Join the Fight Against COVID-19 with Distributed Computing

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread globally, affecting individuals and businesses everywhere. People across the world are engaging in social distancing and businesses are hustling to provide their employees with remote work processes to enable work while prioritizing health and safety of the team. In addition to the efforts by companies to improve the employee experience while keeping the team safe, many organizations are directly contributing to the fight against COVID-19, helping global initiatives find the cure. Folding@Home and Rosetta@Home are two initiatives using the power of distributed computing to accelerate their work combatting the Coronavirus epidemic.

Rosetta@Home, part of University of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design, leverages distributing computing to build 3d models of proteins to discover a cure for Coronavirus. Folding@Home focuses on modeling protein folding to better understand how diseases are catalyzed from misfolding. In our recent article, “Modus Joins the COVID-19 Fight with Folding@Home and Rosetta@Home Distributed Computing” we share how Modus is contributing to these initiatives. We invite you to join Modus in the fight against COVID-19 by donating spare computing power to these initiatives. In this article, we share how you can contribute to Rosetta@Home and Folding@Home from your Windows, Linux, or Mac operating system.

Setting up Rosetta@Home on a Windows Device

For more information, see the below tips provided by Rosetta@Home.

BOINC Installation Options

You have the ability to change install options with the “Advanced” button on the configuration screen. The options are:

• Program directory: Where BOINC’s program files will be stored.
• Data directory: Where BOINC’s data files will be stored. This will be a hidden directory; its location is shown in the BOINC start up messages.
• Use BOINC screensaver: Use the BOINC screensaver for the current user.
• Service install: Run project applications under an unprivileged account. This provides increased protection against faulty applications, but it prevents BOINC from using your GPU, and it may cause graphics to not work with older applications.
• Allow all users on this computer to control BOINC: If selected (public mode), all users can control BOINC (attach/detach projects, etc.). If not selected (private mode), the only users who can control BOINC are: the installing user, members of the Administrator group, and members of the ‘boinc_users’ group. When other users run the BOINC Manager, they’ll be shown a dialog saying to contact the administrator to add them to the ‘boinc_users’ group.

Running BOINC Invisibly

To run BOINC invisibly, choose the “Service install” option, and then delete the BOINC shortcut from the Start/Programs/BOINC and Start/Programs/Startup menus (locate BOINC in each menu, right-click, select Delete).

Error Recovery

If you get an error error 1714, stating that the old installation can’t be removed when installing a new version of BOINC:

• Reinstall the previous version.
• Uninstall the previous version.
• Install the new version again.

Setting up Rosetta@Home on MacOS

Before getting started installing Rosetta@Home, read over the initiative’s Rules and Policies. Ready to get started? Check BOINC’s system requirements to ensure your device can run the client.

Installation

1. Expand the zip archive.
2. Run BOINC Installer then follow the prompts on screen.
3. If you want BOINC to run as your screensaver, open your device’s System Preferences, select Desktop & Screen Saver, and then select BOINCSaver.
4. The data directory of BOINC is saved by default at /Library/Application Support/BOINC Data. Rosetta@Home suggests users exclude this folder from Time Machine backups to prevent an increase in backup data size.
5. After installation, choose Rosetta@home from the list, or enter http://boinc.bakerlab.org/rosetta/

Setting up Rosetta@Home on a Linux Device

Installation of Rosetta@Home on your Linux device will depend on the package management system of your Linux distribution. If there is no client for your Linux distribution, Rosetta@Home requests that you open an issue on their Github page.

For more information on setting up Rosetta@Home on Linux, head over to the initiative’s official documentation and system requirements.

Setting up Folding@Home on Windows

Requirements

Folding@Home requires some specific software requirements to run on a Windows machine. Ensure your device has the following requirements to run the latest Folding@Home software. Take a look at the requirements to run Folding@Home in their official documentation.

Installation

After you have verified your device has the listed software requirements, you can quickly get started contributing to the initiative with Folding@Home’s simple installation process.

For more information on the installation process, check out Folding@Home’s official documentation.

Follow these steps to successfully install the Folding@Home client:

1. Download and run the installer.
2. Click Yes, Next, I Agree, Next, Finish.
Source
3. Enter a name and/or team #, and Passkey. Always use a Passkey.
4. Click Save.
5. Done.

Unable to install with the above steps? Take a look at Folding@Home’s documentation for an alternative installation method.

Setting up Folding@Home on Linux

Requirements

Folding@Home requires some specific software requirements to run on a Linux machine. Ensure your device has the following requirements to run the latest Folding@Home software. Take a look at the requirements to run Folding@Home in their official documentation.

Installation

After you have verified your device has the listed software requirements, you can quickly get started contributing to the initiative with Folding@Home’s simple installation process.

For more information on the installation process, check out Folding@Home’s official documentation.

Follow these steps to successfully install the Folding@Home client:

1. Download the package for your distribution.
2. Click Install Package.
3. Enter password and click OK.
4. Click Forward, click close.
5. Done

Setting up Folding@Home on MacOS

Requirements

Folding@Home requires some specific software requirements to run on MacOS. Ensure your device has the following requirements to run the latest Folding@Home software. Take a look at the requirements to run Folding@Home in their official documentation.

Installation

After you have verified your device has the listed software requirements, you can quickly get started contributing to the initiative with Folding@Home’s simple installation process.

For more information on the installation process, check out Folding@Home’s official documentation.

Follow these steps to successfully install the Folding@Home client:

1. Download and run the installer.
• Click Continue, Continue, Agree, Install.
• Enter admin user name and password.
• Click OK, Close.
2. Web Control page opens.
• Enter a name and/or team #, and Passkey. Always use a Passkey.
• Click Save.
3. Done.

Unable to install with the above steps? Take a look at Folding@Home’s documentation for an alternative installation method.

Conclusion

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, it is imperative that people across the globe come together to find a cure. Distributed computing allows initiatives like Folding@Home and Rosetta@Home to empower anyone to help fight the impact of the virus. Interested in learning more about what Modus and other organizations are doing to help? Check out our recent article, “Modus Joins the COVID-19 Fight with Folding@Home and Rosetta@Home Distributed Computing“.

Sources and Additional Information

Download the Rosetta@Home Client: https://boinc.bakerlab.org/join.php

Rosetta@Home User Manual: https://boinc.berkeley.edu/wiki/User_manual

Folding@Home Windows Installation Guide: https://foldingathome.org/support/faq/installation-guides/windows/

Folding@Home Linux Installation Guide: https://foldingathome.org/support/faq/installation-guides/linux/

Folding@Home Mac Installation Guide: https://foldingathome.org/support/faq/installation-guides/mac/