Don't lock up BoincTasks if one remote computer doesn't respond

Started by hucker, May 02, 2021, 11:15:41 AM

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hucker

I have 8 machines attached to Boinctasks.  Itself, 6 other Windows 10 PCs, and an Android 7 phone.  One of the PCs is old and tired and often crashes or doesn't respond.  Why does this lock up Boinctasks?  The whole screen goes blank, the menus are inoperative, and task manager reports it's using an entire CPU core.  What on earth is it doing?  Surely if there's no response from one machine, just display the others?

fred

Quote from: hucker on May 02, 2021, 11:15:41 AM
Surely if there's no response from one machine, just display the others?
I see two options.
1) Give all the good machines a group name
That way the good and the bad are in different groups.

2) In the expert tab set a timeout of e.g. 2 seconds.

hucker

Quote from: fred on May 03, 2021, 01:34:31 PM
Quote from: hucker on May 02, 2021, 11:15:41 AM
Surely if there's no response from one machine, just display the others?
I see two options.
1) Give all the good machines a group name
That way the good and the bad are in different groups.

2) In the expert tab set a timeout of e.g. 2 seconds.
I've tried setting timeout to 2, it was 20.  But it was locking up for way longer than 20 seconds when one of the machines played up the other day.  It was more like an hour.

I can't understand why the whole program gets stuck waiting for one reply.  So stuck I couldn't even click it, it went grey and windows said it was unresponsive.  Surely if there's no response from one machine, it should just display the others?

fred

Quote from: hucker on May 03, 2021, 05:06:54 PM
I can't understand why the whole program gets stuck waiting for one reply.  So stuck I couldn't even click it, it went grey and windows said it was unresponsive.  Surely if there's no response from one machine, it should just display the others?
I suspect this to be a low level ip transport problem, maybe a driver problem, impossible to simulate and fix.
Why not try the group solution?
Or try to fix what's wrong with the computer, that would be the preferred solution.

hucker

Quote from: fred on May 03, 2021, 05:34:46 PM
Quote from: hucker on May 03, 2021, 05:06:54 PM
I can't understand why the whole program gets stuck waiting for one reply.  So stuck I couldn't even click it, it went grey and windows said it was unresponsive.  Surely if there's no response from one machine, it should just display the others?
I suspect this to be a low level ip transport problem, maybe a driver problem, impossible to simulate and fix.
Why not try the group solution?
Or try to fix what's wrong with the computer, that would be the preferred solution.
It's an old machine not worth spending time on.  It runs most of the time and does some crunching.  I wouldn't trust it for anything important.

I just wanted to know why your program gets upset when it gets no reply.

fred

Quote from: hucker on May 03, 2021, 05:41:47 PM
I just wanted to know why your program gets upset when it gets no reply.
Thanks,

Try connecting this bad computer to the new BoincTasks Js.

hucker

Quote from: fred on May 04, 2021, 06:33:01 AM
Quote from: hucker on May 03, 2021, 05:41:47 PM
I just wanted to know why your program gets upset when it gets no reply.
Thanks,

Try connecting this bad computer to the new BoincTasks Js.
My mobile also causes slight problems as it loses wireless a lot (crappy receiver - the router is only 1 metre away!).

I'd like to try groups first.   But I can't find that setting.

fred

Quote from: hucker on May 05, 2021, 11:14:00 AM
I'd like to try groups first.   But I can't find that setting.
Go to the Computers
Give computer a group name, left column with the selection.
Computers are sorted by computer with the same group name.
https://forum.efmer.com/index.php?topic=780.0

hucker

Quote from: fred on May 05, 2021, 11:22:48 AM
Quote from: hucker on May 05, 2021, 11:14:00 AM
I'd like to try groups first.   But I can't find that setting.
Go to the Computers
Give computer a group name, left column with the selection.
Computers are sorted by computer with the same group name.
https://forum.efmer.com/index.php?topic=780.0
I put the dodgy computer and my phone into a group called "dodgy" by entering that name in their group column.  I've now got the group "all computers" showing 6 machines and "dodgy" showing 2 in the left column.  So was this just to find out if those two are the culprits?  I prefer them all to be displayed.  I'll leave the dodgy group selected and watch to see if it locks up, then switch to the good 6 and see if it still locks up.

fred

Quote from: hucker on May 05, 2021, 05:19:22 PM
I put the dodgy computer and my phone into a group called "dodgy" by entering that name in their group column.  I've now got the group "all computers" showing 6 machines and "dodgy" showing 2 in the left column.  So was this just to find out if those two are the culprits?  I prefer them all to be displayed.  I'll leave the dodgy group selected and watch to see if it locks up, then switch to the good 6 and see if it still locks up.
Give all computer a group name and place < in front of the group name.
That way both groups are selected when you start BoincTasks.
Or you can select just one group by placing a < before that group.