Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing
The Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> (BOINC, pronounced Template:IPAc-en Template:Ndashrhymes with "oink"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>) is an open-source middleware system for volunteer computing (a type of distributed computing).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Developed originally to support SETI@home,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> it became the platform for many other applications in areas as diverse as medicine, molecular biology, mathematics, linguistics, climatology, environmental science, and astrophysics, among others.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The purpose of BOINC is to enable researchers to utilize processing resources of personal computers and other devices around the world.
BOINC development began with a group based at the Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) at the University of California, Berkeley, and led by David P. Anderson, who also led SETI@home. As a high-performance volunteer computing platform, BOINC brings together 34,236 active participants employing 136,341 active computers (hosts) worldwide, processing daily on average 20.164 PetaFLOPS Template:As of<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (it would be the 21st largest processing capability in the world compared with an individual supercomputer).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The National Science Foundation (NSF) funds BOINC through awards SCI/0221529,<ref>Research and Infrastructure Development for Public-Resource Scientific Computing Template:Webarchive, The National Science Foundation</ref> SCI/0438443<ref>SCI: NMI Development for Public-Resource Computing and Storage Template:Webarchive, The National Science Foundation</ref> and SCI/0721124.<ref>SDCI NMI Improvement: Middleware for Volunteer Computing Template:Webarchive, The National Science Foundation</ref> Guinness World Records ranks BOINC as the largest computing grid in the world.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
BOINC code runs on various operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, macOS, Android,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Linux, and FreeBSD.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> BOINC is free software released under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL).
History
BOINC was originally developed to manage the SETI@home project. David P. Anderson has said that he chose its name because he wanted something that was not "imposing", but rather "light, catchy, and maybe - like 'Unix' - a little risqué", so he "played around with various acronyms and settled on 'BOINC'".<ref name=FAQ>The Name and Logo, by David P. Anderson, at Continuum-Hypothesis.com; published January 15, 2022; retrieved June 5, 2024</ref>
The original SETI client was a non-BOINC software exclusively for SETI@home. It was one of the first volunteer computing projects, and not designed with a high level of security. As a result, some participants in the project attempted to cheat the project to gain "credits", while others submitted entirely falsified work. BOINC was designed, in part, to combat these security breaches.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The BOINC project started in February 2002, and its first version was released on April 10, 2002. The first BOINC-based project was Predictor@home, launched on June 9, 2004. In 2009, AQUA@home deployed multi-threaded CPU applications for the first time,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> followed by the first OpenCL application in 2010.
As of 15 August 2022, there are 33 projects on the official list.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> There are also, however, BOINC projects not included on the official list. Each year, an international BOINC Workshop is hosted to increase collaboration among project administrators. In 2021, the workshop was hosted virtually.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
While not affiliated with BOINC officially, there have been several independent projects that reward BOINC users for their participation, including Charity Engine (sweepstakes based on processing power with prizes funded by private entities who purchase computational time of CE users), Bitcoin Utopia (now defunct), and Gridcoin (a blockchain which mints coins based on processing power).
Design and structure
BOINC is software that can exploit the unused CPU and GPU cycles on computer hardware to perform scientific computing. In 2008, BOINC's website announced that Nvidia had developed a language called CUDA that uses GPUs for scientific computing. With NVIDIA's assistance, several BOINC-based projects (e.g., MilkyWay@home. SETI@home) developed applications that run on NVIDIA GPUs using CUDA. BOINC added support for the ATI/AMD family of GPUs in October 2009. The GPU applications run from 2 to 10 times faster than the former CPU-only versions. GPU support (via OpenCL) was added for computers using macOS with AMD Radeon graphic cards, with the current BOINC client supporting OpenCL on Windows, Linux, and macOS. GPU support is also provided for Intel GPUs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
BOINC consists of a server system and client software that communicate to process and distribute work units and return results.
Mobile application
A BOINC app also exists for Android, allowing every person owning an Android device – smartphone, tablet and/or Kindle – to share their unused computing power. The user is allowed to select the research projects they want to support, if it is in the app's available project list.
