Xubuntu Linux and BOINC

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With more of our dedicated DC crunchers being 64-bit processor based machines, these days, we decided to narrow our choices down for a 64-bit operating system that would take advantage of the new hardware. Linux was the obvious choice, and after trying a plethora of distributions we had decided on Ubuntu, for a number of reasons. We further narrowed it down to Xubuntu because we wanted a lighter weight distro that was easy to install and maintain, didn't use any more system resources than necessary and wouldn't require hours and hours of configuration changes to fine tune it for our purposes.

Xubuntu has a simple, efficient installer and a graphical partitioning tool that makes getting the system up and running a breeze. It doesn't install an excessive amount of packages, uses the Debian package handler (which we've always loved) and the XFCE desktop environment (GUI) that is perfect for our needs. Linux distributions vary quite a bit on how they handle package configuration, and we got used to the Xubuntu methods quickly. Overall, we found it a bit easier than most other distributions.

This HOWTO will discuss installing Xubuntu on a machine used as a dedicated cruncher, that is, one that crunches distributed computing projects 24/7/365 and is seldom used for other purposes. We also will be assuming that the machine's processor is an AMD or Intel 64-bit CPU, although most of the HOWTO will apply to installing and configuring the 32-bit versions of Xubuntu, as well. Most of our dedicated crunchers run headless (no monitor, keyboard or mouse) and are controlled by way of a VNC server on the crunchers, and a VNC client on a workstation used to control the machines remotely. We'll be discussing how to get this configuration up and going, as well.

What is Xubuntu?

You'll want to do a few things in the way of preparation. If your cruncher is already up and running on another operating system, with a working network and internet connection, your Xubuntu install will go a lot more quickly and with fewer headaches. If you're going to be controlling the dedicated crunchers with VNC (Virtual Network Computing) then you'll want to configure the machines and your router so that the crunchers use a static IP address in order that you can connect to them for administration purposes.

For example, if your home network's router uses 192.168.0.1 as its gateway IP, then you might want to assign the crunchers static IP addresses like 192.168.0.105, 192.168.0.115, 192.168.0.125, etc. and give them each a unique computer name. You might use DC1, DC2, DC3, etc. for this.

Setting up and configuring a home network is a little beyond the scope of this HOWTO, but the instructions that come with your router are usually pretty easy to follow and understand. There is also plenty of information on the web on the subject, which you should have no trouble finding with a search engine.

With your network/internet connection working, the installer will not likely have any trouble picking up the configuration information and connecting to the software/update repositories during the install, and configuring the network card to be the same as it is prior to installing Xubuntu. If this will be a fresh OS install on a new or empty drive, you'll have to provide some information to the installer to configure the network card for access to the internet. We'll cover this somewhere along the road, but let's get to the next requirement... the operating system itself.

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