Running DC on quad-core problem.

jasong · 2007-09-22, 23:35

Can anyone think of a reason that a Linux box(Ubuntu Feisty Fawn) would quit running nice-19 projects on a random core, even though projects with a higher priority will run, but the higher priority projects don't even come close to maxing out the misbehaving core? It doesn't seem to matter what core it is, either. So far, I've seen it happen on cores 0 and 3.

It's an E6600 cpu, I forget which motherboard, with 2Gig of RAM. My dad thinks he has a vague idea what the problem is, based on what I've told him. I think he said something about the OS settings. I'm sorry that's so vague.

Basically, I've got three cores maxed out, and a fourth one that still operates, but refuses to run my DC project. Is it possible my Ubuntu program is reserving a core specifically for the OS?

Xyzzy · 2007-09-23, 00:06

If you run out of memory the kernel will kill processes.

http://linux-mm.org/OOM_Killer

Note the part about niceness.

jasong · 2007-09-23, 01:05

I appreciate the link Xyzzy, but I'm not sure if it applies to me. I have 4 instances of DC projects running, 2 have 100% utilization, and 2 have 50%. Altogether, they use about 5% of the memory. If I'm running out of memory, the culprit is probably Firefox. But I use Firefox much more on my 1Gig Linux box, and I don't think I've ever had memory problems with it. It's the same OS by the way, Ubuntu Feisty Fawn 7.04.

Xyzzy · 2007-09-23, 06:29

There are two files that may contain clues.

Code:

/var/log/syslog
/var/log/messages

If you can duplicate the behavior try watching these files to see what the kernel says when it terminates the process. Example:

Code:

tail -f /var/log/messages

Your first goal is finding the conditions to duplicate the behavior.

Both files track all sorts of stuff and you can view the archive of events. The archives are stored like messages.1.gz and can be read with zcat. Example:

Code:

zcat syslog.1.gz | less

What program is being killed? Perhaps it is just a software error. What does the terminal say when it is killed?

Nothing happens without a "paper trail" in Linux.

Note: You have to be root to view those files. Since you are using Ubuntu that means using sudo. Just be careful what you type in.

jasong · 2007-09-24, 02:40

I really appreciate your help, Xyzzy, and I have looked at those files, though nothing jumps out at me.

I really don't think it comes from an out-of-memory problem, since I rebooted about 45 minutes ago, started my programs immediately, and still had a core that refused to run my DC project.

I'm wondering if the extra core would accept my DC projects if they were a higher priority. It could be I accidentally enabled a feature that reserved one core for high-priority tasks. I might try changing the niceness level to on one of the instances to see what happens.

jasong · 2007-10-10, 00:48

I think I'm living in Bizzaro world. I wanted to get BOINC running under Wine, since a project called PrimeGrid only has Windows apps available. Well, I got it working, and the fourth core is running now.

I don't know if it has something to do with Wine, or if it was the restart. I'm going to watch it and see what happens.

jasong · 2007-10-25, 22:30

I've come up with a possible theory(more generally used definition, rather than the mathematical or scientific definition) for why my computer seems to be randomly going down to only 3 cores.

My guess is that Ubuntu has some sort of safety feature for when the load average(I don't know of an equivalent in Windows, Google "linux load average" if you're curious :) ) gets too high. I'm thinking the load average could be indirectly related to the temperature of a cpu, so maybe if any of the load averages go more than 10-15% over the number of available cores, things get shut down.

It's just a theory, partially based on the two facts that (1) restarting only sometimes brings the core back, and (2) sometimes it comes back on it's own.

jasong · 2007-10-25, 22:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

You have to be root to view those files. Since you are using Ubuntu that means using sudo. Just be careful what you type in.

I managed to open the files by right-clicking and clicking open. When I tried to open them through a bash prompt, the OS said they were write-protected. So I'm guessing if I had tried to edit them the OS would have complained.

jasong · 2007-10-29, 00:58

(sorry for the three posts in a row :( )

Yeah, I'm almost certain it's the load average. I remember reading something about a points system related to the load average. The two DC processes that are restricted to only using 50% power(100% being equal to one core) each have 4 and 1 point(s) when I grep them.

I'm going to Google "linux load average" to verify whether or not I'm correct.

Tumo · 2007-10-29, 01:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasong

(sorry for the three posts in a row :( )

Yeah, I'm almost certain it's the load average. I remember reading something about a points system related to the load average. The two DC processes that are restricted to only using 50% power(100% being equal to one core) each have 4 and 1 point(s) when I grep them.

I'm going to Google "linux load average" to verify whether or not I'm correct.

Jasong,
First... HI! Long time no chat! (and hi to all).

Regarding your quad core, I am a bit out of date with your hardware config. You do have some power-management / heat preservation features built into the cpu. If you, or anyone, would like, I am willing to share what I have/know and that I am successfully AMD dual and quad-core machines (Opties) on Fedora and win/2k. I successfully ran a prototype AMD cpu last summer with no problems.
The key is your power supply chain (from the wall through the PS to the mobo).
I offer my services to anyone in need... (Intel or AMD)
I will also research Ubuntu and make sure the appropriate drivers / modules are installed. I had a problem with Gentoo that sounds like what you are having now, and that was with simple, 3.06G dual-cpu, single-core Intels.
Again, anyone is welcome to PM me as needed (if preferred). I offer my services to all, in the thread or in private.