By default, the application will allow computing only when the device is connected to a WiFi network, is being charged, and the battery has a charge of at least 90%.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some of these settings can be changed to users needs. Not all BOINC projects are available<ref name="BOINC_Projects">Template:Cite web</ref> and some of the projects are not compatible with all versions of Android operating system or availability of work is intermittent. Currently available projects<ref name="BOINC_Projects" /> are Asteroids@home, Einstein@Home, LHC@home, Moo! Wrapper, Rosetta@home, World Community Grid and Template:Ill. As of September 2021, the most recent version of the mobile application can only be downloaded from the BOINC website or the F-Droid repository as the official Google Play store does not allow downloading and running executables not signed by the app developer and each BOINC project has their own executable files.
User interfaces
BOINC can be controlled remotely by remote procedure calls (RPC), from the command line, and from a BOINC Manager. BOINC Manager currently has two "views": the Advanced View and the Simplified GUI. The Grid View was removed in the 6.6.x clients as it was redundant. The appearance (skin) of the Simplified GUI is user-customizable, in that users can create their own designs.
Account managers
A BOINC Account Manager is an application that manages multiple BOINC project accounts across multiple computers (CPUs) and operating systems. Account managers were designed for people who are new to BOINC or have several computers participating in several projects. The account manager concept was conceived and developed jointly by GridRepublic and BOINC. Current and past account managers include:
- BAM! (BOINC Account Manager) (The first publicly available Account Manager, released for public use on May 30, 2006)
- GridRepublic (Follows the ideas of simplicity and neatness in account management)
- Charity Engine (Non-profit account manager for hire, uses prize draws and continuous charity fundraising to motivate people to join the grid)
- Science United (An account manager designed to make BOINC easier to use which automatically selects vetted BOINC projects for users based on desired research areas such as "medicine" or "physics")<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
- Dazzler (Open-source Account Manager, to ease institutional management resources)
Credit system
- The BOINC Credit System is designed to avoid bad hardware and cheating by validating results before granting credit.
- The credit management system helps to ensure that users are returning results which are both statistically and scientifically accurate.
- Online volunteer computing is a complicated and variable mix of long-term users, retiring users and new users with different personal aspirations.
Projects
BOINC is used by many groups and individuals. Some BOINC projects are based at universities and research labs while others are independent areas of research or interest.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Active
| Project Name | Publications | Launched | Status | Operating System | GPU App | Sponsor | Category | Research Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| climateprediction.net | 152 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2003-12-09 | 307,359 volunteers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Windows, Linux, ARM, macOS<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:No | Oxford University | Climate change | Improve climate prediction models. Sub-project: Seasonal Attribution Project. |
| Einstein@Home | 42 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2005-02-19 | 1,041,796 volunteers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Windows, Linux, ARM, macOS, Android<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | GPU CPU | University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Max Planck Institute | Astrophysics | Search for pulsars using radio signals and gravitational wave data |
| Template:Ill | 9 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2007-02-10 | 6,811 volunteers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Windows, Linux<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:No | Template:Ill | Multiple applications | Research in discrete mathematics and logic control systems |
| GoofyxGrid@Home | 2016 | Template:No | Independent | Mathematics | Mathematically implement the Infinite monkey theorem | |||
| GPUGRID.net | 53 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2007-12-05 | 46,874 volunteers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Windows, Linux, macOS<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | NVIDIA GPU only | Barcelona Biomedical Research Park | Molecular biology | Perform full-atom molecular simulations of proteins on Nvidia GPUs for biomedical research |
| Template:Ill | 2 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite arXiv</ref> | 2019 | 507,079<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> + 180,789<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> volunteers | Windows, Linux, ARM<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:No | Template:Ill | Internet | Measurements and analyses of global Internet architecture structures |
| LHC@home | 71 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2004-01-09 | 178,623 volunteers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Windows, Linux, ARM, macOS, Android, FreeBSD<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:No | CERN | Physics | Help construct and test the Large Hadron Collider and search for fundamental particles |
| MilkyWay@home | 27 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2007-07-07 | 250,447 volunteers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Windows, Linux, macOS<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:No | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | Astronomy | Create a simulation of the Milky Way galaxy using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey |
