InfoMessage
1) Message boards : Theory Application : boinc-buda-runner V4 and BOINC 8.2.8
Message 9215
Posted 3 Dec 2025 by computezrmle
It's just one out of many open points that need to be solved before docker/podman based apps are ready for production.
2) Message boards : Theory Application : boinc-buda-runner V4 and BOINC 8.2.8
Message 9213
Posted 2 Dec 2025 by computezrmle
Forward a proxy via environment variable.
More details can be found here:
https://lhcathomedev.cern.ch/lhcathome-dev//forum_thread.php?id=682&postid=8628
https://lhcathomedev.cern.ch/lhcathome-dev/forum_thread.php?id=682&postid=8607
3) Message boards : CMS Application : Computation Error
Message 9195
Posted 15 Nov 2025 by computezrmle
I wonder what you test here for CMS atm.
The very same BOINC app is available via prod for roughly a year and even if a new VM image would be in use here it would get the scientific jobs from the same backend queue as prod.


As for your log:

"The filename or extension is too long." is misleading on Windows.
Ever since vboxwrapper reports exit number 206 (EXIT_INIT_FAILURE) when the initialization phase fails.
Unlike Linux/Apple Windows doesn't understand it and expands it to something weird.

The real error is caused by the missing x509 credential.
Unfortunately this is due to a service failure at CERN that happens rather often (too often) in the past weeks.

You can do nothing on your side to fix it but you may try a client at prod instead.
4) Message boards : General Discussion : Xtrack Beam simulation 0.05
Message 9185
Posted 12 Nov 2025 by computezrmle
There's nothing new.
At least nothing related to BOINC.
Like CMS Theory VMs on dev and prod get their work from the same backend queues.
Hence, valid results here deliver useful scientific data.
5) Message boards : General Discussion : Xtrack beam simulation v0.04
Message 9151
Posted 25 Sep 2025 by computezrmle
There's a clear definition here:
https://github.com/BOINC/boinc/wiki/AppVersion
https://github.com/BOINC/boinc/wiki/BetaTest

Apps on the dev site are always beta.
Xtrack on prod is clearly marked as beta test here:
https://lhcathome.cern.ch/lhcathome/apps.php

To get beta tasks it must be enabled here:
https://lhcathome.cern.ch/lhcathome/prefs.php?subset=project

q.e.d.
6) Message boards : General Discussion : Xtrack beam simulation v0.04
Message 9149
Posted 25 Sep 2025 by computezrmle
Even on the prod site Xtrack is clearly marked as beta app which needs explicit opt-in.
Cancelling a whole batch may be necessary to avoid badly configured tasks hang around for a long time.

Beta apps always need close monitoring by the user and it would be a good idea to start with a small buffer of few tasks instead of many hundreds.

If anybody can't deal with it, disable beta apps and wait for a stable version.
7) Message boards : General Discussion : Xtrack beam simulation v0.04
Message 9114
Posted 22 Sep 2025 by computezrmle
This is a very old BOINC behaviour that can always be observed in connection with new apps/app versions.
At least work fetch, credit calculation and estimated time left are based on a couple of input values which are not even constants.

Overcommitted computers or very low (sometimes very high!) credits per task are typical results of this.

It always takes a while until this stabilises.
The more runtimes vary the longer it takes (or becomes even worse).


There is not really anything the project can do as the root cause must be solved in the BOINC code (server and client).
8) Message boards : CMS Application : New Version v61.25
Message 9105
Posted 22 Sep 2025 by computezrmle
Once an app version has successfully been tested here for a while it may be implemented at the prod site.
From that point it usually makes not much sense to run that app version here any more.

CMS has 100 tasks available because they are automagically created by a script up to that limit.
9) Message boards : Theory Application : A month with....Docker
Message 9024
Posted 8 Sep 2025 by computezrmle
The log tells you what's wrong:
"The cgroupv2 manager is set to systemd but there is no systemd user session available".

The podman manual tells you to set "cgroup-manager=cgroupfs" in containers.conf instead:
https://docs.podman.io/en/stable/markdown/podman.1.html#cgroup-manager-manager

Please make yourself familiar with the podman manual.
10) Message boards : Theory Application : Docker on Windows
Message 9016
Posted 4 Sep 2025 by computezrmle
In reply to Yeti's message of 4 Sep 2025:
... what to do that podman respects / uses the proxy-setting to my squid

See this:
https://lhcathomedev.cern.ch/lhcathome-dev//forum_thread.php?id=682&postid=8628#8628
https://lhcathomedev.cern.ch/lhcathome-dev//forum_thread.php?id=701&postid=8763
11) Message boards : CMS Application : New Version 60.64
Message 9008
Posted 30 Aug 2025 by computezrmle
Unlike ATLAS CMS requires the #cores to be set at creation time (before tasks are sent to a client).
For quite a while a 4-core configuration seems to be a good compromise between performance and total runtime.
Changing the #cores or creating batches with different #core settings (which has been tested) just causes a lot of weird trouble on the BOINC client side as well as on other task levels like glidein. Hence this should be avoided.

