mfaktc: a CUDA program for Mersenne prefactoring

[storm5510]

Originally Posted by kriesel

A UPS sized to give even a few minutes of runtime on battery for a system with two ~240W GPUs and a couple of multicore cpus fully loaded is >1.5KVA in my experience. That is, 1.5KVA didn't do it; mains drop, UPS inverter overload-faults immediately. A total of 300W of GPU plus 12 cpu cores though, is ok. It will ride out the occasional lights-blinked or brief squirrel-short but not a sustained outage due to runtime limits. A 1.5KVA UPS is typically the top of the consumer/small office offerings readily available in local retail. A 2KVA UPS costs a LOT more than a 1.5.

To comfortably run what I have (two machines), I would need something above 600W. This is adding a bit of cushion. About the best GPU the older HP could handle would be something like a GTX 1060. What it has now is of no consequence. This 1080 rig can easily pass 300W if I work the i7 along with it. I commonly run Prime95 and a GPU process at the same time.

It is my understanding that a UPS is designed to maintain a running system in order to perform a proper shutdown as soon as possible. Is this incorrect?

[James Heinrich]

Originally Posted by storm5510

It is my understanding that a UPS is designed to maintain a running system in order to perform a proper shutdown as soon as possible. Is this incorrect?

Ideally a UPS should maintain power to the protected system until normal power is restored. For critical systems this may involve short-term battery backup long enough to get an alternative power source in place (e.g. diesel generator). This generally doesn't apply to home systems (but definitely applies to places like data centres and hospitals).
Most power interruptions at the residential level are very short (< 1s) to short (< 30s), in which case it entirely makes sense not to immediately trigger a system shutdown when the power will often be restored before the system even shuts down. Assuming your UPS has a nominal runtime of say 5 minutes, and it might typically take 2 minutes to orderly power down your system, the software should be configured to let the system run for 1-2 minutes on battery power before triggering a system shutdown. Most of the time this will let you ride out the short power interruption with no disruption. If it's longer than that then a shutdown is in order, and you want to make sure there's enough battery to shutdown cleanly.
In my case I allow things to run normally for 20 seconds, if the outage is longer than that I terminate mfaktc and Prime95 which cuts system power consumption to 25% of full-load, commensurately extending battery runtime by x4. If the power is still out after 5 minutes I have it set to do an orderly shutdown to conserve battery power. Since my UPS also powers my modem and router with any luck the internet still works and I can continue doing whatever I need online on a laptop or tablet (this happened to me about 6 months ago, power was out for 8+ hours but the UPS kept me online).

[storm5510]

Originally Posted by James Heinrich

Ideally a UPS should maintain power to the protected system until normal power is restored. For critical systems this may involve short-term battery backup long enough to get an alternative power source in place (e.g. diesel generator). This generally doesn't apply to home systems (but definitely applies to places like data centres and hospitals).
Most power interruptions at the residential level are very short (< 1s) to short (< 30s), in which case it entirely makes sense not to immediately trigger a system shutdown when the power will often be restored before the system even shuts down. Assuming your UPS has a nominal runtime of say 5 minutes, and it might typically take 2 minutes to orderly power down your system, the software should be configured to let the system run for 1-2 minutes on battery power before triggering a system shutdown. Most of the time this will let you ride out the short power interruption with no disruption. If it's longer than that then a shutdown is in order, and you want to make sure there's enough battery to shutdown cleanly.
In my case I allow things to run normally for 20 seconds, if the outage is longer than that I terminate mfaktc and Prime95 which cuts system power consumption to 25% of full-load, commensurately extending battery runtime by x4. If the power is still out after 5 minutes I have it set to do an orderly shutdown to conserve battery power. Since my UPS also powers my modem and router with any luck the internet still works and I can continue doing whatever I need online on a laptop or tablet (this happened to me about 6 months ago, power was out for 8+ hours but the UPS kept me online).

Periodically, I can hear the relay(s) in this UPS click. This suggests an extremely short duration interruption. I never see anything though. So, the UPS is functioning as it should. When there is an outage, it typically lasts several hours. They are never brief.

This unit is too small for my i7 and 1080 setup. It's limit is 300W. That would work fine for the HP. What I need to do is get another larger unit dedicated to this i7 only. Many have a USB connection, as mine does, so it can interact with the OS. I usually set the auto-shutdown to five minutes, just in case I am not here to tend to it manually.

