In the Windows Task Manager, select the "Performance" tab.  Then select
"View -> CPU History -> One Graph per CPU".  The number of graphs you see
will be your maximum processes in SETI Driver.  No system, regardless of L2
cache size, simply can't simultaneously process more threads than the number
of CPUs shown in this view.  When SETI Driver starts the first time, it
queries the system for the maximum number of processors and sets the Maximum
Processes to the same number.  You can verify that you are indeed running
this many WUs by clearing the "Hide Processing" checkbox and counting the
number of "SETI nn" tasks that show up on the task bar.  The "nn" is the
cache folder number.  On the Processes tab, show the CPU column and add up
the numbers for the SETI clients.  The sum of these processes CPU times
should be 98 to 100.  To get the best throughput, reduce the Maximum
Processes by one until this sum is no longer ~100.  Then add that one back.
If you have 1Mb or more of L2 cache, now double this value.  For example, a
dual XEON with 1Mb of cache, you should set the Maximum processes to 4.
This will fill up your L2 cache and Hyper Threading won't provide any more
performance.  If you have 2Mb of L2 cache on this dual Xeon system, set your
max processes to 4 if HT is off and 8 if HT is on.

There is also the question of the impact of the L3 cache on some of the
newer Intel chips.  The L3 cache may allow additional WUs to be handled
without too much performance penalty per WU, but no one appears to have
published this information.

Mike Ober.

"Hurrah" <hurrah@not.here> wrote in message
news:x6E9d.5151$xb.4491@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...

"f/f george" <george@yourplace.com> wrote in message
news:8kqcm096hph7outtl7t5vagq7hqfvlockj@4ax.com...

Sure, up the numbers in SetiDriver to reflect 1 unit for each 512 meg
of ram. If you have 2 cpus you can do 2 at one time. If each cpu has
an L2 cache of 1 meg you can do 4 at 1 time. If each cpu has an L2
cache of 2 meg than each cpu can do 4 at 1 time.
This is set in the setting "maximum processes". You MUST also have at
least that number of units in your "desired cache size" also. It is
preferred to have double the number of currently running units in the
"desired cache size".

The key is the L2 cache size, if you only have 512 meg than you are
limited to only running one unit per cpu. If you have 1 meg of L2
cache than you can double it to 2 per cpu at one time. If you have 2
meg of L2 cache, per cpu, than you can run 4 units at one time per
cpu. You MUST be running the CLI version for this to work too. The
Screen Saver version will not do this.

Hi f/f George,

Thanks for the response.

Trouble is:

1) I *am* running the CLI SETI Classic, controlled by SETI Driver and

using

Windows 2000 Advanced Server

2) I have *already* set the max processes to 4 (twice the number of 1Meg

L2

P3/Xeon 700Mhz CPU's on the mobo)

3) I *already* have the cache set to 8 (double the number of processes)


So, in theory, I should be getting 4 WU's worked on at any one time.

But I'm not.

I only get (on average) 8 WU's per day, which is equal to 2 simultaneous
processes at a rate of 6+hours per WU.


Over to you again.

H.