 0 AP work.
I am ok with going several hours or a few days with no new AP. Even with a queue of 100 AP my fastest GPU takes about 2 days to do them all.

For one of my machines that is AP only & rarely ever has to get switched to my AP+MB venue. Most of the requests of AP come back with 0.
Total number of work requests: 1000
Number of requests gaining work: 132
Number of requests not gaining work: 868

Tasks per request percent and count: Total
0 tasks: 86 %, 868
1 tasks:  9 %,  98
2 tasks:  2 %,  24
3 tasks:  0 %,   8
4 tasks:  0 %,   2
5 tasks:  0 %,   0
6 tasks:  0 %,   0
7 tasks:  0 %,   0
8 tasks:  0 %,   0
9 tasks:  0 %,   0

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Message 1632582 - Posted: 25 Jan 2015, 16:08:02 UTC

I dunno....
I currently have 1621 APs in play.
Across 9 rigs.
They are still filtering in.
I must just be lucky, or the kitty factor is playing into it.
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Message 1632619 - Posted: 25 Jan 2015, 17:28:39 UTC

Not sure if you are lucky or not, Mark. I am up to 86 APs in my queues now (2 machines) and it shows no sign of slacking off. And that is in less than 3 hours.

Fight ya for 'em!
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Message 1632661 - Posted: 25 Jan 2015, 18:46:52 UTC
Last modified: 25 Jan 2015, 18:47:21 UTC

Now up to 130 APs. In just 4 hours total.
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Message 1632670 - Posted: 25 Jan 2015, 19:03:11 UTC - in response to Message 1632661.  
Last modified: 25 Jan 2015, 19:03:39 UTC

Now up to 130 APs. In just 4 hours total.

1715 just now.
The kitties are doing well.

Meow.
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Message 1633756 - Posted: 28 Jan 2015, 0:12:37 UTC

Well, for one glorious day, my RAC was > 150K - 50% above my average before. (Yay!). Now it seems (with some help from the Tuesday outage) to be backing off some, but still looking like 125K+. And the average in my ACCOUNT page has jumped from ~100-103K to 110K in 2 days.

So those guys who do AP only have a point!

But I am still going to allow MB because I like to keep my rigs warm....
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Message 1635470 - Posted: 31 Jan 2015, 2:53:44 UTC - in response to Message 1633756.  

Well, for one glorious day, my RAC was > 150K - 50% above my average before. (Yay!). Now it seems (with some help from the Tuesday outage) to be backing off some, but still looking like 125K+. And the average in my ACCOUNT page has jumped from ~100-103K to 110K in 2 days.

So those guys who do AP only have a point!

But I am still going to allow MB because I like to keep my rigs warm....

I don't see the point myself in doing AP ONLY. Sure, if AP were constantly available....
When it is flowing freely, AP is cached on my rigs as much as possible. On a good AP splitting run, it becomes the main app in my caches. But I don't see the point in letting the caches running low and then having NO work if more AP is not just around the corner.
Sure, when AP starts to split again, it takes longer to get them, because of the space MB is taking in my caches, but it all works out.
And the kitties tell me they are happy with that arrangement.

Meow!
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Message 1635473 - Posted: 31 Jan 2015, 3:02:53 UTC - in response to Message 1635470.  

Mark you have horsepower most do not have, crunch on.
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Message 1635475 - Posted: 31 Jan 2015, 3:07:10 UTC - in response to Message 1635473.  

Mark you have horsepower most do not have, crunch on.

Thanks for reminding me that I come from a different perspective than some.
I now, thinking about what you are saying, understand that somebody with a slower rig could benefit from doing AP only, because they would not be as likely to run out of work between AP splitting runs.

I am sorry, my mindset at times just gets locked into the little world that I live in, and I forget to consider other situations where other choices make much more sense.

Thanks for giving me a nudge....LOL.

Meow.
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Message boards : Number crunching : Question about AP vs MB Preferences


 
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