<?php require_once("docutil.php"); page_head("Getting started"); echo " It's easy to participate in a BOINC project. <ul> <li> <b><a href=download.php>Download</a> and install BOINC.</b> You will be asked to enter the project's URL, your email address, and a password. </ul> That's it! <p> <h2>How it works</h2> When you run BOINC on your PC, it works as follows (see below): <br> <center> <img hspace=10 vspace=8 src=http://boinc.berkeley.edu/comm_simple.png> </center> <br> <ol> <li> Your PC gets a set of instructions from the project's <b>scheduling server</b>. The instructions depend on your PC: for example, the server won't give it work that requires more RAM than you have. The instructions may include many multiple pieces of work. Projects can support several <b>applications</b>, and the server may send you work from any of them. <li> Your PC downloads executable and input files from the project's <b>data server</b>. If the project releases new versions of its applications, the executable files are downloaded automatically to your PC. <li> Your PC runs the application programs, producing output files. <li> Your PC uploads the output files to the data server. <li> Later (up to several days later, depending on your <a href=prefs.php>preferences</a>) your PC reports the completed results to the scheduling server, and gets instructions for more work. </ol> This cycle is repeated indefinitely. BOINC does this all automatically; you don't have to do anything. <a name=credit></a> <h2>Credit</h2> The project's server keeps track of how much work your computer has done; this is called <b>credit</b>. To ensure that credit is granted fairly, most BOINC projects work as follows: <ul> <li> Each work unit may be sent to several computers. <li> When a computer reports a result, it claims a certain amount of credit, based on how much CPU time was used. <li> When at least two results have been returned, the server compares them. If the results agree, then users are granted the smaller of the claimed credits. </ul> <br> <center> <img src=http://boinc.berkeley.edu/credit.png> </center> <br> Please keep in mind: <ul> <li> There may be a delay of several days between when your computer reports a result and when it is granted credit for the result. Your User page shows you how much credit is 'pending' (claimed but not granted). <li> The credit-granting process starts when your computer reports a result to the server (not when it finishes computing the result or uploading the output files). <li> In rare cases (e.g. if errors occur on one or more computers) you may never receive credit for a computation. </ul> "; page_tail(); ?>