Since the CMS queue feeds tasks from dev as well as from prod the #cores is the same for both projects.
12) Message boards : General Discussion : Forum button text hard to read
Message 8888
Posted 9 Jul 2025 by computezrmle
The dev forum presents button text "white on light grey" which is very hard to read.
On prod it's "black on light grey".

Please adjust the colour here.
13) Message boards : Theory Application : Docker on Mac
Message 8787
Posted 29 Apr 2025 by computezrmle
Check the permissions:
ls -dhal /usr/bin
dr-xr-xr-x 1 root root 62K 25. Apr 06:05 /usr/bin

If 'w' is not set, run 'chmod +w /usr/bin' to allow it.
Then create the link and finally remove the 'w' running 'chmod -w /usr/bin'.
14) Message boards : Theory Application : Docker on Mac
Message 8784
Posted 28 Apr 2025 by computezrmle
Due to a bug in BOINC it tries to execute the command "unknown" instead of "docker" or "podman".
Since "unknown" does not exist you get "command not found".

To make it work create a symbolic link "unknown" which points to "docker" or "podman" (whatever you have installed), like:
ln -s /usr/bin/podman /usr/bin/unknown
15) Message boards : Theory Application : integrate Docker-IP in LAN - Win11pro
Message 8763
Posted 22 Apr 2025 by computezrmle
In reply to maeax's message of 22 Apr 2025:
CVMFS_HTTP_PROXY="http://10.xxx.yyy.zzz:3128| CVMFS_HTTP_PROXY="http://10.xxx.yyy.zzz:3128" | CVMFS_HTTP_PROXY="http://10.xxx.yyy.zzz:3128|direct"

This is wrong!
The correct syntax is described here:
https://cvmfs.readthedocs.io/en/stable/cpt-configure.html#proxy-lists
Beside that it is important NOT to add DIRECT to the first proxy group!
Instead, add it at the end, separated by a ';'.

If you have a single local proxy, the preferred solution is to configure it via 'grid-wpad' 1) and set:
CVMFS_HTTP_PROXY="auto;DIRECT"

2nd best is to configure it via the BOINC client.

Last option is to configure it via the environment like this:
CVMFS_HTTP_PROXY="http://p1.site.example.org:3128;DIRECT"



If you have at least 2 local proxies, the preferred solution is to configure them via 'grid-wpad' 1) and set:
CVMFS_HTTP_PROXY="auto;DIRECT".

To configure this via BOINC is not possible.

Last option is to configure them via the environment like this:
CVMFS_HTTP_PROXY="http://p1.site.example.org:3128|http://p2.site.example.org:3128;DIRECT"
CVMFS_PROXY_SHARD=yes

That way CVMFS_HTTP_PROXY defines load balancing per client 2) between p1 and p2 as well as failover.
DIRECT is only used if both proxies do not respond.
'CVMFS_PROXY_SHARD=yes' enables load balancing between p1 and p2 on request level (requires a recent CVMFS client).
The recent Theory apps automatically enable CVMFS_PROXY_SHARD.


The latter allows load balancing between p1 and p2



1) requires a local service 'grid-wpad' that delivers a valid wpad.dat via http://grid-wpad/wpad.dat
2) here: per task/container if the CVMFS instance on the host is used
16) Message boards : Theory Application : BOINC client v8.2.1
Message 8751
Posted 18 Apr 2025 by computezrmle
In reply to maeax's message of 18 Apr 2025:
set local proxy:
wsl
CVMFS_HTTP_PROXY="http://xx.yy.zz:3128"

This is incomplete.
To avoid CVMFS configures an unwanted backup proxy (e.g. from CERN) 'DIRECT' must be added.
CVMFS_HTTP_PROXY="http://xx.yy.zz:3128;DIRECT"
17) Message boards : Theory Application : BOINC client v8.2.1
Message 8744
Posted 17 Apr 2025 by computezrmle
Yes.
Add the missing packages in this line:
dnf install -y libxcrypt-compat bc bzip2 lighttpd procps-ng make gcc which cvmfs && \

Must be:
dnf install -y libxcrypt-compat bc bzip2 lighttpd procps-ng make gcc which cvmfs bind-utils netcat && \

The 'remove' error can be ignored for now but the lighttpd ipv6 issue may need a fix in the config file.
Without lighttpd the proxy configuration can't be forwarded to CVMFS.
18) Message boards : Theory Application : BOINC client v8.2.1
Message 8742
Posted 17 Apr 2025 by computezrmle
Please post the Dockerfile sent with this app.
I suspect there's something missing.
19) Message boards : Theory Application : BOINC client v8.2.1
Message 8732
Posted 17 Apr 2025 by computezrmle
Either use a CVMFS client on the host

or manually create the directory /cvmfs and set the permissions to 777.
This ensures it can be mounted from inside the container.
20) Message boards : Theory Application : New vbox version v7.49
Message 8714
Posted 16 Apr 2025 by computezrmle
In reply to boboviz's message of 16 Apr 2025:
But still no download.
I'll try to update VBox to solve....

Did you set '<dont_use_vbox>1</dont_use_vbox>' in cc_config.xml?

To get vbox tasks this must be removed or set to
<dont_use_vbox>0</dont_use_vbox>
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