boinc/todo

protection mechanism for project admin web

Deadline mechanism for results
    - use in result dispatching
    - use in file uploading (decide what to upload next)
    - use in deciding when to make scheduler RPC (done already?)

create "result adder" program that detects WUs that don't have
    a canonical result yet, and should,
    and creates more results for them.
    This should detect situations where we're getting lots
    of error results, and skip over those WUs

CPU benchmarking
    This should be done by a pseudo-application
    rather than by the core client.
    This would eliminate the GUI-starvation problem,
    and would make it possible to have architecture-specific
    benchmarking programs (e.g. for graphics coprocessor)
    or project-specific programs.

Testing framework
    better mechanisms to model server/client/communication failure
    better mechanisms to simulate large load
    do client/server on separate hosts?

Add "garbage-collect state" fields to WU, result
    whether deletion of files is OK, is done

investigate binary diff mechanism for updating persistent files

use FTP instead of HTTP for file xfer??
    measure speed diff

Delete files if needed to honor disk usage constraint
    inform user if this happens

implement max bytes/sec network preferences

Local scheduling
    more intelligent decision about when/what to work on
    - monitor VM situation, run small-footprint programs
        even if user active
    - monitor network usage, do net xfers if network idle
        even if user active

The following would require client to accept connections:
    - clients can act as proxy scheduling server
    - exiting client can pass work to another client
    - client can transfer files to other clients

User/host "reputation"
    keep track of % results bad, %results claimed > 2x granted credit
    both per-host and per-user.
    Make these visible to project, to that user (only)

Storage validation
    periodic rehash of persistent files;
    compare results between hosts

Include account ID in URL for file xfers
    This would let you verify network xfers by scanning web logs
    (could use that to give credit for xfers)

Global preferences
    implement disk usage prefs
    time-of-day prefs?
    test propagation mechanism
        set up multi-project, multi-host test;
        change global prefs at one web site,
        make sure they propagate to all hosts
    limit on frequency of disk writes?
    max net traffic per day?
        implement in client

Per-project preferences
    test project-specific prefs
        make example web edit pages
        make app that uses them
    set up a test with multiple projects
        test "add project" feature, GUI and cmdline
        test resource share mechanism

Proxies
    work through HTTP, Socks proxies
    look at other open-source code (Mozilla?)

Documentation
    simplify/finish docs on server installation
    get rid of text in INSTALL and INSTALL_CLIENT;
        they should just refer to .html files

Testing in general
    figure out how to set up multi-project, multi-host tests
        from a single script
    automate some simple test cases

Messages from core client
    decide what messages should be shown to user, and how
    log file?  GUI?  dialog?

CPU benchmarking
    review CPU benchmarks - do they do what we want?
    what to do when tests show hardware problem?
    How should we weight factors for credit?
    run CPU tests unobtrusively, periodically
    check that on/conn/active fracs are maintainted correctly
    check that bandwidth is measured correctly
    measure disk/mem size on all platforms
    get timezone to work
    batteries on windows

WU/result sequence mechanism
    design/implement/document

Multiple application files
    document, test

CPU accounting in the presence of checkpoint/restart
    test

Application errors
    make sure server/DB is notified correctly on:
        - app crash
        - app failure exit
    make sure stderr out ends up in DB

Test nslots > 1
    Win/Unix: how to find # of CPUs?

Redundancy checking and validation
    test the validation mechanism
    make sure credit is granted correctly
    make sure average, total credit maintained correctly for user, host

Scheduler RPC
    formalize notion of "permanent failure" (e.g. can't download file)
    report perm failures to scheduler, record in DB
    make sure RPC backoff is done for any perm failure
        (in general, should never make back-to-back RPCs to a project)
    make sure that client eventually reloads master URL

Data transfer
    make sure restart of downloads works
    make sure restart of uploads works
    test download/upload with multiple data servers
        make sure it tries servers in succession,
        does exponential backoff if all fail
    review and document prioritization of transfers
    review protocol; make sure error returns are possible and handled correctly

Application graphics
    finish design, implementation, doc, testing
        size, frame rate, whether to generate
    X11/Win/Mac versions
    
Work generation
    generation of upload signature is very slow

Windows GUI
    finish design/implement
    display credit info, team

Windows screensaver functionality
    idle-only behavior without screensaver

Windows install

Versioning
    think through issues involved in:
    compatibility of core client and scheduling server
    compatibility of core client and data server
    compatibility of core client and app version
    compatibility of core client and client state file?
    Need version numbers for protocols/interfaces?
    What messages to show user?  Project?

Scheduler
    Should dispatch results based on deadline?
    test that scheduler estimates WU completion time correctly
    test that scheduler sends right amount of work
    test that client estimates remaining work correctly,
        requests correct # of seconds
    test that hi/low water mark system works
    test that scheduler sends only feasible WUs

Persistent files
    test
    design/implement test reporting, retrieval mechanisms
    (do this using WU/results with null application?)

User HTML
    leader boards

NET_XFER_SET
    review logic; prevent one stream for starving others

test HTTP redirect mechanism for all types of ops