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Thread 'CPDN processes stay in memory when computer in use'

Questions and Answers : Windows : CPDN processes stay in memory when computer in use
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Message 22854 - Posted: 22 May 2006, 18:58:07 UTC

Hi:) I\'ve searched other threads for answers but I don\'t seem to find the sollution. I have the BOINC client version 5.4.9 and I\'m running among others the CPDN application hadam3 4.07. In my preferences I have the settings to work only after computer is idle for 1 minute and not work when the computer is in use. I also have the option not to leave applications in memory while preempted set. After leaving the computer idle and returning after some time in my task manager I have 2 processes starting with hadam3 occupying my memory even though according to BOINC the last task from CPDN was removed from memory. Please tell me if this is normal behaviour and if not how to solve this problem. Thanks in advanced.
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Message 22856 - Posted: 22 May 2006, 19:40:25 UTC

From the FAQ about Prempting (does not answer your question, but you might want to know this):
Timeslicing between BOINC projects & potential lost work

If you are time slicing make sure you\'ve set your preferences to have Leave applications in memory while preempted? set to yes (the BOINC default is no). Climateprediction.net (CPDN) checkpoints every 144 Timesteps, and if you don\'t leave it in memory any calculations you\'ve done since the previous checkpoint will have to be redone when Climateprediction.net (CPDN starts up again. If other applications require the memory Climateprediction.net (CPDN) may get swapped out, but that\'s a much smaller overhead than you\'d get if you were preempted at 143 timesteps!


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ProfileMikeMarsUK
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Message 22861 - Posted: 23 May 2006, 7:33:21 UTC

There are two tasks per model - one does the actual climate modelling work (and should be getting the bulk of CPU time), and the other is it\'s controller, doesn\'t take much CPU time unless you are displaying the globe.

The name of one is a little longer than the name of the other.


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Message 22862 - Posted: 23 May 2006, 8:02:11 UTC

I have specified to leave the CPDN applications in memory. Although the bigger one is 50+MB it doesn\'t bother me, as the memory will be swapped out to the page file while it is not in use.
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Message 22866 - Posted: 23 May 2006, 9:33:47 UTC - in response to Message 22862.  

it doesn\'t bother me, as the memory will be swapped out to the page file while <B>it</B> is not in <B>use</B>.


While what is not in use and in use by what? Wraping it up, what did you mean it that sentence:) And if you can, please give me a link to some page describing BOINC processess usage of VM and RAM. Thanks in advance:)



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Message 22867 - Posted: 23 May 2006, 9:37:21 UTC - in response to Message 22856.  

From the FAQ about Prempting (does not answer your question, but you might want to know this): <CUT>


Thanks:) Right now I\'m more concerned about BOINC usage of my resources whan I\'m usning the PC than problems with restarting WU\'s. If I\'ll start to see BOINC not able to finish tasks than I will probably try to play with the settings to fix it.

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Message 22868 - Posted: 23 May 2006, 11:58:10 UTC - in response to Message 22867.  

\"Leave apps in memory when pre-empted\" is probably the safest bet. There will be two tasks per model run, (well three if you include the boinc.exe or four if you include boinc_mgr.exe! :-)

So if you are running one coupled model (i.e. hadcm3l* workunit) -- you will see a paused/idle hadcm3transum_* task (which is the actual climate model) and a hadcm3trans_* task (which is a model monitoring program, handles trickles etc).

There will be at worst about 50-70MB \"reserved\" for these tasks, so unless you really need that extra memory for something, you won\'t notice it (indeed hopefully you won\'t notice with the model running as they run at the lowest priority anyway)!
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Message 22881 - Posted: 24 May 2006, 7:23:50 UTC - in response to Message 22868.  

There will be at worst about 50-70MB \"reserved\" for these tasks, so unless you really need that extra memory for something, you won\'t notice it


If it was really only 70MB I would stand it but in my case the hadam3_um... process takes up about 460MB (380 VM + 85 RAM). And I don\'t have the \"Leave apps in memory when pre-empted\" set to yes only no. I still don\'t understand why they aren\'t removed from memory like the message in BOINC states.
I\'d be gratefull if someone has any suggestions how to solve this problem.
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Message 22883 - Posted: 24 May 2006, 7:52:58 UTC

I would strongly recommend against removing it from memory, it will dramatically slow down the model, and also make it much more likely to crash. The virtual memory component can be disregarded, since it doesn\'t count against your gig of physical ram.

What is probably happening is that the boinc manager hasn\'t downloaded the settings from the web site (press \'update\' to make it do this). But if you change this setting, it will make very little difference to your PC\'s memory handling, and will upset your model.
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Message 22886 - Posted: 24 May 2006, 8:34:45 UTC

As you\'re running hadam3 you should really have posed your question on the Seasonal Attribution Project site.

Keeping applications in memory isn\'t a great overhead. If another program requires the memory the OS will move the memory image for one or more inactive process to disk virtual memory and swap it back in when the process is next scheduled. Keeping in memory means that you don\'t have to recalculate timesteps done since the previous model checkpoint.

In SAP the potential for loss is much greater. My models are running at just under 53 minutes per checkpoint, so I\'d have to be inactive for nearly an hour to get any meaningful work done on the model if I was running with your preferences.
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Message 22966 - Posted: 29 May 2006, 9:01:32 UTC - in response to Message 22886.  

Thanks very much for all the info. I don\'t know why SAP stays in memory whaile the settings are for it to be removed but now I understand that it\'s better to change the settings to have all the projets stay in memory which is what I will do now. Thanks again.
Greetings:)

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Questions and Answers : Windows : CPDN processes stay in memory when computer in use

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