| PrimeGrid | 3 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2005-06-12 | 353,261 volunteers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Windows, Linux, macOS<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | GPU CPU | Independent | Mathematics | Search for primes such as Generalized Fermat primes, 321 primes, Sierpiński numbers, Cullen-Woodall primes, Proth prime, and Sophie Germain primes. Subprojects include Seventeen or Bust, Riesel Sieve, and AP27 Search. |
| Template:Ill | Rosetta@home | 2006-02-15 | 5548 volunteers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Windows, Linux, ARM, macOS, Android<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | GPU CPU | University of Washington | Molecular biology | Test project for Rosetta@home |
| Rosetta@home | 234 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2005-10-06 | 1,373,480 volunteers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Windows, Linux, ARM, macOS, Android<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:No | University of Washington | Molecular biology | Protein structure prediction for disease research |
| Template:Ill | 8 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2013-12-19 | 3,201 volunteers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Windows, Linux, macOS<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:No | University of Trento | Genetics | Currently deploying gene@home work to expand gene networks |
| World Community Grid | 77 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2004-11-16 | 85,119 volunteers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Windows, Linux, ARM, macOS, Android<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | GPU CPU | Krembil Research Institute | Multiple applications | Subprojects: Open Pandemics - COVID-19. Clean Energy Project, GO Drug Search for Leishmaniasis, Fight Against Malaria, Computing for Clean Water, Discovering Dengue Drugs - Together, OpenZika, Help Cure Muscular Dystrophy, Help Defeat Cancer, Help Conquer Cancer, Help Fight Childhood Cancer, Smash Childhood Cancer, Human Proteome Folding Project, Uncovering Genome Mysteries, FightAIDS@Home, Let's outsmart Ebola together, Mapping Cancer Markers, Help Stop TB. |
| Template:Ill | 9 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2007-07-19 | 94,236 volunteers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, ARM, Solaris, Sony Playstation 3<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:No | Independent | Multiple applications | Using the BOINC Wrapper with existing volunteer projects |
Completed
| Project Name | Publications | Launched | Status | Operating System | GPU app | Sponsor | Category | Research Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC@Home | paper<ref>Template:Cite arXiv</ref> | 2006-11-21 | Template:No | Mathematical Institute of Leiden University | Mathematics | Find triples of the ABC conjecture | ||
| AQUA@home | 4 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2008-12-10 | GPU CPU | D-Wave Systems | Computer science | Predict the performance of Quantum computers | ||
| Artificial Intelligence System | Template:No | Intelligence Realm Inc | Artificial intelligence | Simulate the brain using Hodgkin–Huxley models via an artificial neural network | ||||
| Big and Ugly Rendering Project (BURP) | 2 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2004-06-17 | Template:No | Independent | Rendering (computer graphics) | Use BOINC infrastructure with Blender (software) to render animated videos | ||
| Template:Ill | paper<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> | 2009-01-06<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 67,719 volunteers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Windows, Linux, macOS<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | GPU CPU | Independent | Mathematics | Study the unsolved Collatz conjecture<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Template:Ill | 5 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2011<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:No | Biology | Examining genome organization | |||
| Cosmology@Home | 5 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2007-06-26 | 87,465 volunteers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Windows, Linux, macOS<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:No | Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris | Astronomy | Develop simulations that best describe The Universe |
| Docking@Home | 20 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2006-09-11<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:No | University of Delaware | Molecular biology | Use the CHARMM program to model protein-ligand docking. The goal was the development of pharmaceutical drugs. | ||
| Template:Ill | 12 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2009-10 | Template:No | MTA SZTAKI Laboratory of Parallel and Distributed Systems | Multiple applications | Support of scientific applications developed by the EGEE and EDGeS community | ||
| eOn | 6 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:No | University of Texas at Austin | Chemistry | Theoretical chemistry techniques to solve problems in condensed matter physics and materials science | |||
| Evolution@Home | 6 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:No | Evolutionary Biology | Improve understanding of evolutionary processes | ||||
| FreeHAL | 2006 | Template:No | Independent | Artificial intelligence | Compute information for software to imitate human conversation | |||
| HashClash | 11 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2005-11-24 | Template:No | Eindhoven University of Technology | Cryptography | Find collisions in the MD5 hash algorithm | ||