[storm5510]

I will put this here because I cannot find anyplace more appropriate.

Since mersenne.ca went to a SSL connection, I have not been able to communicate with it. I have searched this entire site looking for clues as to what the problem may be. I am relatively certain the problem is on my end, because of finding no mention anywhere else.

Below is a capture of a command prompt window attempting to run James' batch file which is located on his reservation page. All this sails over my head, so if anyone see anything obvious, please respond.

Thank you.

[axn]

Originally Posted by storm5510

I will put this here because I cannot find anyplace more appropriate.

Since mersenne.ca went to a SSL connection, I have not been able to communicate with it. I have searched this entire site looking for clues as to what the problem may be. I am relatively certain the problem is on my end, because of finding no mention anywhere else.

Below is a capture of a command prompt window attempting to run James' batch file which is located on his reservation page. All this sails over my head, so if anyone see anything obvious, please respond.

Thank you.

Are you trying to access from your work/uni network? In that case, they might be trying to intercept the traffic.

[James Heinrich]

Originally Posted by storm5510

Since mersenne.ca went to a SSL connection, I have not been able to communicate with it. I have searched this entire site looking for clues as to what the problem may be.

Apparently you missed my reply to your email (check your spam folder?)

The old (v1.11.4) version of Wget for Windows from gnuwin32.sourceforge.net doesn't play nice with https (it can download fine but can't authenticate the certificates). You need to use the newer v1.19.4 build available from here:
https://eternallybored.org/misc/wget/

(alternately you can modify your wget commands to include --no-check-certificate and that will work, but getting the newer (working) version would be a better solution).

[storm5510]

Originally Posted by James Heinrich

Apparently you missed my reply to your email (check your spam folder?)

The old (v1.11.4) version of Wget for Windows from gnuwin32.sourceforge.net doesn't play nice with https (it can download fine but can't authenticate the certificates). You need to use the newer v1.19.4 build available from here:
https://eternallybored.org/misc/wget/

(alternately you can modify your wget commands to include --no-check-certificate and that will work, but getting the newer (working) version would be a better solution).

You were correct about the spam folder. It should not have gone there since I have you in my address book. Regardless, I marked it as 'not spam.'

I tried --no-check-certificate after web-searching to find out exactly where it should be placed in the line. Still no joy. This tells me there is definitely something amiss in my setup. I looked at the firewall settings. I didn't expect to find anything there, but it was worth a try. I don't actually have an environment variable for it. I used a fully qualified path instead.

I will download the new one, and congrats on the security upgrade. Most sites on the web are now https. The way things are it is almost a must-have.

Thank you for answering this dumb old boys' post.

[kladner]

Originally Posted by kladner

I am necessarily out of the TF business for a while.....

Just filed for RMA with Gigabyte.
EDIT: Approved within an hour!

[storm5510]

Originally Posted by kladner

Just filed for RMA with Gigabyte.
EDIT: Approved within an hour!

I paid for a three-year service plan when I got this Gigabyte GTX 1080. As much as I had to pay for it, at the time (April), I could not risk not having a backup plan. I hope I never need it. However, one never knows.

[kladner]

Originally Posted by storm5510

I paid for a three-year service plan when I got this Gigabyte GTX 1080. As much as I had to pay for it, at the time (April), I could not risk not having a backup plan. I hope I never need it. However, one never knows.

There is a 3 year warranty. What does the service plan add?

[kriesel]

Originally Posted by storm5510

Periodically, I can hear the relay(s) in this UPS click. This suggests an extremely short duration interruption.

There are other possibilities. Maybe it's a UPS that does not only straight passthrough, but slight stepup or stepdown of line voltage as well as run from battery, and there's a relay involved in that. These days, the most frequent cases seem to be passthrough and downregulation. Line voltages have been ramping up over the decades.
Now nominally 120V, US single phase voltage used to be called 115V and before that 110, and before that 108, but a KillaWatt will often show 123V or more at the wall socket. A well designed UPS protects not only against zero volts, but sags, surges, and spikes. Just now my wall outlet read 123V, and sagged less than 1V with a toaster load added.

A relay clicking is something I commonly hear on UPSes doing battery test while continuing to carry the load, at a time selected by the UPS, while the line voltage is still good. That's how UPSes detect it's time to replace the battery and light that expensive LED on the front; the battery fails the UPS selftest.