Rosetta user Corgi asks:

I have a few devices running BOINC (Windows desktop and laptop, Android), and especially now that SETI is hibernating, I wanted to add extra power to Rosetta. However, whenever I try updating the desktop, I get a brief 'Communication deferred' and then no apparent response - no workunits at all, and from the numbers, no workunits for quite some time either (i.e., pre-December). I saw the note about '[Increase] the amount of time you're willing to wait for more tasks' but aside from not being sure where that setting is, it doesn't really explain the 'communication deferred'.

BOINC Manager 7.14.2 (x64)

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Rosetta Moderator: Mod.Sense

Rosetta user Corgi asks:

I have a few devices running BOINC (Windows desktop and laptop, Android), and especially now that SETI is hibernating, I wanted to add extra power to Rosetta. However, whenever I try updating the desktop, I get a brief 'Communication deferred' and then no apparent response - no workunits at all, and from the numbers, no workunits for quite some time either (i.e., pre-December). I saw the note about '[Increase] the amount of time you're willing to wait for more tasks' but aside from not being sure where that setting is, it doesn't really explain the 'communication deferred'.

BOINC Manager 7.14.2 (x64)

Whenever a client communicates with the server, at the end of the communication, they agree a period where the client will defer any further communication. This can be anywhere from 7 seconds (Rosetta) to 3636 seconds (Climate Prediction) and is to reduce the load on the server by preventing a client from bombarding the server with messages.

If you want to know more about the results of the request open the event log (Shift-Ctrl-E) and you'll see why there are no apparent results.

Yup, that message alone is completely unrelated to not receiving work units. It is just the time before BOINC will retry to contact the project, unless you manually clic update. Completely normal.
For the reason of your problem check the message log. If it just says received 0 WU well, so many people joined this project in the past weeks that work has been scarce lately!

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Thank you for quick replies. I had reset the project, and this was the logged response:

06/04/2020 10:38:38 | Rosetta@home | Resetting project
06/04/2020 10:38:42 | Rosetta@home | update requested by user
06/04/2020 10:38:47 | Rosetta@home | Master file download succeeded
06/04/2020 10:38:52 | Rosetta@home | Sending scheduler request: Requested by user.
06/04/2020 10:38:52 | Rosetta@home | Not requesting tasks: don't need (CPU: not highest priority project; NVIDIA GPU: not highest priority project)
06/04/2020 10:38:54 | Rosetta@home | Scheduler request completed

Um. 'Don't need'?

Try suspending the other projects, I suppose only SETI?
It says you have 2 running Rosetta WUs but you then resetted them?

That message means another project has a higher priority but if you only have SETI and it has no works...

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I have a few devices running BOINC (Windows desktop and laptop, Android), and especially now that SETI is hibernating, I wanted to add extra power to Rosetta. However, whenever I try updating the desktop, I get a brief 'Communication deferred' and then no apparent response - no workunits at all, and from the numbers, no workunits for quite some time either (i.e., pre-December). I saw the note about '[Increase] the amount of time you're willing to wait for more tasks' but aside from not being sure where that setting is, it doesn't really explain the 'communication deferred'.

BOINC Manager 7.14.2 (x64)

I think the note is just advice to people owning the computers, and does not refer to a specific setting.

Currently, the flood of new users has increased the requests for new tasks to much faster than the project in generating them.

'Communication deferred' is probably just that program's way of saying "no tasks currently available".

You might want to add World Community Grid as another BOINC project on your computer. They are planning to add a COVID-19 subproject soon, but don't have it ready yet.

https://join.worldcommunitygrid.org?recruiterId=480838

Select at least one of their existing subprojects so that your account will set up properly. Be sure that you enable adding any new subprojects when they are created.

I expect the flow of tasks from their COVID-19 subproject to be very thin at first. This is typical for their new subprojects.

This gives your computer something useful to do while waiting for an increased number of COVID-19 tasks.

However, whenever I try updating the desktop, I get a brief 'Communication deferred' and then no apparent response - no workunits at all, and from the numbers, no workunits for quite some time either (i.e., pre-December).

Check your Event log to see what the responses from the Servers are. Rosetta doesn't actually respond with a "No work available message if there isn't any. You need to check the Server Status page- but it gets updated hourly, so it is of limited use in that regard).

I saw the note about '[Increase] the amount of time you're willing to wait for more tasks' but aside from not being sure where that setting is

It is set by the project, it;s the maximum number of days the project will wait for you to return a Task before yours is cancelled & another is sent out.

it doesn't really explain the 'communication deferred'.

"Communication deferred" is a project configurable setting to reduce the load on the servers. Rosetta's appears to be a matter of seconds, other projects 5 or 10min. In the BOINC Manager (Advanced view) If you select Rosetta in the Projects tab, then click on Properties (and probably need to scroll down a bit) you will see if the Manager has gone in to it's own backoff period- the more unsuccessful requests there are, the longer the backoff becomes.

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Grant
Darwin NT

Grant: 'the more unsuccessful requests there are, the longer the backoff becomes.'

Important tip, thanks! I guess I'll just leave things be.

I see you completed 2 WUs and have 2 more running so I suppose you are receiving them!

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