| Ibercivis | 18 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2008-06-22 | Template:No | Zaragoza, CETA-CIEMAT, CSIC, Coimbra | Multiple applications | Research in physics, material science and biomedicines | ||
| Leiden Classical | 2 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2005-05-12 | Template:No | Leiden University | Chemistry | Classical mechanics for students and scientists | ||
| Malaria Control Project | 26 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2006-12-19 | Template:No | Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute | Model Diseases | Stochastic modelling of clinical epidemiology and the natural history of Plasmodium falciparum malaria | ||
| MindModeling@Home | 6 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2007-07-07 | 24,574 volunteers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Windows, Linux, macOS<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:No | University of Dayton Research Institute and Wright State University | Cognitive science | Making cognitive models of the human mind |
| uFluids@Home | 3 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2005-09-19 | Template:No | Purdue University | Physics, Aeronautics | A computer simulation of two-phase flow behavior in microgravity and micro fluidics | ||
| OProject@Home | paper<ref>Template:Cite arXiv</ref> | 2012-08-13 | Template:No | Olin Library, Rollins College | Mathematics | Algorithm analysis. The library is open and available in the Code.google.com SVN repository. | ||
| orbit@home | paper<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> | 2008-04-03 | Template:No | Planetary Science Institute | Astronomy | Monitor near-earth asteroids | ||
| Template:Ill | 2004-06-02 | Template:No | 1 Vassar College
2 Spy Hill Research |
Software testing | Mission 1: Test BOINC software and help to develop Einstein@Home screensaver<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Mission 2: Develop forum software for Interactions in Understanding the Universe<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |||
| POEM@Home | 5 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2007-13-11 | Template:No | University of Karlsruhe | Molecular biology | Model Protein folding using Anfinsen's dogma | ||
| Predictor@home | 5 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2004-05-04 | Template:No | The Scripps Research Institute | Molecular biology | Test new methods of protein structure prediction and algorithms in the context of the Sixth Biannual CASP<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> experiment | ||
| proteins@home | 4 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2006-09-15 | Template:No | École polytechnique | Protein structure prediction | Contribute to a better understanding of many diseases and pathologies and to progress in Medicine and Technology | ||
| QMC@Home | 7 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2006-03-03 | Template:No | University of Münster | Chemistry | Study the structure and reactivity of molecules using quantum chemistry and Monte Carlo techniques | ||
| Quake-Catcher Network | 13 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2008-02-03 | Template:No | Stanford University, then | Seismology | Use accelerometers connected to personal computers and devices to detect earthquakes and to educate about seismology | ||
| Riesel Sieve | Template:No | Mathematics | Prove that 509,203 is the smallest Riesel number by finding a prime of the form k × 2n − 1 for all odd k smaller than 509,203 | |||||
| Template:Ill | 8 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2011-09 | Template:No | Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences | Mathematics | Solve discrete problems by reducing them to the problem of satisfiability of Boolean formulas | ||
| SETI@home | 12 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 1999-05-17 | 1,808,938 volunteers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Windows, Linux, macOS, Android<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | GPU CPU | University of California, Berkeley | Astronomy | Analyzing radio frequencies from space to search for extraterrestrial life. Sub project: Astropulse |
| SETI@home beta | see above | 2006-01-12 | GPU CPU | University of California, Berkeley | Software testing | Test project for SETI@home | ||
| SIMAP | 5 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2006-04-26 | Template:No | University of Vienna | Molecular biology | Investigated protein similarities | ||
| SLinCA@Home | 2010-09-14 | Template:No | National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine | Physics | Research in physics and materials science | |||
| Spinhenge@home | 3 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:No | Technion – Israel Institute of Technology | genetic linkage | Used genetic linkage analysis to find disease resistant genes | |||
| Template:Ill | 2 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2005-08-02<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:No | Tokyo University of Science | Molecular biology | Protein structure prediction using the Brownian dynamics method | ||
| The Lattice Project | 16 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2004-06-30<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:No | University of Maryland, College Park | Life science | Multiple applications | ||
| theSkyNet | 3 papers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2011-09-13 | Template:No | International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research | Astronomy | Analysis of radio astronomy data from telescopes |
See also
Template:Portal Template:Commons Template:Cols
- List of volunteer computing projects
- List of free and open-source Android applications
- List of grid computing projects
- List of citizen science projects
- List of crowdsourcing projects
- 3G Bridge
- Africa@home
- Citizen Cyberscience Centre
- distributed.net
- Folding@home
- Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search
- grid.org
- Gridcoin
- BOSSA