Chuck

Xyzzy · 2007-10-29, 02:02

It isn't load average. If it was, how could you explain this box? (It has only one core.)

Code:

top - 22:00:18 up 12 days,  8:20,  5 users,  load average: 4.95, 4.28, 4.13
Tasks: 110 total,   5 running, 105 sleeping,   0 stopped,   0 zombie
Cpu0  :  2.7%us,  0.8%sy, 94.5%ni,  0.5%id,  0.0%wa,  0.6%hi,  0.9%si,  0.0%st
Mem:   1034872k total,   831636k used,   203236k free,    34924k buffers
Swap:  1034872k total,       84k used,  1034788k free,   389024k cached

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Load_average

2007-09-22, 23:35	#1
jasong "Jason Goatcher" Mar 2005 3507₁₀ Posts	Running DC on quad-core problem. Can anyone think of a reason that a Linux box(Ubuntu Feisty Fawn) would quit running nice-19 projects on a random core, even though projects with a higher priority will run, but the higher priority projects don't even come close to maxing out the misbehaving core? It doesn't seem to matter what core it is, either. So far, I've seen it happen on cores 0 and 3. It's an E6600 cpu, I forget which motherboard, with 2Gig of RAM. My dad thinks he has a vague idea what the problem is, based on what I've told him. I think he said something about the OS settings. I'm sorry that's so vague. Basically, I've got three cores maxed out, and a fourth one that still operates, but refuses to run my DC project. Is it possible my Ubuntu program is reserving a core specifically for the OS?

2007-09-23, 06:29	#4
Xyzzy "Mike" Aug 2002 2⁵×257 Posts	There are two files that may contain clues. Code: /var/log/syslog /var/log/messages If you can duplicate the behavior try watching these files to see what the kernel says when it terminates the process. Example: Code: tail -f /var/log/messages Your first goal is finding the conditions to duplicate the behavior. Both files track all sorts of stuff and you can view the archive of events. The archives are stored like messages.1.gz and can be read with zcat. Example: Code: zcat syslog.1.gz \| less What program is being killed? Perhaps it is just a software error. What does the terminal say when it is killed? Nothing happens without a "paper trail" in Linux. Note: You have to be root to view those files. Since you are using Ubuntu that means using sudo. Just be careful what you type in.

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2007-09-23, 00:06	#2
Xyzzy "Mike" Aug 2002 2⁵×257 Posts	If you run out of memory the kernel will kill processes. http://linux-mm.org/OOM_Killer Note the part about niceness.

2007-09-23, 01:05	#3
jasong "Jason Goatcher" Mar 2005 110110110011₂ Posts	I appreciate the link Xyzzy, but I'm not sure if it applies to me. I have 4 instances of DC projects running, 2 have 100% utilization, and 2 have 50%. Altogether, they use about 5% of the memory. If I'm running out of memory, the culprit is probably Firefox. But I use Firefox much more on my 1Gig Linux box, and I don't think I've ever had memory problems with it. It's the same OS by the way, Ubuntu Feisty Fawn 7.04.

2007-09-24, 02:40	#5
jasong "Jason Goatcher" Mar 2005 3·7·167 Posts	I really appreciate your help, Xyzzy, and I have looked at those files, though nothing jumps out at me. I really don't think it comes from an out-of-memory problem, since I rebooted about 45 minutes ago, started my programs immediately, and still had a core that refused to run my DC project. I'm wondering if the extra core would accept my DC projects if they were a higher priority. It could be I accidentally enabled a feature that reserved one core for high-priority tasks. I might try changing the niceness level to on one of the instances to see what happens.

2007-10-10, 00:48	#6
jasong "Jason Goatcher" Mar 2005 6663₈ Posts	I think I'm living in Bizzaro world. I wanted to get BOINC running under Wine, since a project called PrimeGrid only has Windows apps available. Well, I got it working, and the fourth core is running now. I don't know if it has something to do with Wine, or if it was the restart. I'm going to watch it and see what happens.

2007-10-25, 22:30	#7
jasong "Jason Goatcher" Mar 2005 3507₁₀ Posts	I've come up with a possible theory(more generally used definition, rather than the mathematical or scientific definition) for why my computer seems to be randomly going down to only 3 cores. My guess is that Ubuntu has some sort of safety feature for when the load average(I don't know of an equivalent in Windows, Google "linux load average" if you're curious :) ) gets too high. I'm thinking the load average could be indirectly related to the temperature of a cpu, so maybe if any of the load averages go more than 10-15% over the number of available cores, things get shut down. It's just a theory, partially based on the two facts that (1) restarting only sometimes brings the core back, and (2) sometimes it comes back on it's own.

2007-10-29, 00:58	#9
jasong "Jason Goatcher" Mar 2005 3507₁₀ Posts	(sorry for the three posts in a row :( ) Yeah, I'm almost certain it's the load average. I remember reading something about a points system related to the load average. The two DC processes that are restricted to only using 50% power(100% being equal to one core) each have 4 and 1 point(s) when I grep them. I'm going to Google "linux load average" to verify whether or not I'm correct.